Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social... more Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social support and social support in adult children's subsequent romantic relationships. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that conversation orientation in families is positively correlated with family social support and that conformity orientation is negatively correlated with social support. This negative correlation for conformity orientation is more evident for boys and in families when conversation orientation is low. Results also showed correlations between family social support and perceived social support in adult children's romantic relationships, suggesting that social support is an interpersonal skill acquired in families of origin. This finding applies in particular to boys, who depend more on their families for acquiring social support skills. Girls, in contrast, are less dependent on families in acquiring social support skills and seem to be able to acquire these skills outside the family as well.
Interpersonal communication scholars often integrate and synthesize the work of other disciplines... more Interpersonal communication scholars often integrate and synthesize the work of other disciplines, and their work is affected by developments in those disciplines. One such development is the (re)emergence of evolutionary approaches for studying human behavior. Although evolutionary theory is considered among humanity's crowning scientific-theoretical achievements ever since Darwin (1859), its early (mis)application to human behaviors had regrettable consequences such as justifications of colonialism, slavery, eugenics, and genocide. Partially due to these abuses, evolutionary explanations of human behavior have been discredited for most of the latter part of the 20th century. Recently, however, evolutionary explanations of human behavior have become more sophisticated in their descriptive and predictive ability and in their ethical awareness, and have regained currency in many of the social sciences. In fact, evolutionary theory is poised to become the standard explanatory framework for any scientific explanation of human behavior.
Page 47. Understanding Family Communication Paiterns and Family Functioning: The Roles of Convers... more Page 47. Understanding Family Communication Paiterns and Family Functioning: The Roles of Conversation Orientation and Conformity Orientation ASCAN F. KOERNER University ofMinnesota-Twin Cities MARY ANNE FITZPATRICK University of Wisconsin-Madison Family ...
It is well known that relationship concerns are major factors determining compliance with interpe... more It is well known that relationship concerns are major factors determining compliance with interpersonal influence attempts. This study expands this notion and presents a model of interpersonal influence that incorporates receivers' concerns both for their relationships with message sources and for their relationships with third parties affected by the advocated behavior.
As evident in this volume, the application of social cognition to communication research in most ... more As evident in this volume, the application of social cognition to communication research in most areas has met or exceeded the expectations expressed by the authors in Social Cognition and Communication. Social cognition has been successfully employed to explain communication behaviors in a number of social contexts, ranging from mass media to interpersonal relationships. Yet, there are a few areas in the field of communication research where social cognition thus far has had little impact, and family communication might very well be first among them.
Thus, family conflict is an important determinant of relationship quality and quality of life of ... more Thus, family conflict is an important determinant of relationship quality and quality of life of family members. In addition, the conflict communication behaviors socialized in families are among the most important behaviors learned in families that affect children's subsequent interpersonal relationships, further strengthening the case for studying family conflict. Finally, harmful communication and child abuse, which constitute the third reason to study family communication mentioned above, are more likely to occur during family conflict than during any other time of family communication , which makes a thorough investigation of family conflict all the more pertinent.
The present study investigates the relationship between nonverbal encoding and decoding of positi... more The present study investigates the relationship between nonverbal encoding and decoding of positive and negative affect attributed to relational and nonrelational factors and spouses' marital adjustment. Findings indicate that accuracy in decoding of nonverbal affect was associated with the partner's, but not one's own, marital satisfaction. In regard to specific relational and nonrelational affect, results showed that accurate decoding of relational positive affect and of nonrelational negative affect was associated with the decoder's marital satisfaction, while accurate decoding of relational positive affect was associated with the partner's dissatisfaction. In regard to nonverbal communication and sex differences, we found that husbands' decoding of wives' nonrelational affect was more predictive of marital satisfaction than wives' decoding of husbands' nonrelational affect. Overall, however, we did not find many of the sex differences in nonverbal communication reported in previous studies. Implications of these findings for our current understanding of nonverbal communication in marriages are discussed.
understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or "empat... more understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or "empathic accuracy"). Fifty parent-adolescent triads completed questionnaires, held a discussion, and reported on immediate thoughts during the discussion using video-assisted recall methods. Alternative measures of understanding produced distinct results. Parental understanding of the child's self-concept was associated with frequent and open communication, high parent-child relationship satisfaction, and a strong child self-concept. Parental understanding of conflict perceptions was associated with high conformity and low relationship satisfaction. Parental understanding of the immediate thoughts of children was quite low overall and was not consistently related to communication, relationship satisfaction, or child self-concept. The results suggest that alternative measures of understanding reflect different family processes.
