Family
a self-defined unit made up of any number of persons who live or have lived in relationship with one another over time in a common living space, and who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship.
Natural or nuclear family
consists of a mother, a father, and their biological children. Also called an idealized natural family.
Extended family
relatives such as aunts, uncles, cousins, or grandparents and/or unrelated persons who are part of a family unit.
Blended family
is two adults and their children; because of divorce, separation, death, or adoption, the children are the offsprings of other biological parents or of just one of the adults who are raising them.
Single-parent family
consists of one parent raising one or more children.
Three types of relationship between divorced parents
conflicted coparenting; parallel coparenting; and cooperative coparenting.
Single mothers
over 40% of the children born in the US (2009) were born to unmarried mothers who's average age is 25 and have an average of 2.3 children. 80% are employed a year after the birth and receiving some support. They have less time for their children and depen
Family of origin
is the family in which a person is raised.
Voluntary (fictive) kin
are individuals considered family regardless of their legal or blood connection.
Four types of voluntary kin
are substitute voluntary kin, supplemental voluntary kin, convenience voluntary kin, and extended family voluntary kin.
Substitute voluntary kin
fills in for other family members who are out of the picture.
Supplemental voluntary kin
occur in parallel to existing family relationships. They often meet a void or deficit with an actual family member.
Convenience voluntary kin
arise because the context makes them easily accessible.
Extended family voluntary kin
are relationships with extended family members that are closer than might typically occur.
Circumplex model of family interaction
model of the relationships among family adaptability, cohesion, and communication.
Adaptability
a family's ability to modify and respond to changes in the family's power structure and roles.
Cohesion
emotional bonding and feelings of togetherness that families experience.
Communication
determines how cohesive and adaptable families are.
Family communication patterns model
a model of family communication based on two dimensions: conversation and conformity.
Fitzpatrick, Ritchie, and Koerner
developed the family communication patterns model.
Consensual families
are families with high orientation towards both conversation and conformity. Children are encouraged to talk but are expected to accept their parents' explanations and values as parents make the decisions. Creates lots of negative feelings and such famili
Pluralistic families
are families with a high conversation orientation and a low conformity orientation. They have very open, unrestrictive conversations; they emphasize talking without a concern for conforming. Parents expect quality arguments and support. They have the most
Protective families
are families with a low conversation orientation and a high orientation towards conformity. They emphasize obedience and the parents' authority in decision making without discussion. Harmony, agreement, and conformity are the goals and conflict is discour
Laissez-faire families
are families with a low orientation toward both conversation and conformity. They tend to have fewer interactions on only a small number of topics. Parents support individual decision making but do not take much interest in the decision. This undermines t
Open Communication
is one of the most significant and positive communication dynamics a family can adopt; it enhances critical thinking, flexibility, and adaptability.
Conformity
appears to reduce the flexibility and spontaneity underlying effective relationship maintenance skills.
Virginia Satir
found in healthy families "the members" sense of self worth is high; communication is direct, clear, specific, and honest; rules are flexible, humane, and subject to change; and the family's link to society are open and hopeful.
John Caughlin
Identified ten factors that were associated with families that had good communication: openness, maintenance of structural stability, expression of affection, emotional/instrumental support, mind-reading, politeness, discipline, humor/sarcasm, regular rou
Galvin and Brommel
Eight characteristics exhibited by functioning families: interactions are patterned and understood; there is more compassion and less cruelty; problems are addressed to the person who created them (no scapegoat); there is self-restraint; boundaries about
Strategies for improving family communication
Take time to talk; Listen actively and clarify the meaning of messages;support and encourage one another; use productive strategies for managing conflict, stress, and change.
John Gottman
developed suggestions for handling conflict between couples: pick your battles carefully, scheduling the discussion, employing a structure, and moderating your emotions. In dealing with your partner, acknowledge their viewpoint before presenting your own,
Mary Anne Fitzpatrick
identified four types of married couples: traditional, independent, separate, and mixed.
Traditional couples
are interdependent, exhibit a lot of sharing and companionship, follow a daily routine, are not assertive, have conflicts, emphasize stability over spontaneity, and follow traditional community customs.
Independent couples
share and exhibit companionship but allow each other individual space; they believe the relationship should not limit their individual freedoms. They are psychologically interdependent but have a hard time matching schedules, and they also engage in confl
Separate couples
support traditional marriage and family values but stress their individuality and autonomy over their relationship as a couple.
Mixed couples
are when the husband and wife have divergent perspectives on their roles; one is traditional, independent, or separate and the other is not.
Wise parenting
uses support and encouragement rather than coercion as a primary strategy for shaping children's behavior, finding middle ground that tempers support with appropriate control.
Three ways parents affect children's interpersonal communication development
interacting with you, by providing instruction about communication rules and principles, and by engaging in communication that you observe.
Pew Internet & American Life Project
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Sibling communication
is difficult because of the sex, age, number of siblings, and even parenting style influence the nature of the relationships.
Sibling communication during childhood and adolescence
helps to gain valuable psychosocial skills that translate into how they interact with friends and peers. They provide emotional support and advice.
Patricia Noller
noted that warm sibling relationships help us maintain positive self-evaluations.
Communication and emotion
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Only child
were less well liked, more aggressive, and more often victimized by their peers.
Sibling communication during early and middle adulthood
The continuation and intimacy of the relationship becomes more of choice than circumstance. Relationships are likely to provide strong emotional support rather than help with specific tasks. Sisters give more emotional support than brothers.
Sibling communication during late adulthood
Siblings share a special bond, communication increases, validating memories and reminiscing which are linked to higher self-esteem, less depression, and higher morale.
Workplace friendship and context
often involve people of who differ in age or status, limited to a particular context like lunch hour or project assignment. Having friends of the opposite sex are more likely.
Values and functions of workplace friendships
provide: information exchange, social support, organizational support, newcomer assimilation, improved performance, retention, organizational change, and organizational enhancement.
Workplace romance statistics
40-80% of respondents have dated a coworker; 31% has married a person they dated at work.
Romantic relationship principles and factors
the processes of self-disclosing and moving toward intimacy, physical affection, sex and even marriage are the same.
Reasons for workplace romances
proximity, meeting and other collaborative tasks, and incidental interactions are the primary causes.
Values for workplace romances
include sharing organizational, professional, and personal information; providing emotional comfort and understanding; pitching in and helping on a given task; or acting as advocates.
Quid pro quo harassment
implied or explicit promise of reward in exchange for sexual favors or threat of retaliation if sexual favors are withheld, given to an employee by a coworker or s superior.
Guidelines for workplace romances
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Upward communication
communication that flows from subordinates to superiors.
Petz effect
subordinates' feeling more satisfied in their jobs the more their supervisors are able to influence higher-level decisions.
Downward communication
communication that flows from the superiors to subordinates.
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory
theory that supervisors develop different types of relationships with different subordinates and that seeks to explain those difference.
Hostile environment
type of sexual harassment in which an employee's rights are threatened through offensive working conditions or behavior on the part of other workers.
Horizontal communication
communication among colleagues or coworkers at the same level within an organization.
Outward communication
communication that flows to those outside an organization (such as customers).