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Face-Negotiation Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2016, from http://communicationtheory.org/face-negotiation-theory/

McCornack, S. (2013). Reflect & Relate An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.

University of Twente. Coordinated Management of Meaning. (n.d.).

Buller, D. B., & Burgoon, J. K. (1996). Interpersonal Deception Theory. Communication Theory, 6(3), 203-242.

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Relational Dialectics Theory - Autonomy vs. Connection

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Relational Dialectics Theory - Autonomy vs. Connection

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SpongeBob and Patrick have been through a lot together. They've gotten into fights, trouble, and made lots of mistakes and memories. Over the course of the ten seasons SpongeBob has been on air, they've been practically inseparable.

The Relational Dialectics Theory explains multiple competing tensions that we try to balance within our relationships. One of these tensions is autonomy vs. connection. In a relationship, there is a desire for both your own personal space and individuality, or autonomy, and time spent with loved ones where you share a combined identity, called connection. This theory is important, especially in romantic relationships, because it provides an explanation for how some people like to be together all of the time, and some are perfectly content having separate lives. It highlights the differences between how the tension can be balanced. Every relationship has their own unique balance between the two, including SpongeBob and Patrick.

Despite the fact that they're nearly attached at the hip, SpongeBob and Patrick do have differences which showcase their separate autonomies. SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab and Patrick mostly just hangs out under his rock. However, aside from that, they spend almost every minute together. This clip is a perfect example of their strong connection. Different types of people prefer different amounts of autonomy and connection. SpongeBob and Patrick are the types of people who almost never get sick of each other. They do everything together. This is what the kids would call "BFF Goals".

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Patrick wants to go jellyfishing with Spongebob.

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SpongeBob and Patrick have a very special friendship. They have a strong connection that most other people don't understand. Whenever they spend time together, it's almost like they're in their own little world.

The Coordinated Management of Meaning theory states that people create their own social realities when they communicate with other people. During a conversation with someone, the meaning of the words you exchange is created and understood by the two of you. It also states that you base your reactions and responses on the interpretations that you make (University of Twente). Not everyone interprets things in the same way, which is why language and communication are so important. This theory is significant because it provides an explanation for how people understand each other.

The Coordinated Management of Meaning applies to this episode because SpongeBob and Patrick create their own reality through communication. They purchased a giant TV just so they could play with the box. They gave Squidward the TV, but Squidward kept getting distracted by their sound effects as they played in the box. They pretended to be in different adventurous situations by using sound effects and their imaginations. Squidward can't wrap his head around how they're pulling it off. Squidward doesn't understand Spongebob and Patrick's ability to transport themselves into different dimensions through conversation, because Squidward doesn't manage meaning in the same way that Spongebob and Patrick do.

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Patrick isn't the only one to keep secrets in this friendship. On their trip to the zoo, spongebob throws a peanut at Clamoo to try to get her to do something, but it takes a turn for the worst and Clamoo has a meltdown. In reality, Clamoo was upset because someone stole her pearl, but SpongeBob thinks it’s because of him throwing the peanut.

The Interpersonal Deception Theory explains the different types of deception such as falsification, concealment, and equivocation. Falsification is creating a fictional story, concealment is hiding a secret, and equivocation is dodging the issue. All three types are considered to be deception because they all knowingly send a message that contains a false belief or information. Often times when people use deception, they unconsciously show leakage. Leakage are nonverbal cues that reveal that someone may be lying. Some examples of leakage are a higher pitched voice and hesitation speaking (Buller & Burgoon, 97). The Interpersonal Deception Theory helps to identify when people are lying. It's important to be aware of the amount of truth in what people are telling you, so this is a very useful theory.

The theory applies in this scenario because of SpongeBob's behavior. Patrick keeps asking spongebob questions about Clamoo, and SpongeBob conceals the truth when questioned. He hides the fact that he's the one who upset Clamoo from everyone, even his best friend. His guilty conscious becomes visible, however which displays leakage. You can see this in his worried facial expressions and hesitant speech.

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SpongeBob proves that Patrick isn't the only one who struggles with insecurities. In this episode, SpongeBob has trouble with his self-image, particularly his lack of muscles, and a commercial catches his eye. He orders blow-up arms because he wants everyone to think he's been working out.

Face Negotiation Theory explains the personas we portray to others. Your face, or persona, is what you want other people to see in everyday life. Your face represents who you are in society (communication theory.org). This theory is especially important when talking about intercultural communication, because you have to adapt to tendencies and language from other cultures that you aren't used to. Your goal is to maintain or save face when conflicts arise. In other words, no matter what the situation, you don't want to lose face and have people think of you in a negative light. This theory's importance applies to your everyday life, because it's essentially who you are as a person, at least to the public eye. It can also be helpful in getting to know other people, because like Spongebob, some people put on a front and aren't who they seem to be.

SpongeBob wants people to view him as someone active and strong; someone who can lift a lot of weight. He tries to portray the face of someone who is chiseled and buff. The clip doesn't show the episode's ending, but as you can probably guess, SpongeBob's plan backfires. The face he tried to portray was eventually lost when Sandy entered him in an anchor-throwing contest and failed to lift the anchor. His blow-up arms got overworked and ending up popping, making it pretty impossible for SpongeBob to save face, or save his reputation as someone who is "ripped."

