Jensen, A. & Trenholm, S. (2024). Interpersonal Communication (8th edition). San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.

“This is the text I wish I had as an undergraduate.”

The book represents an impressive treatment of interpersonal communication theory. Jensen and Trenholm are masterful in weaving the information into a vibrant tapestry of ideas, theories, and applications. While the text serves as a valuable compendium of interpersonal communication theory, it goes far beyond a catalog of theories. The reader discovers practical tips and direction on the challenges of creating, maintaining, and terminating relationships in their personal and eventual professional life. Consistent with the communication perspective and the social constructionist tradition, the book provides information and serves as a resource to help readers make a better social world. Given that the text’s audience is young adults, the information on relationships has immense value in advancing their knowledge of the challenges they are likely to face in various settings. It is a text students would reference often and share with friends as they discuss life’s challenges and mysteries.

The writing style and content are unambiguous. Even the most complex topics are straightforward in terms of explanation. The authors enhance their writing with highly effective concrete examples, illuminating the material and making it extraordinarily accessible.

A unique aspect of the text is its value as one of the few textbooks presenting current research in interpersonal neurobiology. Including the interpersonal neurobiology perspective is vitally important, as some interpersonal researchers discussed the constitutive nature of communication decades ago. The findings in interpersonal neurobiology research validate that interpersonal relationships are a constitutive force shaping our neurology and, ultimately, our experiences. An understanding such as this demonstrates the significance of interpersonal communication and elevates communication to the primary process of shaping the self and the world we experience. This text will help students understand the complexity and importance of our relationships with others in a way that few other texts do.

This is the text I wish I had as an undergraduate. For most students, the foundations of the interpersonal communication field are delivered piecemeal through various readings and coursework. As an undergraduate, I always wondered whether my courses covered interpersonal theory’s many facets. This book, without question, delivers all the information a student needs to establish a well-grounded foundation of knowledge about interpersonal communication and its relation to the many related social science theories. Completing a course with this text would be highly effective in understanding the subject and the significance of interpersonal communication.

Interpersonal Communication (Eighth edition) by Jensen and Trenholm, is an exceptional textbook in its thoroughness and ease of understanding. It is a must for educators and students alike.

John Chetro-Szivos

Past Professor of Communication in the Massachusetts State University system
Founding Dean of Clark University’s School of Professional Studies
Visiting Professor at Assumption University in Worcester, MA.