Relational & Conflict Communication Ch6 Full Test Bank

CHAPTER 6

RELATIONAL & CONFLICT COMMUNICATION

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. __________ theory claims that people evaluate their relationships in a more-or-less rational manner to ensure that they maximize their relational rewards and minimize their relational costs.
2. Social Penetration
3. Social Exchange *
4. Onion
5. Symbolic Interaction
6. Frame Analysis

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. ___________ occurs when you intentionally reveal information about yourself.
2. Self-disclosure *
3. Self-realization
4. Self-examination
5. Social exchange
6. Looking glass self

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The fact that we use communication to engage, manage, and disengage from relationships suggests that relationships _________.
2. are static
3. slowly progress toward less personal over time
4. develop *
5. are shaped by relational dialectics
6. require effective listening

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Which group of people best describes an example of attachments?
2. Best Friend, Boss, Teacher
3. Mom, Dad, Aunt, Grandma *
4. Mom, Acquaintance, Sister
5. Best Friend, Dad, Boss
6. Coach, Cab Driver, Dentist

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. Affiliations tend to be the product of a satisfaction-seeking or defensive alliance. This means they __________.
2. tend to aggregate
3. tend to be more instrumental or functional in how we go about our lives *
4. are interrupted with ease
5. can easily become attachments
6. can be easily misunderstood

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. One thing that relationships give us is _________, the knowledge that there are people who share our values and interests.
2. social relation
3. opportunity to provide nurturance
4. social penetration
5. people to help us fill leisure time
6. social integration *

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. Another provision of relationships, ____________, is embodied in the phrase, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
2. social relation
3. opportunity to provide nurturance *
4. social penetration
5. social integration
6. looking glass self

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. When we are unsure about how the other person in an interaction will act, we experience __________ uncertainty.
2. behavioral *
3. acclimation
4. relational
5. social
6. philosophical

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The assumption that relational progress is often systematic and predictable is central to __________ theory.
2. Social Penetration *
3. Uncertainty Reduction
4. Social Exchange
5. Symbolic Interaction
6. Frame

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Your girlfriend frequently complains that even though you have a great time when alone, you really need to go out more with friends. This is an example of the tension that sometimes occurs in a relationship best described as the ______ dialectic.
2. Removal-Uncertainty
3. Inclusion-Seclusion *
4. Openness-Closedness
5. Connection-Autonomy
6. Inside-Outside

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Your boyfriend frequently complains that although he loves your frankness, maybe sometime you might want to keep your thoughts about his mother to yourself. This is an example of the tension that sometimes occurs in a relationship best described as the ______ dialectic.
2. Removal-Uncertainty
3. Inclusion-Seclusion
4. Openness-Closedness *
5. Connection-Autonomy
6. Inside-Outside

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. After the Latent Conflict and Emergence stages, the ________ stage will most likely next occur.
2. Escalation *
3. Diffusion
4. Uncertainty
5. Hurting
6. Fighting

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. You want to get to know the new student in your bio class, so you make sure you sit next to her and strike up a conversation, asking some simple, get-to-know-you questions. You are engaging in ________information seeking.
   1. active
   2. passive
   3. interactive *
   4. incentive
   5. conversational

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Sometimes you may not want to learn more about someone you have to deal with, but because you HAVE to deal with that person you work to reduce relational uncertainty. You are motivated by __________ to do so.
   1. incentives
   2. deviance
   3. fear
   4. hope of reward
   5. the prospect of future interaction *

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The four stages of relational development predicted by Social Penetration Theory are_________.

a) orientation, exploratory affective exchange, affective exchange, and stable exchange*

b) stable exchange, reciprocity exchange, uncertainty reduction, and passive exchange

c) active exchange, stable exchange, incentive exchange, and social exchange

d) exploratory affective exchange, social exchange, orientation exchange, and behavioral exchange

e) uncertainty reduction, deepening, expansion, exit

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Affective Conflict occurs when people acknowledge ______________.
   1. incompatible preferences for a course of action
   2. differences in their deeply held feelings about the worth of importance of significant aspects of their lives
   3. incompatibility in their perceptions about something of importance
   4. an incompatibility of emotions and feelings *
   5. that they like each other but disagree

