Communications Chapter 2 Homework How Might Enmeshed Family Communicate Ways That Differ From Disengaged family How Might

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Chapter 2:

What is Family Communication?

Chapter Preview

• The Communication Process

• Social Construction and Co-creating Family Relationships

• Communication Patterns and Processes that Affect Family Outcomes

Chapter Outline

I. Communication as a Transactional Process

a. Families are created and defined through interaction patterns rather than structures.

Family systems are created, enacted, and changed as family members create their

social reality and personal identities through communication.

b. Communication: Symbolic, transactional process of creating/sharing meanings

ii. Transactional: Simultaneously sending and receiving messages, and

continually adapting to the context and people with whom we interact

1. Joint actions of family members contribute to the development of

unique relationships and family systems

2. Families interact within dynamic cultural and social contexts (e.g.,

ethnic heritage, gender patterns, location, family history)

II. Social Construction and Co-creating Family Relationships

a. Families are socially constructed; involving transactions in which our social world

and relationships are co-created

b. Families use communication to define, explain, and legitimize their family, both

within the family system and to others outside of it

i. Discourse dependent families: Families that may not have biological and/or

legal ties, or well-developed cultural models, to guide them, so they rely on

communication to co-construct their family identity and expectations (i.e.,

they “talk themselves into being”)

III. Communication Patterns and Processes that Affect Family Outcomes

a. Effectual approach: Family communication functions are operation families must

perform to establish family identity and enact family life

b. Circumplex Model

i. Primary Family Functions: Two central dimensions of family behavior

(enabled through communication)

1. Establishing a pattern of cohesion: Emotional bonding families

experience with each other

(a) Low cohesion → Disengaged: extreme independence, little

2. Establishing a pattern of adaptability/flexibility: How family systems

manage stability and change in leadership, roles, and relationship rules

(a) Low adaptability→ Rigid: inability to change in response to

internal and external demands; authoritarian leadership and

strict roles and rules

ii. Balanced families, found in middle on both cohesion and adaptability, are

most functional

iii. Cohesion and adaptability change over time (e.g., more structure with young

children; less cohesion with adolescents)

clarity, staying on topic, communicating respectfully, empathy,

expressiveness, and effective problem solving

c. Family Communication Patterns Theory

i. Families are characterized by shared world views that are unique to each

family and that provide individual family members with value and belief

systems, or schemas

ii. Two primary schemas, or orientations, to communication:

1. Conversation orientation: degree to which all family members are

encouraged to participate in unrestrained interaction about a wide

range of topics

2. Conformity orientation: degree to which family communication

stresses a climate of homogeneity of beliefs, values, and attitudes

IV. Supporting Functions Shaping Family Communication

a. Family images, themes, boundaries, and biosocial issues interact with a family’s

functions of cohesion and adaptability.

b. Family images are relationship patterns, viewed as metaphors that represent a

family’s collective experience

i. Simple metaphors (e.g., “My mom is a butterfly. She never settles down.”)

ii. Root metaphors reveal an underlying worldview; capture core values (e.g.,

family as a “safety net”, “team”)

1. Images affect patterns of interaction with the others

2. Divergent images can lead to conflict

c. Family themes represent patterns of feelings, motives, fantasies, and

conventionalized understandings grouped around a particular locus of concern

d. Family boundaries exist between family members (internal) and between the family

unit and the outside world (external)

i. Permeable/flexible boundaries allow movement across boundaries

ii. Open boundaries support the flow of information or people from the external

environment, or support an open exchange of information among members

iii. Rigid boundaries around the family system are designed to protect

information about the family and to guard family secrets

iv. Boundaries can be inappropriately managed, which can cause conflict

e. Family biosocial issues: Families operate within a larger culture that provides

models and socializes members into biosocial roles based on such factors as gender,

age, and position in the family

f. Flexible families (adaptable) will experience greater variety in images, themes,

boundaries, and responses to biosocial issues than will rigid ones. These supporting

functions also affect family’s acceptable level of cohesion.

V. Family of Origin Influences

a. Supporting functions are affected by our family-of-origin, or the family or families in

which a person is raised

b. Multigenerational transmissions influence what each person brings to their

c. Ethnic heritages also play a role in family of origin influences

i. Cultural factors include common ancestry, language, nationality, beliefs

ii. Influences of family culture and ethnicity are seen in issues such as age,

gender, roles, expressiveness, birth order, separation, or individuation

d. Biological/genetic influences

VI. Discussion Questions

a. Identify three areas of shared meaning your family would have to explain to someone

who was visiting in order for that person to understand your family. What would your

guest need to know to understand how your family makes sense of the world (e.g.,

teasing means “Dad likes you”)?

b. What does it mean to say, “No two children grow up in the same family”? What have

you noticed about different ways of communicating within and across families (e.g.,

making decisions, sharing feelings, affection, conflict)?

VII. Case Study Questions

a. What images, boundaries, and biosocial issues can you see present in the chapter’s

case studies? How are these themes communicated to people outside the family? How

do you see age and gender influencing roles and responsibilities in these families?

How does this relate to power?

b. Based on family communication patterns, would you consider the case families

“functional”? Why or why not? Why are the extremes on adaptability and cohesion

dysfunctional?

Activities

regularly.” Trace health issues such as alcoholism or ADHD. Note losses, such as stillbirths,

miscarriages, economic reversals, untimely deaths or severe health problems. Note strong ethnic

heritages. Articulate family themes, if possible, and try to “make sense” of the relational patterns

which emerge. Pay special attention to triangles and to cross-generational gender patterns. This

may be a small assignment, or can be a larger semester project. Students should submit:

• An actual genogram using the conventional forms and symbols.

• A three-page paper explaining genogram and the communication involved.

Family Object Presentation: Instruct students to bring to class an object that represents their

family. Share the following prompt:

• Bring an object to class that symbolizes how you see your family. Think about the topics

raised in Chapter 2 as you choose your object. More specifically, think about the images,

themes, and metaphors that represent your family (and help create your family

worldview/culture). The purpose is for you to share the object, so we can see how family

shapes you (especially in terms of primary and supportive functions).

• Bring typed notes to present your object. Presentations should not exceed 2 minutes.

Cross-Cultural Interview

Family-of-Origin Influences

Ask students to create a list of the most important qualities in their family they imagine creating

for themselves one day (or, if some are already married and/or have children, ask them to reflect

upon their current families). Include questions such as:

• How many children will you have (if any)?

• Do you see yourself married?

Take a Stand: Ask students to take a stand on the position of Whitchurch and Dickson who

created their communicative perspective in families by arguing families are defined primarily

through their interaction, not through their structure. Ask students to first reflect independently:

Do you agree with this proposition? Why or why not? Then come together to debate.

Cohesion-Adaptability Axes Explanation: Since the cohesion-adaptability axes serve as core

concepts for understanding family communication, you may have to provide examples to ensure

that students grasp these primary functions. Draw the axis on the board and place letters of the

Family Themes: Generate a sample of 5-6 family themes. Have class brainstorm ways these

themes might play out in an individual’s life outside the family. Questions might include: Why

might a teacher think a student came from a family with X theme? How might people with X

theme approach life at college? What might be the effects of growing up with Theme X on

developing friendships?

Boundary Analysis: Ask students to analyze boundaries in a stepfamily they know or one from

the media (e.g., Stepmom, Step-by-Step, Juno, Step Brothers, The Way, Way Back). Specifically

ask them to focus on the following:

• Where are points of boundary struggle for children who experience a joint custody

arrangement?

• What rules might parents try to set to established boundaries?

• Under what conditions might an external boundary surround the system?