Interpersonal Theory Analysis: 200 points
Detailed Assignment Information:
For the Interpersonal unit in this course, you will write an Interpersonal Theory Analysis. This writing assignment will provide you with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about a single theory of Interpersonal Communication, and also to think about how that theory can be applied in real-world communication contexts (i.e., in a face-to-face interaction and also in a mediated interaction). You will also gain experience locating and using scholarly sources as supporting evidence in your academic writing. To help you complete this assignment efficiently, and also to help ensure you are writing about a well-known Interpersonal theory, you will choose your theory from the Theorieslist provided at the end of this assignment document. You should not write about any other theory that is not present on this list, and you should not write about more than one theory.
Your analysis should include 8 sections: cover page, introduction, theory summary, theory explanation, face-to-face communication example, mediated communication example, conclusion, and references. Your cover page should be the first page of your document and should include your title, name, and the university name (see link in Resources section of this document to the OWL@Purdue APA guide for further information on cover page formatting). The body of your analysis should include the introduction, theory summary, theory explanation, face-to-face example, mediated example, and conclusion. Your reference section should be the last page of your document (see OWL@Purdue for further information on reference page formatting). Your entire document should be in APA format, which includes the use of section headers to label each section, Times New Roman 12 point font with double spacing, and in-text/parenthetical citations. You are required to cite at least 3 credible, academic sources in this analysis. To assist you with this requirement, you may use your textbook as 1 of the 3 sources. You will also be provided with 1 scholarly article that is related to your chosen theory and that may count as source 2 of 3. You will be responsible for locating source 3 using the TAMUCC online library system. Please see the Resources section of this document for links to information explaining how to use that system.
Here is a breakdown of what each section of writing should contain:
Cover Page: title, your name, and the university name (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) single-spaced and centered on the page (centered both top and middle – true center).
Introduction: attention-gaining opening sentence, thesis statement that tells the reader the purpose of the writing, a brief overview of the content/major point that will be discussed, and a transition sentence into the next section.
Theory Summary: an overview of the theory that includes the name, when it was developed and by whom, information related to any major changes over time (e.g., name change, split from another major theory, etc.), and what the theory is generally concerned with (i.e., what about interpersonal communication does it tell us?).
Theory Explanation: an in-depth description of exactly what the theory entails in terms of specifically what parts of an interpersonal interaction it attempts to explain, what variables it includes, what the model (if there is one) looks like and how it works, how the theory addresses variations across different types of interpersonal interactions, when the theory works and when it doesn’t work, what the theory has not been able to explain about interpersonal communication.
Face-to-Face Example (may be real/have actually happened to you or may be made-up): a description of how the theory would work in action within a face-to-face interpersonal communication situation that includes a description of the individuals involved in the interaction, how they are related to each other, what the purpose of the interaction is, what the communication environment is like, how the components of the theory play out within the interaction, how the theory explains the outcome of the interaction, and insights into why the theory explains the interaction well and/or what it fails to explain.
Mediated Communication Example (may be real/have actually happened to you or be made-up): a description of how the theory would work in action within a mediated interpersonal communication situation (e.g., texting, Skype, phone call, Facebook conversation, etc.) that includes a description of the individuals involved in the interaction, how they are related to each other, what the purpose of the interaction is, what the communication environment is like, how the components of the theory play out within the interaction and how that is different than face-to-face (if it is different), how the theory explains the outcome of the interaction (and if that changes because it is a mediated context), insights into why the theory explains the interaction well and/or what it fails to explain, and any insights into how the mediated context changes the functionality of the theory.
Conclusion: a brief summary of what was discussed, a few sentences tying all the information together (i.e., stating an overall conclusion the reader can draw about the theory as it related to interpersonal communication and/or what was learned by applying the theory to real-world examples), and a final statement that leaves the reader feeling a sense of closure and satisfaction about what they have learned.
References: an APA formatted page, which is labeled References and includes APA formatted citations for all of the sources you used (i.e., 3 minimum; 1 should be the textbook and 1 should be the article provided to you). Be sure to double check that all information in the paper that is not originally from your brain has a source cited in the proper parenthetical format and that the source is also on the reference page. Also make sure that if you have a source on your reference page that you did include in-text citations in the body wherever information from that source was used.
Basic Assignment Requirements:
1) 3-5 double-spaced pages (cover page is single-spaced!), typed in APA format
2) Include all 8 sections as detailed above
3) Choose one theory from the list provided and write only about that theory
4) Cite a minimum of 3 credible, academic sources to include the textbook, the article provided, and one additional article found using the online library system
5) Submit to Blackboard using the assignment submission link as instructed
Grading:
A detailed grading rubric can be viewed on Blackboard by clicking on the assignment submission link and clicking on the View Rubric button.
Theories:
Uncertainty Reduction Theory
Social Penetration
The Johari Window
Relational Escalation
Relational De-escalation
Relational Dialectics
Resources:
OWL@Purdue APA guide: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/