Discussion Board #10

Use the categories introduced in the text and pictured in Figure 10.1 on page 324 to describe which one (chose the closest one) communication pattern best describes your family origin.

Please be sure to give examples of your family using the communication pattern.

Then please respond  to another classmate’s post as required for all Discussion Board posts. Remember, that responses to classmates must also be two paragraphs.

CONFORMITY ORIENTATION HIGH

LOW

Consensual families

Protective families

Pluralistic families

Laissez-faire families

surprising that conflict in these families is characterized by avoiding and obliging strategies.65 By contrast, communication in families with a low conformity

orientation is characterized by individuality, independence,

and equality. The belief in such families is that individual growth should be encouraged and that the interests of each individual member are more important than those of the family as a whole.

Conversation and conformity orientations can combine in four ways,

as shown in Figure 10.1. Each of these modes reflects a different family communication pattern: consensual, pluralistic, protective, or laissez-faire. To understand these combinations, imagine four different families. In each, a fifteen-year-old daughter wants to get a very visible and irreverent tattoo that concerns the parents. Now imagine how communication surrounding this issue would differ depending on the various combinations of conversation and conformity orientations.

A family high in both conversation orientation and conformity orientation is

consensual. Communication reflects the tension between the pressure to agree and preserve the hierarchy of authority and an interest in open communication and exploration. In a consensual family, the daughter would feel comfortable making her case for the tattoo, and the parents would be willing to hear the daughter out. Ultimately, the decision would rest with the mother and father. Families high in conversation orientation and low in conformity orientation

are pluralistic. Communication in these families is open and unrestrained, with all family members’ contributions evaluated on their own merits. It’s easy to visualize an ongoing family discussion about whether the tattoo is a good idea. Older and younger siblings—and maybe even other relatives—would weigh in with their perspectives. In the best of worlds, a consensus would emerge from these discussions. Families low in conversation orientation and high in conformity orientation

are protective. Communication in these families emphasizes obedience to authority and the reluctance to share thoughts and feelings. In a protective family, there would be little if any discussion about the tattoo. The parents would decide, and their word would be final. Families low in both conversation orientation and conformity orientation

are laissez-faire. Laissez-faire roughly translates from French as “hands off.” Communication in these families reflects family members’ lack of involvement with each other, and decision making is individual. In this type of family, the daughter might not even bring the tattoo up for discussion before making a decision. If she did, the parents would have little to say about whether their daughter did or didn’t decorate her body with permanent art. With the tattoo—and most other matters—their response would be an indifferent “Whatever.”