Ascan F. Koerner

Family Type and Conflict: The Impact of Conversation Orientation and Conformity Orientation on Conflict in The Family

The present study investigates the influence of conformity and conversation orientation on how families with adolescents cope with conflict. Using the data of 35 families (N = 117), statistically significant correlations were observed between conformity orientation and conflict avoidance (β = .21, p = .04), ventingfeelings (β = .36, p = .002), and depression (β = ‐.46, p = .048). Conversation orientation was statistically significantly correlated with conflict avoidance (β = ‐ .31, p = .004), and seeking social support (β = .41, p = .003). Implications of these results are discussed and observations are made regarding the utility for communication research of the two dimensions of conformity and conversation orientation. Finally, questions emerging from this research that point to future investigations are discussed.

Understanding Family Communication Patterns and Family Functioning: The Roles of Conversation Orientation and Conformity Orientation

Family communication behavior and family beliefs about how family members should communicate with one another are closely related and combine to create family communication patterns. Two dimensions that determine family communication patterns are conversation orientation and conformity orientation. In this chapter, we discuss theoretical and practical issues relating to these two dimensions and the family typology that is based on them. First, the dimensions are discussed and a resulting family typology is introduced. Then, we discuss the instrument to measure family communication patterns, the Revised Family Communication Patterns instrument (RFCP), and review research that links conversation orientation and conformity orientation and the resulting family types to different behavioral and psychosocial outcomes of family functioning in the areas of conflict and conflict resolution, speech act production, and the socialization of children. Following this discussion, we address a number of methodological considerations regarding the RFCP and its use in family research. Finally, we evaluate the roles of family communication patterns in family functioning and individuals’ success in their relationship and suggest directions for future research.

You never leave your family in a fight: The impact of family of origin on conflict‐behavior in romantic relationships

The present study investigates the influence of communication patterns of families of origin on conflict behaviors of adult children in their romantic relationships. Based on self‐reports of 260 participants, differences in conflict behaviors were observed for persons stemming from consensual, pluralistic, protective, and laissez‐faire families. The differences involved mutually positive and mutually negative behaviors, as well as in the complementary behaviors of avoiding, threatening, and resisting. These results support hypotheses predicting a socializing influence of the family of origins communication patterns on adult childrens communication in subsequent romantic relationships. In addition, by associating the different family types with different socialization outcomes, this study farther demonstrates the importance of assessing family types in investigations of family communication and of interpersonal conflict.

The Influence of Conformity Orientation on Communication Patterns in Family Conversations

Two studies investigated the role of conformity orientation in family communication. Conversations of 31 families (Study 1) and 50 families (Study 2) were analyzed employing Stiles (1992) Verbal Response Mode coding scheme to test 5 hypotheses regarding the influence of conformity orientation on the frequency of specific speech acts. Analysis of 12,520 (Study 1) and 17,724 (Study 2) speech acts showed statistically significant differences in the speech production of families low and families high in conformity orientation during family conversation. Specifically, families high in conformity orientation were more self-oriented, particularly in their frame of reference, and used relatively more advice, interpretation, and questions in their conversations. Families low in conformity orientation were more other-oriented in their speech and used relatively more confirmation, acknowledgment, and reflection in their conversations.

An Introduction to the Special Issue on Family Communication Patterns Theory

The family occupies a central position in the lives of individuals and also is humanitys most enduring and most fundamental social institution. Ancestral humans belonged to and identified with the...

Nuances in inoculation: The role of inoculation approach, ego‐involvement, and message processing disposition in resistance

This investigation attempted to provide further understanding of the inoculation model of resistance to influence. It examined the efficacy of inoculation treatments designed to promote central versus peripheral message processing in instilling resistance to influence, taking into account message processing disposition. The study also tested the potential of social judgment theory to explain the cognitive process which occurs in inoculation. A total of 790 participants took part in the investigation. The study employed three issues that represented low, moderate, and high involvement, and featured multiple inoculation and attack messages. The results indicate that inoculation treatments, using central and peripheral approaches, confer resistance to influence and, thus, imply that threat is more prominent than refutational preemption in the process of resistance. Further, the pattern of results suggest that greater receiver need for cognition enhances resistance, but only with highly involving issues. Fina...

Misattributions contributing to empathic (in)accuracy during parent-adolescent conflict discussions

This research examined the content of self-reported thoughts and thoughts attributed to others during video-assisted recall of parent—adolescent conflict discussions. We hypothesized that parents and adolescents tend to frame family conflicts differently and thereby misattribute certain thoughts to one another. Coded thoughts revealed that parents over-attributed negative and avoidance thoughts to adolescents, overlooked admissions by adolescents, and over-attributed agreement to their spouse, relative to the thoughts that others reported for self. Conversely, adolescents over-attributed controlling thoughts to parents. Parents and adolescents focused on different aspects of the discussions, with parents thinking more about interaction processes and adolescents thinking more about content issues. Both seemed to lack meta-awareness of this difference.

Communication Scholars' Communication and Relationship with their IRBs

Using grounded theory, 57 narratives of communication scholars detailing their experiences and relationships with institutional review boards (IRBs) were examined. From this analysis, 24 concepts emerged constituting five larger categories characterizing the communication relationship between communication scholars and IRBs: antagonistic actions of IRBs, negative perceptions of IRBs, actions of researchers, positive perceptions of IRBs, and protagonistic actions of IRBs. Results indicate that the main difference between positive and negative experiences with IRBs was associated with the nature of the relationship between scholars and IRBs. Scholars who saw their IRBs as adversarial bureaucracies had the most negative experiences, whereas scholars who saw their IRBs as partners in the research process had the most positive experiences. Recommendations for how both IRBs and researchers can improve their relationships conclude this essay.

Conversation and Conformity Orientations as Predictors of Observed Conflict Tactics in Parent-Adolescent Discussions

This research considers how observed tactics and patterns in parent-adolescent conflict relate to family orientations toward communication. Fifty families (mother, father, and mid-adolescent child) discussed family changes desired by each person. In high versus low conformity families, parents (fathers especially) pressured more, were more confrontational, and were less conciliatory, whereas children were less analytic and more apt to withdraw in response to parental demand. Fathers were especially conciliatory and analytic in families that combined high conversation orientation and low conformity (i.e., the pluralistic family type). The results confirm expected associations between family communication orientations and observed conflict patterns, suggesting that basic orientations to communication affect how families adapt to the communicative challenges of adolescence.

Models of relating - not relationship models: Cognitive representations of relating across interpersonal relationship domains

Two studies apply Fiske’s Relational Model Theory (RMT) to interpersonal relationships and indicate that rather than being models of relationships, relational models are models of relating that are used differently across interpersonal relationship domains. Study 1 (n = 145) investigated the use of relational models in three relationship types (mother, friend, and acquaintance). Results showed that even though relationship type predicted relational model use, model use varied significantly across relationship domains. Study 2 (n = 282) provides a cross-cultural replication of these findings (US and Singapore). Results of both studies suggest that Relational Model Theory is a particularly fruitful approach to relationship research when individual relationship domains are considered in addition to relationship types.