Various researchers (i.e., Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, & Gelfand,1995; have suggested that the cu... more Various researchers (i.e., Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, & Gelfand,1995; have suggested that the cultural variables of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism correspond to relational models of collectivism, authority ranking, equality matching, and market pricing. In this study, we tested this claim in a cross-cultural comparison between American and Japanese respondents' use of relational models in three different relationships. Results provide evidence that cultural differences are reflected in relational model use such that communal sharing was associated with a horizontal cultural orientation, authority ranking was associated with a vertical cultural orientation, equality matching was associated with horizontal individualism, and market pricing was associated with horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism. In addition, increased use of communal sharing was also associated with increased intimacy in respondents' relationships.
This research examined the content of self-reported thoughts and thoughts attributed to others du... more This research examined the content of self-reported thoughts and thoughts attributed to others during video-assisted recall of parent-adolescent conflict discussions. We hypothesized that parents and adolescents tend to frame family conflicts differently and thereby misattribute certain thoughts to one another. Coded thoughts revealed that parents over-attributed negative and avoidance thoughts to adolescents, overlooked admissions by adolescents, and over-attributed agreement to their spouse, relative to the thoughts that others reported for self. Conversely, adolescents over-attributed controlling thoughts to parents. Parents and adolescents focused on different aspects of the discussions, with parents thinking more about interaction processes and adolescents thinking more about content issues. Both seemed to lack meta-awareness of this difference.
international association for relationship …, 2004
Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social... more Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social support and social support in adult children's subsequent romantic relationships. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that conversation orientation in families is positively correlated with family social support and that conformity orientation is negatively correlated with social support. This negative correlation for conformity orientation is more evident for boys and in families when conversation orientation is low. Results also showed correlations between family social support and perceived social support in adult children's romantic relationships, suggesting that social support is an interpersonal skill acquired in families of origin. This finding applies in particular to boys, who depend more on their families for acquiring social support skills. Girls, in contrast, are less dependent on families in acquiring social support skills and seem to be able to acquire these skills outside the family as well.
Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption st... more Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption status and family communication interact such that adopted adolescents in families with certain communication patterns are at greater risk for adjustment problems. We tested this hypothesis using a community-based sample of 384 adoptive and 208 nonadoptive families. Adolescents in these families were, on average, 16 years of age. The results supported our hypothesis. Adopted adolescents were at significantly greater risk for adjustment problems compared to nonadopted adolescents in families that emphasized conformity orientation without conversation orientation and in families that emphasized neither conformity nor conversation orientation. Adolescents in families emphasizing conversation orientation were at lower risk for adjustment problems, regardless of adoption status.
Two studies apply Fiske's Relational Model Theory (RMT) to interpersonal relationships and indica... more Two studies apply Fiske's Relational Model Theory (RMT) to interpersonal relationships and indicate that rather than being models of relationships, relational models are models of relating that are used differently across interpersonal relationship domains. Study 1 (n = 145) investigated the use of relational models in three relationship types (mother, friend, and acquaintance). Results showed that even though relationship type predicted relational model use, model use varied significantly across relationship domains. Study 2 (n = 282) provides a cross-cultural replication of these findings (US and Singapore). Results of both studies suggest that Relational Model Theory is a particularly fruitful approach to relationship research when individual relationship domains are considered in addition to relationship types. KEY WORDS: intercultural interaction • interpersonal relationships • Relational Model Theory • relationship domain • relationship grammar • relationship model • relationship schema Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Using grounded theory, 57 narratives of communication scholars detailing their experiences and re... more Using grounded theory, 57 narratives of communication scholars detailing their experiences and relationships with institutional review boards (IRBs) were examined. From this analysis, 24 concepts emerged constituting five larger categories characterizing the communication relationship between communication scholars and IRBs: antagonistic actions of IRBs, negative perceptions of IRBs, actions of researchers, positive perceptions of IRBs, and protagonistic actions of IRBs. Results indicate that the main difference between positive and negative experiences with IRBs was associated with the nature of the relationship between scholars and IRBs. Scholars who saw their IRBs as adversarial bureaucracies had the most negative experiences, whereas scholars who saw their IRBs as partners in the research process had the most positive experiences. Recommendations for how both IRBs and researchers can improve their relationships conclude this essay.
