Assignment: Understanding and Managing Dialectical Tensions - COM105

This assignment explores the concept of dialectical tensions in interpersonal communication, focusing on the conflicts that arise within relationships. The student identifies and explains dialectical tensions such as connection vs. autonomy, openness vs. privacy, and predictability vs. novelty in provided scenarios. They then select and justify strategies for managing these tensions, including denial, alternation, and segmentation. The assignment also requires the student to apply these concepts to their own relationships, identifying specific tensions and the strategies they employ to navigate them. The student provides detailed examples and references to support their analysis of the tensions and the effectiveness of the chosen management strategies. The assignment demonstrates the ability to analyze communication dynamics and apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations.

COM105 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
DISCOVERING DIALECTICS – 15 PTS.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Identify the Dialectical Tensions operating in the situations below, taking time to explain the
conflicting feelings and thoughts in each: connection vs. autonomy, openness vs. privacy,
predictability vs. novelty.
2. Then select one or more of the eight strategies for Managing Dialectical Tensions(denial,
disorientation, alternation, segmentation, balance, integration, recalibration, and
reaffirmation)that you believe would be most beneficial to the relationship, and explain how the
relationship would deal with the dialectical tension under these circumstances.
3. Finally describe dialectical tensions at work in your own relationships and label and explain the
strategies that you use to deal with them.
SITUATION DIALECTICAL TENSION STRATEGY FOR
MANAGING
Example: Jacqueline, nineteen,
and her mother, Melanie, have
become good friends over the past
few years. Jacqueline now has a
serious boyfriend and spends less
time talking to her mother.
The open-privacy
dialecticseems to be at work
here.Jacquelineand Melanie
continue to share the intimacy of
their mother-daughter
relationship, but privacy needs
about Jacqueline’s boyfriend
probably keep them at more of a
distance.
Jacqueline and Melanie are likely
to use the segmentation
strategy; in which they maintain
openness about many areas but
keep certain areas of the boyfriend
relationship “off limits.”
1. Daryl is new to the software
firm where Steve has been for
five years. Daryl has asked
Steve to play golf this
weekend. Steve is
uncomfortable about mixing
business and pleasure, but still
wants to have a good working
relationship with Daryl.
Here, Disclosure and
honesty is necessary to
take into account from the
side of Daryl. Daryl has
introversion. However,
Daryl has a positive mind
to maintain good
relationship with Steve. It
proves that Daryl is
cooperative. Here, Daryl is
victimized of openness
versus closedness. Hence,
Daryl is suggested to tell
straight on the face of
Steve that he does not
want to go to the golf in
polite tone.
Denial strategy will be
good to be followed here
in terms of mitigating
dialectical tensions
between Daryl and Steve.
According to this strategy,
Daryl can deny the
proposal of going to golf
court with Steve. At the
same time, he needs to
favor Steve from another
side in terms of impressing
Steve.
2. Antwone and A. J. are
brothers who have always
relied on one another
completely. Antwone
appreciates A. J.’s
dependability, but wishes
their times together weren’t
so boring.
In considering
interdependence between
Antwone and A.J., it is
stated that the two
brothers want to stay
together whatever
happens in their lives.
Hence, in terms of
fostering their
interdependence, it
The strategy of spiraling
Alternation is proposed to
use here for developing
the relationship between
two brothers more. This
strategy is taken into
account for altering over
time and taking turns
being privileged.
According to this strategy,

requires continuous
investment and spark
dialectical tensions (Baxter
& Scharp, 2016).
Antwone and A.J. may give
various kinds of treats to
one another in alternative
way. Their relationship
needs to be reciprocal for
sharing good and bad
moment of life.
3.Bianca and Nicole are
roommates. Bianca wants
them to share everything,
but Nicole is not proud of a
few things she’s done and
doesn’t want to face her
friend’s judgment.
Bianca and Nicole both are
in dialectical tension in
their relationship. Bianca
wants to stay open in front
of Nicole, wherein Nicole
was not comfortable to say
all the things to Bianca.
Hence, between them
there is a clash of
openness and closedness.
In this condition, in terms
of mitigating tension
between the two
roommates, application of
segregation strategy will
be the most appropriate.
This strategy helps them
in order to maintain
openness in their agreed
areas. However, Nicole
cannot be bothered by
Bianca to maintain privacy
in her preferred areas.
4. Your example:
Samuel visited an electronic
showroom in order to buy a
LED TV. In the showroom he
was dealt by sales executive
named Jimmy. Jimmy is very
much friendly in behaving
with Samuel. Mr. Samuel has
especial preference to buy
Sony’s LED. However, Jimmy
was constantly putting his
effort to mould Samuel for
buying LED of Panasonic
brand.
Here, it is seen that being
a customer dea.ing
representative, Jimmy puts
less attention in giving
value to the preference of
customers. Jimmy is trying
to sale Panasonic LED
because of making his
bonus point. Hence, it is
seen that the needs and
desires of both of them are
being opposed. Here
dialectical tension
between them is defined
by Predictability versus
novelty.
Spiraling Alternation
strategy is suggested to
mitigate dialectical
tensions between Samuel
and Jimmy. Jimmy needs
to stop insisting Samuel so
that he might lose the
customer.
5. Your example:
Dorothy is a business
development manager in a
company. Henry and John
both are his two important
clients. Recently both of
them were engaged in
conflict in order to get a
Negotiation is the only way
to stop the two clients
from engaging into
conflict.
Balance strategy is the
best in responding both of
them partially (Manning,
2014). Dorothy needs to
allocate the project
between her two
important stakeholders.

project from Dorothy.

Reference list
Baxter, L. A., & Scharp, K. M. (2016). Dialectical tensions in relationships. The International Encyclopedia of
Interpersonal Communication.
Manning, J. (2014). A constitutive approach to interpersonal communication studies. Communication Studies, 65(4),
432-440.