Deck 2: Building Interpersonal Relationships

Question 1

One of the reasons a leadership role emerges in small-group interactions is that:

A) roles are flexible.
B) people like to be in charge.
C) decision making is a dyadic interaction.
D) coordinating group interaction is relatively complex.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Another name for mediated public communication is:

A) mass communication.
B) face to face communication.
C) dyadic communication.
D) virtual reality.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to your text, interpersonal communication can be defined as:

A) constellation of behaviors.
B) cognitive constructs.
C) mini cultures.
D) all of the above.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Scholars who take a dialectical approach to defining relationships see them as:

A) mini cultures.
B) constellation of behaviors.
C) collections of contradictory forces.
D) cognitive schemata.

Question 5

Wilmot says that "People are in a relationship . . . when both persons can say, 'I see you seeing me.'" This statement supports which characteristic of interpersonal relationships?

A) Relationships begin with awareness.
B) Relationships are analyzed and evaluated.
C) Relationships are influenced by outside forces.
D) Relationships can control us.

Question 6

"Joint actions"

A) independent action without regard for the other.
B) memory operational packets (MOPs).
C) interdependent behaviors of partners in a relationship.
D) natural language labels.

Question 7

Which of the following could not contribute to an MOP?

A) A first date
B) A recurring argument
C) An anniversary party
D) All of the above; an MOP can consist of any scene in a relationship

Question 8

Which is not part of a relational prototype?

A) Mini culture
B) Label
C) Criterial attribute
D) Communicative indicator

Question 9

Factors affecting relationships include:

A) your family.
B) your job.
C) your country.
D) all of the above.

Question 10

Which is not true of the difference between group and interpersonal communication?

A) Coordinating group interaction is more complex than coordinating interpersonal interaction.
B) Formalized roles are more likely to occur in interpersonal communication than in small-group communication.
C) There are more people involved in small-group than in interpersonal interaction.
D) Interpersonal interactions are less stable than small-group interactions, because if the link between members is destroyed, communication ceases.

Question 11

As we add people to an interaction (i.e., as we go from interpersonal to small-group to mass communication), which of the following changes occurs?

A) Feedback becomes more immediate.
B) Communication roles become more formal.
C) The message can be better adapted to the specific needs of the receiver.
D) All of the above happen.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of face-to-face public communication?

A) A newscaster delivers the weather report on the six o'clock news.
B) Two friends gossip with one another.
C) Students work on a class project together.
D) A politician addresses a nominating convention.

Question 13

Which is true about humans' need for interpersonal relationships?

A) Without interpersonal relationships our physiological health can suffer.
B) Interpersonal relationships affect our psychological well-being but have little or no effect on our physiological health.
C) Interpersonal relationships lead to greater self-sufficiency.
D) Interpersonal relationships are necessary until about age six, but not later in adulthood.

Question 14

Clear organization, careful preplanning, and a fairly formal style are hallmarks of which of the following levels of communication?

A) Intrapersonal communication
B) Interpersonal communication
C) Small-group communication
D) Face-to-face public communication

Question 15

The most highly personal, disconnected, repetitive, and the least formally logical form of communication occurs at which of the following levels?

A) Intrapersonal communication
B) Interpersonal communication
C) Small-group communication
D) Face-to-face public communication

Question 16

Which is not a characteristic of public relationships (in comparison to private relationships)?

A) Substitutability
B) Use of particularistic knowledge
C) Extrinsic rewards
D) Normative rules

Question 17

Which is an example of a relationship that would fall toward the public end of the public-private relationship continuum?

A) Friends
B) Enemies
C) Family members
D) A teacher and student (in a mass lecture course)

Question 18

Which is true about the relational continuum model that defines public and private relationships?

A) Every relationship fits cleanly at one extreme or the other.
B) Relationship profiles are very stable and rarely change.
C) Different skills and sensitivities are needed for different kinds of relationships.
D) Relational trajectories are seldom defined through communication.

Question 19

Juan has a keen sense of when to adapt and when not to. He is not afraid of change and can handle relational problems creatively and effectively. He operates at which level of relationship competence?

A) Minimal
B) Satisfactory
C) Optimal
D) External

Question 20

Which of the following is not true of public relationships?

A) They are deemphasized by our culture.
B) They remind us of social expectations.
C) They limit a sense of separateness.
D) They are meant to control and pace intimacy.

Question 21

Steven Duck believes relationships are carefully constructed. This suggests that:

A) good relationships just happen.
B) relationships that take work are not strongly constructed.
C) building a relationship should be like shopping for the perfect item.
D) relationships result from active, thoughtful, and skilled interaction.

