Background:
Malcolm is my boyfriend. We have been in a relationship for about sixteen to seventeen months. We met first in middle school. At this time we expressed how much we …show more content…
It refers to the tone of the relationship expressed by the verbal and nonverbal messages between people. Sometimes the communication climate can change drastically due to hurt feeling or a drastic change in tone. During my week of observation the communication climate changed drastically from the beginning of the week to the end of the week with what seems no reason at all. Sunday through Wednesday Malcolm and I were communicating efficiently there was little to no miscommunication. We would smile and hug showing our affection for one another. We had all the qualities of a positive communication climate. Yet on Thursday he was behaving differently. Malcolm took everything I said out of context. For example I told him he was silly for believing he could finish a one hundred question test in twenty minutes. He immediately got upset and stated he thought I was calling him stupid. He would then show nonverbal behaviors like sucking of teeth and sighs when I tried to talk to him. His change in actions and angry disposition changed the communication climate from a positive one to a negative …show more content…
In my relationship I noticed we use facts, opinions and feeling to self disclose. I believe we choose these three methods because of the households we were raised. Both households had parents who rarely self disclosed with their children leaving us to learn our own methods for self disclosure. Malcolm attempts to mask his self disclosure with his opinion on someone or something else for instance he states “I feel like no one should be called ugly” and then he proceeds to tell me that is where his insecurities came from as a young boy. Self disclosure is not always. Malcolm asked me on my birthday why I let my mother speak to me in such a harsh manner. At the time I was not prepared to self disclose. So, I used the alternative silence to avoid disclosing information on a sensitive topic and to avoid tension or conflict within our