Lecture Notes
Chapter 5: Interpersonal Communication
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will be able to . . .
2. Make predictions about a relationship’s stability and satisfaction using principles of
social exchange theory
4. Articulate the complexities associated with information management using Petronio’s six
principles of privacy management
6. Provide systematic understanding of a professional situation by employing theories of
interpersonal communication
Summary
Chapter 5 provides an overview of four theories of interpersonal communication. First, we
consider politeness theory explains and predicts strategies individuals use to maintain “face,” or
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
II. Politeness Theory
A. Developed by Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987), politeness theory (PT) clarifies
how we manage our own and others’ identities through interaction, in particular,
using politeness strategies. The theory determines when, why, and how
interpersonal interaction is constructed through (or in the absence of) politeness
B. Assumptions of PT
1. PT assumes that all individuals are concerned with maintaining face (Brown &
Levinson, 1978, 1987). Face refers to the desired self-image that you wish to
present to others as well as the recognition that your interactional partners have
2. PT assumes that human beings are rational and goal oriented, at least with
respect to achieving face needs (Brown & Levinson, 1978, 1987)
3. PT maintains that some behaviors are fundamentally face threatening (Brown
& Levinson, 1978, 1987). Inevitably, you will threaten someone else’s face,
1. Preventive facework strategies include communications that a person can use
to help oneself or another avert FTAs (Cupach & Metts, 1994)
2. Corrective facework consists of messages that an individual can use to restore
one’s own face or to help another restore face after an FTA has occurred
3. According to PT, individuals can choose one of five strategies when
communicating in a manner that could potentially threaten the face of another
(Brown & Levinson, 1978)
a. A speaker who uses avoidance simply chooses not to communicate in a
way that would create embarrassment or a loss of face for another
protect the other’s face and simply commits the FTA
d. According to PT, people choose to engage in FTAs rather than tactically.
There are three factors that influence politeness strategies
i. If a person has more prestige than you (someone with an impressive
title or a great deal of money), you will be more polite
III. Social Exchange Theory (SET)
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
A. Developed by Thibaut and Kelley (1959), SET clarifies when and why individuals
B. Assumptions of SET
2. People want to make the most of the benefits, while lessening the costs. This is
known as the minimax principle
3. By nature, humans are selfish, thus as a human being, you tend to look out for
yourself first and foremost
C. Core components of SET
1. Social relationships bring both rewards and costs. The outcome of the
relationship is the ratio of rewards to costs in each relationship. Rewards–costs
2. The comparison level (CL) represents what rewards a person expects to
receive in a relationship (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959)
a. SET maintains that individuals compare their current outcome value with
3. Predictions made by SET
a. Outcomes > CL = satisfied
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
IV. Dialectical Perspective
A. Developed by Baxter and Montgomery (1996; Baxter, 1988) argued that
relationships are dynamic; these researchers believe it is impossible for a
relationship to maintain a certain level of satisfaction or reach a constant status quo.
Much like a spiraling trajectory, people continue to develop their relationships by
managing a series of opposing, yet necessary, tensions or contradictions
B. Assumptions of the dialectical perspective
1. Praxis suggests that the development of a relationship is neither linear (always
2. Change, or motion, is inevitable (Baxter, 1988; Baxter & Montgomery, 1996).
3. Relationships are grounded in interdependent, yet mutually negating
4. Totality emphasizes interdependence between relationship partners (Baxter,
C. Three central tensions are thought to exist between relationship partners (Baxter,
1. The autonomy-connection dialectic refers to the tension between the desire to
feel connected to one’s partner versus the desire to maintain a sense of
2. The openness-closedness dialectic includes the pull between wanting to open
and self-disclose while also wanting to maintain one’s privacy
3. The predictability-novelty dialectic is the tension between wanting stability or
steadiness while also wanting opportunities for spontaneity
D. Three central tensions are thought to exist between relational partners as a unit and
their social world (Baxter, 1988). These tensions, or external dialects, mirror the
internal dialectical tensions
1. The inclusion-seclusion dialectic emphasizes the tension partners experience
2. The revelation-concealment dialectic involves the tension between relationship
3. The conventionality-uniqueness dialectic emphasizes the tension partners feel
between wanting to behave in ways that are considered normative versus
wanting to emphasize their relationship’s uniqueness by doing something
differently
E. To sustain a relationship, these tensions must be managed through four primary
strategies (Baxter & Montgomery, 1996)
2. The cyclic alteration (sometimes referred to as spiraling alteration) fulfill one
pole or need now and will shift to fulfill the other pole later
3. Segmentation compartmentalizes the relationship such that certain issues
4. Integration includes several variations and is predicated on incorporating
aspects of both poles to create a more fulfilling experience
V. Communication Privacy Management (CPM) Theory
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
B. Petronio and Durham (2008) outlined six principles of CPM
2. This theory defines private information as information that is inaccessible to
others. The central feature of private information is possession. Individuals with
3. CPM suggests these decisions about sharing private information are regulated
by privacy rules. Our decisions about sharing private information are informed
4. The fourth principle is based on boundaries
5. The fifth principle of CPM is boundary coordination, which refers to the ways
that collective boundaries are maintained
a. Boundary linkage refers to alliances between the owners of the
6. The final principle is the notion of boundary turbulence, which occurs when
the rules for privacy management are not clear