Managing dialectical tensions
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This document discusses managing dialectical tensions in relationships. It defines dialectical tensions as opposing forces people experience, which can help relational development if managed properly. It then describes 11 ways to manage tensions: denial, disorientation, segmentation, alternation, balance, integration, recalibration, reaffirmation, moderation, reframing, and polarization. Each tactic is briefly explained through examples of how communicators can respond to tensions.
Managing dialectical tensions
- 1. Managing Dialectical Tensions Vishakha Kulratn 201354
- 2. What are dialectical tensions? I. Opposing forces people experience in their relationships. II. These contradictions prove helpful in relational development
- 3. Ways to manage dialectical tensions: I. Denial II. Disorientation III. Alternation IV. Segmentation V. Balance VI. Integration VII. Recalibration VIII. Reaffirmation IX. Moderation X. Reframing XI. Selection XII. Polarization
- 4. Denial “Telling ourselves stories that hide the truth.” Communicators respond to one end of the dialectical spectrum and ignore the other and may insist that ‘everything is fine’
- 5. Disorientation Communicators feel so overwhelmed and helpless that they are unable to confront their problems. In the face of dialectical tensions, they might fight, freeze, or even leave the relationship. Partners who use this tactic compartmentalize different areas of their relationship. Segmentation
- 7. Alternation Communicators who use this strategy choose one end of the dialectical spectrum at some times and the other end at other times. Communicators who try to balance dialectical tensions recognize that both forces are legitimate and try to manage them through compromise. Balance
- 8. Integration With this strategy, communicators simultaneously accept opposing forces without trying to diminish them. Communicators can respond to dialectical challenges by reframing them so that the apparent contradiction disappears. Recalibration
- 9. Reaffirmation This strategy acknowledges that dialectical tensions will never disappear. Instead of trying to make them go away, reaffirming communicators accept—or even embrace—the challenges that the tensions present.