Interpersonal Communication
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: CLARIFICATION AND APPLICATION
DUDLEY D. CAHN What model does one use to understand interpersonal communication and how does one apply such a model when teaching a course in interpersonal communication? The author presents and applies a self-validation model and topology of transactional relationships to help select concepts, principles, and skills that are essential for the study of interpersonal communication. College and high school speech teachers, students, and administrators are increasingly interested in the subject of interpersonal communication. Publishers are responding to this interest with publicity on new textbooks, readers, and manuals. Bookstores are carrying several different popular paperbacks that can serve as additional readings. As a result speech teachers are overwhelmed by publications that purport to identify, discuss, or illustrate interpersonal concepts, principles, and skills. Because of this deluge of information, the selection of reading and lecture materials for an interpersonal course presents a problem for many speech teachers. What constitutes a valid study of the subject? In the midst of this confusion, I have developed a model and topology that have helped me select concepts, principles, and skills that are essential for ths study of interpersonal communication.^ In this article, I will describe the model and apply it to the teaching of interpersonal communication.
The Self-Validation Model From my experience in the classroom, I have constructed a self-validation model that is analogous to interpersonal perception theory.^ Basically, the model depicts interpersonal communication as each participant experiencing a conception of self and at least one other person experiencing that conception. Figure one is a pictorial representation of the self-validation model in dyadic situations. The model has three stages. At the first stage, person A meets person B. Each has a
DUDLEY D. CAHN What model does one use to understand interpersonal communication and how does one apply such a model when teaching a course in interpersonal communication? The author presents and applies a self-validation model and topology of transactional relationships to help select concepts, principles, and skills that are essential for the study of interpersonal communication. College and high school speech teachers, students, and administrators are increasingly interested in the subject of interpersonal communication. Publishers are responding to this interest with publicity on new textbooks, readers, and manuals. Bookstores are carrying several different popular paperbacks that can serve as additional readings. As a result speech teachers are overwhelmed by publications that purport to identify, discuss, or illustrate interpersonal concepts, principles, and skills. Because of this deluge of information, the selection of reading and lecture materials for an interpersonal course presents a problem for many speech teachers. What constitutes a valid study of the subject? In the midst of this confusion, I have developed a model and topology that have helped me select concepts, principles, and skills that are essential for ths study of interpersonal communication.^ In this article, I will describe the model and apply it to the teaching of interpersonal communication.
The Self-Validation Model From my experience in the classroom, I have constructed a self-validation model that is analogous to interpersonal perception theory.^ Basically, the model depicts interpersonal communication as each participant experiencing a conception of self and at least one other person experiencing that conception. Figure one is a pictorial representation of the self-validation model in dyadic situations. The model has three stages. At the first stage, person A meets person B. Each has a