Download Communication, Conflice and Power 2

EXPLORING MARRIAGES AND FAMILY, 2ND
EDITION
Karen Seccombe
Chapter 6
Communication, Conflict, and Power in
Our Relationships
Special Topic:
Communication Vignettes
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The Importance of Communication
• As you learned in Chapter 6,
communication is an interactive process
using symbols such as words and
gestures to send and receive messages.
– Communication is a transaction
– Communication is a dynamic process
– Communication includes co-construction of
meanings
– Communication uses symbols
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Micro AND Macro
• Communication is a micro-level
interaction, but it is also a macro-level
phenomenon steeped within our social
structure.
– e.g., our race, ethnicity, social class, sex,
culture
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Types of Communication
•
•
•
•
Listening
Verbal communication
Nonverbal communication
Written electronic communication
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Interactive Vignettes
• Let’s role-play some scenarios in which
communication is vital:
– Two people are needed to role-play.
– The other students should identify the key
communication concepts they see, as learned
in the text. Be specific!
– e.g., identify the specific barriers to verbal
communication; what specific type of conflict
you see; identify the cultural dimension that
operates in the vignette
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Dawn and William
• Dawn and William are both 16, juniors in
high school.
– They met at school, liked each other, went to
several parties together, and began a sexual
relationship.
– Dawn noticed that she missed her period last
month, which is very unusual.
– She missed it again this month, and decided
to get a pregnancy test.
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Dawn and William
– The test was positive—Dawn was two months
pregnant.
– She decided to tell William tonight, and asked
if he could meet her after school at a nearby
park.
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include verbal and nonverbal
communication, listening, and sex differences
in communication.
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Jody and Joe
• Jody wants to take a vacation with her
girlfriend to Hawai’i, but her husband Joe
thinks it is inappropriate for a married
woman to go on a vacation without her
husband.
– Yet, Joe doesn’t really want to go to Hawai’i.
– He’d rather go fishing in Montana, and thinks
the whole family should go fishing and
camping together.
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Jody and Joe
– He gets jealous of Jody’s friends because
they usually have more education than he
does.
– Joe did not complete high school and has a
low-status job.
– Both Jody and Joe are becoming upset with
one another about the vacation situation.
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Jody and Joe
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include communication issues
related to conflict, social class, power, control,
and decision-making.
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Wang Lin and Jessica
• Wang Lin, a student from China, and
Jessica, an American student, are
discussing China’s one-child policy in
their Families course.
– Wang Lin and Jessica see the issue
differently and cannot easily understand the
other’s viewpoint.
– Jessica wonders why the Chinese allow such
government intrusion into their private lives.
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Wang Lin and Jessica
– Wang Lin is perplexed that Jessica doesn’t
see how the one-child policy has improved
conditions in her society.
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include communication issues
related to cultural differences, verbal
communication, and listening.
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Eduardo and Isabella
• Eduardo and Isabella, both 20 years old,
have been together since high school.
– They are now in college, attending
universities in different cities.
– They see each other on weekends about
once a month, but text and email each other
daily.
– Yet, Eduardo feels that they are growing
apart.
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Eduardo and Isabella
– He’s only 20, and feels that he would like to
be free to meet other women.
– After much thinking, he decides to break up
with Isabella. He sends her an email:
– ILY, and U R 2G2B4G, but I think we should
BRK Up. Y? IM %). THX for everything. E
• Role-play her response.
– Be sure to include communication issues
surrounding written electronic communication
and sex differences in communication.
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Marcus and Richard
• Marcus and Richard are a gay couple who
have cohabited for several years.
– They are happy together, for the most part,
but do have conflict over the division of
household labor.
– Marcus does very little housework, but he
justifies it by saying that he works longer
hours and is the major breadwinner in the
family.
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Marcus and Richard
– Richard feels the housework should be
shared more equally.
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include communication issues
related to power, control, and decisionmaking—including in gay relationships, verbal
and nonverbal communication, and listening.
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Alyssa and Stepfather
• Alyssa is a 14-year-old girl who lives with
her younger brother Sam, her mother, and
her stepfather.
– Her own parents divorced several years ago,
and her mother remarried last year.
– Alyssa hates her stepfather.
– She feels that he tried to break up her family,
says mean and vindictive things about her
father, and steals all her mother’s attention.
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Alyssa and Stepfather
– He’s been bossing her around as well,
“bedtime is 9:00,” “do the dishes,” “feed the
dog,” “you can’t stay out past 10:00 on
weekends,” and “don’t slam your bedroom
door.”
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include verbal and nonverbal
communication, listening, and conflict.
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Elana and Thomas
• Elana is 18, a university freshman, and is
both excited and nervous to live away from
home.
– She lives in the dorm, where she met Thomas
at a party.
– They both had a lot to drink, and they went
back to his dorm room to fool around.
– After kissing and some foreplay, Elana
decided she didn’t want to go any further.
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Elana and Thomas
– She was afraid to hurt Thomas’ feelings, but
explained that she wanted to leave.
– He became angry.
• Role-play their communication.
– Be sure to include communication issues
related to sex differences in communication,
power, and conflict.
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Conclusion
• Were certain key concepts easier to
identify than others?
• Do you think that sex differences in
communication are an exaggeration or are
they real?
• Do you think that actions speak louder
than words?
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Conclusion
• What specific types of conflict did you see
in these vignettes? How would you
resolve the conflict?
• Think about a specific interaction you have
had in the last 24 hours. What
communication concepts applied?
© 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.