Preface
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One of the greatest blessings we all experience as teachers of interpersonal communication is the chance to connect with an array of interesting, complicated, and diverse people. Each term, a new window of contact opens. As we peer through it on that first day, we see the faces of those who will comprise our class. They are strangers to us at that moment—an enigmatic group distinguished only by visible differences in skin, hair, and mode of dress. But over the weeks that follow, they become individuated people. We learn the names that symbolize their now-familiar faces, as well as their unique cultural identities: the intersection of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, age, and economic background that comprises each of them. And because it’s an interpersonal class, we also learn their stories: the tragedies that linger in sadness etched upon their brows; the aspirations that urge them to lean forward in knowledge-anticipation. Then the term ends, the window closes, and the shade is drawn. All that remains are the after-images imprinted on the retina of our memories: Alex, who came out of the closet—but only to you; Sonia, who struggled to surmount stereotypes of her Pakistani ancestry; Lourdes, who, as the first in her family to attend college, brought to your class all the hopes and dreams of multiple generations.
This seemingly limitless breadth of cultural variation should evoke a sense of unbridgeable distance. But instead, these people whom we come to call our students share a common bond that serves to connect them: they all want to improve their relationships. They bring to our classes romantic heartbreaks, battles with family members, and betrayals of friends; and they look to us to give them practical, relevant knowledge that will empower them to choose wisely in dealing with these challenges. The skills and knowledge that we provide transform their lives in powerful, constructive ways. The legacy of such impact is found in their e-mails and Facebook messages to us months, and even years, later: “I just wanted you to know that your class changed my life.”
It is this combination of cultural diversity, commonality in goals and concerns, and potential for transformative impact that compelled me to write Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition. But to understand the fourth edition, you need to know the backstory of the editions that precede it. When I wrote the first edition of Reflect & Relate, I wanted to provide my fellow teachers and their students with a textbook that was welcoming, friendly, personal, trustworthy, and practical—a book that was rock solid in content, represented the finest of new and classic scholarship in our discipline, and provided a clear sense of the field as a domain of scientific endeavor, not just “common sense.” I also wanted a book that didn’t read like a typical textbook but was so engaging that students might read through entire chapters before they realized they had done so. And, of course, my core mission: a book that didn’t just tell students what to do but taught students how to systematically reason through interpersonal communication challenges. Students could walk away from reading it knowing how to solve their own problems and flexibly adapt to dynamic changes in contexts and relationships. I also had a very particular view of how I wanted to treat culture. Given that cultural variation permeates nearly every aspect of our interpersonal lives, I wanted to have cultural content integrated seamlessly throughout the text, rather than sequestered into a single chapter.
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As the years have gone by, however, I’ve come to realize that coverage of culture within the book should reflect our (and our students’) true experience of culture. Culture isn’t just broadly disseminated across our daily lives; culture runs deep. Our cultural backgrounds play a fundamental role in shaping our perceptions, our emotions, our communication, and our relationships. This idea of “culture broad and deep” served as the guiding metaphor for my revision: cover cultural applications across all chapters, but also have a chapter devoted to deeply exploring culture. The single biggest change returning users will find in this edition is the inclusion of a new culture chapter, where they’ll find classic and new scholarship related to the impact of cultural difference on interpersonal communication and relationships, including coverage of collectivism and individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity and femininity, prejudice, ethnocentrism, and world-mindedness.
At the same time, the fourth edition also contains a ton of new and recent research representing the very best of interpersonal scholarship, including coverage of online competence, the impact of mobile devices on intimacy and disclosure, self-concept clarity, empathy mind-sets, anxiety and emotional contagion, the neuroscience of romantic passion, and blended families. Scores of new examples—Girls, Breaking Bad, and The Babadook, to name a few—will resonate with students and illustrate key concepts for them. Meanwhile, the new Instructor’s Annotated Edition offers more instructional support than ever before.
Also new to the fourth edition is the exciting evolution of the flagship feature of the book: Making Relationship Choices. Traditionally, this exercise has challenged students with a perplexing case study in which they must reason through to an optimal solution. For this edition of Reflect & Relate, we have added a potent and provocative twist: students read the “story” of the situation and generate a communicative solution, but then they have the opportunity to see “The Other Side” of the story, as told in a video recording by the other person in the situation. Subsequently, students can revisit their initial thought on a solution to assess whether it’s still the most competent way of dealing with the situation. This feature provides an unprecedented opportunity for students to build and refine their perspective-taking and empathy skills.
I’m thrilled about all that Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition has to offer you and your students, and I would love to hear what you think about this new edition. Please feel free to drop me a line at smcc911@uab.edu or on Facebook so that we can chat about the book and the course, or just talk shop about teaching interpersonal communication.
