Intrapersonal & Verbal Communication: Self-Concept, Language Rules, and Cultural Impact

Intrapersonal Communication

Communication with yourself

Self-Concept

An individual's relatively stable mental picture of him- or herself

Self-Image

The view an individual has of themself

Self-Worth

The degree to which you see yourself as a good person who deserves to be valued and respected

Ideal Self

A version of yourself that you would like to be, which is created through life experiences

Congruency

Knowing your self-image, self-worth, and ideal self; if they are congruent, the better your self-actualization

The Looking-Glass Self

A concept where you imagine how you appear to others, their judgment, and react to that judgment

Self-Esteem

Your subjective evaluation of your abilities and limitations

Self-Compassion

Treating yourself with kindness, recognizing common humanity, and being mindful of your feelings

Shyness

Discomfort in a communication moment

Apprehension

Fear of communication, real or anticipated

Reality Testing

Evaluating evidence for and against your thinking

Social Loneliness

Lack of a satisfying social network

Semantic Rule

Meaning can change based on the context in which it is used

Syntactic Rule

Governs how we guide the words we use, grammar, structure, and punctuation

Pragmatic Rule

Helps interpret messages by analyzing the interaction in its entirety

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Theory

Suggests that language impacts perceptions by showing a culture's worldview

Formal Language

Official and academic language to appear intelligent and capable

Informal Language

Common/everyday language used in casual conversation

Jargon

Specialized or technical language of a specific group/profession

Colloquialisms

Informal words used in everyday speech, varying by region

Slang

Words used by certain groups, mainly young adults and teens

Idiom

Expressions whose meaning cannot be understood by interpreting the individual words literally

Clichés

An idea or expression that has been overused to the point that it has lost its meaning

Biased Language

Showing preference in favor of or against a certain point of view

Ambiguous Language

Having various meanings, making people infer different meanings

Euphemisms

Saying something more politely or less bluntly

Locus of Control

Describing whether a person believes that conversational outcomes depend on their actions or outside forces

Cognitive Complexity

How many factors a person can consider at a time

Communication Apprehension

The fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication

Willingness to Communicate

An individual's tendency to initiate communicative interactions with others

Convergence

Moving toward a shared understanding or matching speech patterns to connect with others

Improper

Vulgarity or offensive language that does not conform with standards

Spin

Manipulating language to achieve positive interpretation of words or gain advantage

Authoritarianism

Favoring obedience over freedom

Dogmantism

My view is the truth; no evidence needed

Emotional Intelligence

Reading emotions, whether it’s another person’s or your own

Instrument

Uses language to fulfill a need

Regulatory

Influences the behavior of others through request, rules, or persuasion

Interactional

Used to help maintain or develop the relationship/ease the interaction

Imaginative

Enabling creation of imaginary constructs and telling the stories

Personal

Helps you form your identity or sense of self

Heuristic

Used to learn, discover, explore

Representational

Used to request or relay information

Temperament

Genetic predisposition that causes an individual to behave, react, and think in a certain manner

Relative

Depending on the person due to people’s background, varies based on our perception of our experiences

Alternative explanations

“Are there other ways that I could look at this situation?”

Putting it into perspective

“Is this situation as bad as I am making out to be?”

Goal-directed thinking

“What can I do that will help me solve the problem?”