Friends of the Heart

Sophie and Jay have a unique set of relational expectations. They are best friends, but they are both homosexual which makes the friend even more interesting. Jay and Sophie both look out for each other and help each other out during times of need. They are expected to be there for each other when they need help, and they are caring with one another, their friendship is equitable. 
They certainly have fun when they are together, making silly jokes, cheering each other up, and having a good time. They reduce uncertainty about the partner which refers to wanting to find out more about the person, in this particular case study is when Jay is trying to get to know Sophie a little better when they are in her home town, and he is asking her questions about her childhood, and its a new side of her that he has never seen before. 
In this case they wouldn't investigate romantic potential because they are both homosexual and aren't interested in each other, but they do say to one another "if we were heterosexual, we would be a perfect match". They certainly develop a friendship, and focus on trying to determine if they have enough in common to be friends, and do things together, and strengthen their already existing relationship. 
I think Jay and Sophie have a very interesting relationship, they are both not attracted to each other, but are one male and one female, they are close. Jay is there helping her out through a time of need after her father's passing and they are clearing out the house. Jay doesn't say that he is there with her to help her, he says its because he wants to go to the east coast with someone and it happens to be her. When in reality he is there to help her through this struggle. Their expectations are that of any two best friends, and they are there for each other during times of need. 
Affection is based on having enjoyable interactions with someone which make one feel good when around that person. Enjoyable interactions promote interpersonal warmth or a feeling of cozy closeness which help cement the bond between two people. 
Jay and Sophie definitely have affection towards one another. Jay is there to help her during her times of need, and Sophie enjoys his company, he makes her laugh. Right in the beginning of the case study he is smoking a cigarette and she makes a joke about not being able to smoke that for the rest of the way up the east coast, and he makes a joke back about then its going to take them 3 weeks to get there, because he is going to have to stop for smoke breaks all along the way. Sophie laughs, even in these hard times of her fathers passing and all the stress that she is under during these times, clearing out the house and leaving her childhood behind. 
Together they make a great couple of friends, who know that they can count on one another when they need each other. They show sincere affection towards one another throughout the entire case study. Jay is worried about Sophie and even picks up on her anxiety, and restlessness in the beginning of the case. Sophie thinks Jay is an amazing friend and really enjoys his company. Together they share a bond and interpersonal warmth. 

We'll never be that kind of couple

Power is defined as; "an individual's ability to influence others to do what he or she wants, as well as a person's ability to resist the influence attempts of others". Now just by taking this definition I think that we can apply it to case study number 19, "We'll never be that kind of couple". 

Emma and Jason have a constant power struggle between the two of them, as well as the next door neighbors. One of the examples of a power struggle is when they get in a fight about Emma becoming friends with her ex on Facebook. Jason gets very up set, and they continue to "one-up" each other through out the conversation, until Jason ends up storming out of the apartment. 

Another power struggle is when they started to create date nights for the two of them, and Jason forgets about the date night, and wants to go to the game with his friends. Emma becomes very upset about this, and soon she becomes silent with anger, and "holding it in". Jason realizes that what he should have done was think more about Emma than about his friends and the game, so he goes out and buys her flowers, but at that point it is too late. Emma is already getting ready to go out with her friends, and she isn't going to change her mind. Once again in the conversation they continue to "one-up" each other, until someone gets so angry they storm out. 

Agency is defined as; why people often feel the need to "change" their relational partners, so that they fit their conceptions of how a perfect partner should behave." I think within this same case, Emma and Jason's neighbors are also having a power struggle, it seems as though the "he neighbor" as they call him, is trying to change the way the "she neighbor" is acting by violence. 

Dominance refers to the display or expression of power through behavior, which can relate to almost all the cases that we had to read through this particular session involving hard emotions, but especially in this case involving the neighbors, the he and she neighbor. It seems as though the "he neighbor" is constantly trying to dominate the "she neighbor" by telling her what to do, and acting out in violence, as a way to control her, and it is continuing to worsen. 

In conclusion, all the cases that we read in this session involved very difficult situations that occur from peoples different perspectives, and reasons people act the way they do. Although this was probably the hardest, and most emotional section of our class, I think that it was the most beneficial, I really can relate to a lot of these cases, and the emotions involved in these situations. I learned a lot of about myself, and relationships that I have with other people in this particular module.