Sex Beyond Commitment

Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a dialogic theory of interpersonal and family communication. RDT is grounded in the work of Russian cultural theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. Extending Bakhtin's theory of dialogism, RDT offers a relationally oriented dialogic theory grounded in a skepticism of monologue. RDT recognizes the monologic potential inherent within family communication; however, RDT critiques these monologic tendencies, favoring instead a dialogic sense in which a cacophony of multiple perspectives struggles to be heard as the family makes—and remakes—meaning. This chapter discusses foundational RDT concepts, including the utterance, the utterance chain, the centripetal-centrifugal struggle of competing discourses, unfinalizability, and the continuum of interplay. The concept of the utterance chain concretizes Bakhin's central argument that utterances do not exist in isolation; rather, utterances are always in dialogue with both prior and anticipated future utterances. To continue the conversation, the chapter suggests that scholars make more productive use of the proximal sites on the utterance chain.

Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a postmodern critical theory of meaning. Based on the writing of Russian philosopher, RDT attunes researchers to the ways that discourses (i.e., ideologies) compete to make meaning of particular semantic objects (e.g., identities, phenomena, processes, etc.). Of note, not all discourses hold the same amount of power. Some discourses are dominant (i.e., centripetal) whereas others are marginalized (i.e., centrifugal). RDT researchers, then, are primarily interested in exploring how these discourses, with unequal power, compete. This focus on the competition of discourses for power and the ability of RDT to call out the ideological forces that disenfranchise some groups while enfranchising others holds promise for practical applications such as debunking misconceptions and better understanding where privilege comes from and how it is perpetuated. When discourses compete, they might do so within or across a set of utterances. Utterances are turns in talk and serve as the primary unit of analysis in RDT research. Utterances, however, are not standalone entities. Rather, they are connected by different links to form an utterance chain. Some links of the utterance chain pertain to time (what has been said before and what response an utterance can anticipate) whereas the other links of the utterance chain pertain to the relationship level (some pertain to the culture at large whereas other only to an idiosyncratic relationship). Overall, discursive competition takes place across a continuum of interplay. At one end of the continuum is monologue. Monologue represents the absence of meaning. Next are discursive enactments (i.e., closure) that reinforce the dominant discourse and shut down alternatives (see entry for complete list). Diachronic separation occurs when the dominance of a discourse changes across time. Diachronic separation can take two forms: (a) spiraling inversion or (b) segmentation. Synchronic interplay is next and occurs when two discourses compete within a given utterance. When RDT researchers examine a text for synchronic interplay, they often look to see how a marginalized discourse (a) negates, (b) counters, or (c) entertains the dominant discourse. Finally, on the other end of the continuum of interplay, is dialogic transformation. Dialogic transformation occurs through either (a) discursive hybridity or (b) an aesthetic moment whereby discourses suspend their interplay to create new meanings. Conducted using RDT’s corresponding method, contrapuntal analysis, researchers using this theory work to disrupt hegemonic, taken-for-granted assumptions about how things are and call attention to voices overlooked in the past. To date, this theory has been taken up primarily by family, interpersonal, and health communication scholars, although many scholars have used this theory throughout the discipline.

The United States military is a frequent point of public conversation since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Approximately two and a half million service members have deployed in the Global War on Terror, and many have completed multiple deployments with almost 7,000 fatalities across operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Communication research on the military has a long history but since 9/11 has picked up pace with scholars seeking to understand the military’s relationship with the media, its discussion in the public sphere, and the interpersonal/familial experiences of service members and their families. The theoretical and methodological approaches are wide ranging within the discipline, but an intergroup perspective is noticeably absent. Many opportunities exist for answering intergroup communication questions, most notably at the military and civilian divide and, in turn, offering insight about and practical suggestions for communication within and about the military. Given the numerous possibilities for intergroup communication research related to the military, researchers should seize the opportunity to bring new theoretical and methodological approaches to the area. One theory, which has not been used in the intergroup communication scholarship but has great potential for this part of the discipline, is relational dialectics theory. Relational dialectics theory (RDT) is a critical/interpretive theory/method package that explores the substance and form of relational talk with a keen eye for dominant and marginalized discourses. For example, intergroup communication scholars who study the military from an RDT perspective could help illuminate how different groups (e.g., military families and civilian families; same-sex military married couples; and opposite-sex military married couples) understand and construct, for example, their similarities and differences with the goal of improving their interactions. Intergroup communication scholars could use also RDT to study how multiple group-related discourses are present within military groups who have diverse membership (e.g., Family Readiness Groups, FRGs) where members constitute the intersections of several identities (e.g., military wives are simultaneously members of military culture but technically are not military personnel; members are also often simultaneously women, spouses, who, in some cases, are mothers who come from different socioeconomic and ethnic groups, as well as identify as officer or enlisted wives).

