Comm Midterm

Communication

a systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meaning

Process

ongoing and dynamic

System

interrelated parts that affect one another

Openness

extent to which a system affects and is affected by outside factors and processes

Homeostasis

systems strive for but cannot sustain equilibrium

Symbol

abstract, arbitrary and ambiguous representations of other things

Meaning

the significance bestowed on phenomena

Content level of meaning

contains the literal message

Relationship level of meaning

expresses the relationship between communicators

Feedback

a response to a message

Noise

anything that interferes with the intended meaning of communication

Ethos

proof based on speakers credibility

Pathos

proof that appeals to listeners emotions

Logos

logic and reasoning

Quantitative research

to gather info in numerical form

Qualitative research

non-numerical knowledge about communication

Critical research

identify and challenge oppressive communication practices

Triangulation

studying phenomena from multiple points of view

Intrapersonal communication

communication with ourselves

Interpersonal communication

communication between people

Organizational culture

understanding of organizations identity and codes of thought and action

Ethics

a branch of philosophy focusing on morals and codes of conduct

Perception

active process of selecting, organizing and interpreting people, objects, events, situations and activities

Constructivism

a theory that states that we organize and interpret experience by applying cognitive schemata

Prototypes

knowledge structures that define the clearest example of some category

Personal construct

measure a person or situation along a bipolar dimension

Stereotype

predictive generalization about a person or situation

Script

a sequence of activities that shows how we are expected to act in specific situations

Interpretation

subjective process of creating explanations for what we observe and experience

Attributions

act of explaining why something happens or why a person acts a particular way

Self-serving bias

constructed attributions that serve our personal interests

Positive visualization

technique used to enhance success by teaching people to visualize themselves positively

Expectancy violation theory

when our expectations are violated, we become more alert

Cognitive complexity

number of personal constructs used, how abstract they are and how they interact to shape perception

Person-centeredness

the ability to perceive another as a unique individual

Empathy

the ability to feel with another person

Culture

consists of beliefs, values, understandings, practices and ways of interpreting experience

Social community

a group of people who are part of an overall society

Mind reading

assuming we understand what another person thinks or feels

Inference

a deduction that goes beyond what you know or assume to be a fact

Judgment

a belief or opinion that is based on observations, feelings, assumptions or other phenomena that are not facts

Monitoring

the process of calling behaviors or other phenomena to our attention so we can observe and regulate them

Arbitrary

words are not intrinsically connected to what they represent

Ambiguous

language does not have a clear-cut, precise meaning

Abstract

words are not the concrete or tangible phenomena to which they refer

Communication rules

shared understandings among members of a particular culture or social group about what communication means

Regulative rules

regulate interaction by specifying when, how, where and with whom to communicate about certain things

Constitutive rules

defines what a particular communication means or stands for

Totalizing

responding to a person as if one label totally represents that person

Loaded language

words that slant perceptions and meanings

Reappropriation

a group reclaims a term used by others to degrade its members, and treats that term as a positive self-description

I

spontaneous, creative self

me

socially conscious part of self that monitors and moderates the I inpulse

Indexing

a technique to remind us that our evaluations apply to specific times and circulstances

I-language

identifies the speakers thoughts and feelings

You-language

attributes intentions and motives onto another person

self

everchanging system of perspectives that is formed and sustained in communication with others and ourselves

Secure attachment style

develops when a child’s primary caregiver responds in a consistently attentive and loving way to a child

Fearful attachment style

cultivated when the primary caregiver communicates in a negative, rejecting, or even abusive way

Dismissive attachment style

promoted by caregivers who are uninterested in children, but this view is not accepted by the child

Anxious/ambivalent attachment style

fostered by inconsistent treatment by a caregiver

Life scripts

rules for living and identity

Reflected apprasal

the process of seeing ourselves through the eyes of others

Direct definition

communication that explicitly tells us who we are by labeling us and our behaiors

Self-fulfilling prophecies

expectations or judgements of ourselves that we bring though our own actions

Social comparison

rating of ourselves relative to others with respect to our talents, abilities, qualities, etc.

Self-disclosure

the revelation of personal information about ourselves that others are unlikely to learn on their own

Uncertainty reduction theory

asserts that because people find uncertainty uncomfortable, so they are motivated to use communication to reduce uncertainty

Self-sabotage

telling ourselves we are not good, etc.

Nonverbal communication

all aspects of communication other than words

Kinesics

body position and motions

Haptics

nonverbal communication involving physical touch

Physical apperence

specific aspects of appearence

Olfactics

a term for odors and scents or our perception of them

Artifacts

personal objects we use to announce our identities and to personalize our environments

Proxemics

refers to space and how we use it

Environments factors

elements of settings that affect how we feel, think, and act

Chronemics

refers to how we perceive and use time to define identities and interaction

Paralanguage

communication that is vocal but not actual words

Silence

a lack of communicated sound

Listening

the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages

Mindfulness

focusing on what is happening in the moment

Responding

expressing interest, asking question, communicating attentiveness

Incomprehensibility

a message is not clearly understandable because of language or transmission problems

Message overload

we receive more messages than we can effectively process

Message complexity

a message we are trying to understand is highly complex

Environmental distractions

occurrences in the communication setting that interfere with effective listening

Preoccupation

we are absorbed in our thoughts and concerns and cannot focus on what someone is saying

Prejudgement

the tendency to judge others or their ideas before we have heard them

Pseudolistening

pretending to listen

Monopolizing

hogging the stage by continually focusing communication on ourselves

Selective listening

focusing only on particular parts of communication

Defensive listening

perceiving a personal attack, criticism or hostile undertone in communications when none is intended

Ambushing

listening purposefully to gather ammunition to use in attacking a speaker

Literal listening

listening only to the content level meaning

Paraphrasing

reflect our interpretations of others’ communication back to them

Speech to entertain

objective is to engage, interest, amuse or please listeners

Speech to inform

primary goal is to increase listeners’ understanding, awareness or knowledge

Speech to persuade

aims to influence attitudes, change practices or alter beliefs

Credibility

listeners believe in a speaker and trust what the speaker says