comm test 1

adapt

to modify ones behavior to accommodate what others are doing

communication

the process by which people use signs, symbols, and behaviors to exchange information and create meaning

relational needs

the essential elements people seek in their relationships with others

model

a formal description of a process

action model

a model describing communication as a one-way process

source

the orginator of a though 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 distracts people from listening to what they wish to listen to

interaction model

a model describing communication as a process shaped by feedback and context

feedback

verbal and nonverbal responses to a message

context

the physical or pyschological environment in which communication occurs

transaction model

a model describing communication as a process in which everyone is simultaneously a sender and a receiver

channel rich contexts

communication environments involving many channels at once

channel lean contexts

communication environments involving few channels at once

symbol

a representation of an idea

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 rules

rules that have been clearly articulated

implicit rules

rules that have not been clearly articulated but are nonetheless understood

intrapersonal communication

communication with oneself

interpersonal communication

communication that occurs between two people in the context of their relationships

small group communication

communication occuring within small groups of approximately 3 to 20 people

public communication

communication directed at an audience that is larger than a small group

mass communication

communication to a large audience that is transmitted by media

communication competence

communication that is 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

principles that guide judgements about whether something is morally right or wrong

culture

The totality of learned, shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another.

societies

groups of people who share the same culture

in groups

groups of people with which a person identifies

out groups

groups of people with which a person does not identify

ethnicity

people’s perceptions of ancestry or heritage

nationality

ones status as a citizen of a particular country

enculturation

the process of acquiring a culture

co cultures

groups of people who share values, customs, and norms related to mutual interests or characteristics other than their national citzenship

indicidualistic culture

a culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to themselves

collectivistic culture

a culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to their families, communities, and employers

low context culture

a culture in which people are expected to be direct and to say what they mean

high context culture

a culture in which people are taught to speak in an indirect, inexplicit way

low power distance culture

a culture in which people believe that no one person or group should have excessive power

high power distance culture

a culture in which certain groups, such as the royal family or members of the ruling political party, have much greater power than the average citizen

masculine culture

a culture in which people cherish traditionally masculine values and prefer sex-specific roles for women and men

feminine culture

a culture in which people cherish traditionally feminine qualities and prefer little differentiation in the roles of women and men

monochronic culture

a culture that sees time as a valuable commodity that should be used widely and not wasted

polychronic culture

a culture that views time as holistic, fluid, and infinite

uncertainity avoidance

the extent to which people try to avoid situations that are unstructured, unclear, or unpredictable

mindfulness

awareness- as in being aware of how other cultures’ behaviors and ways thinking are likely to differ from one’s own

ethnocentrism

the tendency to judge other cultures’ practices as inferior to ones own

communication codes

verbal and nonverbal behaviors whose meaning are often understood only by people from the same culture

code-switch

to shift between jargon and plain language in order to be understood by others

perception

the process of making meaning from environmental experiences

selection

the process of paying attention to a certain stimulus

organization

the process of categorizing information that has been selected for attention

perceptual schema

a mental framework for organizing information

interpretation

the process of assigning meaning to information that has been selected for attention and organized

stereotype

a generalization about a group or category of people that is applied to individual members of that group

primary effect

the tendency to emphasize the first impression over later impressions when forming a perception

recency effect

the tendency to emphasize the most recent impression over earlier impressions when forming a perception

perceptual set

a person’s predisposition to perceive only what he or she wants or expects to perceive

attribution

an explanation for an observed behavior

self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute one’s successes to stable internal causes and one’s failures to unstable external causes

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to internal rather than external causes

self-concept

the set of stable perceptions a person has about who he or she is, aka identity

identity

the set of stable perceptions a person has about who he or she is aka self-concept

Johari window

a visual representation of components of the self that are known or unknown to the self and to others

self-fulfilling prophecy

an expectation that gives rise to behaviors that cause the expectation to come true

self esteem

one’s subjective evaluation of one’s value and worth as a person

image

the way one wishes to be seen or perceived by others

image management

the process of projecting one’s desired public image

life story

a way of presenting oneself to others that is based on one’s self-concept but is also influenced by other people

face

a person’s desired public image

facework

the behaviors use to establish and maintain their desired public image with others

face needs

important components of one’s desired public image

fellowship face

the need to be liked and accepted by others

autonomy face

the need to avoid being imposed on by others

competence face

the need to be respected and viewed as competent and intelligent

face-threatening act

any behavior that threatens one or more face needs

language

a structured system of symbols used for communicating meaning

phonological rules

rules that deal with the correct pronunciation of a word

syntactic rules

rules that govern the order of words within phrases and clauses

semantic rules

rules that specify the meanings of individual words

pragmatic rules

rules that specify the implications or interpretations of statements

denotative meaning

the literal meaning of a word

connotative meaning

the ideas or concepts a word suggests in addition to its literal definition

loaded language

words with strongly positive or negative connotations

ambiguous language

words that can have more than one meaning

sapir-whorf hypothesis

a theory that language shapes a person’s views of reality

credibility

the extent to which others perceive us to be competent and trustworthy

gossip

informal and frequently judgmental and talk about people who are not present

criticism

words that pass judgment on someone or something

threat

a declaration of the intention to harm someone

persuasion

an attempt to motivate others through communication to adopt or to maintain a specific manner of thinking or doing

anchor-and-contrast approach

a persuasion technique by which one precedes a desired request with a request that is much larger