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As you can probably guess, cheating on a driver's test isn't the only trouble SpongeBob and Patrick have gotten themselves into. In this episode, they discovered some new, colorful language painted on some dumpsters while taking the trash out. They'd never heard the words before, so they were pretty excited to share them with everyone. They didn't realize that these new words were actually cuss words.

The Communication Accommodation Theory states that people are motivated to adapt their language when they are seeking approval from others, when they want to establish relationships with others, or when they think the language is appropriate (McCornack). For example, if you wanted to be friends with someone from another part of the world, you would be more willing to adapt your language and culture for them than if you had no interest in being this person's friend. This theory is especially important in intercultural situations because it provides an explanation as to why people are or are not willing to adapt to different environments.

The theory applies to this episode because SpongeBob and Patrick accommodate their language to these new words because they view these words as being appropriate, which is one of the three reasons for accommodation stated in the theory. They are unaware that these new words are actually vulgar and offensive to everyone around them, which is why they go around utilizing them in public - loud and clear. Had they known that these words were inappropriate, they would not have started using them.

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No one can be as close of best friends as SpongeBob and Patrick and not get into trouble together. In this episode, SpongeBob hides a walkie talkie under his cowboy hat during his driving test so that Patrick can watch through a telescope and tell him what to do. Spongebob has always struggled with getting his license, so this was an attempt to finally pass the test. What are friends for, right?

The Communication Privacy Management Theory talks about how people create boundaries by deciding what information they want to reveal and what information to keep hidden. The boundaries can also include and exclude certain people. This theory is common among families, where different members families have various connections and relationships and tell each other different things. For example, two siblings might keep secrets from their parents but tell each other. This theory helps to explain the communication rules and boundaries that come with different types of relationships.

In this scenario, the privacy boundary set here is that no one, especially Mrs. Puff, can know about the walkie talkie. SpongeBob and Patrick both have an understanding that their communication is not to reveal the walkie talkie scheme to Mrs. Puff. They are keeping it hidden, because they know they could get in a lot of trouble for trying to cheat on the test.

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I'm sure all of you can think of a time when either you were jealous of your best friend, or they were jealous of you. It happens to even the closest of pals. Patrick gets upset because he realizes that SpongeBob has won lots of awards, and he's never gotten an award.

The self-discrepancy theory compares mental standards that we have of ourselves in order to explain our self-esteems. Your ideal self is the person you wish you were. Your ought self is what you think other people wish you were. If you consider who you are to match who you want to be and who others want you to be, you will have high self-esteem. If you do not perceive yourself as being what you want and what others want, you will have low self-esteem (McCornack). This theory is useful when thinking about self-esteem. It explains reasons for why your self-esteem may be low, and if you understand those reasons, you can start beginning to improve those things and boost your self-esteem.

Patrick's ideal self is someone with accomplishments and achievements, or in this example, literally SpongeBob. He wants to be someone who wins awards. Patrick's actual self is a "big pink loser" who isn't good at anything. Patrick isn't who he wants to be or who he thinks others want him to be, so he's unhappy with himself. Patrick's solution to this problem is to turn into SpongeBob.

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big pink loser (self-discrepancy theory)

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SpongeBob and Patrick may have a connection like no other, but every relationship has to have a hidden quadrant. SpongeBob and Patrick know a lot about each other, but one thing SpongeBob doesn't know is what's in Patrick's secret box. Even after he thinks he knows, he doesn't.

The Johari Window is a window with four quadrants, each representing a different area of a relationship. The first quadrant is the public area. This one represents the aspects of yourself that the other person knows about. The second quadrant is the blind area, or stuff that other people know about you, but that you don't realize. Third is the hidden area, which is information that you know but don't share. Last, the unknown area, is information that neither you nor others have discovered yet. This area can include stuff like unconscious motives and impulses (McCornack, 2013, pg. 62). The Johari Window is important in identifying the different types of relationships people have in terms of self-disclosure. It helps to explain what level of friendship you are on with somebody.

In terms of the Johari Window, SpongeBob and Patrick's first quadrant, the public area, is very large because they're so close. The second quadrant, the blind area, contains little quirky stuff that Patrick realizes about SpongeBob that SpongeBob doesn't even realize, and vice versa. To help explain this situation, in another episode, SpongeBob and Patrick were taking a best friend quiz, and SpongeBob was asked what kind of belly button Patrick had. SpongeBob answered innie, and Patrick lifts up his shirt to check and says, "Wow! How does he do it?" as if he was unsure of the answer himself. Third, the hidden area, is where the secret box with the secret string comes in to play. Patrick knows about the box but he doesn't want SpongeBob to know, so he keeps it hidden. Even though the secret box is in the hidden quadrant of their Johari Window, there aren't very many secrets between them, so that section would be small. Last is the unknown area, which is what neither of them realize. SpongeBob and Patrick aren't the sharpest crayons in the box, so this section is probably a pretty big chunk of the window.