Theories of
Communication in
Ongoing Relationships
Bateson and his colleagues (WBJ)
 The Palo Alto group was concerned
with understanding the general
nature of communication
 Particular concern was given to the
role of communication in psychiatric
pathologies

Prevailing view was that mental illness
was a disease of the individual, treated
through individual-level treatment
 Palo Alto group moved to an emphasis
on the system in which the individual
was embedded
 Particular attention paid to relational
communication in the family system




Family systems are interdependent
◦ behavior of individuals depends on each
other
They develop and change through
◦ positive feedback (change in stability) &
◦ negative feedback (preserves status quo
of system)
They are characterized by equifinality –
◦ same final state can be achieved through
multiple paths







Input/throughput/output
Environment
Goal
Equifinality/Equipotentiality
Homeostasis/dynamic equilibrium
Rules: how things work—not how supposed
to work
Feedback
◦ Positive: Change the system: Deviation amplifying
◦ Negative: Inhibit change: Deviation inhibiting

Schismogenesis (positive/negative)


Theory of logical types--systems are
organized at various levels of abstraction
(take out garbage: behavior or relational
meaning)
Rules orientation—highlights role of
relational agreements that prescribe certain
behavior
◦ Constitutive or regulative
◦ Implicit or explicit
◦ Shifts influence from individual to system
Axiom One: One Cannot not
Communicate.
 Axiom Two: Communication has both
relational and content functions in
interaction
 Axiom Four: Humans communicate
through both digital and analogic code
systems

Axiom Three: In relational systems,
we often punctuate interaction in
different ways, leading to different
meaning
 Axiom Five: Communication
interactions can be either
symmetrical (based on equality and
mirroring) or complementary (based
on differences—assertive & passive)

As a result of these complexities,
relational communication can become
dysfunctional (paradoxes and double
binds)
 Relational system change must often
be second-order change, often
accomplished through reframing from
outside of the system
◦ first-order change within system
may not work

Important contribution to understanding
power and control in relational
communication.
Coding of complementary and symmetrical
interaction (Edna Rogers)
Interact: Two-turn sequence reveals
power/control through one-up and onedown patterns though may be topic
specific

Interact example: Who’s in charge?
One up
One up
One down

Relational Dialectics: Philosophical
Roots--Nothing on this (pp. 196-197)
A dialectic approach to relationships
proposes that relationships are
comprised of inherent contradictions
 A dialectic is not a “dualism” in which
one aspect of a contradiction can or
should be chosen
 In a dialectic approach, both poles of
the contradiction can and do exist
together

Contradiction: The coexistence and
conflict of interpenetrated opposites
 Totality: Contradictions in a relationship
are part of a unified whole and cannot
be understood in isolation
 Process: Movement, activity, and
change are fundamental properties of
social life
 Praxis: The choices social actors make
in the midst of dialectical tensions

Romantic Relationships
 Connection-Autonomy
 Certainty-Uncertainty (predictability—
novelty)
 Openness-Closedness

Dialectics can be internal to relationship
or external (relationship and network)
IntegrationSeparation
Internal
ConnectionAutonomy
External
InclusionSeclusion
Stability- ExpressionChange
Privacy
Predictability
-Novelty
OpennessClosedness
Conventionality Revelation- Uniqueness Concealment
In addition to Baxter’s dialectics,
Rawlins adds:
Affection-Instrumentality
 Judgment-Acceptance
 Ideal –Real (Miller forgot this one)

Denial
 Disorientation
 Spiraling
Inversion
 Segmentation

Balance
 Integration
 Recalibration
 Reaffirmation

Dialectics in friendships: This work
(e.g., Rawlins) has looked especially
at adolescent friendship
 Dialectics in romantic relationships:
This work has considered various
stages of romantic relationships
 Family dialectics: This research has
considered praxis patterns in
families, especially blended families
