Reflect and Relate An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication

In Reflect & Relate, distinguished teacher and scholar Steve McCornack arms students with the best theory and most up-to-date research and then helps them relate that knowledge to their own experiences. The most engaging examples and a lively voice hook students into the research, while features encourage students to critically reflect on their own experiences. Based on years of classroom experience and the feedback of instructors and students alike, every element in Reflect & Relate has been carefully constructed to give students the practical skill to work through life’s many challenges using better interpersonal communication. The new edition is thoroughly revised with new, high interest examples throughout, up-to-the-moment coverage of mediated communication (from internet dating to social media), new chapters on family and friends, integrated video program, and much, much more.

Now with VideoCentral: Interpersonal Communication! This online treasury illustrates key interpersonal terms through short, realistic videos. Featuring over 80 clips, this resource will bring a new media experience to your students’ assignments. Take a tour here.

Dr. Steven McCornack is an Associate Professor of Communication at Michigan State University, where he also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Honors Advisor, and Faculty Advisor to the Undergraduate Communication Association. His research interests include deception, message production, and family communication. Dr. McCornack teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on interpersonal communication, relational communication, and language/discourse. Since he began at MSU in 1988, he has received several awards for undergraduate teaching excellence, including the Amoco Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award, a Lilly Endowment Teaching Fellowship, the MSU Teacher/Scholar Award, and the MSU Alumni Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. Dr. McCornack was MSU's 1999 and 2010 nominee for the Carnegie Foundation United States Professor of the Year Award. Dr. McCornack received his B.A. from the University of Washington and his M.A. and PhD from the University of Illinois.

McCornack, Reflect & Relate 3e

Contents

Chapter 1: Introducing Interpersonal Communication

What Is Communication?

What Is Interpersonal Communication?

What Is Interpersonal Communication Competence?

Issues in Interpersonal Communication

The Journey Ahead

VideoCentral: channel, linear communication model, noise, self-monitoring, and transactional communication model

 

Chapter 2: Considering Self

The Components of Self

The Sources of Self

Presenting Your Self

The Relational Self

Improving Your Self

VideoCentral: face, mask, self-disclosure, self-fulfilling prophecies, and social comparison

 

Chapter 3: Perceiving Others

Perception as a Process

Influences on Perception

Forming Impressions of Others

Improving Your Perception of Others

Practicing Responsible Perception

VideoCentral: algebraic impressions, empathy, halo effect, horn effect, punctuation, self-serving bias, and Uncertainty Reduction Theory

 

Chapter 4: Experiencing and Expressing Emotions

The Nature of Emotion

Forces Shaping Emotion

Managing Your Emotional Experience and Expression

Emotional Challenges

Living a Happy Emotional Life

VideoCentral: blended emotions, display rules, emotional contagion, encounter avoidance, encounter structuring, reappraisal, and supportive communication

 

Chapter 5: Listening Actively

Listening: A Five-Step Process

The Five Functions of Listening

Understanding Listening Styles

Preventing Incompetent Listening

The Gift of Active Listening

VideoCentral: action-oriented listeners, aggressive listening, content-oriented listeners, narcissistic listening, selective listening, and time-oriented listeners

 

Chapter 6: Communicating Verbally

Characteristics of Verbal Communication

Functions of Verbal Communication

Cooperative Verbal Communication

Barriers to Cooperative Verbal Communication

The Power of Verbal Communication

VideoCentral: connotative meaning, defensive communication, denotative meaning, "I" language, "we" language, and "you" language

 

Chapter 7: Communicating Nonverbally

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication Codes

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Responsibly Managing Your Nonverbal Communication

VideoCentral: adaptor, affect display, emblem, haptics, illustrator, kinesics, proxemics, regulator, and vocalics

 

Chapter 8: Managing Conflict and Power

Conflict and Interpersonal Communication

Power and Conflict

Handling Conflict

Conflict Endings

Challenges to Handling Conflict

Managing Conflict and Power

VideoCentral: accommodation, avoidance, collaboration, competition, compromise, expertise currency, intimacy currency, personal currency, power, resource currency, sniping, and social network currency

 

Chapter 9: Relationships with Romantic Partners

Defining Romantic Relationships

Romantic Attraction

Relationship Development and Deterioration

Maintaining Romantic Relationships

The Dark Side of Romantic Relationships

The Hard Work of Successful Love

VideoCentral: bonding, differentiating, experimenting, integrating, relational dialectics, relational maintenance, and stagnating

 

Chapter 10: Relationships with Family Members

Defining Family

Communicating In Families

Maintaining Family Relationships

Family Relationship Challenges

The Primacy of Family

VideoCentral: consensual families, laissez-faire families, pluralistic families, and protective families

 

Chapter 11: Relationships with Friends

The Nature of Friendship

Types of Friendship

Maintaining Friendships

Friendship Challenges

The Importance of Friends

VideoCentral: agentic friendships and communal friendships

 

Chapter 12: Relationships in the Workplace

The Nature of Workplace Relationships

Peer Relationships

Mixed-Status Relationships

Challenges to Workplace Relationships

Workplace Relationships and Human Happiness

VideoCentral: advocacy, defensive climate, downward communication, professional peers, supportive climate, and upward communication