COM - Exam 1

Noise

Anything that interferes with message transmission and interpretation.

Physical noise

Interferences that are external to the sender and receiver and part of the communication environment.

Psychological noise

Mental interferences such as biases or personal distractions that affect communication.

Semantic noise

Misunderstandings arising from jargon, ambiguous language, or cultural differences.

Physiological noise

Bodily interferences that affect the communication process.

Quantitative methods

Research methods interested in observations that can be converted to numerical data.

Qualitative methods

Research methods that focus on observations recorded in linguistic form.

Ontology

Questions about the nature of reality (What is there to know?).

Epistemology

Questions about how we know things (How can we learn about those things?).

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Self-expectations that guide behavior.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to over-emphasize situational explanations for one's own behavior and dispositional explanations for others.

Proxemics

The study of how humans use space to communicate.

Territoriality

The behavior associated with claiming and defending physical space.

Expectancies

Cognitions and behaviors that we anticipate in conversations with others.

Violation valence

The perceived positive or negative impact of a breach of expectations in communication.

Communicator Reward Valence

The value assigned to a communicator based on their positive or negative characteristics.

Falsification

Creating a fiction in deception.

Equivocation

Dodging the issue in deception.

Concealment

Hiding a secret in deception.

Linear model of communication

A model where communication is viewed as a one-way process from sender to receiver.

Interactional Model of Communication

A model that allows for feedback and responses between sender and receiver.

Transactional Model of Communication

A model where communication is viewed as a simultaneous exchange between communicators.

Nominal Concepts

Unobservable concepts that require operationalization.

Real Concepts

Observable concepts.

Theory Purpose

To explain, understand, predict, and effect social change.

Objectivist Epistemology

Presumes that truth exists apart from the knower.

Subjectivist Epistemology

Rejects the idea of an objective truth, focusing instead on perceptions and interpretations.

Three types of stigma

Abominations of the body, blemishes of character, and tribal associations.

Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT)

The theory that communication is primarily aimed at reducing uncertainty in initial interactions.

Cognitive arousal

Increased alertness or orientation to a communication violation.

Emotional appraisal

Judging the meanings of events based on perceived relevance and likelihood.

Passive uncertainty reduction strategy

Observing others to gather information.

Active uncertainty reduction strategy

Asking others or manipulating variables to gather information.

Interactive uncertainty reduction strategy

Engaging directly with others to reduce uncertainty.

Expectations in communication

Learned cognitions about appropriate behaviors based on cultural backgrounds.

Leakage in nonverbal communication

Unconscious nonverbal cues that signal an internal state.