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What’s New in the Fourth Edition?
The Fourth Edition of Reflect & Relate is truly modern and digital-forward, covering the most important topics in interpersonal communication and connecting them to digital media.
Culture! Expanded coverage of culture in a new chapter, and Focus on Culture features throughout all chapters. Since culture permeates every aspect of interpersonal communication, Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition, devotes a chapter to this vital topic. This chapter explores the definitions of culture and co-cultures, and also dives into specific topics, such as emotional displays, views of time, overcoming prejudice, communication accommodation, and regional dialects. Culture is also covered in other chapters, both in text sections and in Focus on Culture boxes, addressing the importance of students being aware of how culture influences interpersonal communication.
New videos for the Making Relationship Choices feature now help students see a different point of view. Unique to Reflect & Relate, the Making Relationship Choices feature presents a challenging interpersonal situation and then helps students reason through it by drawing on the knowledge and skills they’ve acquired from the text and the course. In the fourth edition, Making Relationship Choices has been expanded to include brand-new, professionally shot videos and multimedia content on LaunchPad to make the experience even more engaging. Each video shows the communication partner’s point of view; the confessional-style videos express the thoughts and feelings of your best friend, your sister, your coworker, your dad, and other important people in your life. Raw and emotional, the videos provide a window into what the other person is really thinking, and help students practice perspective-taking and build empathy.
Extensive coverage of computer-mediated communication meets students where they are: online. Our modes of communication are changing. Whether via app, text, tweet, or note, learning appropriate digital communication skills is vital to successful communication. Specific examples dedicated to computer-mediated communication help students refine and improve their pervasive use of communication technologies.
Access to LaunchPad, a dynamic and easy-to-use platform. LaunchPad makes instructors’ lives easier by putting everything in one place, combining the full e-book with carefully chosen videos, quizzes, activities, instructor’s resources, and LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. LaunchPad allows instructors to create reading, video, or quiz assignments in seconds, as well as VideoTools that enable students to embed their own videos or custom content. Instructors can also keep an eye on their students’ progress throughout the semester.
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Reflect & Relate offers lots of new content in areas that interest students the most.
Topics like multitasking online, the impact of mobile devices on intimacy and disclosure, social media, and supportive communication can be found in every chapter. This new content reflects issues of concern for today’s students and represents the very best scholarship within the field of interpersonal communication.
Current, powerful stories and images hook students’ interest. Reflect & Relate is full of new, current, and relatable examples that students will want to read. The text and photo program pulls from pop culture—everything from Scandal, Orange Is the New Black, and The Dallas Buyer’s Club to Game of Thrones—as well as current events and real stories from the author and his students to provide content that resonates with students and is easy to show and discuss in class.
New chapter openers feature a diverse group of contributors who share compelling stories about the impact of interpersonal communication in everyday life. New openers include an interview with the dean of a “Santa School,” Jennifer Andrews, on the important role of listening; and an exploration of the friendships in SpongeBob SquarePants. The chapter openers share appealing stories that students can look to, learn from, and use to transform their own lives and relationships.
Flagship Features
Reflect & Relate Offers an Accessible, Innovative Look at the Discipline
Reflect & Relate presents a fresh perspective on interpersonal communication. Discussions of classic and cutting-edge scholarship from interpersonal communication, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and linguistics are woven together. Unlike other texts, Reflect & Relate continues to focus on how these concepts are linked to interpersonal communication and how communication skills can be improved.
Reflect & Relate balances current topics with classic coverage. The text integrates coverage of social media, workplace bullying, multitasking online, and other novel topics with familiar topics like self-awareness, conflict approaches, and nonverbal communication codes.
Integrated discussions on culture and gender appear in every chapter. Reflect & Relate treats individual and cultural influences as integral parts of the story by discussing the myths and realities of how race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and age shape communication. In the fourth edition, new examples and updated coverage include the differences between high- and low-context cultures, and how gender equality and inequality around the world influence power.
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Reflect & Relate offers clear explanations, engaging examples, and an attractive art program. The text is truly a page-turner, engaging students’ interest with compelling writing. Nearly every major concept is illustrated with examples drawn from pop culture, history, current events, and everyday life—examples that reflect the diversity of students themselves in terms of age, gender, lifestyle, occupation, and culture. Meanwhile, the appealing and pedagogically sound art program works with the examples to grab students’ attention and focus them on the subject at hand.
