Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships It seems that communication plays an integral role in the maintenance of relationships.

Communication is a key factor for a well functioning relationship. If the communication between the couple is difficult then the relationship will end. There are four strategy in which communication plays a role in maintaining relationships; Communicating attributions, social penetration theory, selfdisclosure and gender differences of communication in relationships. One of the most important factors in maintains a relationship seems to be attribution style. The attribution theory by Heider is concern with how individuals interpret events and how this relates to their behaviors. In happy relationships, attributions tend to be positively biased towards the partner. Positive behaviors are seen as dispositional and negative behaviors are seen as situational. Unhealthy relationships are the opposite. It seems that communicating attributions for negative events or behavior could determine whether a relationship will end. A study done by Fletcher et al. investigated whether patterns of attributions were related to relationship satisfaction factors such as; happiness, commitment and love. They asked 100 female and 31 male undergraduate students in heterosexual relationship not living together in the USA. To first complete various questionnaires. After two months 95 participants were still in their relationship. They were later asked to write a description of the relationship in their own words and fill out a questionnaire. The study was controlled as participants only in heterosexual relationships not living together took part in the study. The findings showed that individuals with the highest relationship satisfaction after two months attributed positive behavior to themselves and their partner, dispositional attribution and attributed negative behaviors to situational factors. Participants in happy relationships tended to describe the relationship in more interpersonal terms we. Participants who made more situational attributions for relationship maintenance reported significantly less happiness, less commitment and lower level of love. However there are problems with this research; research bias may have taken place since its a self-report data, when reading the descriptions to come to conclusion. Self-rapport data is subjective which is open to bias. This limits the validity of the data. There are also problems in the findings; there is no crosscultural validity as there is a cultural bias as the study was conducted in the USA. This may limit generalizations. It was only heterosexual relationships were used thus not generalizable to non-heterosexual couples. However there are other strategy to maintain communication; Social penetration theory. The social penetration theory, argues that a gradual process of self-disclosure forms close relationships. Closeness develops if the participants proceed in a gradual manner from superficial to intimate levels of communication and this is associated with attraction. Weigel and Ballard-Reisch investigated the maintenance of behavior communication in different marital types. The researchers asked university students to distribute questionnaires to married couples they knew, 141 couples

answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire that they filled consisted of items from Canary and Staffords relationship maintenance strategy scale. This tested for positivity, openness, assurances and sharing tasks. The scales determined the type of marriage, marital satisfaction and level of commitment. There are three types of marriage. Traditional where the partners are interdependent and tend to communicate a lot but deny or avoid issues that might cause conflicts. Independent couples have more freedom and egalitarian roles and communicate with each other a lot to negotiate and renegotiate their relationship and then to confront issues rather than avoid them. Separate couples are less expressive in their communication that the other groups. The findings showed that traditional couples use more maintenance behaviors than the other types. The cause of difference is related to the motivations for being in the relationship and their expectation regarding dependence. If two partners have little intention of being mutually dependent emotionally, it follows that they will not disclose as often as attempt to discuses issues that may cause conflicts. There is a correlation between specific types of maintenance behaviors and satisfactions. The study was ethical and used controls, the questionnaire were only given to heterosexual couples. The findings showed that the median length of the participants marital statues was 10 years thus they have been married for a long time leading to more reliable results. However the study showed some problems, the questionnaires were given to couples that the researchers already knew. It is a correlational study that does not show cause and effect. Therefore there is bidirectional ambiguity. They might have been some Hawthorne effect, they may have guessed the researchers intentions or answered differently to look better in front of the researcher whom they knew. There is also problems in the findings, participants were mostly Caucasian thus results cannot be generalized cross-culturally. Also the findings cannot be generalized to homosexual couples because the study was only performed on heterosexual couples. Self-disclosure is the sharing of essentials parts of ones life with his/her partners, as well as inner thoughts, feelings and emotions. A study that supports that is a study done by Collins and Miller. The study showed that people who disclose intimate information about them are more liked than people who dont. There is a gender difference of communication in a relationship. Woman tend to be more self disclose then man.