Question 22

Healthy relationships are characterized by which of the following?

A) Crossover
B) Relationshipping
C) Meta-communication
D) MOPs

Question 23

Your text suggests that self-competence can help build relationships because:

A) people who are sure of themselves are more skilled at building relationships than those who are uncertain or preoccupied with themselves.
B) rules of self-conduct must be mutually negotiated.
C) assessment of relationships enhances them.
D) none of the above.

Question 24

Crossover refers to:

A) the competence to cross freely from one situation to another without carryover.
B) when stress in the workplace affects the spouse at home.
C) when the number of people involved in an interaction changes the kind of communication from one type to another, that is, intrapersonal to interpersonal.
D) all of the above.

Question 25

Altercasting occurs when:

A) people form relationships only with others who will accept them as they want to be.
B) people are optimally competent.
C) people value flexibility.
D) any of the above takes place.

Question 26

The term MOPs stands for which of the following?

A) Most optimal people
B) Make outcomes positive
C) Most optimistic possibilities
D) Many other powers
E) Memory organization packets

Question 27

This approach to interpersonal communication is based on the physical proximity of the two people:

A) Developmental approach
B) Situational approach
C) In situ approach
D) Relational de-escalation approach
E) Relational escalation approach

Question 28

This kind of information is based on your own personal attributes:

A) Cultural-level information
B) Sociological-level information
C) Gender information
D) Psychological-level information
E) All of the above

Question 29

In the research reported in Chapter 2, Luecken et al. study which of the following?

A) Anorexia and bulimia in college women
B) Negative representation of race and ethnicity on television
C) Violent video games and children
D) The consequences of childhood adversity on adult health
E) Spirituality in healing

Question 30

The dialectical approach views relationships as collections of harmonious forces.

Question 31

According to your text, all communication is essentially interpersonal.

Question 32

Thoughts and expectations are just as important in defining relationships as actual behaviors.

Question 33

Shotter's notion of joint actions refers to the coordinated interaction that develops in relationships.

Question 34

When people daydream or fantasize, consider a difficult personal problem, or try to make sense of the world around them, they are engaging in interpersonal communication.

Question 35

One of the differences between interpersonal and small-group communication is that in groups, communication can continue even if the link between two members is cut.

Question 36

Wilmot's "I see you seeing me" approach to relationship development suggests that interpersonal relationships begin when people recognize each other's likes and dislikes.

Question 37

Content and relational messages are unique to private relationships.

Question 38

The authors of your text believe that the different kinds of communication situations (like interpersonal, small-group, and mediated public communication) are clearly different from one another and mutually exclusive.

Question 39

Baby monkeys bond more readily to a surrogate mother that produces milk than to one that looks like their mothers but does not produce milk.

Question 40

Public relationships are void of advantages because they are so impersonal.

Question 41

Once partners define their relationship as following the private path, it will never change back toward the public side.

Question 42

As a culture, America tends to value private relationships more than public relationships.

Question 43

The authors believe that we should try our best to form intimate private relationships with everyone we meet.

Question 44

Judith Martin (Miss Manners) believes that Americans are too formal and polite and should work on being more intimate and personal.

Question 45

People who coordinate relationships through altercasting are considered to be optimally competent.

Question 46

The difference between optimally and satisfactorily competent individuals is that optimally competent communicators know when to adapt and when not to.

Question 47

Optimally competent individuals generally ignore negative feedback.

Question 48

According to Wilmot, relationships are more than the sum of their parts.

Question 49

Honeycutt believes that MOPs help stabilize relationships.

Question 50

Trenholm and Jensen believe that relationships must be re-created and refined through communication.

Question 51

Relational meaning is conveyed as much by how something is said as by what is said.

Question 52

A critical part of goal competence is problem solving.

Question 53

Given the public-private model of interpersonal communication in the text, discuss the implications of relational trajectories in terms of relational definition, communication skills, and change.

Question 54

Discuss the different forms of communication. What are the characteristics of each? How does communication change in each? How does each contain some aspect of interpersonal communication?

Question 55

What are some of the social functions of etiquette? What is Martin's attitude toward etiquette and the freedom of expression currently in vogue?

Question 56

Batman and the Joker, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty, Road Runner and Wiley Coyote, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader all are archenemies of fiction. Consider the nature of their relationships. Apply the public/private model of relationships to these couplings. Explain whether you believe these bonds to be more public or private in nature.

Question 57

Identify Harris's three levels of role competence and explain how each affects relationships.

Question 58

Explain how relationships can function as mini cultures.

Question 59

How do interpersonal interactions affect human physical and emotional development? Mention specific behavioral and physiological changes in your discussion.