Love Languages and Family Communication Patterns

The tendency to believe that others are being truthful, even when there is evidence to the contrary.

Behaviors related to managing information, nonverbal cues, and overall image to deceive someone.

Behaviors that unintentionally reveal deception due to stress, anxiety, or discomfort.

How interdependent and contingent a communication exchange is, taking place in real time, and using various channels (verbal, nonverbal).

The idea that older adults, with less perceived remaining time, prioritize emotionally meaningful connections over expanding social networks.

The tendency for older adults to experience ostracism less frequently compared to younger adults.

The tendency for older adults to focus on stable, meaningful relationships over seeking new connections.

The idea that the frequency of ostracism decreases with age, peaking around middle age and then increasing again in later life.

Factors that influence the likelihood of ostracism beyond chronological age, such as retirement, health issues, and generational gaps.

A theory that explains how people communicate in a way that is consistent with their perceived time perspective.

The five love languages are ways people prefer to give and receive love. These include Words of Affirmation, showing love through verbal compliments and appreciation; Quality Time, expressing love by giving dedicated, focused attention; Receiving Gifts, demonstrating love through thoughtful presents; Acts of Service, expressing love by doing helpful tasks for the other person; and Physical Touch, showing love through physical contact like hugs, kisses, or holding hands.

Conversation Orientation refers to how open and free family members are to communicate with each other. High Conversation Orientation families engage in frequent and in-depth discussions, covering a wide range of topics, including personal feelings and thoughts. Low Conversation Orientation families prioritize superficial conversations, avoiding personal disclosures and focusing on practical matters.

Conformity Orientation reflects the extent to which family members are expected to adhere to the family's established rules, values, and hierarchy. High Conformity Orientation families emphasize obedience, conformity, and adherence to familial norms. Low Conformity Orientation families encourage individual expression, independent thinking, and less strict adherence to traditions.

Consensual families exhibit high Conversation Orientation and high Conformity Orientation. They engage in frequent and open communication, but decisions are ultimately made by the family authority, often parents. While open to expressing their views, children are expected to respect and follow their parents' values.

Pluralistic families exhibit high Conversation Orientation and low Conformity Orientation. Characterized by open and free-flowing communication, where family members can express their opinions openly, without pressure to conform. Agreement is not required, and parents respect their children's perspectives, even if they disagree.

Protective families exhibit low Conversation Orientation and high Conformity Orientation. They avoid conflict and emphasize obedience to authority. Children are expected to follow their parents' values and beliefs, while open communication is discouraged, leading to less emotional intimacy and genuine conversations.

Laissez-faire families exhibit low Conversation Orientation and low Conformity Orientation. They limit connections among family members, favoring individual independence over family unity. Children are expected to make their own decisions, with minimal parental guidance or intervention. This pattern often leads to a lack of emotional intimacy and shared values within the family.

The family life cycle involves a series of stages, each with its own challenges and opportunities. Some of the key stages include Establishing a Family, where a couple begins their life together; Enlarging a Family, where children are added to the family; Launching Children & Moving On, where children become independent adults; and Retirement and Later Life, where the family transitions towards older age. Each stage involves adjustments and new communication dynamics for family members.

Families go through changes as members are added, leave, or change roles (e.g., decision-making power passing to older members).

The same outcome can be achieved through different paths. Different family types (adoptive, blended, step, etc.) can all create loving environments.

Accounts are like stories about a relationship breakup, including characters, events, and explanations. They often involve blame attributions and emotional expressions.

Relationship dissolution accounts serve functions like explaining the breakup, seeking control, blaming, boosting self-esteem, processing emotions, and achieving closure.

People share breakup accounts to persuade others to take their side, making their version the 'truth' to those around them.

Breakup accounts often include attributions about who is to blame and why the relationship ended.

Affordances are features of a technology that influence how it is used.

Personalization allows users to target messages to individuals or groups, while visibility makes information accessible to a broad audience.

Network association creates links among users and facilitates access to each other's content, fostering connections.

Social feedback refers to comments, likes, etc., that provide insights into a relationship and how people view it.

Conversational control enables users to manage their online space, including deleting comments and controlling what is shared.

Context collapse occurs when different social circles (family, friends, acquaintances) interact online, potentially blurring boundaries.

