SCOM: Final Exam JMU

Myths of Communication

Communication is a cure all, communication is common sense, communication quantity equals quality

Linear model

one way channel → a sender sends a message through a channel to a receiver in an atmosphere of noise

Interactive

the same linear, but it is a two way channel, it incorporates feedback

Transactional

each of us is a sender or receiver, it affects all parties involved; has sender & receiver on both sides, message, feedback, fields of experience, noise, and relationship dimension

Channel

medium through which a message travels- written or oral

Sender

initiator and encoder

Receiver

decoder of a message

Message

something that produces/conveys meaning

Noise

interference with effective transmission and reception of a message

Feedback

the receivers verbal and nonverbal responses to a message

Fields of experience

include our cultural background, ethnicity, geographic location, extent of travel and general personal experiences accumulated over the course of a lifetime

Context

the environment in which communcation occurs- who, what, when, where, why, how

Content dimension

refers to what is actually said and done

Relationship dimension

refers to how that message defines or redefines the association between individuals

Communication competence

engaging in communication with others that is perceived to be both effective and appropriate in a given context

Constructive climate

pattern of openness, and a pattern of supportiveness

Destructive climate

closed ness and defensiveness

perceptual process

The process of selecting, organizing and interpreting data from our senses in which we give meaning to our experiences

Schema

mental frameworks that create meaningful patterns from stimuli

Prototype

the most representative example

Stereotype

a generalization about a group or category of people

Script

a predictable sequence of events that indicates what we are expected to do in a given situation

Self concept

the sum total of everything that encompasses the self-referential term "me"

Reflected appraisal

refers to messages you receive from others that assess your self- concept

self-disclosure

The process of purposely revealing to others personal information about yourself that is significant and that others would not know unless you tell them

Breadth

the range of subjects discussed

Depth

refers to how personal you become with your discussion

self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute our successful behavior to ourselves but to assign external circumstances to our unsuccessful behavior

self-fulfilling prophecy

Acting on an incorrect expectation that produces the expected behavior and confirms the original impression

fundamental attribution error

blaming personal traits instead of situations for people's behavior

empathy

thinking and feeling what you perceive another to be thinking and feeling; putting yourself in another person's shoes

culture

A learned set of enduring values, beliefs, and practices that are shared by an identifiable, large group of people with a common history

Multiculturalism

a social intellectual movement that promotes the value of diversity as a core principle and insists that all cultural groups be treated as equals

Individualistic

me-oriented; self-promotion; people loosely linked to each other; motivated by own needs and goals; direct and competitive

Collectivist

we-oriented; group support (self-promotion discouraged); people loosely linked to multiple groups; motivated by groups needs and goals; harmonious, not confrontational

Low Power distance

horizontal culture; everyone same level; values relatively equal power sharing & discourages attention to status differences and rankings

High Power distance

vertical culture; respect authority; relatively strong emphasis on maintaining power differences

Feminine

affection, nurturance, sensitivity, compassion and emotional openness

Masculine

dominance, ambitiousness, assertiveness, competitiveness and drive for achievement

phonemes

individual units of sound (vowels, consonants, combos - sh, ch)

morphemes

smallest unit of meaning in a language (walk, for go; -ing/-s/-ion)

syntax

rules that govern combining words into phrases and phrases into sentences

semantics

governs the meanings of words and sentences

structure

set of rules that specify how units of language can be meaningfully combined

productivity

the capacity of language to transform a small number of phonemes into whatever words, phrases, and sentences that you require to communicate your abundance of thoughts and feelings

displacement

your ability to use language to talk about things that don't exist in the physical here and now and things in the past/future (ex. unicorns)

self-reflexive

use language to talk about language

abstracting

process where we form vague conceptions of our world by leaving out details

sense experience

sense of physical world around you; objects, people, occurrences we notice and share with others

descriptions

verbal reports that sketch what we perceive of our senses. (things always get lost in translation, not everyone imagines the same)

inferences

conclusions about the unknown, based on the known; guesses

judgment

subjective evaluation of objects, people, events- my partner's generous

linguistic determinism

we are prisoners of our native language, it defines us

linguistic relativity

native language influences but does not imprison us

connotation

subjective meaning; changes from person to person

denotation

dictionary definition; objective meaning, shared meaning; common usage

jargon

specialized language

euphemism

nice way of saying something not so nice

non-verbal

sharing of meaning non-linguistically, multi-channeled

verbal

sharing of meaning linguistically, single-channeled

repetition

use both a verbal and non-verbal to increase clarity and credibility of message; nodding after saying 'yes' you repeat the verbal message

accentuation

nonverbal message adds emphasis to verbal message; scream or whisper to enhance power and seriousness of message

emblem

gestures that have a precise meaning separate from verbal communication; ex. middle finger

substitution

nonverbal cue that substitutes for a verbal (wave = hello)

regulation

conversation regulated by nonverbal cues

contradiction

nonverbal goes against verbal message; mixed message, saying "i love you" in flat voice

kinesics

the study of facial communication, gestures, body language

haptics

study of touch

paralanguage

vocal cues, the way we say something ex. arabs talk loud to symbolize strength

proxemics

study of distance and territoriality

territoriality

predisposition to defend one's area ex. "that's my desk"

comprehending

making sense of sounds, processing meaning

retaining

taking in knowledge, remembering what you heard

responding

interactions & reactions from listening to the information

informational listening

attempts to comprehend the message of the speaker

critical listening

understanding the message and merits of claims and evaluating them

empathic listening

requires us to take perspective of other person, listen for what other person needs and wants

conversational narcissism

tendency of listeners to turn topic onto themselves

competitive interrupting

occurs when we dominate the conversation by seizing the floor from others while they're speaking

glazing over

occurs when listener's attention wanders

pseudolistening

pretending to listen

ambushing

occurs when we listen for weaknesses and ignore strengths

evaluating response

make a judgement about the person's conduct

advising response

tells people how they should act

content-only response

comprehends the literal meaning of messages from others but doesn't recognize the feelings that ride piggyback

probing response

seeks more info by asking questions

supporting response

effort to focus attention on the other person; includes expression of care, concern, and interest

understanding response

requires a listener to check his/her perceptions for comprehension of the speaker's message or to paraphrase the message to check accuracy

explicit rules

directly expressed, specifically set out norms; ex: JMU Honor Code, "No shoes, no service"

implicit rules

Indirectly indicated (implied); you know the rules, though they aren't stated; learn through observation; ex. see kids eat in class

demographics

age, gender, culture, ethnicity, and group affiliations

values

generally shared view of what is deemed good, right, or worthwhile thinking or behavior

captive audience

disengaged listeners; assembles to hear you speak b/c they are compelled to, not b/c they expect entertainment

committed audience

agreeable listeners; voluntarily assembles b/c they are interested in the topic or speaker; in this case speaker's main goal is to inspire action and thoughts

contrary audience

listeners that are initially hostile to your position on issues

concerned audience

eager listeners; passionate about issues and ideas; speaker's main goal is teach more & support an idea

casual audience

unexpected listeners; stop to listen out of curiosity and leave when they lose interest; goal of speaker is to connect with audience and create interest

general purpose

identifies overall goal of speech (to inform, describe, persuade)

central idea

identifies the main concept, point, issue or conclusion you want audience to understand, believe, feel

specific purpose

a concise, precise phrase composed of clear language that encompasses both the general purpose and the central idea and indicates what the speaker hopes to accomplish with the speech