Deck 3: Family Communication, Conflict, and Forgiveness

Question 1

________ forms of communication refer to exchanges of thoughts, messages, or information through the spoken word.

A) Verbal
B) Non-verbal
C) Verbatim
D) Written

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The core assumptions of this family framework hold that every part of the system is interconnected, and that we can only understand by viewing the whole.

A) Feminist Theory
B) Conflict Theory
C) Holistic Theory
D) Family Systems Theory

Answer 2

D

Question 3

________ relationships are sexual relationships between people to whom marriage is prohibited, such as a father and a daughter, or culturally frowned upon, such as between a stepfather and a stepdaughter.

A) Incestuous
B) Same-sex
C) Intersexual
D) Familial

Answer 3

A

Question 4

________ is the psychological stress and tension that result when conflicting role pressures mount, or when people undertake multiple roles that are incompatible.

A) Role strain
B) Role emphasis
C) Role conflict
D) Role reversal

Question 5

Developed by psychiatrist and theorist Murray Bowen (1913-1990) who devoted his life to the "human cause," the ________ views families as a whole entity that are comprised of interconnected parts that seek to maintain balance.

A) Family Systems Theory
B) Family Operational Theory
C) Family Contexts Theory
D) Family Economy Theory

Question 6

________ occurs when there are competing demands from multiple roles.

A) Role conflict
B) Role strain
C) Role control
D) Role reversal

Question 7

There are communication _________ that govern what family members can and cannot discuss or share and how they are to interact with their own family members.

A) understandings
B) methods
C) rules
D) applications

Question 8

Professors and researchers of communication studies, Lynn Turner and Richard West summarize the general concepts of communication into four headings. Which one focuses on the learning the meaning of things between family members?

A) Communication Involves Co-Construction of Meanings
B) Communication is a Process
C) Communication is a Transaction
D) Communication Involves Symbols

Question 9

Professors and researchers of communication studies, Lynn Turner and Richard West summarize the general concepts of communication into four headings. Which of them focuses on the dynamic and ever-changing nature of communication?

A) Communication is a Transaction
B) Communication is a Process
C) Communication Involves Co-Construction of Meanings
D) Communication Involves Symbols

Question 10

________ communication occurs with or without the spoken word. It includes facial expressions, motions of the body, eye contact, patterns of touch, expressive movements, hand gestures, the spatial arrangements in the physical environment, and emotions.

A) Verbal
B) Nonverbal
C) Introspective
D) Spatial

Question 11

Professors and researchers of communication studies, Lynn Turner and Richard West summarize the general concepts of communication into four headings. Which one focuses on the verbal and non-verbal codes which give meaning or definition?

A) Communication is a Transaction
B) Communication is a Process
C) Communication Involves Symbols
D) Communication Involves Co-Construction of Meanings

Question 12

When we communicate, whether in interpersonal or social interactions, we have a joint or reciprocal impact on each other in our exchanges. This dynamic is a ________ process in which we simultaneously affect and are affected by our intimate relations.

A) cross-generational
B) transactional
C) interactional
D) fractional

Question 13

In an attempt to share meanings, each culture uses ________, or codes. Some of these are universal behaviors, such as the kiss, which represents affection, love, or a greeting.

A) templates
B) communication
C) symbols
D) icons

Question 14

The families in which we were reared are known as _____.

A) tribes
B) families of origin
C) families of birth
D) blended families

Question 15

Understanding the continuum of _________ is essential to the Family Systems framework, for they serve the purpose of affecting the flow of information within the system.

A) boundaries
B) systems
C) conflict
D) spectra

Question 16

Another key concept in symbolic interaction theory is that of role, or a "system of _________."

A) behavior
B) accounting
C) action
D) meanings

Question 17

This term means "to place together" or to connect one entity to another.

A) control
B) conjoin
C) system
D) theory

Question 18

The Symbolic Interaction approach to examining family life and family communication revolves around the notion that human behavior is a continuous ________ where people watch the behaviors of people and then react to these behaviors.

A) expression
B) stream
C) diagram
D) dialogue

Question 19

Barbara Okun, a professor of counseling psychology, notes that the majority of the problems found in marriages and families stem from _____.

A) sexual dysfunction
B) financial stress
C) false meanings
D) ineffective communication

Question 20

Another word for homeostasis is ________.

A) same-sex
B) balance
C) disorder
D) frequency

Question 21

The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems was created to address family cohesion, adaptability, and communication.

Question 22

We live in a world that is full of symbols, and knowingly or not, we communicate using these shared codes or shared meanings.

Question 23

Culture, ethnicity, values, and family history do not come into play when establishing rules for dealing with feelings and emotions.

Question 24

While in the midst of a heated argument it might be difficult to think that any good can come out of it; however, ________ serves to build relationships and foster loyalty, commitment, and intimacy.

A) constructive conflict
B) destructive conflict
C) conflict
D) conflict intimacy

Question 25

While researching incest, one scholar found that while the fathers' and daughters' reports of the circumstances surrounding the initiation of the sexual activity were quite similar (i.e., back rubs, watching TV, wrestling, reading in bed), interpretations of the incestuous events were in stark contrast to one another.

