ABSTRACT
Building on earlier theorizing by Duck and Koerner and Fitzpatrick, necessary convergence communication theory (NCC) was developed as a framework for understanding how submissive-dominant communicative interaction within the family system can affect shared meanings and intersubjectivities of its members, creating scripts that place submissive family members at risk for a host of behavioral problems. Berger, in his review of interpersonal communication up to the twenty-first century, pointed out that very few communication scholars have developed theories addressing meaning—the central tenet of communication. Developed firmly in the interpretivist paradigm, the necessary convergence communication theory (NCC) was first proposed by Miller-Day. This chapter represents foundational theoretical assumptions of NCC. Relational cultures consist of shared meaning systems, routinized patterns of interaction, and norms that structure members' roles and behaviors. The state of being in a "relationship" is inherently a communication process and must be understood as a series of transactions in which messages are exchanged.
