Interpersonal Communication in Marital relationships
Throughout the last half of the century, our society has watched the divorce rate of married couples skyrocket to numbers previously not seen in the past. Although the eighties had experienced a slight decline in divorce rates, "half of first marriages still were expected to dissolve before death." (Stacy, 15, 1991) Whatever happened to that meaningful exchange of wordsw, "until death do us part," uttered by the bride and groom to each other on their wedding day? What could have been the cause of such inflated divorce rates? Perhaps young married couples are not mature enough to be engaged in such a trremendous responsibility, or, maybe, the couples really do not know each other as well as they thought. Possibly, they have been blinded by infatuation rather than by true love, or, quite simply, the couples mistakenly have different relational expectations. Ultimately, all the possibilities point to one thing, which is a lack of communication. Somewhere along the line, there must have been a breakdown in the interpersonal communication process. Seemingly, the marital dyad has not used the correct communication patterns needed to sustain their relationship. In some way, each of them has notevaluated their partner carefully
I believe that by continuing research on marital stability and satisfaction many more questions will be answeres. Many more ways in which satisfaction is obtained will be uncovered as well. I know that there will never be an equation for marital satisfaction, but hopefully people will realize that communication is the key factor to having positive relationships. And by using good communication, satisfaction in those relationships will follow. "Every communication message has a relaional and content component." (Kelley & Burgoon, 41, 1991) The relational component tells how one should receive the message. It pertains to what association the sender of the message has to the recipient and how the content, or denotive meanings of their message should be read. These meanings and messages are used to define the relationship. These definitions are then used to set op guidelines or set up relational expectations. It is also found that spouses that have made an attempt to influence their spouse's behavior will probably induce a negative outcome. Then with that negative outcome, marital dissatisfaction will eventually develop. Some negative outcomes that are a result of an imbalance in marital power are "verbal/symbolic aggression, marital violence, and relational dissolution." Richmond, McCroskey, and Roach, 4, 1997) When it comes to relationships, it is important not to violate expectations, especially prescriptive expectations. Unless of course, it is a positive violation, then the actions exceed the expectations and illicit positive outcomes. Violations result in "status degradation" and "re-examining the relationship". (Kelley & Burgoon, 42, 1991) It is found that discrepancies in expectations are "higher in disturbed marriages"." (Kelley & burgoon, 43, 1991) So, if there is to be marital satisfaction, it is necessary not to create too many expectation violations in the relationship. Women are also more self-disclosive in their marriages than men, therefore sharing more of themselves with their spouses. Self-disclosure that is reciprocated by the spouse helps the relationship progress to deeper levels, therefore, projecting more satisfaction and creating a two-way communication. It helps to empower each member of the dyad and allows for easier maintenance. In a marriage, there are expectations that people set for each other. Whether these expectations consist of a spouse taking the garbage out, a spouse calling to say that they will be late, or expecting that a spouse not set any rules at all; they are, all the same, expectations that individuals hope will be met. Relational expectations may either be prescriptive or predictive. "Prescriptive expectations are one's beliefs about what behaviors should be performed or avoided." (Kelley & Burggon, 41, 1991) "predictive expectations are one's beliefs about what behaviors are likely to occur." (Kelley & Burgoon, 41, 1991) Members of marital dyads do not like when their partner tries to influence or coerce them. The highest satisfaction is reported when each member used "referent power". Referent power is based on trust, respect and care. "In the context of a marriage, the more affection and respect one has for the other, the more that person will try to please the other." (Richmond, McCroskey, & Roach, 5, 1997) Referent power is when a member defers power to the other member. This occurs when one member
Some common words found in the essay are:
Kelley Burgoon, McCroskey Roach, Kunkel Birch, , Interactions Stability, Empowerment Decision-Making, Hatfield Rapson, marital satisfaction, Kelley Burggon, Expectations Fulfillment, interpersonal communication, burleson kunkel birch, kelley burgoon, kunkel birch, burleson kunkel, day day, richmond mccroskey, mccroskey roach, richmond mccroskey roach, Burleson Kunkel, communication activities, 41 1991, expectations one's beliefs, roach 1 1997, one's beliefs behaviors,
Approximate Word count = 2300
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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