Choose one guideline for interpersonal competence and apply it to the relationsh
ID: 340465 • Letter: C
Question
Choose one guideline for interpersonal competence and apply it to the relationship between a man and his two sons.(ages 10 and 5 months. Define and explain the guideline using APA citation and describe how it relates to the relationship. What impact does this guideline have on the relationship?
Choose one additional theory or concept and apply them to the relationship. Define and explain the concept and theory using APA citation and describe how it relates to the relationship. What impact does the concept or theory have on the relationship
Explanation / Answer
Past research has identified two important aspects of interpersonal competence that are important for maintaining well-functioning friendships: intimacy and conflict management competence. First, intimacy competence is defined by adolescents’ capabilities of disclosing their personal feelings and offering support to a distressed friend (Buhrmester et al., 1988; Reis & Shaver, 1988). Past research indicates that adolescents who are better at disclosing their feelings and offering support to others have more intimate friendships (Buhrmester, 1990). Second, establishing intimate friendships assumes the challenge of managing conflicts. This ability involves refining the use of compromise, negotiation, and mitigation with close friends, which stand in contrast to coercion and avoidance strategies seen in conflicts with siblings, non-friends, and adults (Laursen, 1996). Past research indicates that adolescents’ conflict management skills are related to less conflict and discord in their friendships (Thayer, Updegraff, & Delgado, 2008). Integrating past research, interpersonal competence appears to be associated with empathy and friendship quality; we argued that the links between adolescents’ empathy and friendship closeness and discord may be mediated by their intimacy and conflict management competence, respectively.
Empathy, Intimacy Competence, and Friendship Closeness
Disclosing personal information or vulnerabilities to a close friend posts potential risks that one may face rejection, invalidation, or humiliation (Reis & Shaver, 1988). Adolescents’ abilities to accurately perceive and experience friends’ emotions and thoughts may be crucial for reducing these potential threats during the disclosure process. Similarly, it is necessary for support-givers to accurately decode and identify with the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of a friend, in order for support-giving to be effective (Batson, 1991; Burleson, 2003). Studies have examined associations between empathy and prosocial behaviors such as altruism, volunteerism, caring, and self-disclosure in adolescence (Barr & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2007; Carbonneau & Nicol, 2002; Carlo & Randall, 2001; Davis & Kraus, 1991; Markstrom, Huey, Stiles, & Krause, 2010; Padilla-Walker & Christensen, 2011). However, to our knowledge, no existing research has examined the link between empathy and intimacy competence, as defined by self-disclosure and support-giving. Furthermore, although studies have examined intimacy competence and friendship quality (e.g., Buhrmester, 1990), this line of research has yet to consider empathy as a potential predictor of this link. Nevertheless, integrating past research on empathy, prosocial behaviors, and friendship functioning, we argued that adolescents who were higher in empathy would demonstrate greater intimacy competence, which would lead to closer friendships (Hypothesis 1a).
Empathy, Conflict Management Competence, and Friendship Discord
Research suggests that individuals high in empathy are more tolerant and accommodating of other people (Davis & Kraus, 1991). During an interpersonal conflict, the ability to perceive and identify with the distress of another person may lead to a better understanding of the other person’s position and may, therefore, reduce the gap between the two differing viewpoints. These characteristics in turn, may help individuals to inhibit destructive impulses during conflicts and adopt more effective strategies for solving conflicts. For instance, one study found that adolescents who are higher in empathy use more compromising strategies, are more likely to discuss issues with friends, and are less likely to become angry when resolving conflicts with friends (de Wied, Branje, & Meeus, 2007). Furthermore, because better conflict resolution strategies are related to lower friendship discord during adolescence (Thayer, Updegraff, & Delgado, 2008), we argued that adolescents who were higher in empathy would demonstrate greater conflict management competence, which would lead to less friendship conflict (Hypothesis 1b).
Dyadic Perspective
According to an interdependence perspective (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1993; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978), interpersonal perceptions are subject to reciprocal influences in a dyadic relationship. Applying this idea to friendships, two friends constitute a dyadic system that is behaviorally and psychologically interdependent. For instance, the overt behaviors (e.g., social competence) and psychological states (e.g., relationship perceptions) of friends are mutually dependent. Most studies on adolescent friendship quality, however, have only examined the effect of empathy or interpersonal competence on friendship quality from an individualistic approach (see exception, Smith & Rose, 2011). Typically, the links between adolescents’ perceptions of friendship quality, empathy, and interpersonal competence are examined in isolation from their friends’ reports of these variables. This approach has failed to consider the issue of interdependence (Hatfield et al., 1993) in that perceptions of friendship quality may be the result of mutual influences between two friends’ characteristics (e.g., interpersonal competence). Thus, we argued that a dyadic approach that treats the friend dyad as the unit of analysis, rather than the individual adolescent, would be an important step towards better understanding friendship functioning.
The actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) has provided ideal theoretical foundations for understanding issues of interdependence in close friendships (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). This model argues that an outcome in a relationship is a function of the target person’s personal characteristic (actor effect) as well as the partner’s characteristic (partner effect). For instance, Friend A’s friendship closeness is a function of his/her intimacy competence (actor) and Friend B’s intimacy competence (partner). Whereas a typical APIM would involve one predictor and one outcome variable from each partner, we proposed a mediation model by including interpersonal competence as the mediator between empathy and friendship quality.
A theoretical framework consists of concepts and, together with their definitions and reference to relevant scholarly literature, existing theory that is used for your particular study. The theoretical framework must demonstrate an understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research paper and that relate to the broader areas of knowledge being considered.
The theoretical framework is most often not something readily found within the literature. You must review course readings and pertinent research studies for theories and analytic models that are relevant to the research problem you are investigating. The selection of a theory should depend on its appropriateness, ease of application, and explanatory power.
The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the following ways:
By virtue of its applicative nature, good theory in the social sciences is of value precisely because it fulfills one primary purpose: to explain the meaning, nature, and challenges associated with a phenomenon, often experienced but unexplained in the world in which we live, so that we may use that knowledge and understanding to act in more informed and effective ways.
I. Developing the Framework
Here are some strategies to develop of an effective theoretical framework:
A theoretical framework is used to limit the scope of the relevant data by focusing on specific variables and defining the specific viewpoint [framework] that the researcher will take in analyzing and interpreting the data to be gathered. It also facilitates the understanding of concepts and variables according to given definitions and builds new knowledge by validating or challenging theoretical assumptions.
II. Purpose
Think of theories as the conceptual basis for understanding, analyzing, and designing ways to investigate relationships within social systems. To that end, the following roles served by a theory can help guide the development of your framework.