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Understanding Interpersonal Communication (Why We Form Relationships…
Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Why We Form Relationships
Appearance
People judge others more on appearance than character early in relationships
Beauty can be a disadvantage because others will hold you to higher expectations on your character
Similarity
We like people who are similar to us
Sometimes people still socially isolate themselves from people of different races and cultures
Complementarity
Even opposites attract although it contradicts the similarity principle
Differences can strengthen relationships
Relationships also work well when partners take leadership in different topics/areas
Reciprocal Attraction
We are attracted to people that take a liking to us (usually)
When people like us, it increases our self-esteem
Competence
We like to be around talented people
When others are too competent, sometimes we'll shy away
the best way to gain liking is to be good at what you do and admit your mistakes/flaws
Disclosure
Revealing info about yourself can help build liking
When people discuss private info with you, that means they respect and trust you
Proximity
We're more likely to develop relationships with people who are physically closer to us
people who are closer to us are more likely to share same desires and interests
Rewards
Social exchange theory-
We often seek out people who can give us rewards
Rewards - costs = outcome
Business relationships are based on how much each side can benefit from each other
Characteristics of Interpersonal Communication
What makes Communication interpersonal
IPC- looking at the number of people involved
quality is what determines IPC, rather than quantity
Qualitatively Interpersonal Communication
- when people treat one another as unique individuals regardless of the context in which the interaction occurs
The majority of our communication is relatively impersonal.
IPC in Online Relationships
You can stay in touch with others more efficiently in mediated conversation
Some argue mediated conversations reduces the frequency and quality of F2F interaction
Mediated interaction increases the well being of those who are shy or live in rural areas
Mediated communication gives users more time to interpret others messages and think about more accurate responses before sending
68% of people reported that their online relationship ended due to due to their first F2F interaction going poorly
Content and Relational Messages
Relational Messages
- Statements about how the parties feel toward one another
Affinity
- The degree to which people like or appreciate one another
Respect
- The degree to which we admire others and hold them in esteem
Immediacy-
The degree of interest and attraction we feel toward and communicate to others
Control-
The amount of influence communicators seek