Comm 324 Module 3 Discussion 2 Notes

Visiting your family and sitting down to dinner may bring back many warm feelings and happy
memories. Not everyone would agree. As the next case study illustrates, some may find a return home
or family dinner a source of frustration and annoyance. The purpose of this activity is to apply correctly
the key concepts, principles, and suggestions from Chapter 5 to the case study.
Read the following case study and the instructions that follow it.
“We only visit my parents every year or two for a holiday. Recently, we were all sitting down to mom's
holiday dinner when the topic of politics arose. I made a negative comment about the current U.S.
president, in response to which my father called me an idiot for making such a statement. I felt he
wasn’t even listening to my point of view but rather looking for ways to criticize me like he always
does. I accused him of being too pigheaded to hear what I was saying. This, in turn, angered him, and
he told me that I’m someone with whom it is impossible to carry on a conversation. I stood up and
threw my napkin on the table. I told him that he was regressing to the way he treated me when I was
growing up. He stood up and leaned toward me. He then said, ’When is your attitude going to change?
Are you ever going to grow up?’ I told him I was trying but felt that he was bullying me. As usual, my
mother was eating without saying anything.”
The original version of this case study appears in Cahn, D., & Abigail, R.A. (2014), Managing conflict
through communication (5th Edition), p. 52.
For this discussion, please engage in the following:
1. Read the case study
2. Jot down what concepts you read in Chapter 5 that might apply to this scenario
3. Define what the concept(s) is that fits this case
4. State what behaviors you see happening that substantiate why you chose the concepts you have
identified
5. Write a 250-300 word post where you put together #2 and #3; this post should be in narrative
form
6. Include references to the textbook in your post; use the APA style guide
7. Make sure to proofread for grammar
8. Put your post in a discussion thread