Communication

• What is communication?


  Exchanging information (speaking, writing, or non-verbal).

  
  

  Communication can allow partners to speak about their needs and issues within the relationship. Relationships will not last if they don't have communication or if the communication is strained.

  
  

  Communication is easier with social media for individuals who live at a distance.
• What did Canary and Stafford 1994 say?


  There is 5 communication strategies for maintaining a relationship:

  
  

  1) Doing unpredictable things (e.g., cook dinner).

  2) Self-disclosure - share deep, personal thoughts.

  3) Tuning into their feelings - make them feel special.

  4) Wide circle of friends and family.

  5) Sharing household tasks

  
  

  These can enhance or deteriorate a relationship, during dispositional or situational attitudes.

  
  

  Dispositional - someone makes a judgement based on the personality. E.g., they forgot our anniversary because they are selfish.

  
  

  Situational - looks at the environment/situation. E.g., forgot our anniversary because they were busy at work.
• What are the theories and the studies?


  Social penetration theory - Collins and Miller 1994

  - Self-disclosure is important, as it shares intimate details about self that your partner should know. The more you like someone the more you will self-disclose.

  
  

  Oxytocin and communication - Ditzen 2009

  - A hormone that plays a role in mother-child bonding as well as social bonding between others and trust.
• Further in-depth of social penetration theory

  Collins and Miller:

  the more you self-disclose the more you trust someone.

  
  

  Self-disclosure is like an onion it has different levels:

  1) Strangers - know your name.

  2) Colleague - likes and dislikes.

  3) Teacher - goals and ambitions.

  4) Friends - religious beliefs.

  5) Parents - fears.

  6) Spouse - concept of self.

  
  

  Altman and Taylor - various stages of intimacy:

  1. Oriental stage - first impressions.

  2. Exploratory Affective stage - opinions in politics.

  3. Affective stage - disclose personal and private matters.

  4. Stable stage - predict how others react to certain information.

  5. Depenetration - the cost of self-disclosure outweighs benefits so communication stops.

  
  

  -> Relationships will go through these stages and can change.
• Collin and Miller 1994 aim, procedure, findings, conclusions.


  Aim - Investigate link between self-disclosure and maintaining relationships.

  
  

  Procedure - Mata-analysis taken from other research regarding self-disclosure which included journals and articles.

  
  

  Findings - Attraction appeared to increase self-disclosure = the more you like someone the more you will self-disclose.

  
  

  Conclusion - self-disclosure plays a role in the maintenance of relationships.
• Link Collins and Miller 1994 study to social penetration theory + critical thinking


  Link - self-disclosure is linked to attraction and liking of someone, as it is an indicator of trust. People also tend to disclose personal information to someone they like as it takes their relationship to the next level.

  
  

  +

  Use of triangulation - increases validity as more than one method was use to study self-disclosure and they all found the same thing.

  Use of secondary data - less prone to bias.

  
  

  -

  Secondary data is less secure - have no influence or control over the procedure, also would not know if the researchers made any errors.

  Lack of ecological validity as cannot say why self disclosure happens.

  
  

  Discussion - Is this already telling us what we already know? Self-disclosure can also lead to arguments such as cheating which may be best left undisturbed for the sake of the relationship.
• Study for oxytocin


  Ditzen 2009

  
  

  aim - investigate whether oxytocin promotes positive communication when speaking about a argumentative topic.

  
  

  procedure - double-blind, 47 couples given oxytocin or placebo, then video taped when engaging into a discussion. Video was coded and the level of cortisol (stress hormone) was measured.

  
  

  Found - in oxytocin = better communication and lower levels of cortisol.

  
  

  conclusion - oxytocin has a role in relationships. Positive behaviour is necessary for lasting relationships.

  
  

  link - oxytocin = trust + self-disclosure.
• critical thinking for ditzen


  Doesn't explain same-sex relationships as only used heterosexual couples

  
  

  Individual differences = some may be more argumentative than others and therefore may be influenced by their personality.

  
  

  Online communication - only looks at in person communication.
• Discuss para for communication


  - Communication styles are different in different genders

  
  

  Females use more language tags such as 'mhm, really?' which encourages communication, as well as taking it in turns to speak. Whereas men interrupt each other.