Deck 10: Interpersonal Communication in Close Relationships

Question 1

Mother, son, grandfather, and aunt are all examples of family roles.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

People in arranged marriages are usually unhappy with their relationship.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Which of the following reasons is most commonly cited for ending a friendship due to changes in life circumstances?

A) having a child
B) moving away
C) getting married
D) experiencing an illness in the family

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of the health benefits of marriage identified in your textbook?

A) Married people live longer.
B) Married people tend to be healthier.
C) Married people have better sexual health.
D) Married people are less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

Question 5

Friendship rules are almost always explicit, rather than implicit.

Question 6

Research indicates that most American households are headed by a married couple.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about other-sex friendships is false?

A) They provide men a chance to be emotionally expressive and women a chance to engage in shared activities.
B) They often contain some degree of sexual or physical attraction.
C) According to one study, about half of college students engage in sexual behavior with their other-sex friends.
D) They are almost always closer than same-sex friendships.

Question 8

The practice of polygamy is, by definition, an exception to which social expectation about marriage?

A) It is voluntary.
B) It is based on love.
C) It is permanent.
D) It is exclusive.

Question 9

At which stage of friendship do people begin to think of themselves as friends and their communication becomes more personal?

A) friendly relations stage
B) moves toward friendship stage
C) nascent friendship stage
D) stabilized friendship stage

Question 10

Regarding sex differences in friendships, which of the following is false?

A) Women and men report equal levels of closeness in their same-sex friendships.
B) Male-male friendships tend to emphasize shared activities and common interests.
C) Female-female friendships tend to emphasize conversational and emotional expressiveness.
D) Both women and men see their other-sex friends as more loyal and helpful than their same-sex friends.

Question 11

In the ________ stage of friendship, people begin to drift apart and might lose contact with one another.

A) nascent friendship stage
B) waning friendship stage
C) declining friendship stage
D) drifting friendship stage

Question 12

Research indicates that becoming friends with your customers is almost always bad for business.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about friendships is false?

A) Friendships are voluntary.
B) Friendships are governed by rules.
C) Friendships are the same for women and men.
D) Friendships usually occur between peers.

Question 14

Research by Messman, Canary, and Hause found that people keep other-sex relationships nonromantic for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A) they aren't ready to be in a romantic relationship.
B) they aren't attracted to their friend.
C) they identify as asexual.
D) they are concerned about their sibling or friend who is romantically interested in the friend.

Question 15

When considering a potential spouse, someone from an individualistic culture such as the United States would likely ask:

A) "What's in it for my family?"
B) "How does my heart feel?"
C) "What will others think?"
D) "Will this marriage last?

Question 16

Siblings usually comprise a child's first peer group.

Question 17

Work relationships usually involve both a task dimension and a social dimension.

Question 18

Just because friendship is voluntary, that doesn't mean we choose our friends arbitrarily.

Question 19

Open relationships are observed between heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individuals alike.

Question 20

Single-parent families can include biological children, step-children, and/or adopted children.

Question 21

In which marriage type do spouses adopt conventional gender roles and tend to avoid conflict?

A) traditional
B) separate
C) independent
D) mixed

Question 22

Identify and explain the benefits that are often denied by federal law to couples who are not legally married.

Question 23

Identify and explain two reasons why it matters how partners negotiate the division of everyday tasks.

Question 24

According to Gottman's couple typology, which type of couple handles disagreements in a way that is open, but their discussions tend to be competitive rather than cooperative?

A) validating
B) volatile
C) conflict-avoidant
D) hostile

Question 25

Your ________ is the family that includes your parents and your siblings.

A) family of procreation
B) family of origin
C) extended family
D) nuclear family

Question 26

During conflict episodes, someone playing which family role tends to agree with whatever is said in order to keep others from getting angry?

A) computer
B) distracter
C) placater
D) blamer

Question 27

Which type of sexual harassment includes requesting romantic or sexual favors in exchange for preferential treatment at work?

A) hostile work environment
B) sexual bargaining
C) quid pro quo
D) harassing requests

Question 28

Explain what it means that friendships are typically between peers, and give examples of friendships in which this is not true.

Question 29

According to Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, cognitive models for what marriage is and should be are called

A) marital hierarchies.
B) marital schemata.
C) sexual roles.
D) bonding patterns.

Question 30

Compare and contrast family roles and family rituals, giving concrete examples of each.

