UNIT II:
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
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Chapter 7
Understanding Interpersonal
Communication in Relationships
Marital Problems
Managing Conflict
Communication Principles
Appropriately
adapt your
message to
others
Listen and
respond
thoughtfully to
others
Be aware of
your
communication
Effectively use
and
interpret
nonverbal
messages
Effectively use
and
interpret verbal
messages
Understanding Interpersonal
Communication

What Is Interpersonal Communication?

Initiating Relationships

Maintaining Relationships Through

Interpersonal Communication
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
What Is Interpersonal
Communication?

Interpersonal communication is a
special form of unmediated human
communication that occurs when we
interact simultaneously with another
person and attempt to mutually influence
each other, usually for the purpose of
managing relationships.
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
What Is Interpersonal
Communication?

IPC involves quality.
 impersonal communication

IPC involves simultaneous interaction between
individuals.

IPC involves mutual influence between individuals.

IPC is the fundamental means we use to manage our
relationships.
IMPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Initiating Relationships

Interpersonal Attraction Defined


Short-Term Initial Attraction


degree to which you desire to form or maintain
an IP relationship
potential for development
Long-Term Maintenance Attraction

sustains relationships
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Elements of IP Attraction




Similarity
Physical and Sexual
Attraction
Proximity
Complementarity



inclusion
control
affection
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Communicating Our Attraction

Direct and Indirect
Strategies


Immediacy
Verbal and Nonverbal
Cues
Getting That First Conversation Going
 Reducing
Uncertainty

uncertainty reduction theory

passive, active, interactive strategies
Getting That First Conversation Going

What Do You Say First?

The Art and Skill of Asking Great Questions


conversational narcissism/self-absorbed
communicator style
The Art and Skill of Giving and Receiving
Compliments
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Maintaining Relationships
Through IPC

Self-Disclosure Defined

we voluntarily provide information to others that
they would not learn if we did not tell them

Reciprocity in Self-Disclosure

Appropriateness in Self-Disclosure
Assessing the Risks of Self-Disclosure
Self-Disclosure, Intimacy, and Gender


Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Models of Self-Disclosure

Social Penetration

developed by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor

illustrates how much and what kind of information
we reveal in various stages of relationships

circles represent breadth and depth of penetration

each relationship represents a degree of social
penetration
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Models of Self-Disclosure
The Social Penetration Model
Early in a relationship
Very
Intimate
Intimate
As the relationship develops
Very
Intimate
Superficial
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Models of Self-Disclosure

Johari Window

reflects various stages of relational
development, degrees of self-awareness, and
others’ perceptions of us

square window represents yourself

the self encompasses everything about you,
including things you don’t realize
Models of Self-Disclosure
The Johari Window Model
Known to
Self
Not Known
to Self
OPEN
BLIND
Known to
Others
Not
Known to
Others
HIDDEN
UNKNOWN
Checking Out Our
Interpersonal
Hunches