Unit 25 Course Code: PPHC 201

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (II)

An interpersonal communication model. Dyadic vs small group interaction. Development of dyadic
relationships. Managing interpersonal relationships.

Course Instructor: Wajeeha Nisar Khan

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Interpersonal Communication
 Interpersonal Communication Model
 Dyadic Vs Small Group Interaction
 Development Of Dyadic Relationships
 Stages Of Interpersonal Relationship
- Knapp And Vangelisti (2000) Stages Of Interaction
 Motivation For Maintaining Relation & Relationship Communication
 Motivation For Terminating Relationship And Relationship Communication
 Managing Interpersonal Relationship
 Islamic Perspective
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

 Communication occurs at any given time and at anywhere

o Formal
o Informal
 Interpersonal Communication
o Spontaneous: Laughing when a friend tells a funny joke without planning to do so.
o Unplanned: Striking up a conversation with a stranger while waiting in line at a coffee shop.
o Loosely Organized: Discussing weekend plans with friends and letting the conversation flow naturally without a strict
agenda.
o Ungrammatical: Saying, "Me and my friends are going to the movies" instead of "My friends and I are going to the
movies" in casual conversation.
AN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION MODEL
DYADIC VS SMALL GROUP INTERACTION
DYADIC INTERACTION

 Interpersonal communication involves a dyad, or two people in close contact

 This makes the potential for sending, receiving and evaluating messages is divided between 2 halves of the
dyad

 Both participants alternate the roles

 Shared responsibility
DYADIC INTERACTION

 Purpose of the communication in a dyadic relationship:

o Sharing of meaning
o Share wider range of feelings and emotions
o Deeper psychological impact
o Exchanges filled with personal experiences and observations
o Increases awareness of their feelings and self concepts
SMALL GROUP INTERACTION

 Interactions among three or more people who are connected

through a common purpose

 Mutual influence, and a shared identity

 Each member has different roles and status

 Balance of communication shifts

 Group members as sources and destinations and channels

 Purpose tend to be problem solving

DEVELOPMENT OF DYADIC RELATIONSHIPS
 DEVELOPMENT OF DYADIC RELATIONSHIPS

 Knapp and Vangelisti (2000) identified 10 interaction stages of interpersonal relationships.

 Baxter (1983, 1984) and others have experimentally attempted to validate these stages.

Relational Maintenance

Last five stages occur during

First five stages cover Relational Relational Deterioration—
Development—the process by the process by which
which relationships grow. relationships disintegrate.
 Phases of relationship development (Mark Knapp)

 Initiating

o First stage of relational development

o Conscious and unconscious judgements of others

o Attempts to find commonality

o Nonverbal initiation
 Phases of Relationship Development (Mark Knapp)

 Experimenting

o Individuals have clearly decided to find out more about each other.

o This stage includes sharing personal information at a safe level: what

music, people, classes, professors, and food they like or dislike.

o Most relationships do not grow beyond this ‘superficial’ point

 Phases of Relationship Development (Mark Knapp)

 Intensifying

o As relationships develop into friendships,

participation and awareness are intensified

o Steps are taken to strengthen the bond by asking

for reciprocating favors

o Self-disclosure, trust

o Verbal relationship

o Sharing expectations, assumptions and

experiences
 Phases of Relationship Development (Mark Knapp)

 Integrating

o Relationship development

o Meet the expectation of other people

o mirroring each other’s behavior in manner, dress, and

language.

o Merging of social circles

o Do not lose identity, but a need to please one another

 Phases of Relationship Development (Mark Knapp)

 Bonding

o Final stage of relationship development

o Serious commitments and sacrifices are made

o Bonding of a relationship, is a powerful force to

make relationship better or worse
 Relational Maintenance (Mark Knapp)

 They begin establishing strategies for keeping the

relationship together.

o Here relationship might be more appropriately

depicted as a jagged, rather than a straight, line.
o Jaggling between closeness and distance in different
times.
o Baxter’s Dialectic tensions
o Contradictory desires to maintain relation
o Integration/ Separation
 Phases of Relationship Disintegration

 Differentiating

o Differentiations signify separation

o Occurs at every stage of relationship development

o Increase in interpersonal distance

o Freedom and individuality is sought

o Games to test the relationship or other’s involvement

 Phases of Relationship Disintegration

 Circumscribing

o Less communication

o Conversations are controlled and circumscribed

o On the surface seems okay, but underlying

difficulties are evident

o In presence of others, interactions increased

 Phases of Relationship Disintegration

 Stagnating

o All efforts to communicate are abandoned

o Interpersonal atmosphere appear to be cold

o Non verbal message are often the only feeling states expressed
 Phases of Relationship Disintegration

 Avoiding

o One or both parties act as though the other

person does not exist

o Avoid interaction

o Meetings are arranged or excuses are made

o Arguing, fighting, disagreeing, and flight mark

their interactions
 Phases of Relationship Disintegration

 Terminating

o Termination of relationship can be immediate or delayed

o Termination is dependent on type of relationship

o Final stage of relationship disintegration

o Methods of termination dependent on future goals and

expectation
MOTIVATION FOR INITIATING RELATIONSHIPS
&
RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION
 Proximity: Being close to people (work, school) leads to Interpersonal relationships

 Attractiveness: the person’s physical attractiveness plus their “social value”.

