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| What style of Relationships have you had in the past? |
Four styles of interaction in relationships
No
two people are alike, so couples are often forced to deal with differences of
culture in a variety of ways.
There are four different styles of interaction that couples may
exemplify. The first being
submission style, this is where one person abandons their current culture
completely while their partner continues their normal culture (Martin &
Nakayama, 2009). Compromise style is exactly as it
sounds, is where both partners give up some aspect of their culture in order to
suit one another (Martin & Nakayama, 2009). The third style is
obliteration style, this is where both partners do a complete turn around of
their culture. Neither partner
participates in their previous cultural traditions. Lastly, the most common, is the consensus style in which
both partners give and take on culture traditions (Martin &
Nakayama, 2009). The consensus style may
involve the couple switching churches every other week so that both partners
can participate in their normal culture.
When
looking at the different kinds of interactions couples may exemplify I couldn’t
help but think of my parents relationship and my past relationships and how
these mold into the different styles.
For example, my dad is born and raised Catholic where as my mom is born
Christian but wasn’t raised in a very religious environment. Today my family goes to a Catholic
church, in which my mom attends with my family, but she doesn’t receive
communion and hasn’t received Catholic Sacraments to become a official Catholic
member. My parents current
cultural traditions aligns them with the more consensus style. My dad is probably a less serious
Catholic they when he grew up, so he adapted to a less relaxed religious
environment that my mom was used to.
While, my mom attends the Catholic church and participates in mass but
hasn’t completely changed her religion.
The
different styles of interaction has made me reflect on my past relationships
and others relationships around me.
The book notes the consensus style is the most common and often leads to
longer lasting relationships. I’ve
realized this is true in my parents relationship and makes me understand now
what makes a good long relationship versus a short term relationship in one
aspect. I often am more
willing to give up my culture to suit my partners. I’ve realized that this may not be the best thing and that
finding a happy medium will often ensure a longer lasting relationship that’s
better for both people involved.
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| During Rumspringa, when Amish teenagers venture out into the unknown non-Amish parts of the United States they can choose whether to return to their Amish society or live permanently out of the Amish Society. Anyone who chooses to leave the Amish community gives us their Amish religion thus, would be in a submissive style relationship. |
Works Cited
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K.
(2009). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (5th Edition ed.). New
York, NY: McGraww-Hill.
The comment about your parents is interesting. My parents are similar, however my mother erased her religious views and became Catholic. I am not sure why she felt a need to do so.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting topic from the chapter. The four styles have great differences but are somewhat similar in the outcomes they all have. The consensus style was the most interesting for me just because I have never really heard of families engaging in both cultures on a every other week basis. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting that how two people interact with each other and keep a relationship for a long time. Different families have their own relationship rules and people do not have to give up all their personalities to suites the other. Over all, I like your example of your parents and their own way to treat the religion issue.
ReplyDelete