The social stage of a breakup is when both partners publicly announce their separation to their social networks.

People use various strategies to shape how their breakup is perceived by their social network.

Withdrawal involves minimizing online presence to distance oneself from the partner and the social network.

Aggression involves disclosing more about the breakup, potentially intentionally causing distress or pain to the other person.

Business as Usual involves maintaining a consistent online presence both before and after the breakup, suggesting a more amicable split.

The 'Better Than Ever' strategy involves showcasing personal improvements and positive experiences, potentially projecting an image of moving on.

The initial stage of a family, marked by a couple establishing a committed relationship, defining expectations, routines, and interaction patterns for shared life. This stage often involves getting accustomed to living together and, in the case of marriage, gaining legal and social recognition.

The stage where children are added to the family, bringing joy and new challenges. Parents take on new roles, with the man becoming a father and the woman a mother. Both partners become caregivers and providers. This stage can lead to increased stress on the marriage due to decreased couple time and the new demands of parenting.

A crucial stage where the parent-child relationship plays a significant role in shaping the child's identity. Attentive caregivers contribute to the development of a secure attachment style in the child. During this stage, parents also influence the child's self-concept through labels and affirmations.

In this stage, children enter adolescence and seek increasing independence from their parents. This often leads to conflict as parents may feel hurt by their children's disinterest, while children may feel their parents are overprotective or intrusive. It's a stage where parents need to balance allowing independence with maintaining a connection.

The stage when children leave home for college, work, marriage, or other life experiences. Parents find themselves transitioning back to being a couple, with their attention shifting from parenting to their own relationship. Young adults embark on a new chapter of independence and self-discovery.

A time of redefinition for couples after their children leave home. This period can either be a time of renewed love and connection or a time of decreased satisfaction, particularly if the children were the primary factor holding the couple together. It's a stage where couples have more time for each other but need to actively work on their relationship.

A stage of life marked by retirement, where couples have the opportunity to pursue their interests and passions, or potentially experience boredom. The family may grow again with the arrival of grandchildren, fostering new connection and communication between generations.

A family system is made up of smaller, interrelated units or subsystems, each with its own unique dynamics. These subsystems include the partner subsystem, parent-child subsystem, and sibling-sibling subsystem.

Family systems are influenced by past experiences, present realities, and future expectations. They have a history and a trajectory, carrying legacies and shaping future generations.

Family systems are not isolated entities. They interact with the outside world, receiving information from external sources and influencing their surroundings. This openness to the environment shapes their development.

Boundaries define the limits and rules governing a family system. They establish who is considered 'in' and 'out' of the family and determine the flow of information and contact. Boundaries can be open, closed, or somewhere in between.

Family systems receive feedback from the world around them. This feedback can include comments, reactions, and evaluations from other individuals and systems, influencing the family system's functioning.

Family systems are constantly evolving and changing. Members are added through birth, marriage, or adoption and may leave through death or distance. Interaction patterns can shift over time, reflecting dynamic communication and growth.

Family systems typically have hierarchies based on age and gender, shaping power dynamics and decision-making processes. This can influence patterns of interaction, such as who initiates conversations or enforces rules.

Family systems have the capacity to reflect on their own behaviors, evaluate their effectiveness, and make adjustments towards their goals. This self-awareness allows them to change and adapt over time.

Mutual influence describes the interconnected nature of family members, where one member's experiences or actions impact the others. This interdependence creates a ripple effect within the family system, as changes affect everyone involved.

Family systems establish patterns, routines, and rules that create a sense of stability and predictability for members. This balance between routine and novelty allows individuals to depend on established norms while also embracing new experiences.

Traditional couples are highly interdependent, emotionally expressive, maintain conventional views of marriage and family, and engage in conflict regularly.

Independent couples exhibit less dependence on each other but are more emotionally expressive than traditional couples. They have a less conventional view of marriage and family, engage in more conflict, have fewer shared interests, and value autonomy.

Separate couples share the least amount of emotion, prefer to avoid conflict, and are highly autonomous. They value their independence and maintain distinct individual identities.

Mixed-marriage couples exhibit a blend of different views on marriage, often with the wife holding a traditional view and the husband holding a more separate view. These couples often experience high marriage satisfaction, despite their differing perspectives.