Producers: Governors State University

Focuses on destructive and constructive family conflict patterns, and pays particular attention to verbal aggression as a destructive pattern. The class explores the implications to communication caused by verbal aggression, as well as the long-term damage caused by psychological abuse and parental hostility toward children. Students are walked through a variety of methods that help to hold abusive conflict at bay, including techniques for fighting fairly, criticizing behaviors instead of people, avoiding hot buttons, engaging in reflective listening, and scheduling communication “checkups”. Featured interview: Professor Douglas Kelley (Arizona State University – West) and Professor Teresa Sabourin (University of Cincinnati).

Looks into over two decades of research on marital interactions conducted by John Gottman and his associates. The class begins with an overview of Gottman’s major contributions to the literature on marital interactions, including such proprietary concepts as the three categories of marital styles, the “negativity-to-positivity ratio”, and “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. In a visit to Gottman’s research laboratory, students see this important multi-methodological research in action. The role of the psychological process in marital relations is also discussed. Featured interview: Professor John Gottman (University of Washington – Seattle).

Focuses on the various developmental changes families face over time and the impact those changes have on family communication. The class delves into the changes that occur with in a traditional family cycle model. Also discussed: the transition to parenthood and the change it initiates in marital communication/role expectation, the re-establishment of a relationship when new roles are incorporated into the family, and the transmission of culture as an important parental function. Featured interview: Professor Glen Stamp (Ball State University).

Focuses on how transitional periods influence family communication. Discussion reveals how conflict patterns and marital satisfaction change over a relationship’s life cycle, what theories can help us examine how change impacts communication over an individual’s lifetime, and the elements of social, family, and historical time. Also included is discussion on how the role of ritual moves the family from one stage of communication to another. Featured interview: Professor Michael Roloff (Northwestern University).

This episode focuses on how family communication is affected by stresses that cannot be foreseen from either a developmental or a life course perspective. The Baines’ model for determining how severe a stressor will be on a family is introduced and explained. Stressors resulting from divorce are discussed, with particular attention given to the changes in roles and responsibility in a post-divorce family. Featured interview: Professor Marcia Dixson (Indiana-Purdue University).

Considers the impact of relational culture, dialectical tensions, and relational currencies (ways of sharing affection). Definitions for and examples of each are provided. A special emphasis is placed on shared meaning and congruence of currencies. Featured interviews: Dr. Charles Wilkinson, Marriage and Family Therapist and Professor Julia Wood (University of North Carolina ).

Focuses on the importance role of rituals in creating, managing, and maintaining relationships. Discussion explores verbal and non-verbal marital communication rituals – particularly the day-to-day, often very intimate ones. Students learn to recognize and define the different ritual functions help create a culture of two. Featured interview: Professor and researcher Carol Bruess (Hamline University).

Focuses on the role of everyday conversation in creating and maintaining a family relationship. The class explores the three faces of talk: informative talk, talk as a means of expression, and talk as a tool for re-establishing contact. Specific focus is given to general talk and its unique meanings. Two specific kinds of talk – debriefing conversations and self-disclosure – are also defined and discussed in detail. Featured interview: Professor Anita Vangelisti (University of Texas – Austin) and Professor Julia Wood (University of North Carolina).

Includes a description of the course’s philosophy and goals, and defines the basic assumptions challenged in this course. Together Dr. Galvin and the students create definitions for the terms “family” and “communication,” and discuss the types of families that will be analyzed in the course. Featured interview: Professor Dr. William Pinsof (Northwestern University), President and CEO of The Family Institute at Northwestern University

Reviews the powerful role of communication patterns in the family. Positive, negative, conscious, and unconscious patterns are discussed. The class also introduces the concept of “adaptability patterns” which provides a basis for understanding the level of emotional bonding and the degree of individual autonomy acceptable in a family. Featured interviews: Professor Douglas Kelley (Arizona State University-West) and Dr. Charles Wilkinson, Marriage and Family Therapist.