A Meta-Analytical Review of the Demand/Withdraw Pattern of Interaction and its Associations with Individual,Relational, and Communicative Outcomes

This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 74 studies (N = 14,255) examining the associations between the demand/withdraw pattern of interaction and individual, relational, and communicative outcomes. When both the individual behaviors of demanding and withdrawing and the pattern of demand/withdraw are considered collectively, the cumulative evidence indicates a moderate, meaningful relationship between demand/withdraw and overall outcomes (r=.360). Similar overall effect sizes were observed for wife demand/husband withdraw (r=.380) and husband demand/wife withdraw (r=.392), although the overall effect size for demand/withdraw patterns in studies that included distressed/clinical participants (r=.413) was greater in magnitude than that obtained for studies that included nondistressed participants (r=.345). On average, higher correlations were observed for relational (r=.423) and communicative outcomes (r=.418) than for demographic (r=.239) and well-being outcomes (r=.249).     

To Avoid or Not to Avoid: When Emotions Overflow

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on how postepisodic conflict avoidance is related to the emotional and behavioral reactions to a partner's destructive conflict behavior. The first hypothesis predicted that a partner's destructive behavior is positively related to postepisodic conflict avoidance when an individual becomes emotionally flooded and withdraws during an argument. Conversely, a partner's destructive behavior was expected to be negatively related to postepisodic conflict avoidance when an individual becomes emotionally flooded and reciprocates the destructive behavior during an argument. A path analysis of the accounts of 182 undergraduate participants about a recent conflict episode supported the second hypothesis but not the first. However, results indicate other positive paths between a partner's destructive behavior and postepisodic conflict avoidance. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. This study extends the anger avoidance model and also advances understanding of destructive communication processes.     

Coparental Communication as a Mediator of Interparental Conflict and Young Adult Children's Mental Well-Being

This study tested young adults’ perceptions of supportive and antagonistic coparental communication as mediators of interparental conflict (i.e., demand/withdraw patterns and aggression) and young adults’ mental well-being. Participants included 493 young adult children from intact and divorced families. Although young adults from divorced families reported higher levels of interparental conflict and antagonistic coparental communication than those from intact families, no significant differences emerged in the pattern of associations among the latent constructs in both groups. Bootstrapping analyses revealed that demand/withdraw patterns and mothers’ aggression had both direct effects and indirect effects on young adults’ mental well-being through antagonistic coparental communication. Consequently, coparental communication may function as a risk mechanism linking the adverse effects of witnessing interparental conflict to children's adjustment.     

Communication Processes that Predict Young Adults’ Feelings of Being Caught and their Associations with Mental Health and Family Satisfaction

In this study, the degree to which young adults felt caught between their parents was tested as a mediator between marital conflict behaviors and young adults’ mental health and family satisfaction. Participants included 1170 young adult children from first marriage and postdivorce families in four different states. Using structural equation modeling, the results revealed that parents’ symbolic aggression, demand/withdraw patterns, and negative disclosures were positively associated with young adult children's feelings of being caught. Such feelings, in turn, were inversely associated with children's reports of family satisfaction and mental health. Although young adult children from divorced families witnessed, on average, more marital aggression, negative disclosures, and demand/withdraw patterns than those from nondivorced families, the associations in the model were relatively comparable across both family types. Further, tests of mediation revealed that feeling caught served primarily as a partial mediator for family satisfaction and as a full mediator for mental health, though such feelings suppressed the positive effect of parental disclosures on family satisfaction for children in nondivorced families. Finally, children's closeness with both parents moderated the associations in the model.     

The next best thing to being there: A test of the joint conversation reconstruction method

This study tests a methodology for obtaining data regarding difficult to access communication — joint conversation reconstruction. Students participated in brief conversations with a friend and later reconstructed that conversation either alone or with their conversation partner. Results indicate that conversations reconstructed by participants jointly, rather than individually, resulted in significantly more complete and accurate recall for conversations. Results also indicate a synergistic effect where the memories of individuals recalling together represented significantly more complete recall than simply the sum of individual memories.     

A Meta-Analytical Review of Family Communication Patterns and their Associations with Information Processing,Behavioral, and Psychosocial Outcomes

This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 56 studies (n=19,745) examining the associations among family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and information-processing, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes. When both conversation and conformity orientations are considered collectively, the cumulative evidence indicates a small, but meaningful relationship between family communication patterns and overall outcomes (r=.285). Similar overall effect sizes were observed for conversation (r=.262) and conformity orientations (r=.253), though the average effect size for conversation orientation and psychosocial outcomes (r=.460) was greater in magnitude than those obtained for information processing (r=.238) or behavioral outcomes (r=.276). Slightly larger effect sizes were observed when researchers used the Revised Family Communication Patterns scale (r=.332) as compared with the Family Communication Patterns scale (r=.261), though this difference in magnitude was statistically non-significant. Collectively, the results suggest that family communication patterns have a meaningful association with a variety of cognitive activities and relational behaviors, as well as individual well-being.     

Sex Differences in the Perceived Appropriateness of Receiving Verbal Aggression

This study predicted that (a) male recipients evaluate aggressive messages as more appropriate than female recipients, and (b) the magnitude of this difference varies as a function of contextual parameters. A total of 249 college-aged students responded to hypothetical scenarios to evaluate the influence of sex of the message recipient, sex of the message source, relationship type, and privacy level of the communication setting on recipients’ evaluations of appropriateness of aggressive communication. Results indicated that male recipients evaluate aggressive messages as more appropriate than female recipients, and this main effect was moderated by sex of the message source, relationship type, and privacy level. The discussion highlights the subjective experience of aggression for male and female recipients.     

