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CHAPTER 9
COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY CONFLICT
TRUE/FALSE
another because one is keeping the other from some goal or satisfying
some need is called the prior conditions stage.
comes home in a bad mood, and argues with his wife about who is
supposed to cook dinner. This behavior is called disqualification.
other family members’ concerns or needs. Leah would be classified as
having a competitiveness type of conflict style.
directed thoughts during active conflicts with their spouses.
that they might use in their own relationships when they grow older.
just as much a part of their lives as it was when they were in earlier years
of their marriage.
punishes another by withholding affection and attention.
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negative responses to disagreements, the couple fights less often.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which stage is not a part of the conflict stage model?
D. Prior conditions stage
2. Jackie told her sister, Jill, that she was stubborn, selfish and stupid. Jill replied that
she was smarter than Jackie and that Jackie was immature and codependent. This
example depicts which of the following behaviors during conflicts?
A. Cross-validating
3. This approach to settling conflicts requires that equal time must be provided for all
family members involved in the conflict. It enables a couple to sense the positive
and negative aspects of their conflict. This is called:
D. Conflict avoidance
4. When destructive conflict is hidden, ignored, or left undiscussed, it is called:
A. Zero-sum
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5. When a family member gets quite upset, expresses anger, and then disowns the
angry feeling, it is labeled:
A. Denial.
6. Eric makes it appear to other family members that he is quite content and happy, but
within himself he is angry. He can’t wait to leave home. What is his conflict
strategy?
A. Denial
7. In this form of conflict, Bernie remembers insults and times he’s been ignored by his
family. After a few days, he explodes telling about all these verbal and nonverbal
injuries. This is called:
A. Displacement
8. Which of the following is not true about the effect of cultural backgrounds on
conflict?
D. Latino families emphasize children supporting and obeying their parents
9. According to Kilmann and Thomas’ model, a conflict style that is considered high in
cooperation and high in assertiveness is called:
D. Competition
10. In this communication strategy used in conflict, a family member avoids other
members and refuses to talk:
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D. Disqualification
11. Sabourin’s important research on family violence found which of the following to
be true?
D. Women more often blame husbands when verbal attacks get out of control.
12. Regarding physical attack as a type of overt conflict, which of the following is not
true:
A. Women are at greater risk for physical attack in families.
13. Why does conflict occur in families?
A. One family member perceives that another wants something of him/her that
cannot be delivered.
14. Which of the following statements is not true about Feldman’s intimacy-conflict
cycle?
A. Couples move from a state of intimacy as one member becomes anxious or
fearful, which leads to conflict or separation.
15. Which of the following best represents demand/withdraw behavior?
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D. All of these represent demand/withdraw behaviors
16. Which of the following is not one of Jones and Gallois’ rules for couple conflict?
D. Rules governing consideration
17. Criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling are behaviors that Gottman
characterizes as:
A. The Passive-Aggressive Approach
18. When critical conflicts are left unresolved in families, research supports that:
A. Eventually family members forget about the problem
19. Your three-year-old daughter chases a ball into the street. You run after her and grab her
wrist to pull her back onto the sidewalk. Which type of conflict does this represent?
A. Avoidant
20. Families high on conformity orientation are more likely to display ____________ conflict
traits.
D. Collaborative
21. Shawna comes home from her stressful job and yells at her partner, Dionne, as a result of her
stress. What type of covert conflict does this represent?
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A. Denial
22. When married couple Ben and Yelena fight, Ben often mocks Yelena’s thick Russian accent
during their serious discussion. Which of Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is
Ben demonstrating?
D. Stonewalling
23. According to Kilmann and Thomas’ model, a conflict style that is considered high in
cooperation and high in assertiveness is called:
D. Competition
24. Eric makes it appear to other family members that he is quite content and happy, but within
himself he is angry. He can’t wait to leave home. What is his conflict strategy?
A. Denial
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Describe the stages of the conflictual process. Use an example of a real or fictional
family and explain how conflict plays out within these stages. Is it easy to
distinguish between the stages? Which of the stages lasts longer than others?
2. Explain how conflict patterns may change in families as the family moves through
different developmental stages. Why do you think that conflict patterns change
during these stages? Use examples where possible.
3. Using one of the typologies of conflict styles (conflict styles model, types of
demand/withdraw patterning, couple and family types and conflict) explain how
differences in conflict styles can create problems in relationships and suggest ways
that people with different conflict styles can successfully express disagreement and
find resolution.