Interpersonal Communication Chapter 11 (Romantic Relationships)

➢ What is the process of navigation?

Navigation is an ongoing process of remaining committed and living a life together despite ups and downs and surprising pleasant and unpleasant encounters. It involves relational communication, placemaking, and everyday interaction.

What is Agape?

Agape is a blend of storge and eros. Loving others without the expectation of personal gain or return. Agapic love follows intense passion of eros yet the consistency of storage. Generous and selfless acts show ones happiness and love. Studies do not show anyone to be purely agapic, but many people have agape tendencies.

➢ Does cohabiting before marrying decrease or increase the likelihood that marriage will endure?

Cohabitation before marrying decreases the likelihood that marriage will endure. A significant number of people who are cohabitation expect to marry, just not the person they are cohabitation with.

➢ What "should" occur in the grave dressing stage of relationship de-escalation?

During the Grave Dressing Stage partners bury the relationship and accept its end. They begin to lament on making sense of the relationship, what it meant, why it failed, and how it affected us. People are usually sad of the realization that something that seemed once possible has failed.

What is Eros?

Eros is a powerful, passionate style of love that blazes to life suddenly. Includes intense sexual, spiritual, intellectual, or emotional attraction, or all of these. Erotic lovers self disclose early. Men are more likely to be erotic lovers than women.

What is Ludus?

Ludus is playful love. Ludic lovers see love as a game that requires competition and is a challenge. They suit people who enjoy romance but aren't ready to settle down. Commitment is not the goal. People go through ludic periods after long term relationships. More men tend to be ludic lovers than women.

What is Mania?

Mania is manic love such as having the passion of eros, but also the playfulness of ludic rules. This combination could be risky or dangerous. Manic lovers are unsure if others really love them, so they devise tests to check their love. They often experience emotional extremes, ranging from euphoria to despair. They also obsess over relationships.

What is Pragma?

Pragma is a practical love which blends calculated planning seen in lupus with the stable security of storage. Practical considerations are foundation of enduring commitment. These values guide arranged marriages based on economic and social criteria. Online dating services utilize pragmatic forms of love since they involve the selection of specific criteria.

➢ Does reciprocal negativity increase or decrease conflict and dissatisfaction in marriages?

Reciprocal negativity inevitably increases conflict and dissatisfaction in marriage since only the flaws and shortcomings are portrayed through such communication thus resulting in an unsatisfying relationship.

➢ In which stage of deterioration do relational partners tend to criticize their exes?

Relational partners tend to criticize their exes during the Social Support stage of the Deterioration of Romantic relationships. In this stage partners seek sympathy from family and friends and use self serving biases to save face and secure support and sympathy from others. By doing so they may criticize their exes and call their friends and families to be on their side.

➢ What are styles of love?

Since people differ in how they experience love and express love there are 3 primary styles of love and 3 secondary styles (which are combinations of primary styles of love) that may be at play. Primary include: Eros, Storge, Ludus. Secondary Include: Pragma, Mania, Agape.

What is Storge?

Storge is a comfortable and friendship and compatibility based love. Storgic love develops gradually. Grown out of common interests, values, and life goals.

➢ Besides self-concept, what other two elements influence interpersonal attractions?

The bases of attraction are not universal but are shaped by culture. There are 3 influences on initial attraction. 1. Physical Attractiveness- places importance on physical characteristics. 2. Proximity- we can only interact with people we meet in person or in social media. 3. Similarity- "birds of a feather flock together". Most people seek romantic partners whose values, attitudes and lifestyles are similar to their own.

➢ In which stage of relationships would people downplay problems?

The downplaying of problems may occur in the revising stage since at this stage partners will put aside the euphoria experienced in the intensifying stage to focus on differences that may result as a problem. Downplaying problems may even be prevalent in the Intensifying stage since the creating of hyperbolic idealizations may hinder the understanding of potential detrimental differences. Downplaying may also occur in the Dyadic Processes of the Deterioration Stage of a relationship. In this stage people may avoid talking about problems since it may be perceived as painful in light of the decline of intimacy.

➢ What is the foundation for enduring romantic relationships?

The foundation to enduring romantic relationship is commitment.

➢ In what stage of relationships would people be most likely to follow conversational scripts?

The invitational communication stage may elicit the likely abidance of conversational scripts since the stage involves actively communication to a person with the intent of inferences a relationship level meaning of relationship interest.

➢ In which stage of deterioration is there a breakdown of established patterns, understandings and routines?

The stage of deterioration that undergoes a breakdown of established patterns, understanding, and routines (relational culture) is Dyadic Processes.

➢ What are the three dimensions of committed romantic relationships?

The three dimensions of romantic relationships include Passion, Commitment, and Intimacy. Passion involves intensely positive feelings and fervent desire for another person. Commitment involves a decision to stay in a romantic relationship. It is not the same thing as love. Love is a feeling based on the rewards of our involvement with a person. Commitment is a decision to remain in a relationship, to invest and be active in overlooking flaws and challenges. Commitment is the determination to stay together despite trouble, disappointments, etc... Intimacy is feelings of closeness, connection, and tenderness. It makes partners comfortable with each other and enjoy being together unequivocally. Intimacy seems to be less distinct than passion and commitment and flows between both passion and commitment.

➢ Is it true that most people match themselves with others whom they think are about as physically attractive as they are?

Yes since some of the great influences on initial attraction have to do with proximity, attractiveness, and similarity. If the other person is similarly physically attractive then there may be a match.