Intro To Communication Mississippi State University

Communication

Process in which people, through the use of symbols (verbal or nonverbal) generate meaning within and across contact and cultures

Action Model

One way interaction

Transaction Model

communication occurs simulatenous

Needs Met When Communicating

relational, physical, identity, spiritual, and instrumental

Relational

affection

Physical

isolation tears us down

Identity

personal information

Spiritual

express values and beliefs

Instrumental

everyday needs

Interpersonal or Diatic

between two people, no rules, but are defined by that relationship

Small Group

three or more people with a common goal

Public Communication

one speaker to an audience

Culture

tatality of learned, shared, symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group from another

Enculturation

acquiring of a culture

Direct Instruction

when you are told

Imitation

monkey see, monkey do

Observation

passive

In-group

someone apart of a particular culture

Out-group

someone that does not associate with that culture

Options

adapt or have them to adapt to you

Co-culture

groups of people who similar values, customs, language, and norms

Culture Identity

degree to which we identify with co-culture

Components of co-culture

vary in symbols, languages, and values

Values

standard used to judge how good, valuable, or desirable something is

Norms

rules or expectation that guides people's behavior in a culture

Culture Shock

overwhelmed by the values, traditions, and norms of another culture

Self- concept

how you think and feel about yourself; relatively stable perceptions about ourselves

Self- esteem

evaluations of self-worth

Reflected-appraisal

message you get about yourself from others

Self-fulfilling prophecy

events or actions that occur because you or other people have been expecting them to

Social- comparison

comparing ourselves to others around us

Perception

how you look at others and the world around you

Steps in Perception Process

Selection, organization, and interpretation

Narrative

stories people create and use to make sense of their personal experiences

Attribution

process of attaching meaning to behavior

Self-serving bias

judging ourselves more favorably than we judge others

Perception-checking

ability to recreate another person's perspective, to experience the world from their point of view

Language

collection of symbols governed by rules and used to convey messages between individuals

Sapir-Whorf

suggests that the language you use to some extent determines or at least influences the way in which you view and think about the world around you

Meanings are in

people not in words

Denotative Meaning

Dictionary meaning

Connotative Meaning

Feelings or associations each individual has about a word

Language is

symbolic and rule governed

Phonological

govern how words sound when pronounced

Syntactic

govern how the structure of language

Semantic

meaning of specific words

Pragmatic

how people use language in everyday interaction

Language shapes

attitudes, credibility, status, sexism, and racism

Language reflects

our attitude

Types of powerless language

hedge, hesitations, tag questions, disclaimer

Responsibility language

It vs I, you vs I, but, questions vs statements

Equivocal language

have more than one correct dictionary definition

Relative Words

gain meaning by comparison

Slang

language used by people whose members belong to similar co-cultures or groups

Jargon

specialized vocabulary that functions as a kind of shorthand for people with common backgrounds

Overly abstract language

ladder of abstraction

euphemism

pleasant term substituted for a more direct but potentially less pleasant term

Report talk

generally used by males, goal is to maintain status, demonstrate knowledge and skill and keep center stage position

Rapport talk

generally used by females, language designed to lead to intimacy, match experiences and establish relationships

Nonverbal communication

behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without using words

Nonverbal behaviors is

present in most communication context

Nonverbal is usually

believed over verbal communication

Deception

the act of leading someone to believe something one knows to be untrue

Nonverbal communication is the primary

means of expressing emotion

Metacommunication

communication about communication

Nonverbal communication serves multiple functions

manages conversations, maintain relationships by nonverbal signals of affections, form impressions, influence other people, and conceal information

Facial displays

help us express emotion, show identity, and displays attractiveness

Oculesics

eye behavior

Movement and Gestures

emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, and adaptors

Emblems

direct verbal translations

Illustrator

clarify verbal message

Affect displays

communicate emotion

Regulator

control the flow of emotion

Adaptors

satisfy a personal need

Haptics

touch behavior, affectionate, care-giving, power, aggressive, and control touch

Paralanguage

the way we say our words

Pitch

changes the meaning

Inflection

variation of pitch

Volume

can indicate context

Rate

how fast or slow we speak

Articulation

enunciating or mumbling

Accent

geographic location

Silence

can inflect emotion

Olfactics

use of smell

Proxemics

study of the use of space

Intimate Zone

distance 0 to 1 1/2 feet

Personal Zone

distance 1 1/2 to 4 feet

Social Zone

distance 4 to 12 feet

Public Zone

distance 12 to 25 feet

Chronemics

use of time

Monochronic

time conscious

Polychronic

time relaxed

Artifacts

objects and visual features that reflect a person's identity and preferences

Culture and Gender influence

nonverbal behavior

How to Improve nonverbal communication skills

be sensitive, decipher, and aware of the nonverbal messages you send