CHAPTER 8 - COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONAL DYNAMICS
SLOs
After reading the material in Chapter Eight of Looking Out/Looking In, you should understand:
1. Eight factors that influence our choice of relational partners.
2. The concept of social exchange theory.
3. The ten stages of interpersonal relationships.
4. Three types of dialectical tensions.
5. Eight strategies for managing dialectical tensions.
6. Three characteristics of relationships.
7. Four types of relational transgressions.
8. Strategies for relational repair, including forgiveness.
9. The content and relational aspects of messages.
10. Four types of relational messages.
11. The concept of metacommunication.
Specifically, you should be able to:
1. Identify factors that have influenced your choice of relational partners.
2. Describe the development and/or decline of own relationships in terms of
Knapp’s model.
3. Describe how dialectical tensions operate in your relationships.
4. Consider ways to effectively manage dialectical tensions.
5. Consider how the characteristics of relationships apply to your own
experiences.
6. Identify relational transgressions that have occurred in your own relationships.
7. Consider the effectiveness of strategies for repairing relational transgressions.
8. Identify the content and relational aspects of messages you deliver to others
and of messages that are sent to you.
9. Use metacommunication to keep relationships healthy.