ACJ Review: Interplay

Volume 4, Issue 2, Winter 2001

Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication (8th ed.)

R.B. Adler, L.B. Rosenfeld, & R.F. Proctor II
Harcourt: Fort Worth, TX (2001)
448 pages

Reviewed by: Ellen Levine Bremen, Darton College

Encouraging students to discuss their self-perception or analyze their communication with loved ones is not a simple task, especially at 8:30 a.m.--the hour I taught undergraduate Interpersonal Communication. Combine this dilemma with students who assume that since they "do" communication every day, they are experienced communicators, and teaching this course can be challenging. Fortunately, Interplay provides instructors with a text well-suited for the introductory interpersonal communication learner.

The main appeal of this text lies in the authors' conversational writing style. Whether discussing elementary topics, such as the communication process, or more intricate issues, such as the Johari window, the text flows in a manner that speaks directly to students. The authors challenge readers to analyze their communication competence while exploring realistic situations. Chapters exploring the dynamics of intimate relationships and conflict management offer rich and candid scenarios, as well as viable suggestions for enhancing communication competence. Colorful sidebars--short first-person narratives called "Reflection" and "Film Clips" from movies such as "American History X" and "As Good As It Gets"--afford the reader further interpersonal accounts.

The practical discussion extends not only to readers' personal interactions, but also to their role as interpersonal communicators in a culturally diverse and technologically advanced society. "Culture and Communication" serves as the text’s second chapter; an ideal placement for raising early-semester discussions about multicultural issues in communication.

In the forefront of the text, the authors also distinguish face-to-face interactions from computer-mediated communication. Scholarly research and interpersonal scenarios involving e-mail and online relationships dot several chapters, such as Nonverbal Communication and Emotions.

The authors' colloquial "voice" does not elude a basis of scholarly work, another quality of this text. An abundance of current research throughout the chapters enables instructors to raise concepts that can be supported by current and dated interpersonal communication research. Another sidebar entitled "Focus on Research" also details some of these studies and their results in an informal manner. I was pleased when students actually cited research during in-class discussions.

The newly-published eighth edition of this text exhibits minor, yet appropriate alterations. First, consistent with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language defines experience, the authors' subtle phrasing changes more accurately represent key concepts. For example, an expansive section on "impression management" is now differentiated by "identity management" and "impression management." Likewise, "silent listening" has replaced "passive listening." Another revision includes the sensible reversal of two chapters that discuss perception; now, readers explore perceptions of themselves prior to analyzing their observations of others. Finally, the text appears cleaner with a new Arial-type font, as opposed to a Times New Roman font, and formerly italicized subheadings are now wider and bolder.

The main shortcoming of this text lies in its overt focus on personal relationships and limited analysis of professional situations. At my university, business majors largely comprised the audience for this course, and my students persistently complained that the text was too heavily slanted toward "touchy feely" personal relationships. Chapter 11, "Communication Climate," contains limited professional examples; however, since this chapter follows two chapters dealing specifically with intimate relationships and precedes a conflict management chapter, this area could ideally focus on interpersonal communication within the workplace setting.

Another suggestion for this text mirrors an element of Adler and Towne's sister interpersonal communication book, Looking Out, Looking In. At each chapter end, the authors partner communication concepts with movies depicting these issues. For instructors who assign a film-based research paper, this would be a welcome addition to Interplay. Of note, two film resource guides are separately available for instructors who use Interplay.

This new edition would also benefit from either an accompanying student CD-ROM, similar to that offered with Beebe, Beebe & Redmond’s (Allyn & Bacon) competing interpersonal text, or a more comprehensive web resource for students and instructors. The authors claim to provide web teaching resources, such as PowerPoint presentations, yet these appear to accompany Looking Out, Looking In, rather than Interplay.

Overall, Interplay's strengths overshadow its weaknesses as an introductory interpersonal communication text. The text offers instructors a formidable "excuse" to raise delicate interpersonal issues in class, yet provides students with practical scenarios and substantive interpersonal communication scholarship, all in an aesthetically pleasing package.