Reflect & Relate Helps Students Look More Deeply at Themselves—and Develop Skills for a Lifetime
Self-Reflection questions foster critical self-awareness. Self-awareness is essential for competent communication, and carefully placed Self-Reflection questions show students how to examine their own experiences and communication in light of theory and research. As a result, students gain a better understanding of concepts—such as emotional intelligence, stereotyping, and relationship ethics—and of themselves. They also learn the habit of ongoing critical self-reflection, which can lead to better communication outcomes.
Skills Practice exercises strengthen students’ abilities. Every chapter includes three Skills Practice exercises—one devoted to online communication—that give step-by-step instruction on practical skills, such as appropriately self-disclosing and interpreting nonverbal codes. Skills Practice activities are specifically designed to make it easy for students to implement them in their everyday lives.
Focus on Culture boxes and Self-Quiz exercises help students gain knowledge about their own communication. Focus on Culture boxes challenge students to think about how the influence of their own culture shapes their communication. Rooted in research, Self-Quiz exercises help students analyze their strengths and weaknesses so that they can focus on how to improve their communication.
Reflect & Relate Helps Students Improve Their Relationships
Romantic, family, friend, and workplace relationships are explored. Tailoring communication strategies to specific relationships is both essential and challenging, so Reflect & Relate devotes three full chapters and an appendix to these key communication contexts, giving students in-depth knowledge along with practical strategies for using communication to improve their relationships. Special emphasis is given to relationship maintenance—a key relational concern many students bring to the classroom.
Unique Making Relationship Choices case studies take application to a new level. These activities challenge students to draw on their knowledge when facing difficult relationship issues and to create their own solutions. Instead of just asking students “What would you do?” or offering them solutions, Making Relationship Choices teaches students how to systematically reason through problems in order to generate their own constructive solutions. Students walk step-by-step through realistic scenarios—critically self-reflecting, considering others’ perspectives, determining best outcomes, and identifying potential roadblocks—to make informed communication decisions. They then have the opportunity to experience “The Other Side” of the story by watching a video in which a character gives a first-person account of the situation. Becoming aware of both sides of the story allows students to reevaluate their initial reaction and response.
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A Multifaceted Digital Experience Brings It All Together
LaunchPad helps students learn, study, and apply communication concepts.
LaunchPad is a dynamic new platform that combines a collection of relevant video clips, self-assessments, e-book content, and LearningCurve adaptive quizzing in a simple design. LaunchPad can be packaged at a significant discount with Reflect & Relate, or it can be purchased separately.
NEW Making Relationship Choices videos help students see “The Other Side” of the scenario, helping them develop empathy.
LearningCurve provides adaptive quizzing and a personalized learning program. In every chapter, call-outs prompt students to tackle the game-like LearningCurve quizzes to test their knowledge and reinforce learning of the material. Based on research as to how students learn, LearningCurve motivates students to engage with course materials, while the reporting tools let you see what content students have mastered, allowing you to adapt your teaching plan to their needs.
LaunchPad videos help students see concepts in action and encourage self-reflection. The LaunchPad video feature connects theories in the text with online video illustrations that help students understand interpersonal communication. Videos, including new clips on Culture and Mediated Communication, help students see theory in action, while accompanying reflection questions help them apply it to their own experiences. More than 70 video activities are easily assignable and make useful journal prompts or discussion starters. An interactive feature, each video activity includes two reflection questions that encourage students to consider how the concepts may impact their own relationships and lives. For ideas on how to integrate video into your course, see the Instructor’s Annotated Edition and the Instructor’s Resource Manual. To access the full list of videos in LaunchPad, go to the Resources tab and click on “Content by type.” Then click on “Videos” or “Video Activities.”
VideoTools makes it easy to create assignments and evaluate videos. The functionality of VideoTools enables instructors to create video assignments. Instructors and students can add video, use time-based comments to discuss video, and assess video using rubrics.
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Digital and Print Formats
Whether it’s print, digital, or a value option, choose the best format for you. For more information on these resources, please visit the online catalog at macmillanhighered.com/reflectrelate4e/catalog.
LaunchPad for Reflect & Relate is a new platform that dramatically enhances teaching and learning. LaunchPad combines the full e-book, videos, quizzes and self-assessments, instructor’s resources, and LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. To get access to all multimedia resources, package LaunchPad at a significant discount with a print book or order LaunchPad on its own.
Reflect & Relate is available as a print text. To get the most out of the book, package LaunchPad at a significant discount with the text.
The Loose-leaf Edition of Reflect & Relate features the same print text in a convenient, budget-priced format, designed to fit into any three-ring binder. The loose-leaf version can be packaged at a significant discount with LaunchPad.
Reflect & Relate e-book option. The e-book for Reflect & Relate includes the same content as the print book and allows students to add their own notes and highlight important information. Instructors can customize the e-book by adding their own content and deleting or rearranging the chapters.
