Relational control is the most dynamic of the three dimensions of social relationships proposed by Millar and Rogers (1987) – the other two are trust and intimacy. Control represents the vertical “distance” between the persons in an ongoing interaction; it refers to the pattern of rights and obligations to define or direct and to defer
Relational dialectics is an interpretive theory of meaning-making in familial and non-kin relationships. Formally articulated in 1996 by Leslie Baxter and Barbara Montgomery, the theory is grounded in the philosophy of dialogism articulated by Russian language philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin. It relies primarily on qualitative methods with a goal of rendering a rich understanding of the
Relational maintenance refers to activities that occur in interpersonal relationships after the relationship is developed and before the relationship is terminated (Stafford 1994). Although the term implies a temporal stage of relationship life, communication scholars have more frequently focused on the processes that sustain a relationship. For example, Dindia & Canary (1993) identified four common
Schemas are defined as large-scale cognitive structures representing general knowledge, often also described as subjective theories, about some object or concept (Smith 1998). Their main functions include aiding in the interpretation of external stimuli, directing attention to specific types of external information, and guiding the retrieval and judgment of information from memory. That is, schemas
Approximately 50 percent of first-time marriages, and an even higher percentage of remarriages, end in separation or divorce. Because researchers and theorists are concerned with the prevalence of relational termination, they have devoted a great deal of effort to understanding the antecedents, processes, and consequences associated with divorce and the dissolution of romantic relationships. A
Relational uncertainty is the degree of confidence people have in their perceptions of involvement within interpersonal relationships. The construct has its roots in Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT; Berger & Calabrese 1975), which emphasized the relevance of uncertainty to interactions between strangers. As scholars began to examine URT in the domain of close relationships, they recognized
Despite the proliferation of self-efficacy research that has occurred over the past 40 years, only relatively recently (i.e., over the last decade or so) have investigators turned their attention to the additional efficacy beliefs that are formed specifically within relational contexts. The tripartite efficacy model provides a conceptual framework for the investigation of this issue
Relational Models Theory Definition The relational models theory describes the four fundamental forms of social relationships: communal sharing, authority ranking, equality matching, and market pricing. People in communal sharing relationships feel that they have something essential in common, whereas outsiders are different. Participants in an authority ranking relationship see themselves as ordered in a legitimate
Despite the proliferation of self-efficacy research that has occurred over the past 40 years, only relatively recently (i.e., over the last decade or so) have investigators turned their attention to the additional efficacy beliefs that are formed specifically within relational contexts. The tripartite efficacy model provides a conceptual framework for the investigation of this issue