Question 31

Let's say you're friends with your co-worker, Eric, who's up for a promotion. Which of the following reflects the task dimension of your relationship?

A) Based on his performance, you don't feel Eric deserves the promotion.
B) As his friend, you want Eric to get the promotion.
C) If Eric doesn't get the promotion, you will console him and help cheer him up.
D) All of these are examples of the task dimension of your relationship.

Question 32

Which of the following statements about relationships with clients at work is correct?

A) A good relationship with clients is the single greatest predictor of job satisfaction.
B) Most companies encourage their employees to develop close, personal friendships with their clients to help sales.
C) Having friendships with clients reduces some of the pressure or expectation related to job performance.
D) Close friendships with clients can put workers in an uncomfortable or unethical position.

Question 33

Why is the discussion of routine, mundane tasks important to consider in long-term romantic relationships?

A) Most of the communication that takes place in these relationships falls in this category.
B) How to handle these issues can become a major issue of contention.
C) The way couples handle these tasks reflects the balance of power in their relationship.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 34

From a legal perspective, what is the most heavily regulated relationship in the United States?

A) parent-child relationships
B) parent-adoptive child relationships
C) sibling relationships
D) marital relationships

Question 35

Gottman has discovered that satisfied couples maintain what ratio of positive to negative communication?

A) 5:1
B) 8:1
C) 14:1
D) 1:1

Question 36

Research shows that which of the following is positively related to your job satisfaction?

A) being friends with your co-workers and boss
B) being friends with your customers or clients
C) maintaining personal boundaries at work
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 37

Preliminary research has shown that, compared to heterosexual couples, homosexual couples tend to

A) display more overt hostility during conflict.
B) terminate their relationships at the first sign of conflict.
C) take conflict less personally.
D) avoid conflict as much as possible.

Question 38

According to your text, this kind of relationship is an exception to the general rule that friendships are voluntary.

A) friends-with-benefits relationship
B) platonic relationship
C) parasocial relationship
D) polygamous relationship

Question 39

Which of the following statements about same-sex partners is true?

A) Some of them marry or form domestic partnerships.
B) Communication in sex-same partnerships resembles that in other-sex partnerships.
C) Satisfaction levels in same-sex partnerships are equal to those in other-sex partnerships.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 40

Identify and explain the primary exceptions to the expectations that marriage is exclusive and marriage is voluntary.

Question 41

Define the social and task dimensions of work relationships and indicate how they can make social relationships among co-workers challenging.

Question 42

Differentiate between upward, downward, and lateral communication in the workplace.

Question 43

Same-sex marriage is legal in only some countries. Using what you know about the significance of marital and romantic relationships, make a case for or against the legalization of same-sex marriage. Base your argument not just on your personal beliefs or individual morality, but also on what you have learned in this chapter about the social expectations for marriage and their exceptions.

Question 44

In no more than three sentences, write a definition of family. Be sure your definition is clear about what counts and does not count as a family relationship. For the rest of your answer, defend your definition, making reference to alternative ways of defining the family and justifying why you defined it the way you did.

Question 45

Create a guide for managing successful relationships in the workplace. Generate at least two reasoned and well-articulated pieces of advice that you think will help people maintain successful relationships with co-workers, bosses, and customers (six ideas total). Write your responses as if you're actually going to present them to a company's employees. Make sure to include examples to illustrate your ideas.

Question 46

Your textbook identified two important patterns of emotional expression that distinguish happy from unhappy couples. Describe the two patterns of emotional exchange in detail. Of the two, which do you feel is more damaging to a couple? Justify your choice by drawing from other information you have learned in the chapter about satisfying and dissatisfying intimate relationships.

Question 47

Think about your parents' relationship for a moment. Following Fitzpatrick's couple types, identify which marital schemata represents your parents' communication pattern. Give specific examples that illustrate and justify your classification. (If you do not have a couple you consider to be your parents, identify another couple you know and address the question relative to that couple.)

Question 48

Explain the basic principles behind Petronio's communication privacy management theory. How do couples/families decide the process of sharing information? How are these rules communicated to others? What advantages are there to sharing information freely with outsiders? What are the advantages of keeping information private?

Question 49

English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, "Friendship is a sheltering tree." Explain the meaning behind this statement, making explicit reference to the emotional, material, and health benefits of friendship. Use examples from your own friendships to illustrate Coleridge's point.