Resources for Students and Instructors
For more information on these resources or to learn about package options, please visit the online catalog at macmillanhighered.com/reflectrelate4e/catalog.
Resources for Students
The Essential Guide to Intercultural Communication, by Jennifer Willis-Rivera (University of Wisconsin, River Falls). This brief and useful guide offers an overview of key communication areas—including perception, verbal and nonverbal communication, interpersonal relationships, and organizations—from a uniquely intercultural perspective.
The Essential Guide to Group Communication, Second Edition, by Dan O’Hair (University of Kentucky) and Mary Wiemann (Santa Barbara City College). This concise and incisive text explains the role of group communication within organizations and other settings, and contains useful guidelines for acting as an effective leader, avoiding groupthink, and achieving optimal results.
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The Essential Guide to Rhetoric, by William M. Keith (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) and Christian O. Lundberg (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Written by two leaders in the communication field, this concise guide combines concrete, relevant examples with jargon-free language to provide an accessible and balanced overview of key historical and contemporary rhetorical theories.
Media Career Guide: Preparing for Jobs in the 21st Century, Tenth Edition, by Sherri Hope Culver (Temple University). Practical, student friendly, and revised to include the most recent statistics on the job market, this guide includes a comprehensive directory of media jobs, practical tips, and career guidance for students considering a major in the media industry.
Resources for Instructors
For more information or to order or download the instructor’s resources, please visit the online catalog. The Instructor’s Resource Manual, Test Bank, and lecture slides are also available on LaunchPad: macmillanhighered.com/reflectrelate4e.
Instructor’s Annotated Edition for Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition, edited by Alicia Alexander (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville). A valuable resource for instructors with any level of experience, the comprehensive Instructor’s Annotated Edition provides more than 120 suggestions for activities and assignments, recommendations for videos and Web sites that illustrate course concepts, and tips for starting in-class discussions. In addition, a special introduction from author Steven McCornack at the front of the Instructor’s Annotated Edition provides insight into how the book works, while the Activity Guide—a collection of classroom activities submitted by interpersonal communication instructors around the country—is sure to spark ideas for innovative activities in your classroom.
Online Instructor’s Resource Manual for Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition, by Curt VanGeison (St. Charles Community College), Joseph Ortiz (Scottsdale Community College), and Marion Boyer (Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Emeritus). The comprehensive Instructor’s Resource Manual is downloadable from LaunchPad. To access the resources for each chapter, click on the Resources tab, “Content by type,” “Instructor’s Resource Manual.” It includes teaching notes on managing an interpersonal communication course, organization, and assessment; sample syllabi; advice on addressing ESL and intercultural issues; and tips for using the pedagogical features of Reflect & Relate. In addition, a teaching guide provides suggestions for implementing the book’s thorough coverage of cultural issues. Every chapter also includes lecture outlines and class discussion starters, class and group exercises, assignment suggestions, video and music recommendations, and Web site links.
Computerized Test Bank for Reflect & Relate, Fourth Edition, by Charles J. Korn (Northern Virginia Community College). The Test Bank is one of the largest for the introductory interpersonal communication course, with more than 100 multiple-choice, true/false, short-answer, and essay questions for every chapter. To access the Test Bank questions in LaunchPad, click on the Resources tab, “Questions by Chapter,” “Test Bank.” From here, the instructor can assign individual questions or create customized quizzes using the Test Bank questions. This easy-to-use Test Bank also identifies the level of difficulty for each question, includes the number of the page on which the answer is found, and connects every question to a learning objective.
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Teaching Interpersonal Communication, Second Edition, by Elizabeth J. Natalle (University of North Carolina–Greensboro) and Alicia Alexander (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville). Written by award-winning instructors, this essential resource provides all the tools instructors need to develop, teach, and manage a successful interpersonal communication course. New and seasoned instructors alike will benefit from the practical advice, scholarly insight, suggestions for integrating research and practice into the classroom—as well as the new chapter dedicated to teaching online.
Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook, by Deanna Fassett and John Warren. This guidebook offers the most practical advice on every topic central to the coordinator/director role. Starting with setting a strong foundation, this professional resource continues on with thoughtful guidance, tips, and best practices on such crucial topics as creating community across multiple sections, orchestrating meaningful assessment, and hiring and training instructors. Model course materials, recommended readings, and insights from successful coordinators make this resource a must-have for anyone directing a course in communication.
Lecture slides for Reflect & Relate provide support for important concepts addressed in each chapter, including graphics of key figures and questions for class discussion. The slides are available for download on LaunchPad and from the Instructor Resources tab at macmillanhighered.com/reflectrelate/catalog.