UCONN COMM 2100

Relational Needs

Communication helps individuals meet needs like forming relationships.

Identity Needs

Communication helps individuals build identity.

Informational Needs

Communication helps individuals exchange information.

Instrumental Needs

Communication helps individuals achieve practical goals.

Explicit Rules

Rules are clearly defined.

Implicit Rules

Rules are unspoken norms (such as respecting personal space).

Content Dimensions

Messages carry literal information.

Relational Dimensions

Messages conveying attitudes or feelings.

Metacommunication

Communication about communication, helping clarify meaning or resolve misunderstandings.

Communication Channels

The medium used to convey a message, such as face-to-face, text, or email.

Noise

Any interference with message transmission, including physiological (body), psychological (mind), or physical (environment) noise.

Dynamic Communication

The ongoing, adaptive nature of communication processes.

Downward Communication

Communication that flows from higher to lower authority.

Upward Communication

Communication that flows from lower to higher authority.

Lateral Communication

Communication that flows among peers.

Formal Communication

Follows official channels.

Informal Communication

Communication involves casual interactions.

Building Rapport

Establishing trust and connection with others through attentive listening, empathy, and openness.

Effective Communication

Communication achieves desired outcomes.

Appropriate Communication

Communication respects context and norms.

Adaptable Communication

Adjusting style based on audience, context, or purpose.

Cognitive Complexity

The ability to view a situation from multiple perspectives.

Emotional Intelligence

Recognizing, understanding, and managing one's own emotions and those of others.

Ethical Communication

Being honest, respectful, and responsible in all forms of communication.

Culture

The shared beliefs, practices, norms, and values of a group of people.

Co-culture

Subcultures within a larger culture, defined by shared interests or characteristics.

Identity

One's sense of self, shaped by factors like nationality, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.

Individualistic Culture

Cultures prioritize personal goals.

Collectivistic Culture

Cultures emphasize group harmony.

Low-context Culture

Cultures communicate directly.

High-context Cultures

Cultures rely more on context and nonverbal cues.

Power Distance

The degree to which a culture accepts unequal power distribution.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The extent to which a culture tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty.

High-contact Culture

Cultures involve more physical closeness.

Low-contact Culture

Cultures value personal space.

Spatial Zones

The distance individuals maintain in different social interactions.

Formality

The level of formality expected in communication varies by culture.

Monochronic Culture

Cultures value punctuality.

Polychronic Cultures

Cultures see time as more fluid.

Cultural Centrism

The belief in the superiority of one's own culture.

Projected Cognitive Similarity

The tendency to assume others share your cultural norms and values.

Stereotypes

Overgeneralized beliefs about groups of people.

Verbal Communication/Language

The use of spoken or written words to convey messages.

Phonological rules

guidelines that describe how sounds are pronounced in different contexts

Syntactic rules

govern how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences, ensuring correct word order and sentence structure

Semantic rules

guidelines that determine the meaning and interpretation of words, phrases, and symbols

Pragmatic rules

the unspoken social rules and conventions that govern how we use language in different contexts

Denotative meaning

The literal meaning

Connotative Meaning

includes emotional or cultural associations.

Semantic Triangle

A model explaining the relationship between words, their meanings, and concepts.

Ambiguous Language

Language with multiple interpretations.

Clichés

a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Dialects

a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group

Defamation

act of communicating false statements that harm someone's reputation

Loaded Language

words or phrases that carry strong emotional connotations

Libel/Slander

Written or spoken defamation, respectively.

What affects credibility

Clichés, Dialects, Defamation, Libel, Slander, Loaded language

Opinion

A belief or judgement, based on personal view, has the power to influence

Factual Claims

Verifiable, based on research, not debatable, and has the power to influence.

Talking Down

Speaking to someone as if they are less capable or intelligent.

I-statements

statements take responsibility

You-statements

statements can feel accusatory.

Powerless Language

Language that can undermine authority, such as hesitations or qualifiers, Disclaimers

Nonverbal Communication

Consists of those behaviors and characteristics that express meaning without the use of words

Facial Primacy

The face is a primary indicator of emotions or communicates more than others

Oculesics

the study of eye movement, behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication

Kinesics/Gesticulation

Body movements and gestures used in communication.

Haptics

the science and technology of using touch to convey information

Vocalics

Voice-related elements, like tone or pitch, used in communication.

Halo Effect

The tendency to let positive impressions of someone affect other judgments about them.

Chronemics

The use of time in communication.

Artifacts

Personal objects that communicate aspects of a person's identity.

Listening

active process of making meaning from sound.

Hearing

Passive reception of sound

People-oriented listening

listen to the message in order to learn how the speaker thinks and how they feel about their message.

Action-oriented listening

focuses on what actions need to be taken in response to a message, prioritizing clarity and directness over lengthy explanations or emotional context

Content-oriented listening

prioritize the quality, details, and accuracy of the message, often engaging in critical analysis and evaluating information from multiple perspectives before forming judgments

Time-oriented Listening

individuals prioritize efficiency and time constraints, focusing on concise information and quick conclusions

Effective Listening

Listening that fully understands the speaker's message.

Components of listening

A model of listening that involves Hearing, Understanding, Remembering, Interpreting, Evaluating, and Responding.

Hearing

Physically perceiving sound

Understanding

Comprehending the words we have heard

Remembering

Storing ideas in memory

Interpreting

Assigning meaning to what we have heard

Evaluating

Judging the speaker's believability and intentions

Responding

Indicating that we are listening

Forms of responding

Analyzing, Supporting, Empathizing, Paraphrasing, Backchanneling, Stonewalling

Critical Listening

Listening for evaluation

Empathic Listening

Listening for understanding emotions.

Perspective Taking

Seeing a situation from another person's point of view.

Physical noise

actual sound

Psychological Noise

Anything distracting

Pseudo-listening

Pretending to listen without engagement.

Selective Attention

Focusing on certain parts of a message and ignoring others.

Information Overload

Receiving too much information to process.

Glazing Over

Daydreaming or zoning out while listening.

Rebuttal Tendency

Preparing a response while the other person is speaking.

Informational Listening

Listening with the goal of learning something.

Competitive interrupting

dominating a conversation with interruptions

Confirmation Bias

Favoring information that supports one's own beliefs.