Vivian's blog

"Friendship is a voluntary interpersonal relationship characterized by intimacy and liking" (McCornack and Morrison 355). Friendship has several distinguishing characteristics. Friendship is: voluntary, driven by shared interests, characterized by self-disclosure, rooted in liking, and volatile (McCornack and Morrison 355). There are two different types of friendships, communal and agentic. Communal friendships fulfill the need for companionship; they focus primarily on sharing time and activities together (McCornack and Morrison 357). Agentic friendships focus primarily on achieving practical goals together such as work and school projects (McCornack and Morrison 357). Within friendships there are several rules: show support, seek support, respect privacy, keep confidence, defend your friends, avoid public criticism, make your friend happy, manage jealousy, share humor, and maintain equity (McCornack and Morrison 334). Understanding and practicing these rules will help creat...

 A family is a network of people who share their lives over long periods of time, are bound by blood, marriage, or commitment, consider themselves family, and share a significant history and anticipated future  (McCornack and Morrison 327) . Families often possess a strong sense of family identity and share intense complex emotional bonds. There are several different types of families and family dynamics. How families communicate is dependent upon the family communication pattern. The family communication pattern is influenced by two dimensions: conversation orientation and conformity orientation. Conversation orientation is the "degree to which family members are encouraged to discuss a variety of topics" (McCornack and Morrison 334). Conformity orientation is the "degree to which families believe communication should emphasize similarity or diversity" (McCornack and Morrison 334). Dependent on where your family stands on these two dimensions will decide your famil...

A romantic relationship is "a chosen interpersonal involvement in which the participants perceive the bond as romantic"  (McCornack and Morrison 291). There are different types of love associated with romantic relationships: storge, agape, mania, pragma, ludus, and eros (McCornack and Morrison 291). Understanding the love type specific to your romantic relationship is useful. It is also important to understand that all romantic relationships undergo stages. A relationship consists of stages of coming together and stages of coming apart. It's perfectly healthy to go back and forth at any time. H owever, if the relationship stays in the coming apart stage for too long sometimes the relationship is terminated if not managed in a timely manner. Lastly, understanding how to maintain romantic relationships is vital to creating a healthy and long-term relationship. Relational maintenance strategies use communication and supportive behaviors to sustain a healthy relationship. Str...

A workplace relationship is any affiliation you have with a professional peer, supervisor, subordinate, or mentor (McCornack&Morrison, 2019, p.384). The way in which you conduct those involvements is influenced by three dimensions: status, intimacy, and choice (McCornack&Morrison, 2019, p.384). Power dynamics influence workplace relationships. The culture of the workplace also influences workplace relationships. Workplace culture is influenced by workplace values, workplace norms, and workplace artifacts. The workplace culture is dependent upon the organization you work for. Each job is different and it is important to keep that in mind when working and forming workplace relationships.  I am yet to have my first job however once I finish this semester I plan on working. I will keep this in mind when looking for jobs though. However, to relate, I would like to think that relationships at school are similar to this. In reference to college, the culture is vastly differen...

According to the textbook, "conflict is the process that occurs when people perceive that they have incompatible goals or that someone is interfering in their ability to achieve their objectives" (McCornack&Morrison, 2019, p.260). Most conflicts can be characterized by four features: begin with perception, involve clashes in goals or behaviors, is a process, and it is dynamic (McCornack&Morrison, 2019, p.260). Conflict is inevitable however, understanding these four features can help to recognize conflict thus allowing you to handle conflict more appropriately. It is also important to understand you deal with conflict. Understanding your conflict style allows you to analyze how you deal with conflict.  For example, after taking the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument assessment my highest scores were in compromising (sharing) and avoiding withdrawal. This means, I either compromise with others in a conflict or I avoid conflict altogether. After learning this I fee...