Theories of interpersonal communication

Symbolic Interactionism

 Humans act toward people or things on basis of

meanings they assign to those people or things
 Meaning is formed through social interaction
language
 Self combines impulsive I and reflexive me
 The looking glass Self learns to see itself as
others (generalized other) see it, by taking
on the role of the other, interacting with
others on the basis of that perception, perhaps
provoking responses that fit expectations
(self-fulfilling prophecy)

Coordinated Management of Meaning

 Main focus people who disagree can live together

in relative harmony
 Quality of life is directly related to quality of
communication
 Persons-in-conversation co-construct their own
social realities and are simultaneously shaped by
the worlds they create
 Change communication change quality of life
this is the proof offered by CMM

Interpersonal Deception Theory

 Deception-detection is an interactive
(co-constructed) activity, not individual
 Inter-actants constantly adjust their behavior to
each other
 Detection of deception may focus on
characteristics of the message, or the behavior
of the deceiver
 Deceiver is protected, partially, by partners
truth-bias

Constructivism
  We make sense of the world through personal
constructs, i.e. contrasting features we use to
define the character of another person.
 Some people use more complex constructs than
others
 Such cognitive complexity is a necessary but not
sufficient condition for person-centered
communication

Social Penetration Theory

 Closeness develops if people proceed in gradual

and orderly fashion from superficial to more
intimate levels of exchange
 Personality is conceived as a multi-layered onion
with public self on the outer layer and private
self at the core
 Closeness is achieved through reciprocal
self-disclosure, that is both broad and deep

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

 New relationships involve uncertainty

communication reduces uncertainty
 Motivation to reduce uncertainty increases under
specified circumstances, and involves
identifiable strategies

Relational Dialectics

 Intimate relationships are organized around the

dynamic interplay of opposing tendencies.
 Especially, tensions exist between needs for
intimacy and needs for independence
 Closeness, certainty, openness need to be
balanced against autonomy, novelty and privac

Interactional View
 Family members are components of a family system
 Systemic factors are more important than
personality traits and motives in understanding
family communication
 Focus of the theory is on individual behavior
affects the functioning of the system