Discussing issues related to mediated communications, Bowman's INTERCONNECTIONS clearly illustrates the relevance of interpersonal communication to students' everyday lives. It includes hundreds of scenarios to demonstrate how concepts come alive in individual situations and shows students how examples from their favorite TV shows can be analyzed using interpersonal concepts. INTERCONNECTIONS engages students personally in the learning process, using a conversational writing style for presenting research, concepts and skills--at a level and in a tone which is accessible and inclusive. Issues of social diversity are integrated throughout. Boxes on technology, diversity, ethics and self-assessment via both journal activities and research-based questionnaires help students put key interpersonal concepts into practice. In addition, MindTap provides a proven digital learning experience.

Part I: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION FOUNDATIONS.
1. Interpersonal Communication Overview.
Interpersonal Communication Defined. Models of Communication. Foundational Principles of Interpersonal Communication. Interpersonal Communication Channels.
2. Identity and the Self.
Identity. Cognition and Schemata. Identity Management. Self-Monitoring. Self-Portrayal and Social Media.
3. Individual and Intercultural Motivations.
Interpersonal Motivations. Beyond Initial Attraction. Group Membership and Attraction. Communication Cultures and Attraction. Intercultural Competence.
Part II: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN ACTION.
4. Verbal Messages.
Rhetorical Foundations. Characteristics of Language. Message Construction and Management. Verbal Theories.
5. Listening.
Comparing Hearing and Listening. Listening to Verbal Messages and Message Processing. Elements of Effective Listening. Hindrances to Effective Listening.
6. Nonverbal Messages and Perception.
Nonverbal Communication Basics. Nonverbal Communication Characteristics. Nonverbal Codes. Intercultural Challenges and Nonverbal Communication.
7. Maintaining Our Changing Relationships.
Relational Maintenance. Charting a Relationship. Relationship-Focused Behaviors.
8. Relational Difficulties.
Relational Transgressions. Aggression. Unhealthy Conflict. Deception. Infidelity. Jealousy and Envy.
Part III: UNIQUE INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION CONTEXTS.
9. Romantic Relationships.
Romantic Relationships. Love and Other Matters. Attachment.
10. Families.
Our First Relationships. Defining the Family. Types of Family Structures. Family Systems Theory. Types of Family Functions. Types of Family Challenges.
11. Workplace Interactions.
The Culture of Work. Tensions in Workplace Relationships. Popular Team-Based Work Contexts.

Discussing issues related to mediated communications, Bowman's INTERCONNECTIONS clearly illustrates the relevance of interpersonal communication to students' everyday lives. It includes hundreds of scenarios to demonstrate how concepts come alive in individual situations and shows students how examples from their favorite TV shows can be analyzed using interpersonal concepts. INTERCONNECTIONS engages students personally in the learning process, using a conversational writing style for presenting research, concepts and skills--at a level and in a tone which is accessible and inclusive. Issues of social diversity are integrated throughout. Boxes on technology, diversity, ethics and self-assessment via both journal activities and research-based questionnaires help students put key interpersonal concepts into practice. In addition, MindTap provides a proven digital learning experience. TEACHING WITH STORYTELLING. The text's unique narrative style uses storytelling to engage students in otherwise difficult material through brief examples, video interactions and extended vignettes. Stories are at the root of interpersonal relationships, and throughout each chapter students read intriguing anecdotes about people in common communication situations. FEATURES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS. Six featured boxes in each chapter highlight human diversity, address the impact of technology on relationships, explore ethical dilemmas, help students gain insight into their personal relationships via questionnaires and journal writing, and use current media depictions of interpersonal relationships to illustrate key concepts. Each box ends with questions that ask students to reflect on the interpersonal interactions depicted in the narrative and apply it to their own lives. THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON RELATIONSHIPS. Emphasizing the role of technology in shaping our interpersonal interactions, "iPersonal" boxes in every chapter explore in depth the implications of innovative communication technology on human interaction in an increasingly mediated social environment. DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY. "InterFace" boxes focus on specific praxis-based behaviors that can be applied directly to interactions with diverse others, combining both scholarship and practical advice to highlight some of the common challenges that an engaged student may face in an increasingly complex social world. INTERPERSONAL ETHICAL DILEMMAS. "Commendable Connections" boxes examines ethical issues that are widely known yet rarely discussed in a modern classroom context. Each boxed feature provides an extended example of an interpersonal communication dilemma, asking probing questions to encourage the exploration of ethical communication. PERSONAL INSIGHTS USING KEY INTERPERSONAL RESEARCH. "Let's Get INTRApersonal" boxes include scholarly questionnaires that students can use to gain insight into their own personal experiences. These reflective self-assessments use the scales and measures associated with key interpersonal research to enable students to collect unbiased behavioral data about themselves, which they can process at their own leisure or during class discussion. JOURNAL TOPICS FOR QUALITATIVELY INCLINED STUDENTS. "InterConnect" boxes share lay prompts to allow students to reflect in writing on their communication patterns and behaviors. By responding to journal prompts, an engaged student can consider the topic of each chapter from a more personal perspective. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RELATIONSHIP CONTEXTS. After receiving a solid foundation in theory in Parts I and II, students can approach the study of interpersonal communication the way they process it in their own lives: by scrutinizing specific relationship contexts. Part III is devoted to these contexts. By moving through family relationships to casual romantic encounters or early dating partners to long-term committed partners to a variety of workplace relationships, Part 3 allows for the specific application and explication of theory within contexts that students can understand. KEY CONCEPTS ILLUSTRATED BY CURRENT MEDIA DEPICTIONS. "Communication Currents" boxes use recent film and/or television selections to further expand upon chapter content. These media selections briefly illustrate key theories or concepts in an accessible, student-centered way. Embedded links in the e-book on MindTap allow one-click access to short clips from these television episodes.