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. You want to buy Teflon-coated pans for your new kitchen, convinced of their convenience, but your partner insists that the coating is bad for your health, having recently read a study in a respected science magazine. To your surprise, this disagreement grows into a full-on argument. You are experiencing ___________ conflict.
   1. affective
   2. value
   3. goal
   4. cognitive *
   5. functional

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. Which of the following is an important stage of interpersonal conflict?
   1. Snarling
   2. Triangulation
   3. Uncertainty
   4. Escalation *
   5. Maturation

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. __________ is an important provision of relationships.
   1. Reliable alliance
   2. Affiliation
   3. Allowance
   4. Habituation
   5. Time sharing

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. Social Exchange Theory and the Investment Model of Commitment share a few ideas, among them the apparent similarity between Social Exchange Theory’s CL_ALT and the Investment Model’s _____________.
   1. satisfaction level
   2. physical attractiveness
   3. interpersonal reliance
   4. quality of alternatives *
   5. Investment size

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. In interactions between people who don’t know each other very well, communication is typically based on __________.
2. affection
3. orientation *
4. social convention
5. curiosity
6. hope for a future relationship

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Reality is not reflected in what we say; it is _________, or created, by what we say.
2. changed
3. constituted *
4. ignored
5. deflected
6. represented

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Reality is not reflected in what we say; it is created, by what we say is a fundamental tenet of __________ Theory.
   1. Social Penetration
   2. Uncertainty Reduction
   3. Social Exchange
   4. Relational Dialectics *
   5. Frame

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Pat and Mike both have different ideas on what they want to do for a date, but Mike said since he is driving, they are doing what he wants. Mike’s conflict resolution style seems to be ___________.
2. dominating *
3. obliging
4. compromising
5. avoiding
6. culminating

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. Pat and Mike both have different ideas on what they want to do for a date, but Mike said since he is driving, they are doing what he wants. Pat quickly acquiesces to Mike’s demands; after all, he is driving. Pat’s conflict resolution style seems to be ___________.
   1. dominating
   2. obliging *
   3. compromising
   4. avoiding
   5. culminating

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. ___________ conflict occurs when people acknowledge incompatibility in the individual outcomes they hold for a given plan or action.
2. Goal *
3. Social
4. Value
5. Affective
6. Functional

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. You and your partner are quite comfortable with one another but occasionally seek to liven things up, even going as far as to pick up on a moment’s notice and take a road trip to a place you’ve never been. You are dealing with the ___________dialectic.
2. old-new
3. certainty-uncertainty *
4. openness-closedness
5. revelation-concealment
6. inside-outside

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Too many of your friends continue to believe that Marissa might not have been sexually assaulted if she had just dressed a bit more conservatively, echoing the discredited ____________.
2. MeToo movement
3. rape myth *
4. Weinstein defense
5. feminist trope
6. misogynistic fall-back

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The Investment Model of Commitment argues that people’s persistence in a relationship (commitment) is influenced by a number of independent factors, among them ___________, the magnitude and importance of the resources that are attached to a relationship; that is, resources that would decline in value if the relationship were to end.
   1. physical attraction
   2. quality of alternatives
   3. investment size *
   4. emotional dependency
   5. satisfaction level

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

30. One way to reduce uncertainty about other people is to stand back and observe them and their behaviors in an environment they may find comfortable. This is the ___________uncertainty reduction strategy.