Perceptions of conflict strategies and communication competence in task-oriented Dyads

Individuals in temporary task-oriented dyads or groups must manage conflict competently if they hope to be successful in reaching their goals. Thus far, however, research on the associations between conflict styles and communication competence has focused on acquainted dyads, such as relational partners and coworkers, rather than unacquainted dyads assigned to work on tasks. The present study tests the applicability of the competence model of interpersonal conflict to temporary task-oriented dyads. Dyads (N = 100) who had little or no relational history completed a simulated decision-making task that involved choosing two out of four employees to lay off in response to a company's need to downsize. Results indicate people generally perceived the solution-oriented strategy as appropriate and effective. Although people perceived their partners' use of the controlling strategy to be inappropriate, people rated themselves as more effective when they used the controlling strategy. People evaluated nonconfrontational strategies as particularly incompetent.     

Face and facework in conflict: a cross-cultural comparison of China,Germany, Japan,and the United States

The purpose of the current study was to investigate face and facework during conflicts across four national cultures: China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. A questionnaire was administered to 768 participants in the 4 national cultures, in their respective languages, to measure 3 face concerns and 11 facework behaviors. The major findings of the current study are as follows: (a) self-construals had the strongest effects on face concerns and facework with independence positively associated with self-face and dominating facework and interdependence positively associated with other- and mutual-face and integrating and avoiding facework; (b) power distance had small, positive effects on all three face concerns and avoiding and dominating facework; (c) individualistic, small-power distance cultures had less other-face concern and avoiding facework, and more dominating facework than collectivistic, large-power distance cultures; (d) Germans had more self- and mutual-face concerns and used defending more than U.S. Americans; (e) Chinese had more self-face concern and involved a third party more than Japanese; and (f) relational closeness and status only had small effects on face concerns and facework behavior.     

Daughters' Perceptions of Communication with Their Fathers: The Role of Skill Similarity and Co-Orientation in Relationship Satisfaction

This study examines the communication skill similarity between fathers and daughters. Participants were 186 daughters who identified perceptions of both their own communication competence and their father's communication competence. Results indicated that perceived similarity was related to relational satisfaction and quantity of communication. Using the Family Communication Pattern (FCP) model, father-daughter relationship satisfaction and communication skill similarity varied depending on the family type (i.e., consensual, pluralistic, protective, laissez-faire).     

Communication, Relationships, and Religious Difference in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Study of Private and Public Sector Organizations

Four large organizations, two each from the private and public sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, were selected for this study which, first, explored the effects of religion-based workforce difference on intergroup relationships, second, investigated the contribution of organizational sector to communicative differences, and third, gauged the effects of group-based negativity on the flow and distribution of functional information within the organization. Little evidence of intergroup conflict was found although employees expressed a desire for greater quantity and quality of outgroup contact. Significant differences between the private and public bodies emerged in this respect. Contrasts were consistent with general organizational differences typifying the sectors. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity management and the characteristics of organizational sectors.     

Communication,Relationships, and Religious Difference in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Study of Private and Public Sector Organizations

Four large organizations, two each from the private and public sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, were selected for this study which, first, explored the effects of religion-based workforce difference on intergroup relationships, second, investigated the contribution of organizational sector to communicative differences, and third, gauged the effects of group-based negativity on the flow and distribution of functional information within the organization. Little evidence of intergroup conflict was found although employees expressed a desire for greater quantity and quality of outgroup contact. Significant differences between the private and public bodies emerged in this respect. Contrasts were consistent with general organizational differences typifying the sectors. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity management and the characteristics of organizational sectors.     

Dichotomous and continuous views of deception: A reexamination of deception ratings in information manipulation theory

Several recent theoretical approaches, including Information Manipulation Theory (IMT), propose that deceptive messages are best understood as varying along two or more dimensions. At the same time, researchers have increasingly moved from dichotomous deception judgments to continuous deception ratings. This paper questions the validity of scaling degrees of deceptiveness along a single dimension, and argues that gradations in message features do not necessarily translate into degrees of deceit. Most conceptual definitions of deception treat deception as a binary construct, and the continuous scaling of perceptions of deceptiveness may confound perceptions of measure features, degrees of moral condemnation, and judgmental confidence with perceptions of deception. A study (N = 194) is reported that replicates previous tests of IMT with both continuous and dichotomous measures of deception. The results show that the data remain consistent with IMT when dichotomous judgments are examined. However, comparing the results from dichotomous and continuous measures, and examining of the distributions of continuous deception ratings qualify previous IMT findings. The implications for measuring deception are discussed.     

A Test of the Relationship Between Argumentativeness and Individualism/Collectivism in the United States and Finland

This study explored relationships between argumentativeness and collectivism/individualism in Finland and the United States. Data were gathered in the United States (n = 412) and Finland (n = 261). The analysis suggested: (a) collectivism was negatively correlated with argumentativeness, (b) individualism was positively correlated with argumentativeness, and (c) Finnish participants reported lower levels of argumentativeness than Americans. Cultural differences between the United States and Finland are discussed as reasons for the differences between the nations on argumentativeness.     

Effects of tactile stimulation and gross motor movement on cognitive learning: A test of Montessori's muscular movement theory in the college classroom

Research investigating the management styles of male and female supervisors is mixed. In an effort to clarify this research, the present study examined the interaction effect of gender of supervisor and gender of subordinate on perceived mentoring. Results revealed the least amount of mentoring occurred between female supervisors and female subordinates, but the greatest mentoring took place between female supervisors and male subordinates. Results were explained in terms of managerial experience and the double‐bind of female managers. These findings challenge the traditional advice that female subordinates should seek female supervisors.