argues that a “shared identity between partners is a key determinant of effective communication (2015, p. 171). People communicate better with in-group members oppose to out-group member (Greenaway et al., 2015). Following this logic, when two individuals are in a relationship they should be able to communicate better than with people outside their relationship. However, as described by Kothari, a perceived closeness can lead to “[overestimating] how well they can communicate” (cited in Savistsky et al., 2011); so, the interpersonal gap is larger among close relationships oppose to strangers (Savistsky et al., 2011). The interpersonal gap, that is a gap when the sender’s intention differs from the recipient effect (Miller 142), should be minimized. Moreover, the closeness-communication bias stipulates that those close us may be not on the same page, as we believe we are (Savistsky et al., 2011); therefore, miscommunication is an …show more content…
A way to avoid miscommunication is to acknowledge the reality that our partners may not understand us the way we want to be understood. Partners, then, can engage in mindreading which is reaching conclusions without checking what our partners truly mean (Miller, 2015, p. 167). Although, as Miller states, all couples participate in mindreading to a certain extent, those in unhappy relationships are affected by this the most (Miller, 2015). Thus, we see a pattern of non-effective communication in relationships due to the lack of thorough self-disclosure and working towards combating operating under the closeness-communication