1. disinhibition search
2. passive *
3. reactivity search
4. interactive
5. observational

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

31. There are a number of steps that can be taken to resolve conflict. Which of the following is a recommended step?

1. Do not forget
2. Speak slowly and clearly
3. Recognize the context of the conflict *
4. Discontinue contact
5. Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Resolving Conflict

1. The compromising conflict style includes_____________ concern for self-interest, and __________ concern for the interest of others:
2. less/more
3. moderate/moderate *
4. more/less
5. little to no/little to no
6. equal/unequal

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. Tom and Jerry are both very set on their decisions for their team project. Tom wants to sell catnip and Jerry wants to sell cheese; however, neither will back down or discuss the costs and benefits of their position, and neither is willing to come to a resolution on a choice. They find themselves in the _________ stage of conflict.
2. affective conflict
3. unidentified resolution
4. stalemate *
5. escalation
6. fighting

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. An important value of relationships is __________, the emotional bond we have with others that gives us a sense of security.
   1. guidance
   2. reassurance of worth
   3. attachment *
   4. reliable alliance
   5. leisure time spending

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. An important aspect of affiliations is that they __________; for example, your circle of friends changes when you move from one job to another.
   1. tend to be in the aggregate
   2. are interrupted with ease
   3. are the product of satisfaction-seeking
   4. are the product of defensive alliance
   5. they facilitate effective listening

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. A unit of two people communicating (as opposed to a group) is called a _________.
   1. Dyad *
   2. relational unit
   3. couple
   4. dialectic
   5. diphthong

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Role of Interpersonal Communication

1. One of the uses to which we put interpersonal communication is to _________; that is, we attempt to move the relationship from impersonal to more personal.
   1. engage others *
   2. resolve conflicts
   3. manage relationships
   4. disengage from relationships
   5. find like-minded friends

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Role of Interpersonal Communication

1. One reason we may be driven to reduce uncertainty when meeting somebody new is we may ___________; that is, we may perceive that that person will somehow be rewarding for us.
   1. know we will have future interactions with that person
   2. be intrigued by something strange about the person
   3. understand that socially, it is the correct thing to do
   4. recognize the incentives in doing so *
   5. understand that socially, it is the incorrect thing to do

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Among Social Penetration Theory’s assumptions are the ideas that relationships progress from nonintimate to intimate, their progress is generally systematic and predictable, relational development includes depenetration and dissolution, and ________.
   1. the ongoing dialectic will shape the ultimate nature of the relationship
   2. self-disclosure is at the heart of relational development *
   3. conflict is inevitable, and ultimately good
   4. uncertainty is inevitable, and ultimately good
   5. good or bad, we all need relationships

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. According to Social Penetration Theory, _________, the deterioration of a relationship, often leads to its end__________.
   1. dissolution/depenetration
   2. tension/dialogue
   3. depenetration/dissolution *
   4. dialogue/ tension
   5. conflict/dissolution

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. As your friendship with your roommate moves from impersonal to more personal communication, you both begin to reveal things about yourself that are more private. As you each do this, the other responds similarly. This is _______.
   1. the norm of reciprocity *
   2. the coin-of-the-realm
   3. self-disclosure
   4. the ongoing dialectic
   5. the looking glass self

Bloom’s: Analyzing

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The reason that the onion has become a common metaphor for how relationships develop is that relationships, like a halved onion, have ______ (how personal is the shared information) and _____ (the number of topics that can safely be discussed).
   1. breadth/depth
   2. depth/breadth *
   3. layers/skin
   4. skin/layers
   5. tears/benefits

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. In the early stages of any relationship, conversations are scripted and superficial. But this small talk is actually big talk because ____________; that is, it tells others that you are socially competent and aware, worthy of continued interaction.
   1. it is a mechanism for controlling self-disclosure
   2. it’s painless and cost-free
   3. it reduces uncertainty
   4. it passes the time
   5. it is an audition *

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Disagreement become conflict when ____________.
   1. it is expressed as a struggle of ideas, values, wants, or needs *
   2. the insults begin to flow
   3. the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse make an appearance
   4. stonewalling derails compromise
   5. feelings get hurt

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. Criticism, complaints about the other, aren’t always a bad thing in conflict resolution because_________.
   1. it suggests a level of friendship that can be built upon
   2. when it is reciprocated the parties recognize the foolishness of the conflict
   3. it can be the trigger that moves latent conflict into the open and toward resolution *
   4. it means that the conflict is near resolution
   5. accepting criticism is part of being mature

