Browsing by Subject "Intimacy"
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Item The distance of intimacy : an exploration of love and loss in two plays(2011-05) Kennedy, Meghan Elizabeth; Zeder, Suzan; Dietz, Steven; Lynn, KirkThe following thesis is an exploration of the themes of love and loss, and an examination of the concept of distance as a form of intimacy in my plays, Yours and Too much, too much, too many.Item Imagined Intimacies : women's writing, community, and affiliation in eighteenth-century North America(2010-05) Wigginton, Caroline Hopkins; Moore, Lisa L. (Lisa Lynne); Scheick, William J.; Brooks, Joanna M.; Cox, James H.; Eastman, Carolyn; Wilks, Jennifer M.My dissertation argues for a fundamental reorientation of our approach to public intimacy and identifies a lushly pragmatic rhetorical schema via which black, white, and Native women enter colonial American public life. I contend that these early American women employ the language of personal intimacy -- familial, spiritual, domestic -- to craft wide-ranging public interventions. Through references to their private affiliations, they associate themselves with others who share their religious, economic, political, and social concerns and thereby forge semi-public communities. I demonstrate that because such language retains women's often un-egalitarian and un-affective experiences of quotidian intimacy and therefore appears "natural" for women, it masks the radicalism, formal and substantive, of their interventions. Thus, in making public issues intimate, these women discreetly authorize and advance their interests. They use the same techniques whether they are preaching religious principles, positing alternative political models, or promoting preferred agricultural commodities. I rely upon an interdisciplinary body of scholarship, including studies of anthropology, religion, and economic, political, and regional history, to produce dense local studies. Yet, since I interrogate an array of authors and genres -- published and manuscript poetry, diplomatic and legal documents, commonplace books, spiritual diaries, autobiographies, and letters -- my project synthesizes those studies into a history that is multi-denominational, multi-racial, multi-class, and multi-regional.Item Intimate identity: female and male differences(Texas Tech University, 1993-05) Terrell, Benita LouIn an effort to expand Erikson's conceptualization of the identity construct to include an attachment component and allow for the development of a view of oneself as an intimate person, an identity component labelled intimate identity was proposed in this research project. The dimension components of intimate identity are commitment, shared activities, decision-making, sexual involvement, emotional involvement, and openness. The Intimate Relationship Interview was used to measure intimate dentity in 30 women and 30 men who are college seniors involved in a serious relationship. The women's scores and the men's scores were compared on each of the dimension components using a one-way analysis of variance with age as a covariate. The outcomes show women to score significantly higher on the expressive components of intimate identity. There was no significant difference between women and men on the instrumental components and sexual involvement. The results support the idea that there is an attachment component in identity and that women and men experience themselves and others differently. The intimate identity of women is composed of expressive and instrumental dimensions and sexual involvement. The intimate identity of men is composed of instrumental dimensions and sexual involvement. The outcomes reflect the theoretical perspective of object relations, explain the relationship problems documented in literature, and support the argument that women can satisfy men's intimacy needs, but that the reverse is not true.Item Online romantic relationships transitioning offline : impact of intimacy and relationship uncertainty on relational characteristics(2011-08) Schaefer, Kimberly Mary; Dailey, René M.; Loving, Timothy J.; Pena, Jorge F.; Stephens, Keri K.; Vangelisti, Anita L.Guided by a conceptual framework regarding how relationships experience points of transition, this research explored individuals’ perceptions of their online romantic relationship’s transition from a casual to serious relationship in comparison to how individuals in face-to-face romantic relationships experience points of transition. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their perceptions of relational characteristics during different points in their relational transition. Perceptions regarding intimacy, relationship uncertainty, partner interference, directness of communication, topic avoidance, turmoil, deception and met expectations were assessed. Additionally, individuals in both online and face-to-face relationships responded to questions regarding their relationship status, commitment, length, proximity and other demographic questions. Results indicated that individuals in online relationships perceive more intimacy and less uncertainty prior to a transition while perceiving less intimacy and more uncertainty after a transition than face-to-face relationships. Relationships uncertainty was associated with topic avoidance and turmoil in online romantic relationships. Further results and the relevance of perceptions of relational characteristics on online transitioning relationships are discussed.Item Technology use and intimacy development in committed relationships: Exploring the influence of differentiation of self(2006-08) Henline, Branden Hayes; Harris, Steven M.; Bean, Roy A.; Kimball, Thomas G.; Reifman, AlanContemporary relationships now exist within the context of technology saturated homes and lifestyles. Evidence exists to suggest that modern technology, including television, cellular phones, computers and the Internet, can be used in ways that cause and perpetuate problems in committed relationships. Conversely, existing research suggests that such technologies can be employed to facilitate relationship formation, maintenance, and growth. Nevertheless, it has previously been uncertain what determines whether individuals use current technologies in relationship promoting or inhibiting ways. This study involved 323 participants in committed relationships who were surveyed to assess individual differentiation of self, personal access and uses of technology, and types and levels of intimacy within their committed relationships. Additionally, participants were asked to describe any perceived or experienced benefits and harms of technology use within their relationships. Results from this study suggest that greater differentiation of self is related to lower amounts of both solitary and conjoint technology use as well as with higher levels of emotional, social, sexual, intellectual, and recreational intimacy. Additionally, higher amounts of solitary technology use are associated with poor intimacy in committed relationships. Conversely, conjoint technology use between committed partners can strengthen intimacy in the relationships, particularly, intellectual intimacy. In short, technology can be used both in ways that benefit and in ways that detract from committed relationships. The interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics of differentiation of self appear to at least