Deck 8: Communication and Relational Dynamics

Question 1

Small talk typically occurs during the initiating stage of an interpersonal relationship.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Differentiation in relationships is always negative, since it is part of the "coming apart" process.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Dialectical tensions arise when a relationship is new and tend to disappear after the first two years.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The initiating stage of interpersonal relationships is usually brief.

Question 5

According to your text, we are more attracted to people who are good at what they do but admit their mistakes.

Question 6

There are two types of relational control: decision control and conversation control.

Question 7

Immediacy only occurs through nonverbal behavior such as eye contact and facial expressions.

Question 8

Reciprocal liking builds attractiveness.

Question 9

The experimenting stage of interpersonal relationships is characterized by small talk.

Question 10

Metacommunication is communication about communication.

Question 11

A person can be "too competent." We are generally attracted to those who are talented yet have visible flaws like us.

Question 12

The person who exercises the greatest amount of conversational control doesn't always make the decisions in interpersonal relationships.

Question 13

The circumscribing stage of interpersonal relationships involves total avoidance of the other.

Question 14

Differences strengthen a relationship when they are complementary.

Question 15

Dialectical tensions exist in relationships when two incompatible forces or pressures exist at the same time.

Question 16

Social circles merge and the relational partners take on a new relational identity in the intensifying stage of relationships.

Question 17

According to Chapter Eight, we are usually attracted to people who are similar to us.

Question 18

Attraction to others is greatest when we perceive we are similar to them in a high percentage of important areas, like goals and beliefs.

Question 19

It is impossible to like someone without being immediate with them.

Question 20

Affinity is defined as the degree to which people like or appreciate one another.

Question 21

Relational messages deal most commonly with control, immediacy, affinity, or respect.

Question 22

In the stagnating stage, communication between members decreases in quantity and quality.

Question 23

Metacommunication is a destructive substitute for real communication.

Question 24

The dialectical tension strategy whereby couples simultaneously accept opposing forces without trying to diminish them is called integration.

Question 25

The dialectical tension strategy couples use when they choose one end of the dialectical spectrum at some times and the other end at other times is called segmentation.

Question 26

It is possible for a business partnership to move to a bonding stage.

Question 27

The intensifying stage is the time when individuals give up some characteristics of their old selves and develop shared identities.

Question 28

All relationships begin, progress, decline, and end in the same linear fashion based on Knapp's developmental stages.

Question 29

Verbal metacommunication is a necessary ingredient in successful relationships.

Question 30

All appropriate self-disclosure leads to liking.

Question 31

The move from initiating to experimenting occurs at the same pace for both those communicating in cyberspace and face-to-face.

Question 32

Some couples never experience distance in their relationship.

Question 33

When we are trying to decide whether a relationship with another person is no longer "worth the effort," we are using the social exchange formula.

Question 34

Asking someone, "What's your major?" is an example of uncertainty reduction in the experimenting stage.

Question 35

The two key ingredients in successful self-disclosure are reciprocity and timing.

Question 36

Whereas affinity involves liking, respect involves esteem.

Question 37

Rules about self-disclosure vary between cultures.

Question 38

Liking or loving is a better predictor of relational satisfaction than respect.

Question 39

The levels of connection and autonomy that we seek can change over time.

Question 40

Affinity messages can be either positive or negative.

Question 41

People with complementary financial management styles tend to be attracted to one another, but the differences can lead to significant conflict.

Question 42

Relational messages are frequently nonverbal.

Question 43

Agreeing to rules about how often couples will or won't talk and text via cell phones can help to manage which dialectical tension?

A)connection vs.autonomy
B)openness vs.privacy
C)predictability vs.novelty
D)denial vs.disorientation
E)none of the above

Question 44

According to the text, we are usually attracted to people who

A)like us.
B)are high self-disclosers.
C)are perfect.
D)approve of us even in ways we know are inaccurate.
E)live far away from us

Question 45

A couple might declare themselves "Facebook official" (or FBO)in which stage of relational development?

A)initiating
B)intensifying
C)integrating
D)bonding
E)circumscribing

Question 46

Couples who rely on one method for managing dialectical tensions have the most productive results.

Question 47

Access to profiles on Facebook and other social media sites can actually shorten the length of time a couple spends in the experimenting stage.

Question 48

Which of the following was found to be true about lying in online dating profiles?

A)The more deceptive a dater's profile was the less likely they were to use "I."
B)Fabricators tend to write shorter self-descriptions.
C)Liars often flip their language, as in "not sad" instead of "happy."
D)b and c
E)all of the above

Question 49

In Chapter Eight's "Looking At Diversity" reading, Kevin Schomaker talks about how communicating on the Internet makes it easier to meet people since he

A)is very shy.
B)is overweight.
C)stutters.
D)is physically disabled.
E)None of these choices are correct.

Question 50

The authors explain that understanding relational dynamics and communication patterns in relationships is more important than agreeing on a definition of the word relationship.

Question 51

Almost all verbal messages have a content dimension as well as convey relational information.

Question 52

A study of 78 Internet dating profiles showed that about __________ percent strayed from the truth on some level.

A)20
B)50
C)65
D)80
E)98

Question 53

Which of the following does not typically occur in the intensifying stage of interpersonal relationships?

A)The parties spend an increasing amount of time together.
B)The parties begin to take on an identity as a social unit.
C)The parties hint and flirt.
D)Feelings are expressed nonverbally.
E)The parties might take trips together.

