Chapter One: Interpersonal Communication

Stigma

A characteristic that discredits a person, making him or her be seen as abnormal or undesirable.

Instrumental needs

Practical, everyday needs such as ordering a drink in a restaurant, scheduling a haircut on the telephone, filling out a rebate card, and raising one’s hand to speak to a class.

Model

A formal description of a process.

Source

The originator of a thought or an idea.

Encode

To put an idea into language or gesture.

Message

Verbal and nonverbal elements of communication to which people give meaning.

Channel

A pathway through which messages are conveyed.

Receiver

The party who interprets a message

Decode

To interpret or give meaning to a message.

Noise

Anything that interferes with the encoding or decoding of a message.

Feedback

Verbal and nonverbal responses to a message.

Context

The physical or psychological environment in which communication occurs.

channel-rich context

A communication context involving many channels at once.

channel-lean context

A communication context involving few channels at once.

Content dimension

Literal information that is communicated by a message.

Relational dimension

Signals about the relationship in which a message is being communicated.

Metacommunication

Communication about communication

Explicit rule

A rule about behavior that has been clearly articulated.

Implicit rule

A rule about behavior that has not been clearly articulated but is nonetheless understood.

Interpersonal communication

Communication that occurs between two people within the context of their relationship and that, as it evolves, helps them to negotiate and define their relationship.

Intrapersonal communication

Communication with oneself

Mass communication

Communication from one source to a large audience.

Small group communication

Communication occurring within small groups of three or more people

Dyad

A pair of people.

Communication competence

Communicating in ways that are effective and appropriate for a given situation

self-monitoring

Awareness of one’s behavior and how it affects others.

Empathy

The ability to think and feel as others do.

Cognitive complexity

The ability to understand a given situation in multiple ways.

Ethics

A code of morality or a set of ideas about what is right.