Is Love Your Drug? Blog #8 Due Friday, May 31st by midnight

The Brain in Love Video
Love Addict Test

Watch "The Brain in Love" video and take the self-quizzes at the links above and see what personality type you are and if you are a love addict. Now that we know that love creates dopamine in the brain similar to many drugs like cocaine and meth, we can now understand how many can become addicted to being in love.

Why do you think some people fall in love and become love addicts while others fall in love but do not? Do you think that it's a matter of biology? Life scripts? Attachment styles? Self-esteem? Etc.

Does Father Know Best? Blog 7, Due Thurs May 30th by midnight

Different Parenting Styles

As a parent, your approach to your child is as unique as you are. You can’t just wake up one day and be a different person because you read a book or watched a devilishly effective mother on the playground. Parenting isn’t only a collection of skills, rules, and tricks of the trade. It's who you are, what your family culture is, and how you transmit the most personal aspects of your values to your child.

But here are the facts: nearly 50 years of research have found that some parenting styles are more effective than others and show far better outcomes for children. There are four major parenting styles: permissive, authoritarian, authoritative, and hands-off.  Most parents don't fall conveniently into a single type; instead, we tend to be a combination of several styles. The trick is to be flexible enough so that you make adjustments to your basic type — adapting your style by adopting some best practices from other parenting styles as well.

1) Take the following parenting test to see what type of parenting style you have.

Parenting Test

2) Blog about what parenting style you are and if it's similar to the parenting style you were raised with or not.  Tell us one positive thing your parents did that was instrumental in developing you into the person you are today.

3) Read the following New York Times article on which parenting style tends to lead to more successful and happy adults.  Raising Successful Children

Diversity In The Workplace - Blog #6 Due Wed May 29nd by midnight

Studies show that 52% of people perfer to work with people like themselves. This begs the question, "What about diversity in the workplace?" Since most of us cannot choose who we will have to communicate with at work, how do we navigate through the complexities of a multicultural workplace? The top 4 diversity issues that cause problems are:

1. Language Differences
2. Differences in Values and Etiquette
3. Tone of voice
4. "Clustering" (hanging out with others from similar backgrounds)

Post an example of how a difference in one of these areas has caused a misunderstanding due to diversity. Offer some suggestions on how you think communication between people from diverse backgrounds can relate better to each other.

What's Your EQ? Blog # 5 Due Tuesday, May 28th by midnight

Dr. Daniel Goleman is the author of  "Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships" and well known and respected for his work on the importance of having emotional and social intelligence vs. academic intelligence.  Watch Dr. Daniel Goleman's video lecture on Emotional and Social Intelligence at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k&feature=related  Take the self-test on emotional intelligence at the following link EQ self-test and then comment on which of the 4 major aspects of emotional intelligence you feel is the most important to living a successful life and why.

1.  Self-Awareness
2.  Self-Management
3.  Social Awareness
4.  Relationship Management

Chemical Attraction Blog 4, Due Friday May 24th by midnight

Dr. Helen Fisher's research on attraction asserts that we are drawn to certain types of people depending on our chemical make-up.

1) Watch the following video on Dr. Fisher's research
Video: Chemistry of Attraction

2) Take Dr. Fisher's test to find out which chemicals are your primary and secondary drivers and then blog about what personality traits you find attractive. Share with us how accurate you think Dr. Fisher's test is and why or why not.

Dr. Helen Fisher's Personality Test

What's Hot, What's Not- Blog 3 Due May 23rd by midnight

Today we talked about what men and women find attractive in a potential romantic partner.  While we know that many of us have our own personal preferences, is who we choose more of an art or a science?  As eluded to by Victoria, there are scientific studies suggesting that our biology picks our love interests, not necessarily our thoughts and feelings toward someone.

Watch the Discovery Channel's Top 5 videos on Sex Appeal
Science of Sex Appeal Videos

  Blog about a time that either you or someone you know was attracted to a person due to one of the variables talked about in the videos (scent, voice, face, dopamine, etc?)  What variables do you find attractive and why? 

Excuuuuse Me! Blog #2 Due May 22 by midnight

While most human beings will engage in making some excuses in their lives, the common Ben Franklin saying “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else,” may be more of a self-fulfilling prophesy for excuse-makers than simply avoidance or laziness. Whether excuses are used to shift blame or improve what other people think, it may be easier for excuse-makers to live with excuses than think about living with having tried at something and failed.

We know that nonverbal communication is more trusted than verbal communication. Share with us a time when someone has given you an excuse that you know was a lie based on their nonverbal communication. How did you know that it wasn't the truth? What verbal/nonverbal cues were there? How did it affect your perception of  that person?

Can You Fake It Until You Make It? Blog 1 Due May 21st by midnight

Good communication is the foundation of successful relationships, both personal and professional. We learned today how our communication with ourselves (intrapersonal communication) affects the SELF.  So, does our nonverbal communication (facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, etc) also affect how we feel about ourselves?  Recent research has shown that we can actually change our brains by our nonverbals.

Watch the Following TED Video on the Power of Nonverbals

 

Nonverbal Podcast by Amy Cuddy

 

  Purposely change your nonverbals for 2 minutes (positively or negatively) as demonstrated in the above video and blog about the results.

Welcome to Interpersonal Communication

As we explore what makes relationships tick, we will be covering topics such as: listening, friendships, intimate relationships, workplace issues, family dynamics, love, and conflict strategies. You will have several opportunities to reflect on your own relationships and communication style to find ways to improve all facets of your life. As part of this journey together, I will post the latest studies and hot topics related to interpersonal communication on this blog. Your job is to respond with an example to either confirm or disagree with the posting by sharing insights from your own experiences, or one you've found on a TV show, movie, or research. Feel free to comment on others' postings, and also post any interesting (articles, links, videos, books, tweets, jokes, etc.) related to communication and one-on-one relationships. I look forward to blogging with you!

Dr. Karin Wilking
Northwest Vista College