Hello all! This post will discuss travel buddies! Traveling with someone for a long period time can be fun but also exhausting. It is easy to get tired of being around the same person for a long period of time. Looking at the Relational Dialectics Theory we can look at the togetherness, predictability, and disclosure of the relationship while traveling. Also, we will discuss the coping strategies of this theory.
The Relational Dialectics Theory was created by Leslie Baxter and Mikhail Bakhtin. The definition of Relation Dialectics is “the dynamic and unceasing struggling between discourses about interpersonal relationships” (Pg. 132). Two core concepts of this theory are internal and external dialectics. They both share three subgroups: togetherness, predictability, and disclosure. For the internal dialectic togetherness means to be connected but also autonomous from your partner. Predictability means to be certain but also uncertain about the person. Disclosure means to be open but also closed off from the person. When is comes to external dialectics togetherness means to be integrated but also secluded from others. Predictability means to be a conventional relationship but also unique. And predictability means to reveal but also conceal from others. We all have relationships where these apply and this theory helps us not only recognize relational dialectics but also cope with them. The two coping strategies are segmentation and spiraling invasion. Segmentation is “a compartmentalizing tactic by which different discourses speak to different aspects of the relationship” (pg. 138). An example of this would be disclosing things about work but not discussing political views all the time. The second coping strategy, Spiraling inversion means “switching back and forth between two discursive struggles, voicing one and then the other” (pg. 138). An example of this relevant to this blog would be vacationing together but then spending two weeks apart.
We can use this theory and its coping mechanisms to deal with traveling with someone and keeping a good relationship with them after spending so much time together. From personal experience I have definitely felt overwhelmed after being surrounded by my family on long trips. I found myself looking for alone time after going back home. I know many other people have felt this way too. Before going on vacation is it important to think about who you are going to bring along. Using this theory we can evaluate how the relationship is prior to the trip. Using togetherness, predictability, and disclosure from the relational dialectic theory will help you decide who to travel with and when the right time to travel with that person is.
Citations:
Griffin, Emory A., et al. A First Look at Communication Theory. McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.