Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication

Dawn O. Braithwaite (Ph.D. University of Minnesota) is a Willa Cather Professor of Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She studies discourse dependent families, dialectics of relating, and communication rituals in step- and voluntary families. She has published six authored and co-edited books, including Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication (2nd ed.), Family Communication: Cohesion and Change (10th ed.) and over 125 articles and chapters.  Dr. Braithwaite was named a Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association and the Western States Communication Association. She received NCA’s Brommel Award for Family Communication, and the Samuel Becker Distinguished Service Award, She received the Distinguised Service award for WSCA and is a Past President. Dr. Braithwaite is a Past President of the National Communication Association. Paul Schrodt (Ph.D., University of Nebraska – Lincoln; M.A., University of North Texas; B.A., University of Texas at Arlington) is the Philip J. & Cheryl C. Burguières Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas Christian University. He is nationally recognized as one of the leading scholars in interpersonal and family communication. He is currently a member of the Publications Board of the National Communication Association (NCA), as well as a past chair of the Family Communication Division of NCA. He is the recipient of numerous research and teaching awards, including the 2012 NCA Brommel Award for Family Communication, the 2011 Early Career Award from NCA’s Interpersonal Communication Division, the 2006 Outstanding New Teacher Award from the Central States Communication Association, the 2005 Sandra Petronio Dissertation Excellence Award, and more than 35 Top Paper Awards from national and regional associations. He has published more than 80 journal articles and book chapters, and he currently sits on the editorial journal boards for Communication Monographs, Communication Education, and the Journal of Family Communication.

"A highly beneficial contribution to the field with chapters that are clear and concise and illuminate the interesting and important aspects of interpersonal communication. With each chapter students are informed about the components of the theory and are also provided with examples that they can relate to, which really brings these theories to life."

• Introduction: Meta-Theory and Theory in Interpersonal Communication Research - Dawn O. Braithwaite, Paul Schrodt, and Kristen CarrPART I: Individually Centered Theories of Interpersonal CommunicationAction Assembly Theory: Forces of Creation - John O. GreeneAttribution Theory: Finding Good Cause in the Search for Theory - Brian H. Spitzberg and Valerie ManusovEvolutionary Theories: Explaining the Links Between Biology and Interpersonal Communication - Tamara Afifi, Shardé Davis, and Amanda DenesGoals-Plans-Action Theory of Message Production: Making Influence Messages - James Price DillardImagined Interaction Theory: Mental Representations of Interpersonal Communication - James M. HoneycuttPlanning Theory of Communication: Goal Attainment Through Communicative Action - Charles R. BergerProblematic Integration Theory and Uncertainty Management Theory: Learning to Hear and Speak to Different Forms of Uncertainty - Austin S. Babrow and Katie M. StrileyRelational Framing Theory: Drawing Inferences About Relationships From Interpersonal Interactions - Rachel M. McLaren and Denise Haunani SolomonSupportive Communication Theories: Dual-Process Theory of Supportive Message Outcomes and Advice Response Theory - Graham D. Bodie and Erina L. MacGeorgeTheory of Motivated Information Management: Struggles With Uncertainty and Its Outcomes - Walid A. Afifi and Stephanie RobbinsPART II: Discourse/Interaction-Centered Theories of Interpersonal CommunicationCommunication Accommodation Theory: A Situated Framework for Relational, Family, and Intergroup Dynamics - Howard Giles and Jordan SolizCommunication Theory of Identity: Multilayered Understandings of Performed Identities - Michael L. HechtCritical Approaches to Interpersonal Communication: Charting a Future - Leslie A. Baxter and Bryan AsburyCritical Feminist Theories: Giving Voice and Visibility to Women’s Experiences in Interpersonal Relations - Julia T. WoodExpectancy Violations Theory and Interaction Adaptation Theory: From Expectations to Adaptation - Cindy H. WhiteFace Theory: Goffman’s Dramatistic Approach to Interpersonal Interaction - Sandra Metts and William R. CupachGrounded Practical Theory: Theorizing Communicative Practices - Karen TracyNarrative Theories: Making Sense of Interpersonal Communication - Jody Koenig KellasPoliteness Theory: How We Use Language to Save Face - Daena J. Goldsmith and Emily Lamb NormandRelational Dialectics Theory: Navigating Meaning From Competing Discourses - Leslie A. Baxter and Kristen M. NorwoodSpeech Codes Theory: Traces of Culture in Interpersonal Communication - Gerry PhilipsenPART III: Relationship-Centered Theories of Interpersonal CommunicationAffection Exchange Theory: A Bio-Evolutionary Look at Affectionate Communication - Kory Floyd, Colin Hesse, and Mark Alan GenerousAttachment Theory: A Communication Perspective - Laura K. GuerreroCommunication Privacy Management Theory: Significance for Interpersonal Communication - Sandra Petronio and Wesley T. DurhamInterpersonal Deception Theory: Purposive and Interdependent Behavior During Deceptive Interpersonal Interactions - Judee K. Burgoon and David B. BullerMedia Multiplexity Theory: Technology Use and Interpersonal Tie Strength - Andrew M. LedbetterThe Relational Turbulence Model: Communicating During Times of Transition - Leanne K. KnoblochStage Theories of Relationship Development: Charting the Course of Interpersonal Communication - Paul A. Mongeau and Mary Lynn Miller HenningsenSocial Exchange Theories: Calculating the Rewards and Costs of Personal Relationships - Laura StaffordSocial Information Processing Theory: Impressions and Relationship Development Online - Joseph B. Walther