AcknowledgementsFirst of all, I wish to express my warmest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Liao Yunquan, not only for his invaluable suggestions and comments on my thesis, but also for his rigorous attitude and great encouragement. I couldn’t have finished my whole thesis without his instructive suggestions and guidance.Next, I owned my thanks to my classmates and friends, who have offered me suggestions and several precious references which have proved to be quite useful in my thesis writing.Last but certainly not least, I am particularly thankful to my parents who encourage me and provide me a good environment. Without their encouragement and support, I would have been beaten down by difficulties.AbstractWith the advance of globalization, the communication between different countries has become more and more frequent, especially between China and America. It is known to all that Chinese interpersonal relationship is very different from American interpersonal relationship. Therefore, this paper takes Chinese and American interpersonal relationships in family as the focus of research, applying the summarizing method, literature research,method of comparison and so on, and mainly analyzes three forms of interpersonal relationships in family—spousal relationship, parent-child relationship and relationship between siblings. By analyzing the differences of those three relationships and exploring the reasons for differences further, people can achieve a more profound understanding of Chinese and American cultures, which is helpful to the promotion of cultural communication and progress.Key Words: interpersonal relationship; family; differences; comparative study摘 要随着全球化进程的不断推进，各国之间的交流日益频繁，尤其是中美两国。
众所周知，中美两国的人际关系存在着很大的差异因此，本文以中美家庭中的人际关系为研究的焦点，运用归纳总结法、文献法、对比法等研究方法，主要分析它们的三种家庭中人际关系的形态，即夫妻关系，亲子关系和兄弟姐妹之间的关系通过对这三种关系差异的分析，并进一步探究出造成这些差异的原因，人们将对两国的文化有一个更深刻的认识，有助于文化交流并促进文化进步关键词：人际关系；家庭；差异；对比研究Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u10HYPERLINK \l "_Toc383961338" Bibliography 14A Comparative Study of Chinese and American Interpersonal Relationships in Family1. IntroductionNowadays the inter-cultural communication between China and America is becoming more and more frequent, with the globalization of economic activities and social life. As everyone knows, there are significant differences between Chinese and American interpersonal relationships. Because of differences in geographical conditions, historical cultures, and ways of thinking, Chinese and American interpersonal relationships in family are certainly different. Thus, this paper will mainly makes a comparison of three forms—spousal relationship, parent-child relationship, and relationship between siblings, for analyzing the differences between Chinese and American interpersonal relationships in family.2. Definition of Interpersonal Relationship and FamilyThe society is made up of many complicated interpersonal relationships, no one can get rid of interpersonal relationship and exist on himself. Interpersonal relationship refers to the relationship between people. Among a number of social subjects, interpersonal relationship has been a focus which attracts the whole society’s attention. However, family is the cradle of the people’s life, the place where people were born and it’s also people’s first living environment. Interpersonal relationship in family not only plays an important role in social relations, but also influences the development of social relations directly.2.1 The Definition of Interpersonal RelationshipAs the name suggests, interpersonal relationship refers to the relationship between people. The word “Ren” in Chinese explains that one’s existence in society is based on the premise of the existence of others. It is about interpersonal relationship, and where there exist people there exist interpersonal relationship.From the perspective of sociology, interpersonal relationship is defined as a kind of social relations established by people in the process of productive activities or living activities. However, from the perspective of psychology, interpersonal relationship, which refers to the effects or mental contact produced by people’s communicative activities, is a kind of psychological relationship between people. It is a psychological concept, unlike social relation. People establish different kinds of relationships in social interactions, such as intimate relationship, distant relationship, and hostile relationship. All of those relationships are psychological distance, collectively known as interpersonal relationship. If relationship between two people become closer and closer, they can be in perfect sympathy with each other.Interpersonal relationship is achieved and accomplished through communication. It’s a very prevalent social phenomenon and the foundation that the whole society relies on to exist and develop. So interpersonal relationship remains an overarching concern for many social subjects.2.2 The De。