Question 26

If College Student Emily is going back and forth to home to help care for an ill parent or assist her family during a difficult time, her partner will take this information into consideration if she snaps at him or is unusually quiet; however, a clerk at a store or a waiter who does not know Emily's contextual information might assume that she is being rude or impolite in a social interaction. This is an example of _____.

A) Communication Ignorance
B) Dual Personality
C) Private Couple Meanings
D) Communication Duality

Question 27

Sometimes our communication efforts are ineffective or they fail. When this happens, couples and families experience ________, or instances of stress or disagreements.

A) conflict
B) communication
C) reorganization
D) harmony

Question 28

________ are experienced in the form of anger and irritation and are oftentimes the result of being injured, harmed, or mistreated in interpersonal interactions. These messages are conveyed through staring or glaring, a "tense, tight jaw," narrowed eyes, sadness or depression, and crying.

A) Negative Emotional Messages
B) Positive Emotional Messages
C) Neutral Emotional Messages
D) Intrinsic Emotional Messages

Question 29

________ are experienced as love, pleasure, and affection. These messages are conveyed through prolonged eye contact, closer proximity to one another, blushing, increased/prolonged touch, smiling, and laughing.

A) Negative Emotional Messages
B) Neutral Emotional Messages
C) Positive Emotional Messages
D) Intrinsic Emotional Messages

Question 30

Culture has little effect on our attitudes regarding symbols of affection.

Question 31

Self-disclosure is voluntarily sharing things with someone else that are ________.

A) relational
B) secret
C) personal or private
D) already known

Question 32

The areas of marital conflict mentioned most tend to center around what?

A) money matters
B) sex
C) division of household labor
D) all of the above

Question 33

Every family has similar values and contexts that dictate how they communicate about sex, health issues, salaries, bills, or a family member who is deceased.

Question 34

This type of verbal conflict refers to a spouse or a family member who holds in resentment, hurt, anger, frustration, and bitter feelings until that "last straw," when the spouse or family member unloads all of the pent up feelings in the midst of an argument.

A) sandbagging
B) gunnysacking
C) compiling
D) compacting

Question 35

The physical gestures and movements that convey our emotions are most often referred to as nonverbal communication, or ________.

A) facial
B) non verbatim
C) emotional communication
D) emotive conceptualization

Question 36

A family system is a living, ever-changing, dynamic entity that consists of various individuals and their interconnected, intergenerational patterns of interactions.

Question 37

According to the Symbolic Interaction Theory, people react based on the meanings they find in any given situation.

Question 38

Few families have rules that govern their communication strategies.

Question 39

________ use communication patterns and interpersonal behaviors that promote closeness and intimacy, such as using more positive comments than negative comments during times of tension.

A) Relegated couples
B) Regularizing couples
C) Nonregulated couples
D) Regulated couples

Question 40

The human body is a complex network of many subsystems that are organized into a single whole.

Question 41

According to Gottman, there are four ways in which nonregulated couples handle conflict. He characterized these as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. What are they?

Question 42

According to the text, covert destructive conflict falls within five specific categories, one of which is pseudomutuality. Define pseudomutuality in this context.

Question 43

Please define Neutral Emotional Messages. What are some of the pitfalls of these messages?

Question 44

How we decode or interpret the unspoken exchanges that take place in the many nuances of couple talk greatly impacts marital adjustment and marital satisfaction.

Question 45

Every couple fights.

Question 46

Researchers have found that those couples who are not in distress show less effective verbal communication styles in their day-to-day communication efforts than do those couples engaged in marital therapy and those couples divorcing.

Question 47

White and Klein state that "effective relationships, both in and outside of families, are dependent on nurturing a culture of shared meanings." Please explain.

Question 48

Sometimes in marriage, role expectations are in conflict. What does this mean? Please give an example.

Question 49

Compare and contrast relational messages and nonrelational messages.

Question 50

According to the text, covert destructive conflict falls within five specific categories, one of which is displacement. Define displacement in this context.

Question 51

How do perceptions of fairness and equity come into play in marital conflict?

Question 52

What takes place with "active listening"?

Question 53

What notion is at the forefront of the General System Theory (GST)?

Question 54

Broadly stated, communication is the process of making and sharing meanings.

Question 55

What are "confirming messages/responses"? What characterizes them?

Question 56

In a family, boundaries serve the purpose of affecting the flow of information within the system. These boundaries fall along a continuum. Please describe this continuum.

Question 57

Define "reflective listening" and give an example of conversation utilizing this skill.

Question 58

Forgiveness occurs at two different levels. What are they?

Question 59

Although we develop all of our interpersonal (social and relational) communication skills within our family of origin, we build our foundation for communicating in institutional settings (school, place of employment, etc.).

Question 60

What is communication?

Question 61

Explain the concept of boundaries with regards to family communication.

Question 62

Compare the Family Systems Theory with conventional psychological theories.

Question 63

What is forgiveness?

Question 64

Compare and contrast Regulated Couples and Non-Regulated Couples.

Question 65

There are four fundamental verbal communication processes/skills that affect how we send and receive messages. Name and explain them.