This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 participants. The st... more This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 participants. The study probed the relationship between threat and involvement, their role in inoculation, and the nature of cognitiveprocesses triggered via inoculation. The pattem of results suggests that inoculation elicits threat, threat contributes to resistance, and resistance is most pronounced for more involved receivers and on behalfofmore involving topics. Finally, the results shed additional light on the process of inoculation but revealeda process considerably more intricate than was initially predicted. Structural equation analyses indicated that inoculation and involvement exert parallel, but independent, effects throughout the process of resistance. Both contributed directly to resistance, and both indirectlyfirthered resistance, but along unique paths. Whereas inoculation elicited receiver threat, which indirectly enhanced resistance through its sizable and immediate impact on Phase 2 attitudes, involvement contributed to theprocessofcounterarguingand, thus, exertedadelayed indirect impactonPhase3attitudes. agly and Chaiken (1993) recently noted the quandary facing contemporary scholarship on inoculation. Although research in E both laboratory and applied settings consistently indicates the Michael Pfuu (PhD, University of Arizona, 1987) is a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Linda J. Penaloza, Waipeng Lee, Violet Shu-huei Yang, and Yah-huei Hong are graduate students in journalism and mass communication; and Kyle James Tusing, Ascan E Koerner, and Linda C. Godbold are graduate students in communication arts, all at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The authors thank faculty in Journalism and Mass Communication and Communication Arts for their help in recruiting participants for this investigation and acknowledge the insights of Cindy Gallois and anonymous reviewers that bolstered this article. Please direct correspondence concerning this article to Michael Pfau, 5016 Vilas Hall, School of Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, W I 53706; telephone: (608)-2624334 (work), (608)-827-8224 (home); fax: (608)-262-1361; e-mail [email protected].
This research examines family communication patterns and parent-adolescent understanding using vi... more This research examines family communication patterns and parent-adolescent understanding using video replay and questionnaire methods for assessing understanding.
Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social... more Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social support and social support in adult children's subsequent romantic relationships. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that conversation orientation in families is positively correlated with family social support and that conformity orientation is negatively correlated with social support. This negative correlation for conformity orientation is more evident for boys and in families when conversation orientation is low. Results also showed correlations between family social support and perceived social support in adult children's romantic relationships, suggesting that social support is an interpersonal skill acquired in families of origin. This finding applies in particular to boys, who depend more on their families for acquiring social support skills. Girls, in contrast, are less dependent on families in acquiring social support skills and seem to be able to acquire these skills outside the family as well.
Interpersonal communication scholars often integrate and synthesize the work of other disciplines... more Interpersonal communication scholars often integrate and synthesize the work of other disciplines, and their work is affected by developments in those disciplines. One such development is the (re)emergence of evolutionary approaches for studying human behavior. Although evolutionary theory is considered among humanity's crowning scientific-theoretical achievements ever since Darwin (1859), its early (mis)application to human behaviors had regrettable consequences such as justifications of colonialism, slavery, eugenics, and genocide. Partially due to these abuses, evolutionary explanations of human behavior have been discredited for most of the latter part of the 20th century. Recently, however, evolutionary explanations of human behavior have become more sophisticated in their descriptive and predictive ability and in their ethical awareness, and have regained currency in many of the social sciences. In fact, evolutionary theory is poised to become the standard explanatory framework for any scientific explanation of human behavior.
Page 47. Understanding Family Communication Paiterns and Family Functioning: The Roles of Convers... more Page 47. Understanding Family Communication Paiterns and Family Functioning: The Roles of Conversation Orientation and Conformity Orientation ASCAN F. KOERNER University ofMinnesota-Twin Cities MARY ANNE FITZPATRICK University of Wisconsin-Madison Family ...
It is well known that relationship concerns are major factors determining compliance with interpe... more It is well known that relationship concerns are major factors determining compliance with interpersonal influence attempts. This study expands this notion and presents a model of interpersonal influence that incorporates receivers' concerns both for their relationships with message sources and for their relationships with third parties affected by the advocated behavior.
