Relationship level

20%
factual level

80%
relationship level

In psychology and sociology, the relationship level is the quality of interpersonal cooperation in the sense of intuitive , emotional and social inner connectedness, with the help of which people outside the content level (also factual level) feel connected.

To develop and deepen a good relationship, openness, honesty, reliability ( emotional intelligence ) and other key qualifications are required.

meaning

For the success of communication processes within family or business partnerships, and especially within love relationships , the quality of the relationship level is a crucial basis. According to Sigmund Freud , trust, emotional closeness, shared values as well as assumptions or fears and wishes determine the success of interpersonal communication to over 80 percent.

The iceberg model states that the relationship level exerts a much greater influence on communication, but that it often works covertly.

Social context

Social togetherness in a retirement home

Social competence in general describes skills for “social” action. The term “social” can be understood here in the socio-psychological (as “interpersonal”), in the sociological-value-neutral (as “social”) or in the sociological-evaluative (as “socially-moral”) and always describes the different dimensions interpersonal Relationships. Which interpersonal relationships and encounters (Martin Buber) occur, which conflicts are emerging, which existing conflicts can be resolved, if at all? Courage, overcoming (pain in the work) and risk are essential characteristics in the development of social skills and stable relationships. Their quality can generally be measured by their status within a social structure , their power and influence, and their choice of partner .

The ability to form sustainable relationships is primarily based on characteristics of social competence:

Ability to work in a team , for example through involvement in sports
Musical skills
Knowledge of human nature
Empathy (compassion)
Communication skills
Critical ability
Self-confidence
cooperation
perception

Economic context

Within business exchange processes, especially within teams or in sales , the economic importance of the relationship level between employees and colleagues or customers or suppliers becomes clear. Since trust is an essential multiplier for the willingness to engage in monetary exchange processes, considerable efforts are made in this area to secure a defined relationship level with the help of electronic records (see: CRM ) .

The relationship level is of particular importance in the economic context for network marketing . In no other sales area of marketing does the economic importance of personal relationships weigh more. The consequence is that the success of "networkers" depends to a large extent on the number of people you know and whose trust you enjoy. Naturally, these are close relatives and good friends first. They are seen as potential customers and future self-employed employees and visits to them are primarily intended to sell and recruit products. In this context, aspects of business ethics also play a direct role.

The efforts to establish a mutually beneficial business relationship on the basis of a good relationship level are represented by the various concepts in the spirit of the so-called win-win strategy . In particular, the Harvard concept pursues the goal of making the relationship with the counterpart in a business negotiation as good as possible and the dispute as clear as necessary (principle: tough on the subject, soft on people) .

Rhetorical context

Within the argument there is a reference to the use of the relationship level on the basis of emotional arguments based on assumptions, personal references, experience and credibility of the speaker. In contrast, the more logically valid deductive argument completely excludes the level of relationship between the speaker and the audience. As a high school of reasoning has since Plato between the dialectic established that attempts by speech, contradiction and synthesis in the same lecture to promote their own and the views of the opposite, and thus an inner understanding and compromise.

Conflict resolution

Another possibility to solve interpersonal conflicts on the relationship level has been successfully established with the help of so-called systemic therapy or systemic organizational development . All involved persons and institutions with their needs and expectations as well as the interactions with each other are considered neutral. In this way, the relationship disorder can usually be clarified beyond the approach of pure argumentation.

Another form of conflict resolution for a disturbed relationship level is mediation . Here a so-called mediator mediates between the parties involved with the aim of finding a pragmatic solution, usually a compromise. In contrast to the more therapeutically oriented systemic work, mediation is more likely to be found in the economic field.

From the theoretical background of psychoanalysis , gestalt therapy and humanistic psychology , a third concept has emerged with the so-called topic - centered interaction , which was developed by the teacher and psychoanalyst Ruth Cohn to improve relationships in groups. The aim of the TCI is to develop better communication possibilities, through the intellectual understanding of the connections and through the emotional experience. An interaction model was created that treats the person , the group and the task (they form a model unit) as equivalent and always takes the context of communication into account.

presentation

The instrument of the genogram has established itself for the graphic representation of a bipolar or polypolar relationship level . With the help of graphical relationship lines between the participants, dependencies and informal structures can be visualized that would otherwise hardly be recognizable if the people involved were looked at more superficially. The mediator or systemic organizational developer or therapist uses this advantage to reduce tensions of expectation and previously hidden conflicts.