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Political scientists and even psychoanalytic theorists have come to the conclusion that humans are more or less insecure and defensive people according to Harold Barrett’s, “Maintaining the Self in Communication.” For whatever reason we are at a certain level of insecurity and defensiveness, it is a basic truth of human life. Insecurity and defensiveness are just two practices for maintaining the self. Barrett refers to this maintenance as “an ordinary function of communication.” Although each characteristic may easily be viewed negatively in reference to one’s level of self worth, it is a solid foundation of communication. But not only have insecurity and defensiveness become part of the root of communication, so is the issue of shame or “self-defectiveness.” These issues, whether good or bad, subtle or obvious, are all basic to the study of maintaining the self in communication. With that truth in mind, it is imperative to know one’s level of self-worth or self-defectiveness heavily relies on a variety of variables: one’s family, gender or region. Controlled by one’s insecurity or defensiveness, messages are communicated through such self-maintenance strategies. These strategies often appear in relationships and interpersonal events. Whether or not one uses the a strategy to justify, qualify, rationalize, assert, confront, excuse, ignore or brag, the following strategic groupings will remain consistent purposes as we self-maintain ourselves in communication: control, achievement, opposition, attribution, anger denial, withdrawal and prevarication. Among the above purposes, or as Barrett describes as topoi, an individual is not restrained to just one. One will find that it is likely he or she will choose a topos depending on our social consciousness, personality type, or perception of a situation that we find ourselves in at that moment.
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