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Resolving Conflict

1. _____________ is the enjoyment or pleasure people derive from their relationships.
   1. dialectics
   2. affective exchange
   3. meaningful self-disclosure reciprocity
   4. relational satisfaction *
   5. meaningful time-spending

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Role of Interpersonal Communication

1. Among the many prosocial behaviors that promote relational closeness, trust, and liking is _______________, performing routine jobs and chores that are part of the relationship.
   1. positivity
   2. time sharing
   3. social networking
   4. task sharing *
   5. leisure

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: The Role of Interpersonal Communication

1. ___________is deliberate miscommunication meant to hide expressions of anger, distrust, or disagreement without acknowledging the underlying feelings at the root of the problem.
   1. Passive aggressiveness *
   2. Inequality of response
   3. Contempt
   4. Stonewalling
   5. Caterwauling

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Resolving Conflict

1. The Investment Model of Commitment argues that people’s persistence in a relationship (commitment) is influenced by a number of independent factors, among them ___________, the degree of positive versus negative affect experienced in a relationship.
2. physical attraction
3. quality of alternatives
4. investment size
5. emotional dependency
6. satisfaction level*

Bloom’s: Remembering

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. Many relationships deal with the Conventional-Unique dialectic. They want to be the couple that everyone says is special, but they must balance that against the values and expectations of those around themselves, especially those they deem important. The tension may be coming from ________, but the relational partners have to negotiate it________.
   1. from friends/without conflict
   2. conceit/with care to protect positive face
   3. their personal values/internally
   4. personal desires/socially
   5. the outside/internally *

Bloom’s: Understanding

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

SHORT ANSWER

1. What are the six provisions of relationships and what does each provide?

Main theme: We want relationships and need them to be human. They offer us, or provide on an ongoing basis, several provisions necessary for human social life.

Answer must have: Correct list and description of the six provisions: attachment,

reassurance of worth, guidance, reliable alliance, social integration, and opportunity to provide nurturance.

Answer may have: Mention of Symbolic Interaction, Frame Analysis, and Looking Glass Self.

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. Attachment and affiliation are two categories of relationships. Define each and detail the difference between the two. Offer examples.

Main theme: Different types of relationships fulfil certain provisions or functions of relationships.

Answer must have: Correct description of attachments and affiliations and accurate detailing of their differences (Affiliations: in the aggregate, interrupted with ease, product of a satisfaction-seeking or defensive alliance. Attachments: exclusivity, persistent, provide security). Examples must fit description.

Answer may have: Mention of Symbolic Interaction, Frame Analysis, and Looking Glass Self.

A-head: The Value of Relationships

1. What motivates people to reduce uncertainty when they meet someone new? Give examples.

Main theme: When we meet new people we want to make sure we act properly; we want to properly frame the encounter and its actors. So we attempt to reduce the uncertainty in the encounter by using communication to predict and explain the behavior of others in the initial stages of a relationship.

Answer must have: Correct list and description of the three motivations: incentives, deviance, prospects of future interactions. Examples must make sense.

Answer may have: Mention of behavioral and cognitive uncertainty, strategies for reducing uncertainty, and face and facework.

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. An onion sliced in half is often used to visually represent relationships. What is happening, relationally, at the very middle of that onion? Which of Social Penetration Theory’s stages is represented at that point? What is the nature of the relationship’s depth and breadth of communication? Give examples.

Main theme: The center of the onion is where relationships are their deepest and broadest; it is where the relationship is the closest.

Answer must have: Correct referencing of the stable exchange stage as well as recognition of communication as having its greatest depth (people can talk deeply and seriously) and breadth (they can talk about anything and everything) at this stage. Examples must make sense.

Answer may have: Mention of other stages and commentary on dissolution (relationship retreating from even the stable exchange stage).

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. The rape myth is a pernicious holdover from an earlier era of inequality between men and women. What is it and what are some of its assumptions?