Researchers from disciplines of education, health communication, law and risk management, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy examined communication tensions among interprofessional (IP) health care providers regarding medical error disclosure utilizing patient simulation. Using relational dialectics theory, we examined how communication tensions manifested in both individual-provided medical error disclosure and IP team-based disclosure. Two dialectical tensions that health care providers experienced in disclosure conversations were identified: (a) leadership and support, and (b) transparency and protectionism. Whereas these tensions were identified in an IP education setting using simulation, findings support the need for future research in clinical practice, which may inform best practices for various disclosure models. Identifying dialectical tensions in disclosure conversations may enable health communication experts to effectively engage health care providers, risk management, and patient care teams in terms of support and education related to communicating about medical errors.

The authors used relational dialectics theory (RDT 2.0) to frame a collaborative autoethnography based on a year of their e-mail exchanges to show how romantic dyads use discourse to conceptualize themselves and their relationships. They used collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a method to connect feminist inquiry with a critique of traditional interpersonal communication research. The use of found poetry/poetic transcription illustrates the antagonistic discourses of (a) intellect versus embodiment, (b) real-life work versus other worlds, (c) balance versus giving everything, and (d) past relationships versus the present. The RDT analysis demonstrated a conflict between feminist ethics, individual identities, and romantic narratives that contributed to a conflicted relational culture. This autoethnography suggests the utility of this type of text for RDT and the examination of discursive struggles of identity and intimacy crafted jointly in relational discourse.

As the number of families formed through visible adoption continues to increase, so too does the need to understand how members communicatively experience their families. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the researcher conducted 31 interviews with 40 parents to investigate what, if any, contradictions parents experience as they engage in identity-work. The researcher describes six contradictions active in parents’ identity-work: (i) similarity and difference, (ii) invisibility and visibility, (iii) integration and distance, (iv) fortune and loss, (v) openness and closedness and (vi) community and privacy. Implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers and individuals who interact with members of families formed through visible adoption.

This article provides an overview of communication among peer coworkers, or employees with no formal control over one another. It provides a history of scholarly research on coworker communication and outlines the four primary theoretical approaches in coworker communication research. The article highlights how uncertainty reduction theory, social exchange theory, and relational dialectics theory can be used to frame research on coworker communication. Finally, key topics of information exchange, social support, mentorships, close relationships, self‐managed teams, and negative coworker interactions are discussed, along with future directions for research on communication among peer coworkers.

Despite the prevalence of children in need of adoption from the U.S. foster care system, only one of every 28 individuals who contact an adoption agency adopt from foster care. In response, adoption professionals create photolistings to maximize the pool of available prospective adoptive families and enhance the visibility of fostered youth. Yet, creating photolistings is challenging because professionals must navigate helping to place children without exploiting or misrepresenting them. Framed by relational dialectics theory, a contrapuntal analysis of 104 photolistings examined the discursive tensions of what it means to be an “adoptable” child. Findings revealed three discourses that constitute meaning: (1) discourse of child as unadoptable, (2) discourse of child as special, and (3) discourse of child as typical. The findings illustrate triadic interplay of all three discourses, wherein framing a child as special and/or typical counters culturally pervasive and damaging assumptions that fostered youth might be unadoptable or less adoptable than other children. Theoretical, methodological, and practical applications are discussed.

Female friendships are significant to many Black females because they represent a homeplace, or a safe space. This study uses Baxter and Montgomery's (1996, 1998) relational dialectics theory and Collins’ (2000) Black feminist thought to understand the interplay of contradictions in the stories that Black females tell in their friendship groups. The contradictions embedded in the stories were finances (spending/saving), language (“good”/“bad” English), appearance (satisfaction/dissatisfaction), and race (acceptance/rejection of otherness). The interaction of these tensions showed that the friends engaged in group segregation and integration, which ultimately enabled them to freely express their culturally based truths without fear of marginalization.

