Sponsor
Portland State College. School of Social Work
Term of Graduation
Spring 1966
Date of Publication
5-9-1966
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Social Work (MSW)
Department
Social Work
Language
English
Subjects
Marriage, Interpersonal relations
DOI
10.15760/etd.505
Physical Description
1 online resource (vii, 115 pages)
Abstract
This project examines specific basic areas of marital interaction theory. Individual chapters are developed around the following themes: historical development of the theory of interaction; a theoretical discussion of selected concepts; personality as a determinant of interaction; communication in marriage; marital interaction patterns; methodology pertaining to research findings; and finally some implications for research which became apparent as this project developed.
The project lays the conceptual groundwork for a series of empirical studies that will use the interactional approach as a theoretical base. The immediate purpose of this project therefore is to describe the important dimensions of the interactional approach as these pertain to marital interaction. Interaction is defined as a reciprocal relationship in which each person may produce effects upon the other. Here the essence of marriage is interaction; thus marital interaction is critical in its effect on the spouses and the continuity of the marriage.
Some of the basic concepts of George Mead are described and it is suggested that they are essential elements of the interactional approach. The major assumptions of this approach are that a) human behavior cannot be derived or inferred from nonhuman forms, b) the social act is the primary analytic unit for an understanding of society and the personality, c) the human infant is potentially social, and d) the human being is actor as well as reactor.
Personality is discussed as a determinant of the quality and quantity of marital interaction. The issue of personal competence is explored, particularly in respect to verbal ability. Communication, the process of influence, is defined for marital interaction and the consequent formation of patterns.
Identification and classification of marital interaction patterns are limited to a description of selected examples from family research and the observations of clinicians. Patterns tend to be defined in psychological terms although communicative behavior is stressed. The absence of common criteria and terminology is noted. Description of dysfunctional patterns predominates.
Two methods frequently used in recent studies of marital interaction are direct observation and analysis of reports from marital partners. It is suggested that a combination of these techniques could increase the quantity of information about marital interaction.
Research questions focus on the problem of adult socialization, its implications for the establishment of marital interaction patterns, and the need to determine the relation between the interaction process and the functional or dysfunctional quality of the resultant pattern. An inseparable part of the aforementioned research areas is the function of communication. It is suggested that investigation of verbal communication might yield significant data for the understanding of the interaction process as it affects the personalities of the spouses and the formation of patterns.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/8177
Recommended Citation
Pugh, Lucille S., "Marital Interaction Theory: Some Implications for Research" (1966). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 505.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.505
Comments
Other authors: John C. Douglas, Eleanor M. Gadway, Jeanna C. Greenlee, Margaret D. McGill, Beverly S. Mackenzie, Marjorie H. Smith, Violet S. Smith
A group research project presented to the School of Social Work of Portland State College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work.
If you are the rightful copyright holder of this dissertation or thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to pdxscholar@pdx.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.