Discuss the role of communication in personal relationships.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks. These can be found under the “Your tests” tab > supplemental materials.

The command term “discuss” requires candidates to offer a considered review of the role of communication in personal relationships.

Communication plays a relevant role at all stages of the development of personal relationships. Examples of theories and models explaining the role of communication in relationships may include, but are not limited to: social penetration theory, approaches based on the concept of attributional styles and approaches based on the concept of patterns of accommodation.

Candidates may address specific types of personal relationships (eg romantic, peer, parent–adolescent) or personal relationships in general. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

Examples of studies may include, but are not limited to:

• Fincham’s (2004) study of the role of communication in marital satisfaction
• Gottman and Levenson’s (1986) study on the role of communication of emotions in relationships
• Burgoon et al.’s (2000) study of the use of mindfulness and interpersonal communication
• Ying et al.’s (2015) study on parent-adolescent communication to build trust
• Levenson and Gottman’s (1983) study on the relationship between marital dissatisfaction and negative affect
• Tannen's work regarding male/female communication

Critical discussion may include, but is not limited to:

• methodological and ethical considerations in relation to the role of communication in personal relationships
• how the findings of research have been interpreted and applied
• implications of the findings
• assumptions and biases in research related to the role of communication in personal relationships
• areas of uncertainty
• alternative theories/explanations.

Candidates may discuss a small number of factors that explain the role of communication in relationships in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge or may consider a larger number of factors in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

Question 10 was a popular question. Candidates generally addressed communication within romantic relationships and were aware of theories and research studies that were relevant. Popular choices ere Social Penetration Theory, The Four Horsemen of the apocalypse and Attribution Theory in communication research. Critical thinking was a bit uneven, with some candidates doing a good job of discussing implications and other considerations, while others only briefly looked at methodological considerations.