 Responsiveness: we select friends from people who show an interest in us.

 Similarity: our friends like or dislike the same things we do.

 Complimentary: we sometimes bond with people whose strengths are our weaknesses.

 People often maintain their relationships for different reasons that initially beginning them.

 People that are most satisfied with their relationships tend to work the hardest to maintain them (they may

use the joint “we” rather than “I”).

 Co-Cultural Differences
 Gender Differences: Women tend to use more maintenance strategies in relationships
compared to men, as noted by Ragsdale in 1996.
 Ethnic and Cultural Variances: Different ethnic groups prioritize distinct needs in interpersonal
relationships. For example, Latinos emphasize relational support, Asian Americans value positive exchange
of ideas, African Americans prioritize respect and acceptance, and Anglo Americans focus on individual
needs, according to Collier in 1996.
 Generational Perspectives: Different generations have varying views on intergenerational communication,
as highlighted by Harwood, McKee, and Lin in 2000.
 Nonverbal Involvement in Romantic Relationships: People exhibit varying levels of nonverbal involvement
and intimacy with their romantic partners, as discussed by Guerrero in 1996
MOTIVATIONS FOR TERMINATING RELATIONSHIPS
&
RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION
 Hurtful messages: Messages that create emotional pain -can become a problem when

they become a pattern.

 Deceptive Communication: The “little white lie,” the non-revelation of the “whole

truth,” and the omission of some details.

The deliberate and regular deception can lead to the destruction of trust and the end of

the relationship.

 Aggressiveness: Care about their own needs at the expense of others.

 Argumentativeness: Always combative.

 Defensiveness: Occurs when a person feels attacked.

 Jealousy and Betrayal

MANAGING INTERPERSONAL RELATIOSHIPS
Managing Interpersonal Relationship

 Levels of Social Interaction

 Alternating Monologue

o The least productive and least fulfilling kind of

communication

o Seen in manipulative relationships

o Preoccupied with own concerns, not open to new

information
Managing Interpersonal Relationship

 Levels of Social Interaction

 Stimulus-Response Interaction

o The speaker proceeds in a set manner

o The message content, tone, context, and the receiver's previous

experiences and beliefs can influence the way they interpret and
respond to the communication.
Managing Interpersonal Relationship

 Levels of Social Interaction

 Interaction with Feedback
o More common and productive
o Inquiring for feedback situations
o Responses based on habit and learning on
interpersonal factors
Managing Interpersonal Relationship

 Levels of Social Interaction

 Interaction with Empathy
o Most productive form of communication
o Deep understanding of other people
o Identifying with thoughts
o Feeling their pain
o Sharing their joy
Managing Interpersonal Relationship

 Tips to Manage Interpersonal Relationships

o Learn To Listen

o Express Openness

o Communicate Often

o Be Respectful

o Resolve Conflicts

o Offer Empathy

o Set Boundaries
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON MAINTINING RELATIONS
 ً َ َ ْ َّ َ َ َ َ ْ َ َ ْ َ َ َ َ َ َ
ً‫ال َكثيا‬ ْ َّ ِّ ُ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ َ َّ َّ َ ُّ َ ٰٓ َ
ۭ ِ ُ ۭ ‫ث ِمنهما ِرج‬ ُ ‫ق ِمنها زوجها وب‬ ُ ‫يـأيها ٱلناسُ ٱتقواُ ربكمُ ٱل ِذى خلقكم من نفسُ و ِحدةُ وخل‬
ً ‫م َرق‬ ْ ‫ان َع َل ْي ُك‬َ َ َ َّ َّ َ َ َْ ْ َ َ َُ ٓ َ َ َّ َ َّ َّ َ ً ٓ َ َ
‫يبا‬
ۭ ِ ُ ُ ‫ك‬ ُ
‫ٱّلل‬ ُ
‫ن‬ ‫إ‬ِ ُ
ۚ ُ
‫ام‬ ‫ح‬‫ر‬ ‫ٱْل‬ ‫و‬ ‫ۦ‬ ‫ه‬‫ب‬
ِِ ُ
‫ون‬ ‫ل‬‫ء‬ ‫ا‬‫س‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ى‬ ‫ذ‬
ِ ‫ٱل‬ ُ
‫ٱّلل‬ ُ
‫وا‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ٱت‬ ‫و ِنسا ُۭء ُۚ و‬

O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its
mate, and through both He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah—in Whose Name
you appeal to one another—and ˹honour˺ family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you. (An-Nisa 4:1)

“You shall not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another.
Shall I not guide you to a thing? Which when done, will make you love one another: Spread the
greeting of Salam among you.” (Sahih Muslim)
 And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend
wastefully.
(Al-Isra’ 17: 26).

Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who
believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to
relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes
prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in
poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the
righteous. (Al-Baqarah 2: 177).