The Importance of Feedback in Relationships

Monitoring feedback is essential for maintaining healthy relationships, as reactive and adaptive behaviors can create ongoing patterns of interaction. Reactive behavior involves defensiveness or aggression, while adaptivity is characterized by yielding to avoid conflict. These feedback mechanisms can perpetuate chronic conditions within relationships, making change difficult. By recognizing and altering these responses, individuals can disrupt negative cycles and foster healthier connections, exemplified by a senior executive who chose to stop engaging in petty arguments with her mother, leading to a more peaceful communication dynamic.