Now in a new edition, Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to communication in interpersonal relationships. Based on an extensive body of scholarship, interplay cites more than 1,000 sources--30% of which are new to the ninth edition--and provides a variety of thought-provoking photos, sidebars, and cartoons that illustrate key points in the text and connect them to everyday life and popular culture. The ninth edition is updated and revised throughout to help make material more clear and useful to students. It provides new information on how people manage their identities on the Internet, how people interpret language in everyday situations, reasons for defensiveness, the role of physical appearance in relational communication, and how technology and gender affect different types of interaction. In addition, the text expands coverage of emotional expression, and extends its balance treatment of gender influences, self-disclosure, and methods of managing privacy in personal relationships. FEATURES OF THE NINTH EDITION · New-Part IV: Contexts of Interpersonal Communication focuses on some of the most important circumstances that surround human interaction. Dedicated chapters focus on culture (Chapter 12), and work and family (all-new Chapter 13). Each chapter provides context-specific guidelines for communicating effectively. · New-Self-Assessment Instruments in each chapter allow students to analyze their current communication behavior and its consequences. The behaviors discussed include listening styles, expressing emotions, self-disclosure, and ways to handle aggression. · Updated- Film Clips at the end of each chapter profile recent feature films-including About a Boy (intimacy and self-disclosure), Ghost World (defensiveness), and Life as a House (the role of touch in relationships)-that illustrate communication concepts from the text. · Updated- Focus on Research sidebars highlight scholarship that students will find interesting and useful. New profiles address a diverse array of topics, such as the many interpretations of "flaming" in e-mail messages and expressions of intimacy between fathers and sons. · Updated-The Interplay website: www.oup.com/us/highered/interplay features a wealth of resources on theories, concepts, and skills addressed in the text. The website includes a section titled "Now Playing" that contains reviews of recent films that illustrate communication concepts covered in the text. Other ancillaries include an updated and expanded instructor's manual and a computerized test bank. Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication, 9/e is ideal for freshman and sophomore courses in communication, speech communication, and interpersonal communication.