A family member who is present when a loved one is dying in a hospital setting may be profoundly affected by interactions with others in that setting, including the dying person. Interaction shapes how one experiences a loved one's death and dying. Framed in relational dialectics theory, this qualitative case study describes dialectical contradictions I experienced in the context of my grandmother dying in a hospital setting. Personal journals were analyzed, with three primary dialectics being identified: certainty-uncertainty, control-lack of control, and autonomy-connection. Understanding dialectical contradictions experienced by a family member when a loved one is dying in a hospital setting could lead to enhanced support services for family members.

The U.S. foster care system aims to provide care to children who are unable to live safely with their families of origin. Yet, fostered youth endure negative experiences before, during, and after foster care. This study investigates tensions between stated goals and experiences of foster care, from the perspective of (formerly) fostered youth. Framed by relational dialectics theory, contrapuntal analysis of 32 narrative interviews revealed two discourses that construct meaning of the foster care system: (1) Discourse of System as (a Necessary) Good aligned with stated goals, constructing the system as helpful and (2) Discourse of System as Harmful (but Necessary) competed with assumptions that foster care is helpful, constructing the system as broken. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Focus groups were conducted with 51 college students to examine how participants engaged in meaning making about the presence and use of cell phones with non-present others while in the context of dating and spending time with romantic partners. Grounded in relational dialectics theory, qualitative analysis revealed two sets of competing discourses at play in college students’ talk about cell phones: discourses of community and romance and discourses of control and freedom. The interplay of these competing discourses illuminated participants’ struggles with being available to others while trying to provide attention to their dating partners. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Type 2 diabetes is a contradictory chronic illness that needs to be managed in cooperation with health care professionals. Despite the significant role of the professional-patient relationship in diabetes management, the meaning of this relationship as part of diabetes management has not yet been studied. The aim of this qualitative study is to describe the competing discourses of professional-patient relationships in type 2 diabetes management. As a background theory, the study applied the relational dialectics theory (RDT) 2.0 by analyzing discourses in patients’ interpersonal communication experiences with health care professionals. Overall, 63 experiences were analyzed using contrapuntal analysis. According to the results, both the patients’ positive and negative descriptions were connected to three struggling discourses: 1) having the right to care versus deserving care, 2) guidance versus control, and 3) personalization versus standardization. These discourses offered new perspectives to clarify and strengthen the role of professional-patient relationships in type 2 diabetes management.

In large Chinese corporations operating in the Greater China region, there is an increasing use of web-based bilingual messages by their corporate leaders for fostering relationships with stakeholders. Although frequently presented as literal translations of each other, leaders’ bilingual communication sometimes tends to exhibit nonliteral variations. This study aims to examine the relational dialectics theory in the construction of leader-stakeholder relationships in leaders’ bilingual web-based messages and explores the dialectical oppositions that are embedded in the Chinese and English versions of these messages. The results suggest that leaders’ communication is characterized by the deliberate use of different dialectics that allow them to tailor their communication to the perceived needs of stakeholders from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, the Chinese version of the message is adapted to exude greater connection, openness, affection, and predictability in content as well as style, which is believed to strengthen relationships with stakeholders.

Research on ostracism overwhelmingly suggests that being ostracized is a painful experience. Much of this research comes from the field of psychology and uses various adaptations of the Cyberball experiment to specifically examine the effects of being ostracized through the Temporal Model of ostracism. As a result, there is much less understanding about how ostracism is communicated interpersonally, the interpretive process of receiving an ostracism message, or the antecedent communication conditions that allow someone to recognize various cues as ostracism. Thus, the purpose of this manuscript was twofold. The first goal was to conduct an extensive review of literature to reveal the discrepancies, variations, and disunity of the operationalization and conceptualization of ostracism related terminology across disciplines and to show how such a landscape has made it difficult for communication scholars to study ostracism as communication. The second goal was to propose a new terminology, interpersonal ostracism messages (IOMs), and to define it in order to fill this gap. By using Expectancy Violations Theory and Relational Dialectics Theory, we further shape the definition of IOMs so that communication researchers can begin focusing on ostracism as an interpersonal communication phenomenon and begin looking beyond the psychological effects of being ostracized.