Psychology
Interpersonal Relationships
Psychology
Interpersonal Relationships
Interpersonal relationships are often referred to as close relationships. For long, many people in the world and societies have had challenges establishing effective interpersonal self in relationships for various reasons. Some argue that they fear being too attached or close to people in their environments. As such, they fear losing meaning or contact of the close relationships in cases of disappointments (Altman & Taylor, 2003). Others do not advocate interpersonal relationships because of the cultural variances, religious beliefs or opinions on various subjects with the individuals in their surroundings.
Close or interpersonal relationships require effort to maintain and nurture self in relationship. They are the types of relationships that amount to great satisfaction and joy for those involved in such relationships. An interpersonal relationship refers to the association between two or more individuals ranging from fleeting up to enduring. The base of such associations can be on business interactions, solidarity, love, inferences or various types of social commitment. Self in relationship is the individual context of the given relationship.
The formation of self in relationships is on cultural and social influences within a person. The context can range from kinship or family relationships, marriage, friendship, work, clubs, and relationships with associates, places of worship and neighborhoods. Mutual agreement, the law, and customs can regulate them (Altman & Taylor, 2003). These relationships are the basis of the society and the social groups in it. The conventional view of these relationships is often the connection between people, such as parent-child relationships and intimate or romantic relationships.
People can also develop self in relationships with different groups of people such as the relationship between pastors and their congregations. Self in relationships constitute of dynamic systems that vary continually throughout their existence. Interpersonal relationships have a start, a life span, and an ending. They grow gradually and improve as individuals involved in a relationship know each other better and become close to each other emotionally. On the other hand, the relationships can end when the connection deteriorates gradually as individuals drift apart and establish new relationships with other people.
The problem and the unanswered question around self in relationships is the establishment, nurturing and maintaining effective self in relationships. Many people have had challenges maintaining their self in relationships with others because of factors like betrayal, lack of trust and disagreements. There are numerous theories explaining various aspects of interpersonal relationships. These theories provide an elaborate merit to looking at the issues in interpersonal relationships from different perspectives (Altman & Taylor, 2003). In order to understand these conceptual theories of self in relationships, it is important to formulate hypotheses for the same. As such, the hypotheses is that understanding the reason for establishing relationships, the benefits of satisfying the relationships, the qualities of good and bad relationships and the types of interpersonal relationships can be essential in answering the question.
Reasons for Establishing Relationships
Human beings depend on the relations of other people from the moment of birth to satisfy their needs. Children, as well as the adults, develop associations through close personal contact with the people around them. Later in the life of individuals, they seek personal contact with others for the same reason of attaining their basic needs in life. Despite the fact that people can fulfill their needs without the reliance on others to survive, interpersonal relationships bring them together in the quest of reaching higher goals and fulfilling more needs (Altman & Taylor, 2003).
Being around other people in the society develops into a habit. The basic infancy needs expand to incorporate social and emotional needs as well. Some of these needs include the needs for achievement, love, affection, respect, and praise. These needs are fulfilled through social learning and interaction, which motivates individuals to develop self in relationship, hence answering the question.
Benefits of Satisfying Relationships
Good self in relationships require attention, management, and efforts. Establishing close and special bonds with oneself is important for the physical and mental health of people. If people hold strong self in relationships with others, they are likely to lead a healthy and satisfied life. Satisfying self in relationships with oneself is important because it promotes success, protection, and satisfaction in life (Arnold & Boggs, 2003). On the other hand, poor self in relationships with individuals in the society may lead to mental health problems, weight issues and depression. In the world today, many people suffer such problems because they lack efficient and effective measures of satisfying and sustaining their self in relationships. One of the factors that promote inefficient and ineffective self in relationships is a lack of knowledge on qualities of good and bad relationships.
Qualities of Good and Bad Relationships
Some of the qualities of good relationships become evident when people meet each other. Other traits of relationships develop gradually along with the interpersonal relationship, which gives the self in relationship stability and strength. Some of the features of good self in relationship include rapport, empathy, trust, respect, mental expectations, flexibility, uniqueness, irreplaceability, interdependence, and self-discipline. On the other hand, features of a bad or ineffective interpersonal relationship include avoidance, burnout, compatibility issues, devotional void, enthusiasm dwindles, and forgiveness void.
Types of Interpersonal Relationships
The types of interpersonal relationship occur in the context of interactions with individuals in the society and the various forms of expectations that the communicators have on each other. These types influence the self of an individual in a relationship. The first type of interpersonal relationship is friendship. The theories of friendship suggest that the friendship is a form of association that is freely chosen and strengthens self in relationship. Family is another type of interpersonal relationship (Arnold & Boggs, 2003). The family communicates different patterns that establish identities, roles and facilitate the growth of individuals in various aspects of life. The communication patterns can also exhibit family dysfunction.
Romantic is another type of interpersonal relationship. The romantic relationships exist on the concepts of commitment, intimacy, and passion. The last type of interpersonal relationship is professional. It involves professional communication, which encompasses a small group of interviewing and communication (Arnold & Boggs, 2003). Some of the conceptual theories include attachment or affiliation theory, confirming and valuing relationship theory, social exchange theory, equity theory, minding relationships theory and systems theory. All these forms of interpersonal relationship strengthen the self in relationship, which satisfies the hypothesis.
Theories on Self in Relationship
The concepts of the systems theory suggest the significance of process thinking that acknowledges the interconnection of various cycles in life. The idea of the theory encompasses the interconnections in the ecosystems and the balance of interactions between humans and all aspects of life to see what is important for their optimal health and survival (Huston & Levinger, 2010). One of the concepts of the theory is the self, which suggests the significance of balance of self-interactions with oneself, satisfying the hypothesis.
The affiliation or attachment theory postulates that individuals are social animals who seek the company of other people in their life. It suggests that people feel more secure when other people are present (Huston & Levinger, 2010). Attachment arises from a desire to establish close relationships that are special to the strengthening of self in relationship. On the other hand, affiliation arises from a desire to be in the company of the self-being of an individual, which satisfies the hypothesis.
Confirming and valuing relationship theory postulates three stages and elements concerning interpersonal relationship. The first stage is recognition, which involves acknowledging the presence of the other individual in a given relationship (Jackson-Dwyer, 2000). Acknowledgment is the second stage, and it involves showing interest in the feelings and ideas of the other person in a relationship. The third stage is endorsement where both people in a given in interpersonal relationship agree to their relationship and encourage different ideas.
The social exchange theory is about the rewards of a relationship or the outcomes that an individual derives from the self in relationship. According to this theory, an individual seeks to establish and maintain the self in relationships with most rewards and least costs (Jackson-Dwyer, 2000). The equity theory suggests that the costs and rewards of a relationship should be equal. Lastly, the minding relationships theory shows how to build self in relationships.
References
Altman, I., & Taylor, D. A. (2003). Social Penetration: The Development of Interpersonal Relationships.
Arnold, E., & Boggs, K. U. (2003). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses. St. Louis, MO: Saunders.
Huston, T. L., & Levinger, G. (2010). Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships. Annual Review of Psychology. doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.29.020178.000555
Jackson-Dwyer, D. (2000). Interpersonal relationships. London: Routledge.
