COMM 218

a hypothesis that says each of us is born with a fundamental drive to seek, form, maintain, and protect strong social relationships

any force that draws people together to form a relationship

attraction to someone's physical appearance

attraction to someone's personality

attraction to someone's abilities and dependability

a theory suggesting that people are motivated to reduce their uncertainty about others

a theory predicting that we form relationships when we think the effort will be worth it

communication behaviors that signals one's interest in getting to know someone

communication behaviors that signal one's lack of interest in getting to know someone

a theory predicting that people seek to form and maintain relationships in which the benefits outweigh the costs

a person's realistic expectation of what the person wants and thinks he/she deserves from a relationship

a person's assessment of how good his/her current relationship is, compared with other options

the state in which one's relational rewards exceeds one's costs

the state in which one's relational costs exceed one's relational rewards

a theory predicting that a good relationship is one in which a person's ratio of costs and rewards is equal to that of the person's partner

behaviors used to maintain and strengthen personal relationships

someone of similar power or status

significant emotional closeness experienced in a relationship

a desire to stay in a relationship

a state in which each person's behaviors affect everyone else in their relationship

the resources we put into our relationships

conflicts between two important but opposing needs or desires

being in only one romantic relationship at a time

having romantic or sexual interaction with someone outside of romantic relationship

practice in which one person is married to 2+ spouses at once

the stage of relationship development when people meet and interact for the first time

the stage of relationship development when individuals have conversations to learn more about each other

the stage of relationship development when individuals move from being acquaintances to being close friends

the stage of relationship development when a deep commitment has formed, and there is a strong sense that the relationship has its own identity

the stage of relationship development when the partners publicly announce their commitment

theory that explains how people manage the tension between privacy and disclosure

when partners begin to see their differences as undesirable or annoying

decreased quality and quantity of communication between partners

relationship stops growing and the partners are barely communicating with each other

when partners create physical and emotional distance between themselves

relationship is deemed to be officially over

legal discontinuation of a marriage

• family in which one grows up
• often consisting of one's parents & siblings

• family in which one starts as an adult
• often consisting of one's spouse and children

repetitive behaviors that have special meaning for a group or relationship

the emotional tone of a relationship

behaviors that indicate how much we value another person

behaviors that imply a lack of regard for another person

excessive concern with guarding oneself against the threat of criticism

a person's feeling of assurance that others car about and will protect them

reply that withholds assessment of what the speaker has said or done

reply that offers an assessment of what the speaker has said or done

an expressed struggle between interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from one another

a pattern of behaving vengefully while denying that one has aggressive feelings

a pattern of behavior in which one party makes demands and the other party withdraws from the conversation

tendency to say or do things in one environment (such as online) that one would not say or do in most other enviornments

ability to manipulate, influence, or control other people or events

relationship between parties of equal power

a relationship between parties of unequal power

verbal message through which the speaker attempts to exert dominance or gain control over the listener

a verbal message that reflects acceptance of, or submission to, another person's power

a verbal message that seeks to neutralize relational control and power

power that derives from the ability to reward

power based on the ability to punish

power that derives from one's attraction to or admiration for another

power based on one's status or position

power that derives from one's expertise, talent, training, specialized knowledge, or experience

the expression of complaints about another party

the expression of insults and attacks on another's self worth

the tendency to deny that validity of criticisms directed at the self

withdrawing from a conversation or an interaction

strategy for managing conflict in which one's goal is to win while the other party loses

strategy for managing conflict that involves ignoring or failing to deal with the conflict

strategy for managing conflict that involves giving in to the other party's needs and desires while subordinating one's own

strategy for managing conflict in which both parties give up something they want so that both can receive something they want

strategy for managing conflict that involves working toward a solution that meets both parties' needs