Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

• John Bowlby’s theory of attachment starts with the basic notion that infants come
pre-equipped with a set of behavioral skills that allow them to form attachments
with their parents/guardians (specifically their mothers). When these attachments
are not formed, the infant will grow up being unable to experience a range of
healthy attachments later in life, along with several other counterproductive
behaviors.
• Karen Horney’s concept of rejection sensitivity examines the degree to which
an individual anxiously expects to be rejected, readily perceives rejection when
occurring, and experiences an intensely negative reaction to that rejection. People
that have high levels of rejection sensitivity tend to create relational cycles that
perpetuate a self-fulfilling prophecy of rejection in their interpersonal relationships.
Exercises
• Fill out the various measures discussed in this section related to communication.
After completing these measures, how can your communication traits help explain
your interpersonal relationships with others?
• Watch a segment of a political debate on YouTube. Would you characterize
debates as argumentative, verbally aggressive, or something else entirely? Why?
• John Bowlby’s attachment theory and Karen Horney’s theory of rejection sensitivity
have theoretical overlaps. Do you think that an individual’s early attachment can
lead to higher levels of rejection sensitivity? Why or why not?
Chapter Wrap-Up
In addition to your personality, your biologically based temperament also plays an important role in how
you interact with others interpersonally. As discussed in this chapter, your temperament is identifiable
at birth, whereas, your personality is something that develops over your lifespan. Although we cannot
change the biological aspects of our temperament, we can learn how to adjust our behaviors in light of
our temperaments.
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