Initially designed to be a new edition of Wilmot's well-respected DYADIC COMMUNICATION, this is actually an entirely new, highly original work aimed at second-level courses in interpersonal communication. Written by one of the discipline's top scholars, it features Wilmot's own cutting edge research and insights, as well as a very thorough and up-to-date literature review of the other top scholarship in the field and from other relevant disciplines such as psychology. The new title, RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION, reflects the book's new emphasis on relationships--currently the hottest area of interpersonal communication research. It also highlights its strong organizational framework, in which the relational perspective permeates every chapter, from the discussion of relationships as mini-cultures in Ch 1 to the self and other "in relation" (Ch 2), and to the ebbs and flows of relationships (Ch 3). The second half focuses on the effects of communication in enhancing (Ch 4) and constricting (Ch 5) relationships, as well as healing, reconnecting and building community (Ch 6).