Scripts and Communication for Relationships

Over 200 years ago, Jane Austen, an astute observer of the rituals of late-eighteenth-century courtship wrote that a happy marriage was the result of chance. Modern relationship researchers have revealed that scripts concerning pair bonding rituals are actually constituted in a manner so as to leave little to chance when romantic attachments are formed, intensify, and sometimes dissolve.
In this introductory text, the authors discuss the basis of relationship scripts, emotions, imagery, and physiology of relationships including romance, friendship, work associates, mentors, and Facebook friends. They argue that people’s expectations for relational development influence their communication, faith, and commitment in relationships. Misconstruing sexual or flirtatious intent, for example, is derived from having different scripts about attraction. The book also discusses abusive relationships including characteristics of abusers, stalking, and verbal and physical aggression.
Designed for classes in communication and relationships, interpersonal communication, intrapersonal communication, and communication and cognition, as well as across disciplines in psychology, sociology, family studies, and social work, this text provides a comprehensive overview of how scripts and communication are used in relationships. Guidelines based on developing and improving verbal and nonverbal communication competence are provided. A downloadable teacher’s guide is available on request.

James M. Honeycutt received his Ph.D. in communication and social psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has been awarded numerous research awards including the Distinguished Book of the Year Award in 2006 from the cognition division of the National Communication Association. He has published numerous professional journal articles, book chapters, and has authored four books. He is director of the Relation Station Interaction Lab and assistant co-editor of the interdisciplinary journal, Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.
Suzette P. Bryan received her Ph.D. from LSU in communication studies. She is presently serving as Interim Department Head in the Department of Communication at Southeastern Louisiana University. She is an organizational consultant specializing in Emotional Intelligence leadership development and has presented numerous papers at conferences throughout the world on relationships at work, most recently addressing the 8th Annual International Conference on Communication and Mass Media (Athens, Greece) on Leaders’ Affects (EI) and the Effects on Subordinates.