In every relationship whether it be a significant other, a friend, or family member there will be conflict and there will be times when we have to come to understand them and where they are coming from. There are three different theories surrounding relationships and the conflict that happen within them. A theory is an a attempt to explain a phenomena, and the phenomena that these three theories attempt to explain are the common patterns of relationships.
The first theory is the exchange theory. The exchange theory is the theory that when both people are not giving an equal part in the relationship then it will most likely not last. For example if one person in the relationship never does anything for the other partner in the relationship and this partner is always doing everything in the relationship then there will be a gap of understanding in the relationship. It is like a balance scale when both sides weigh the same amount the scale will remain balanced and the relationship works. If this is not happening then the relationship could be unbalanced. Although it may be unbalanced, if one partner seeks to truly understand why the other partner is lacking in the relationship then they will be able to resolve the issue through communication. This may seem like a conflict which is what our next theory attempts to explain.
The conflict theory is the theory that whenever there is more than one person trying to make a decision there is bound to be some kind of conflict in the decision. As I talked about with the scale deciding on how to be more balanced could create a conflict if both parties feel that it is unfair. There are many people who hate conflict of any kind but constructive conflict is not harmful to a relationship. These conflicts can be as simple as where to eat or what kind of icecream to get regardless they will come up and as we seek to understand what the other person wants and compromise the conflict will not seem like that big of a deal. Conflict is necessary but fighting is not.
The third theory is the symbolic interaction theory. This theory is the one that I think is very common it is the theory that everything is symbolic. So basically when someone reads into signs that they think the other person is giving them when they really aren't meaning anything by what they are doing. I know I have definitely been guilty of this one sometimes it is hard not to get hung up on every little thing. Some examples of this are missreading a text message thinking they are angry when they aren't or thinking someone is flirting when they are just being nice. Whatever it is most of these things can be resolved if we just simply seek to understand the way the other person is actually feeling rather than judging solely based on their actions.
These are all just theories for the phenomena that happen in our everyday relationships and I truly believe that if everyone sought to gain a deeper understanding of the other person they would not only have less issues but they would also be able to completely understand the other person.
No comments:
Post a Comment