Main theme: The rape myth is the false but persistent beliefs and stereotypes surrounding forced sexual intercourse and the victims and perpetrators of those acts. Among those beliefs is that women are asking for it; they bring abuse on themselves by the way they talk, act, and dress, and that women fabricate claims of abuse when experiencing after-the-fact regret for otherwise consensual activity; that is, women lie

Answer must have: Correct identification and description of the myth and its assumptions.

Answer may have: Commentary on cultural norms and changing times.

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

ESSAY

1. You are put into a group in Communication class to work on a project. Toward the end of your group experience, you experience conflict with another group member on the title of the group presentation. Briefly name and describe each conflict management style and identify which one you think is the best approach for you to take to resolve this conflict. Make sure to thoroughly explain your choice.

Main theme: People may resolve different conflicts in different ways, but most people have a general, go-to conflict resolution style representative of the balance between their concern for their own interests and their concern for the interests of the person with whom they are in conflict.

Answer must have: Correct identification and description of the 5 styles: integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising, a plausible explanation for which might be the best style for the responding student.

Answer may have: Commentary on the pluses and minuses of each style.

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. You’ve learned that conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties, who perceive incompatible goals, scarce rewards, and interference from the other party in achieving their goals. Take each of the elements in this definition—expressed struggle, interdependent parties, incompatible goals, scarce rewards, and interference—and use them to describe and explain a particularly difficult conflict you may have had with a friend.

Main theme: Disagreement is not conflict. There has to be much more going on for conflict to erupt and continue between friends.

Answer must have: Correct explanation of what each of the definitional elements means and how it manifests itself. Example must make sense.

Answer may have: Commentary on how conflict passed through stages to resolution or mention of conflict styles.

A-head: Interpersonal Communication and Conflict

1. Communication scholars Judith Martin and Thomas Nakayama offered seven suggestions for dealing with conflict. Identify the four you think most valuable and explain why you make those choices. Give examples.

Main theme: Although there are no easy answers to dealing with conflict, and there are times when self-restraint is the smart strategy, there are also times when conflict is unavoidable or necessary. There are a number of ways to deal with conflict to reduce its harm and maximize its benefits.

Answer must have: Correct identification and description of 4 of the seven conflict resolution hints: stay centered and do not polarize, maintain contact, recognize the existence of different conflict management styles, identify their preferred conflict management styles, be creative and expand your style repertoire, recognize the importance of the context of the conflict, be willing to forgive. Examples must fit description and argument for inclusion must make sense.

Answer may have: Listing of all 7 suggestions or mention of the several don’ts.

A-head: Resolving Conflict

1. Relational Dialectics Theory argues that interpersonal communication is the mechanism people use to manage the inevitable and necessary tensions that exist in all relationships. It further argues that those tensions, or dialectics, are both internal to the relationship and external, that is, in interaction with others outside it. List and describe the three primary internal dialectics faced by most relationships and do the same for the external version of each. Give examples.

Main theme: Relationships are filled with tensions between opposing forces that need resolution. People use discourses, what they say and how they interpret what they say, to negotiate those relational tensions.

Answer must have: Correct identification and description of the three main internal dialectics and its parallel external version: Connection-Autonomy dialectic/Inclusion-Seclusion dialectic; Certainty-Uncertainty dialectic/Conventional-Unique; Openness-Closedness/Revelation-Concealment. Examples must make sense.

Answer may have: Commentary on how resolution of the different tensions creates the reality of the relationship or mention of praxis.

A-head: Developing and Maintaining Relationships

1. What is passive aggressiveness? What are some ways it can manifest itself? Why is it unethical?

Main theme: Passive aggressiveness is “sugar-coated hostility,” masking contempt for the other. It damages helpful dialogue and is ultimately corrosive to conflict resolution.

Answer must have: Accurate explanation of passive aggressiveness, at least a few of the many ways it is expressed, and the recognition that it is unethical because it is an abuse of communication; it’s not the truth.

Answer may have: Commentary on intentional miscommunication, conflict styles, and face.

A-head: Resolving Conflict