Relational Dialectics Theory of Leslie Baxter & Mikhail Bakhtin

What is the central concept of relational dialectics theory, defined as 'a set of propositions that cohere around a given object of meaning'?

According to Leslie Baxter's theory, the thinking of which twentieth-century Russian intellectual is heavily drawn upon to make sense of the world of discourse?

Relational dialectics theory defines relational struggles as being located where?

What does Bakhtin's philosophy criticize as a 'mode of talking that emphasizes one official discourse and silences all others'?

To understand the meaning of an utterance, Baxter insists on considering discourses on how many dimensions?

In the analysis of utterance chains, what are 'distant already-spoken discourses'?

Bakhtin was particularly interested in the future evaluation of what type of audience whose moral authority is beyond question, such as 'God, absolute truth, the court of dispassionate human conscience'?

Which of the following is NOT one of the three recurring, common dialectics or 'discursive struggles' that Baxter identified in her research on close ties?

In the context of the integration-separation dialectic, the 'External Dialectic' that creates tension between a couple and their community is described as what?

The discursive struggle regarding routine versus spontaneity is known as which dialectic?

The external version of the stability-change dialectic, which considers how a relationship is similar to or different from other relationships, is termed what?

What term does Baxter use for talk that is central, prominent, and has the power to define meaning in a relationship?

What does Baxter call the pattern of managing discursive struggles where competing discourses ebb and flow over time but never appear together?

In a study of newlyweds, couples honored a discourse of inclusion by spending time with family during holidays, but honored seclusion by retreating from the in-laws for time alone. This is an example of which pattern?

What is the term for the compartmentalizing tactic where different discourses speak to different aspects of a relationship, such as stepchildren being open about 'safe topics' but closed about topics that might provoke jealousy?

Which form of synchronic interplay involves mentioning a marginalized discourse in order to dismiss it as unimportant or flawed?

When an adoptive mother acknowledges the value of the family-as-biology discourse but ultimately has the family-as-interaction discourse trump it, which form of synchronic interplay is she using?

An adoptive parent who pleads for advice about whether to contact their son's biological mother, showing they are caught in a discursive struggle with neither discourse emerging as dominant, is demonstrating which form of synchronic interplay?

An adoptive parent who transcends the win-lose assumption about adoption by saying 'I am sorry for how she came to be in my life but eternally grateful that she’s mine' is engaging in which form of synchronic interplay?

What does Baxter call 'a momentary sense of unity through a profound respect for the disparate voices in dialogue,' which is considered the highest form of transformation?

The belief that communication creates, sustains, and alters relationships and the social world is known as what?

In the ethical reflection, what is Sissela Bok's 'principle of veracity'?

According to the critique section, what is a primary reason that students often feel a sense of relief when reading about relational dialectics?

Which of the six criteria for evaluating an interpretive theory does the chapter suggest is a challenge for Relational Dialectics Theory, partly due to the difficulty of translating Bakhtin's nuanced ideas elegantly?

What does Baxter call the discursive struggle played out within a relationship, such as connection versus autonomy?

Relational dialectics theory is presented as a direct contrast to theories from which approach that emphasizes what goes on inside the mind?

The discursive struggle of 'expression-nonexpression' is defined as a set of struggles regarding what?

When a lesbian couple chooses to conceal their identity during family holiday gatherings, their talk reflects a struggle between the family's dominant discourse of concealment and a less powerful discourse of openness. Baxter would label the discourse of openness in this context as what?

What is the key difference between diachronic separation and synchronic interplay in managing discourses?

What does Baxter call an 'obligation to critique dominant voices, especially those that suppress opposing discourses'?

According to the theory, why can too much connection paradoxically destroy a relationship?

In her initial iteration of the theory, what word did Baxter use for the three recurring themes that she no longer prefers because it might be confused with psychological conflict?

The chapter presents an analogy for interpersonal relationships, comparing them to what food item to illustrate their complexity of meaning derived from multiple, competing discourses?

What does the constitutive approach to dialogue claim about similarities and differences in a relationship?

A student named Amber feels irritated when her boyfriend's friends refer to her as just 'the girlfriend' because it clashes with her identity outside the relationship. This irritation reflects a tension between which two discourses?

The theory suggests that a family's annual reunion, where competing voices of everyday life are brought together simultaneously in a joint performance, can serve as what?

When the chapter describes discourses by 'who speaks them', what is the term for discourses that occur between the relational partners themselves?

Which form of synchronic interplay is described as the most like a monologue, yet is still considered a form of interplay?

The chapter's critique notes that in her 2011 revision of the theory, Baxter suggests the theory should move forward through what type of research, 'perhaps exclusively'?

What is the primary danger Sissela Bok associates with lying, according to the ethical reflection?

The chapter's title identifies relational dialectics theory as part of the socio-cultural and which other communication tradition?

When Bakhtin discussed dialogue, what two forces did he see as being at play 'both with and against one another'?

The struggle between a couple wanting time alone as a newly-married pair and their in-laws' dominant discourse of inclusion is an example of which dialectical tension?

According to the chapter, which of the four forms of synchronic interplay is LEAST dialogic?

What is the primary way that relational dialectics theory differs from social penetration theory and uncertainty reduction theory, according to the chapter's critique?

Barbara Montgomery's analogy about riding a unicycle is used to illustrate that experiencing the pull of opposing discourses can be what?

The concept of 'dialogue' in this theory is envisioned as being like what?

What is the unpredictable, unfinalizable, and indeterminate nature of personal relationships called in the theory?

Baxter and Bakhtin would refer to talk that is peripheral and lacks the power to define meaning as what?

According to the theory, when do good things emerge from competing discourses?