As evident in this volume, the application of social cognition to communication research in most ... more As evident in this volume, the application of social cognition to communication research in most areas has met or exceeded the expectations expressed by the authors in Social Cognition and Communication. Social cognition has been successfully employed to explain communication behaviors in a number of social contexts, ranging from mass media to interpersonal relationships. Yet, there are a few areas in the field of communication research where social cognition thus far has had little impact, and family communication might very well be first among them.
Thus, family conflict is an important determinant of relationship quality and quality of life of ... more Thus, family conflict is an important determinant of relationship quality and quality of life of family members. In addition, the conflict communication behaviors socialized in families are among the most important behaviors learned in families that affect children's subsequent interpersonal relationships, further strengthening the case for studying family conflict. Finally, harmful communication and child abuse, which constitute the third reason to study family communication mentioned above, are more likely to occur during family conflict than during any other time of family communication , which makes a thorough investigation of family conflict all the more pertinent.
The present study investigates the relationship between nonverbal encoding and decoding of positi... more The present study investigates the relationship between nonverbal encoding and decoding of positive and negative affect attributed to relational and nonrelational factors and spouses' marital adjustment. Findings indicate that accuracy in decoding of nonverbal affect was associated with the partner's, but not one's own, marital satisfaction. In regard to specific relational and nonrelational affect, results showed that accurate decoding of relational positive affect and of nonrelational negative affect was associated with the decoder's marital satisfaction, while accurate decoding of relational positive affect was associated with the partner's dissatisfaction. In regard to nonverbal communication and sex differences, we found that husbands' decoding of wives' nonrelational affect was more predictive of marital satisfaction than wives' decoding of husbands' nonrelational affect. Overall, however, we did not find many of the sex differences in nonverbal communication reported in previous studies. Implications of these findings for our current understanding of nonverbal communication in marriages are discussed.
understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or "empat... more understanding about family conflicts, adolescent self-concepts, and immediate thoughts (or "empathic accuracy"). Fifty parent-adolescent triads completed questionnaires, held a discussion, and reported on immediate thoughts during the discussion using video-assisted recall methods. Alternative measures of understanding produced distinct results. Parental understanding of the child's self-concept was associated with frequent and open communication, high parent-child relationship satisfaction, and a strong child self-concept. Parental understanding of conflict perceptions was associated with high conformity and low relationship satisfaction. Parental understanding of the immediate thoughts of children was quite low overall and was not consistently related to communication, relationship satisfaction, or child self-concept. The results suggest that alternative measures of understanding reflect different family processes.
Various researchers (i.e., Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, & Gelfand,1995; have suggested that the cu... more Various researchers (i.e., Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, & Gelfand,1995; have suggested that the cultural variables of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism correspond to relational models of collectivism, authority ranking, equality matching, and market pricing. In this study, we tested this claim in a cross-cultural comparison between American and Japanese respondents' use of relational models in three different relationships. Results provide evidence that cultural differences are reflected in relational model use such that communal sharing was associated with a horizontal cultural orientation, authority ranking was associated with a vertical cultural orientation, equality matching was associated with horizontal individualism, and market pricing was associated with horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism. In addition, increased use of communal sharing was also associated with increased intimacy in respondents' relationships.
This research examined the content of self-reported thoughts and thoughts attributed to others du... more This research examined the content of self-reported thoughts and thoughts attributed to others during video-assisted recall of parent-adolescent conflict discussions. We hypothesized that parents and adolescents tend to frame family conflicts differently and thereby misattribute certain thoughts to one another. Coded thoughts revealed that parents over-attributed negative and avoidance thoughts to adolescents, overlooked admissions by adolescents, and over-attributed agreement to their spouse, relative to the thoughts that others reported for self. Conversely, adolescents over-attributed controlling thoughts to parents. Parents and adolescents focused on different aspects of the discussions, with parents thinking more about interaction processes and adolescents thinking more about content issues. Both seemed to lack meta-awareness of this difference.
international association for relationship …, 2004
Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social... more Two studies investigated the correlations between family communication patterns and family social support and social support in adult children's subsequent romantic relationships. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that conversation orientation in families is positively correlated with family social support and that conformity orientation is negatively correlated with social support. This negative correlation for conformity orientation is more evident for boys and in families when conversation orientation is low. Results also showed correlations between family social support and perceived social support in adult children's romantic relationships, suggesting that social support is an interpersonal skill acquired in families of origin. This finding applies in particular to boys, who depend more on their families for acquiring social support skills. Girls, in contrast, are less dependent on families in acquiring social support skills and seem to be able to acquire these skills outside the family as well.
Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption st... more Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption status and family communication interact such that adopted adolescents in families with certain communication patterns are at greater risk for adjustment problems. We tested this hypothesis using a community-based sample of 384 adoptive and 208 nonadoptive families. Adolescents in these families were, on average, 16 years of age. The results supported our hypothesis. Adopted adolescents were at significantly greater risk for adjustment problems compared to nonadopted adolescents in families that emphasized conformity orientation without conversation orientation and in families that emphasized neither conformity nor conversation orientation. Adolescents in families emphasizing conversation orientation were at lower risk for adjustment problems, regardless of adoption status.
Two studies apply Fiske's Relational Model Theory (RMT) to interpersonal relationships and indica... more Two studies apply Fiske's Relational Model Theory (RMT) to interpersonal relationships and indicate that rather than being models of relationships, relational models are models of relating that are used differently across interpersonal relationship domains. Study 1 (n = 145) investigated the use of relational models in three relationship types (mother, friend, and acquaintance). Results showed that even though relationship type predicted relational model use, model use varied significantly across relationship domains. Study 2 (n = 282) provides a cross-cultural replication of these findings (US and Singapore). Results of both studies suggest that Relational Model Theory is a particularly fruitful approach to relationship research when individual relationship domains are considered in addition to relationship types. KEY WORDS: intercultural interaction • interpersonal relationships • Relational Model Theory • relationship domain • relationship grammar • relationship model • relationship schema Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Using grounded theory, 57 narratives of communication scholars detailing their experiences and re... more Using grounded theory, 57 narratives of communication scholars detailing their experiences and relationships with institutional review boards (IRBs) were examined. From this analysis, 24 concepts emerged constituting five larger categories characterizing the communication relationship between communication scholars and IRBs: antagonistic actions of IRBs, negative perceptions of IRBs, actions of researchers, positive perceptions of IRBs, and protagonistic actions of IRBs. Results indicate that the main difference between positive and negative experiences with IRBs was associated with the nature of the relationship between scholars and IRBs. Scholars who saw their IRBs as adversarial bureaucracies had the most negative experiences, whereas scholars who saw their IRBs as partners in the research process had the most positive experiences. Recommendations for how both IRBs and researchers can improve their relationships conclude this essay.
This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 participants. The st... more This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 participants. The study probed the relationship between threat and involvement, their role in inoculation, and the nature of cognitiveprocesses triggered via inoculation. The pattem of results suggests that inoculation elicits threat, threat contributes to resistance, and resistance is most pronounced for more involved receivers and on behalfofmore involving topics. Finally, the results shed additional light on the process of inoculation but revealeda process considerably more intricate than was initially predicted. Structural equation analyses indicated that inoculation and involvement exert parallel, but independent, effects throughout the process of resistance. Both contributed directly to resistance, and both indirectlyfirthered resistance, but along unique paths. Whereas inoculation elicited receiver threat, which indirectly enhanced resistance through its sizable and immediate impact on Phase 2 attitudes, involvement contributed to theprocessofcounterarguingand, thus, exertedadelayed indirect impactonPhase3attitudes. agly and Chaiken (1993) recently noted the quandary facing contemporary scholarship on inoculation. Although research in E both laboratory and applied settings consistently indicates the Michael Pfuu (PhD, University of Arizona, 1987) is a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Linda J. Penaloza, Waipeng Lee, Violet Shu-huei Yang, and Yah-huei Hong are graduate students in journalism and mass communication; and Kyle James Tusing, Ascan E Koerner, and Linda C. Godbold are graduate students in communication arts, all at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The authors thank faculty in Journalism and Mass Communication and Communication Arts for their help in recruiting participants for this investigation and acknowledge the insights of Cindy Gallois and anonymous reviewers that bolstered this article. Please direct correspondence concerning this article to Michael Pfau, 5016 Vilas Hall, School of Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, W I 53706; telephone: (608)-2624334 (work), (608)-827-8224 (home); fax: (608)-262-1361; e-mail [email protected].
This research examines family communication patterns and parent-adolescent understanding using vi... more This research examines family communication patterns and parent-adolescent understanding using video replay and questionnaire methods for assessing understanding.
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