Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

for days. After two years of attempting to raise John, Kathleen’s grandmother convinced
her to put her child up for adoption.
When John was two, he was adopted by Bobby and Priscilla Wright. The couple
already had one child, Mikey, and they desperately wanted another child, but Priscilla
was unable to have more children, so the addition of John to their family was very
welcome. Although Bobby and Priscilla were amazing parents, John always felt somewhat
disconnected.
In school, John rarely kept the same friends as he progressed through his education.
He found it easy to leave one set of friends behind and create a new set wherever he
went. He often found it very odd when people were still friends with people they’d
known since birth. This same pattern of behavior continued into adulthood, and John
quickly found himself with a small circle of friends. Honestly, he was horrible at keeping
up with his friends. It’s not that he didn’t like his friends, but he felt that friends needed
to fit into his schedule. As time went by, he quickly found himself with more and more
acquaintances and fewer and fewer closer relationships. Even his relationship with his
family seemed remote and non-essential. He loved his family, but they were almost out
of sight, out of mind since they were on the other side of the country.
When John turned 40, he started trying to figure out how his social and relationship
life was in such shambles. He wanted to have relationships with other people but simply
didn’t know how.
1. Based on the information contained in the case, how would you characterize
John in this story?
2. Apply John Bowlby’s theory of attachment to this story.
3. Apply Karen Horney’s theory of rejection sensitivity to this story.
End of Chapter Quiz
1. Which of the following is NOT
one of Charles Horton Cooley’s postulates
related to the “looking-glass self?”
a. Actors learn about themselves in
every situation by exercising their imagination
to reflect on their social performance.
b. Actors next imagine what those others
must think of them.
c. Actors assess those perceptions
through prior interactions with others.
d. Actors experience an affective
reaction to the imagined evaluation of the
other.
2. Which of the following is the truest
statement about the relationship between
communication and self-esteem?
a. There is no relationship between
communication and self-esteem.
b. One’s self-esteem impacts how he/
she/they communicate.
c. One’s communication impacts an
individual’s self-esteem.
d. There is a circular relationship
Interpersonal Communication 112