Question 54

Research suggests that attraction to partners who have complementary temperaments might be rooted in biology.

Question 55

According to Knapp's model of interaction stages, symbolic public gestures that show the world that a relationship exists usually occur in which stage in interpersonal relationships?

A)experimenting
B)intensifying
C)bonding
D)integrating
E)circumscribing

Question 56

Partners tend to view one another as more attractive over time.

Question 57

Attraction to appearance is a significantly better predictor of mate choice than similar values about politics or religion.

Question 58

Which of the strategies for managing dialectical tensions are most effective, according to research?

A)balance
B)integration
C)recalibration
D)reaffirmation
E)b, c, and d are seen as the most productive

Question 59

Relational dimensions of messages make statements about how the parties feel toward one another.

Question 60

It is impossible to achieve closeness through the kind of virtual proximity the Internet provides.

Question 61

Saying to your partner, "I wish you didn't use that tone of voice with me" is an example of

A)metadata.
B)relational transgression.
C)the connection-autonomy dialectic.
D)metacommunication.
E)None of these choices are correct.

Question 62

The strategy where communicators respond to one end of the dialectical spectrum and ignore the other is

A)denial.
B)disorientation.
C)alternation.
D)segmentation.
E)recalibration.

Question 63

Your roommate says, "It's your turn to take out the trash" in a demanding tone of voice.If you want to find out the relational dimension of the message, you should

A)remind your roommate nicely that you took the trash out last night.
B)use perception checking to see if your roommate is upset with you.
C)negotiate other ways of dealing with the trash problem.
D)ask your roommate's friends to explain the real problem.
E)point out how defensive your roommate sounds.

Question 64

Social exchange theory suggests that we often seek out people who can give us

A)rewards greater than or equal to the costs we encounter in dealing with them.
B)more self-esteem.
C)relational rewards rather than physical ones.
D)something in exchange for what we give them.
E)both relational and physical things without demanding anything of us.

Question 65

When two opposing or incompatible forces exist simultaneously in an interpersonal relationship, the struggle to achieve these opposing goals creates what is called a

A)collectivistic tension.
B)differentiating end state.
C)counterfeit goal state.
D)dialectical tension.
E)proximity problem.

Question 66

The relational dimension of a message

A)deals with one or more social needs.
B)makes statements about how the parties feel toward one another.
C)are usually expressed nonverbally.
D)All of these choices are correct.
E)None of these choices are correct.

Question 67

Molly makes an excuse not to attend a party she knows Jack is invited to.She's most likely in which stage with Jack?

A)initiating
B)avoiding
C)circumscribing
D)experimenting
E)bonding

Question 68

The degree to which the partners in an interpersonal relationship like or appreciate one another is called

A)appreciation.
B)self-respect.
C)the communication of honesty.
D)affinity.
E)the like-love phenomenon.

Question 69

The best predictor of whether a couple will be friends after reaching the terminating stage is

A)whether they have children.
B)whether they were friends before their emotional involvement.
C)whether they went to counseling.
D)whether communication was positive during the break-up.
E)b and d

Question 70

"Why don't you go ahead and visit your friends without me this weekend.I'll stick around and catch up on my studies." This statement typifies which relational stage?

A)integrating
B)differentiating
C)bonding
D)terminating
E)intensifying

Question 71

"I was feeling trapped" is communication that characterizes what dialectical tension?

A)connection-autonomy
B)openness-privacy
C)predictability-novelty
D)win-lose
E)None of these choices are correct.

Question 72

Whenever we discuss a relationship with another, we are

A)arguing.
B)improving our relationship.
C)self-disclosing.
D)metacommunicating.
E)receiving double messages.

Question 73

Almost every message has

A)content dimension.
B)relational dimension.
C)both a content and a relational dimension.
D)no dimensions unless the communicators intend them to.
E)an unintentional message.

Question 74

The stage where a couple might come up with "our song" is

A)initiating.
B)experimenting.
C)intensifying.
D)integrating.
E)bonding.

Question 75

Talking the most, interrupting the other person, and changing the topic most often are all common indicators of

A)conversation control.
B)decision control.
C)powerful control.
D)context control.
E)distributional control.

Question 76

All of the following are true about similarity research except which one?

A)For the most part, we like people who are similar to us.
B)Communication ability is more important to relational happiness than being similar.
C)Being similar to others can boost your ego.
D)Attraction is greatest when we're similar to others in areas like goals and beliefs.
E)We tend to have stronger dislike for people who are similar to us but offensive.

Question 77

The term used to describe messages that people exchange, verbally or nonverbally, about their relationship is

A)microcommunication.
B)conversation.
C)discourse.
D)metacommunication.
E)miscommunication.

Question 78

Conflicting desires for both intimacy and the lack of it in an interpersonal relationship lead to the

A)connection-autonomy dialectic.
B)cohesion-revolt dialectic.
C)predictability-novelty dialectic.
D)openness-privacy dialectic.

Question 79

In any relationship, the power to determine what will happen in the relationship is a type of relational control called

A)decision control.
B)conversation control.
C)distributional control.
D)powerful control.
E)context control.

Question 80

Judith and Natalie work for the same employer and often have lunch together to talk about their current romances, problems with their families, and apartment headaches.Most Saturday afternoons they play tennis together.Which relationship stage do they seem to be in?

A)initiating
B)differentiating
C)bonding
D)intensifying
E)circumscribing