partially control whether technology is used in intimacy promoting or intimacy inhibiting ways. Conclusions and implications of this study are given.Item Testing an interpersonal process model of intimacy using intimate discussions of committed romantic couples(Texas A&M University, 2006-08-16) Castellani, Angela MarieThis study attempts to better understand relationship processes that promote or enhance a couple??s experience of emotional intimacy in their relationship. An overarching goal of the research is to test Reis and Shaver??s (1988) interpersonal process model of intimacy with a sample of committed, romantic couples. The interpersonal process model asserts that discussions involving self-disclosure and empathic responding will result in subjective feelings of emotional intimacy. Reis and Shaver??s model suggests that more vulnerable self-disclosure will promote deeper levels of emotional understanding and concern, subsequently resulting in greater subjective intimacy. Analyses tested the interpersonal process model of intimacy by examining self- and partner-reports of self-disclosure, empathic responding, and emotional intimacy. In this study, data were collected on 108 committed romantic couples from the community. Couples completed a packet of questionnaires individually and then engaged in videotaped interactions in which they discussed times when (a) someone other than their partner hurt their feelings (low-risk), and (b) their partner hurt their feelings (high-risk). The discussion topics were aimed at eliciting vulnerable self-disclosure and empathic responding. Results support the interpersonal process model, showing that self-disclosure and empathy are positively related to greater reports of post-interaction intimacy. Empathy proved to have a stronger impact on intimacy in high-risk discussions than low-risk discussions. The impact of self-disclosure and empathy on intimacy did not differ for men and women, suggesting that similar processes are at work for both genders. Methodological and clinical implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.Item The effect of self-disclosure and empathic responding on intimacy: testing an interpersonal process model of intimacy using an observational coding system(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Mitchell, Alexandra ElizabethIntimacy is an important component of romantic relationships and a lack of intimacy is one of the most common presenting problems of distressed couples, but the process through which intimacy develops is not well understood. This study examined the evidence for the interpersonal process model of intimacy described by Reis and Shaver (1988), which proposes that self-disclosure and empathic responding are the basis of intimate interactions. The sample consisted of 108 community couples who completed measures of intimacy after having videotaped discussions about relationship injuries that occurred both within and outside of the relationship. The Couples' Intimate Behavior Coding System (CIB) was developed to assess depth of factual, emotional, and cognitive self-disclosure and components of empathic responding in these discussions. Results indicate that males' own disclosure and empathic responding predicted their feelings of intimacy, whereas females' intimacy was predicted by their partner's disclosure and empathic responding. The effects of both self- and partner-disclosure appear to have been driven by factual and emotional components of disclosure. These results provide preliminary evidence that self-disclosure and empathic responding are important behaviors in the development of intimate feelings for both men and women, but the manner in which these behaviors influence intimacy differs by gender.Item The role of personality and intimacy with depression in elderly widows(Texas A&M University, 2007-04-25) Marrs, Doyle T.As the average age of the population in the United States gets older each year, the problem of depression has been recognized as a chronic problem that affects the quality of life and mental health of many of our nation's elderly. Widowed females, who represent the largest segment of older adults, are particularly at risk for suffering from depression in their elder years. One of the primary difficulties in treating depression in this population is lack of understanding of the factors that contribute to its etiology, in the context of an environment which restricts development of social relationships and limits resources for treatment of depression symptoms. This study examined the reported levels of interpersonal intimacy, depression and the personality characteristics of introversion or extroversion, and examined the relationship between the three factors. Results indicated that, with this study sample (N=99), 23.2% of the sample met cut-off scores indicating depression. Overall, the participants reported being satisfied with their current level of intimacy in relationships; however those who also reported being depressed were less likely to be satisfied. Likewise, those participants who were depressed were more likely to be in the introvert group of personality characteristics. There was no significant relationship established between satisfaction with intimacy and the personality traits. The study showed that the variables examined, including some demographic variables, were correlated, but more work and a larger sample is needed to allow the variables to be used for the purpose of prediction of depression or satisfaction with intimacy in this population.Item Tracing difference : drawing, intimacy and privacy in New York studio practice, 1963-1979(2016-05) Anania, Katherine Dolores; Shiff, Richard; Reynolds, Ann; Henderson, Linda; Clarke, John R; Coffin, JudithThis dissertation examines the shifting position of drawing from a private practice to a public one in experimental circles in 1960s and 1970s New York. While living and working in nearly-vacant industrial buildings in SoHo in this period, many young artists began making large line-based works that actively traced social space in some way. The works used architectural interiors, social gestures and conventions, and even the city itself as both their driving force and support. The project asks: Why, in the span of less than fifteen years, did so many art practitioners in New York incorporate drawing so extensively into their work? What did the disclosure of the act of drawing afford them? I contend that drawing offered a new counter-model for intimacy and interpersonal communication: one that did not require the maker or the viewer to be sovereign, distinct subjects, but in fact relied on their openness to external and provisional phenomena. Drawing became a discipline of intimacy, executed through athletic strategies and meant to solicit athletic modes of looking from the viewer. Three case studies form a survey of drawing and intimacy in this moment: Carolee Schneemann’s drawings as related to postwar performance and video art; Richard Tuttle’s sculptural drawings as demonstrative of new artist/collector relationships that centered on the studio; and William Anastasi’s engagements with drawing, chance, and urban space. In addition to clarifying the position of drawing in postwar American studio practice, my project charts the fragmentary critical fortunes of “the personal” in American life—what constituted a private act for whom, and at what cost.