Week 2 Question 1: Interrelationships and Interdependence

Interdependence is, “the extent that members depend on one another and share in responsibility for the group process, the group gains the benefit of the shared ideas and interactions.” (Harris/Sherblom 32) Interrelationships are mutual associations or affiliations in a group. From my past small group experiences, I see how these two are very important to communication.

I remember a few semesters ago being assigned to a group project about a specific topic in the book. We were to present the chapter to the class and somehow use a visual aid to help the students grasp the chapter even more. This was our final assignment so our interdependence was high. Unfortunately though, one of our group members did not keep in contact with us and it forced us to pick up his slack in the presentation.

As far as interrelationships go, I can vividly think of another experience I had. I was moving into a 4 bedroom apartment where three of us were all friends, and the fourth person only knew me. Because that fourth person was sort of the odd one out, she could not chime in some of our conversations because she was somewhat out of the loop most of the time.

As far as the first example I gave, I was very disappointed in the guy that didn’t participate in our assignment because the interdependence within our group was very important. His grade suffered, so I think he got what he deserved. As for the last example, I regret not having all or no interrelationships, because that left room for miscommunication and the feeling of discomfort.