Reflect on the place of respect within relationships. How can you / How should you communicate respect? What does it mean to have an attitude of respect, and why would it be important in relationships?

iStock/fstop123 TO FORM MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS In building relationships, we cannot be overly concerned with ourselves but must consider the needs and wants of others. It is through effective communication that our basic physical and social needs are met. Psychologists tell us that we need other people just as we need water, food, and shelter. When we are cut off from human contact, we become disoriented and maladjusted, and our life itself may be placed in jeopardy. People who are isolated from others-people who lack satisfying social relationships-are more likely to experience health problems and to die earlier than those who have an abundance of satisfying relationships. Communication offers each of us the chance to satisfy what psychologist William Schutz calls our "needs for inclu- sion, control, and affection."15 The need for inclusion is our need to be with oth- ers, our need for social contact. We like to feel that others accept and value us, and we want to feel like a full partner in a rela- tionship. The need for control is our need to feel that we are capable and responsible, that we are able to deal with and manage our environment. We also like to feel that we can influence others. The need for affection is our need to express and receive love. Because communication allows each of these needs to be met, we are less likely to feel unwanted, unloved, or incapable if we are able to communicate meaningfully with others. Communication also gives us the chance to share our personal reality with people from our own and different cultures. Whether we live in an East Coast urban area, a southern city, a desert community, a home in sunny California, a village in Asia, a plain in Africa, or a town in the Middle East, we all engage in similar activities when we communicate. We may use different symbols, rely on different strategies, and desire different outcomes, but the processes we use and the motivations we have are strikingly alike. Equally significant is the fact that insensitivity to another's needs and preferred ways of interacting can hamper our ability to relate effectively.