Communication Processes, Principles, Ethics, and Academic Writing

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts of communication processes, models, ethics, intercultural communication, workplace documents, and academic writing.

Source

The sender who initiates the communication process by crafting a message.

Message

The information, thoughts, or ideas conveyed by the speaker to the receiver.

Channel

The means or medium used to transmit communication, such as phone calls or written letters.

Receiver

The recipient who receives the sent message, such as an audience member, reader, or listener.

Feedback

The response given by the receiver confirming that a message has been understood.

Environment

The setting, physical location, mood, feelings, and mindset of the communicators during an interaction.

Context

The shared meaning conveyed through a message, requiring common understanding between encoder and decoder.

Interference

Barriers or disruptive factors that hinder the effective flow of communication.

Psychological Barriers

Internal mental states or pre-occupations, such as dizziness or distraction, that disrupt message interpretation.

Physical Barriers

Environmental distractions, weather conditions, or physical health issues that interfere with communication.

Mechanical Barriers

Technical interferences affecting channels of transmission, such as low battery or poor phone signal.

Aristotle's Model of Communication

A speaker-centered, one-way public speaking model composed of five elements: speaker, speech, occasion, audience, and effect.

Shannon-Weaver's Model of Communication

A technological model created for telephone communication that separates the sender from the technological encoder.

Osgood's Model of Communication

A circular, two-way model where communicators continuously alternate roles in sending, receiving, and interpreting messages.

Semantic Noise

Communication interference resulting from differing meanings applied to words or messages by interactants.

Field of Experience

Wilbur Schramm's model element encompassing an individual's culture, social background, values, beliefs, and past experiences.

Clarity

A standard of effective communication requiring understandable language while excluding jargon, clichés, euphemisms, and double speak.

Concreteness

A standard of communication that minimizes misunderstandings by supporting messages with specific facts, figures, and data.

Ethics

The discipline examining moral standards and judgments regarding the appropriateness, rightness, or wrongness of human actions.

Culture

The summation of values, beliefs, and behaviors learned and shared by a group with a common history of verbal and nonverbal cues.

Globalization

The interconnectedness of economic relationships, political units, and technological networks across cultural boundaries.

Individualism

A cultural dimension focused on individual uniqueness, personal goals, independence, and self-reliance.

Collectivism

A cultural dimension prioritizing group goals, in-group loyalty, harmony, and long-term emotional bonds over individual desires.

Horizontal Individualism

A cultural orientation emphasizing an autonomous self that values personal independence and equality with others.

Vertical Individualism

A cultural orientation emphasizing an autonomous self while valuing competition, distinct status, and inequality.

Horizontal Collectivism

A cultural orientation viewing the self as an equal member of an interdependent group sharing shared values.

Vertical Collectivism

A cultural orientation where the self is an integral part of an hierarchical in-group, accepting group duties and inequality.

Intercultural Competence

The ability to communicate and live harmoniously across diverse cultural backgrounds and practices.

High-Context Communication

A tradition-linked communication style where much of the message is indirect and understood through context and nonverbal cues.

Low-Context Communication

A communication system that relies on explicit, direct, and detailed verbal messages.

Frozen Register

A static, official language style that rarely or never changes over time, often containing archaisms.

Consultative Register

A standard, two-way professional language style used in structured interactions where background context is provided.

Classism

A form of prejudice or discrimination directed against people based on their social or economic class.

Ageism

Discrimination or bias against individuals based on their age.

Impairment

A physiological condition involving damaged or disordered body structures or functions.

Disability

The functional consequence or limitation resulting from a physiological impairment.

Handicap

The social or environmental barrier imposed on an individual as a result of a disability or impairment.

Direct Approach

A deductive message structure presenting the main idea or result first, followed by supporting statements.

Indirect Approach

An inductive message structure that provides background details first to lead the audience to the main thesis.

Claim

The central assertion or thesis statement that a speaker or writer wants an audience to accept.

Evidence

The facts, data, or grounds used to substantiate a claim in persuasive communication.

Warrant

The underlying logical justification connecting an evidence to a claim.

Proposition of Fact

A persuasive proposition that focuses on arguing whether a specific belief or statement is true or false.

Proposition of Value

A persuasive proposition that focuses on convincing an audience that something is good, bad, right, or wrong.

Proposition of Policy

A persuasive proposition advocating whether a specific action or rule should or should not be adopted.

Memorandum

An internal written message used within an organization to convey policies, procedures, instructions, or official business.

PIE Format

A clinical nursing documentation format standing for Problem, Intervention, and Evaluation.

Lead

The introductory sentences of a news story designed to answer essential questions and hook the reader.

SWOT Analysis

A strategic planning tool used to evaluate an organization's internal Strengths and Weaknesses along with external Opportunities and Threats.

Academic Writing

A formal, objective, concise, and technical writing style used by scholars to convey focused research backed by evidence.

Plagiarism

The unethical practice of presenting another author's words, ideas, or prior work as one's own without proper acknowledgment.

Summarizing

The process of selecting key information from a source text and restating it into a significantly shorter, consolidated version.

Paraphrasing

Restating an author's specific ideas in one's own words using alternative structures without necessarily reducing text length.