Dialectical Thinking and the Development of Mature Interpersonal Relationships among College Students

Author: Wen-Bin Chiou(General Education Center, Kaohsiung Hospitality College)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 49, No. 2
Date：October 2004
Pages：133-160
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2004104902007

Abstract：

The purpose of this study was to explore the holistic relationship between dialectical thinking and the development of mature interpersonal relationships. The subjects were 432 college students from the technological and vocational school system, representing both genders and a variety of grade levels. A questionnaire was used to collect data collection for a correlational study. Results showed that students' dialectical thinking had a significantly higher correlation than formal thinking with four dimensions of mature interpersonal relationships: tolerance, empathy, self-disclosure, and autonomy. Multiple Discriminant Analysis showed that the linear combination of these four dimensions was an effective means of distinguishing between the operations of formal and dialectical thinking. The results of Canonical Correlation Analysis indicated that the relationship between cognitive thinking and mature interpersonal relationships was congruent with the holistic approach. Combining both findings, those of Multiple Discriminant Analysis and Canonical Correlation Analysis, indicated that dialectical thinking is a necessary rather than sufficient condition for the development of mature interpersonal relationships. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed in the paper, along with their implications for the development of interpersonal relationships among college students, and suggestions for future research.

Keywords：dialectical thinking, formal thinking, empathy, self-disclosure, tolerance, autonomy, interpersonal relationships

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