interpersonal test 2

what is self concept?

a relatively stable set of perceptions you hold of yourself.

true or false: without a self concept, it would be impossible to relate to the world.

true

does high self esteem guarantee interpersonal success?

no

what is personality?

characteristic ways that you think and behave across a variety of situations.

true or false: biology accounts for as much as half of communication-related personality traits (extraversion, shyness, verbal aggression, etc.)

true

true or false: you can control how you communicate even if you have a disposition towards a specific personality.

true

can personality change through experiences?

yes

what is reflected appraisal?

a form of self concept that reflects the way we believe others see us.

who are significant others?

people whose opinions we especially value.

true or false: parents who are understanding of their children's self concepts during the adolescent years have helped them, in turn, build a stronger self concept.

true

can self concepts change?

yes

at what point (age) do self concepts become strong and difficult to change?

30

what is social comparison?

evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare with others.

what are reference groups?

groups in which we compare ourselves.

true or false: self reported communication skills are higher than actual performance.

true

what are the four types of distorted self evaluations?

obsolete information, distorted feedback, perfectionism, and social expectation(s)

what is obsolete information?

the belief that past failures & successes determine one's future.

what is distorted feedback?

remarks of parents may cripple or inflate a child's ego.

what is perfectionism?

belief that everyone else is perfect and the knowledge that one isn't.

what are social expectations?

talking freely about our shortcomings to appear humble.

does self concept resist change?

yes

what is cognitive conservatism?

the tendency to seek and attend to information that conforms to an existing self concept.

what are the two different types of self-fulfilling prophecy?

self-imposed & other imposed

self-imposed prophecy

your own expectations influence your behavior.

other-imposed prophecy

when your actions are governed by the expectations that others have of you

what is impression management?

the communication strategies that people use to influence how others view them.

the perceived self

reflection of your self-concept; the person you believe yourself to be in moments of honest self-examination.

the presenting self

public image; the way we want others to view us.

what are the characteristics of impression management?

we strive to construct multiple identities, impression management is collaborative, impression management can be deliberate or unconscious.

impression management can be __________ or ___________.

deliberate; unconscious

what are three different ways to manage impression?

manner, appearance, & setting.

self-disclosure

the process of deliberately revealing information about oneself that is significant and would not normally be known by others.

true or false: self disclosure MUST be deliberate

true

true or false: self disclosure can be accidental.

false

true or false: self disclosure must be significant.

true

true or false: self disclosure can be known by others beforehand.

false.

what are the two things that social penetration requires?

breadth of information volunteered & depth of information volunteered

breadth of information volunteered

the range of subjects being discussed

depth of information volunteered

shift from relatively impersonal messages to more personal ones.

how does one measure depth of self disclosure/social penetration?

measuring significance, and how private it is.

the four levels of johari's window are...

open, blind, hidden, & unknown.

privacy management

describes the choices people make to reveal or conceal information about themselves.

what are the benefits of self-disclosure?

catharsis, reciprocity, self clarification, self validation, building & maintaining relationships, and social influence.

what are the risks of self disclosure?

rejection, negative impression, decrease in relational satisfaction, loss of influence, and hurting the other person.

true or false: self disclosure is NEVER inappropriate.

false

what are some alternatives to self disclosure?

silence, lying, equivocating, and hinting.

what was philospher kant's view on lying as an alternative to self disclosure?

when there's no way to avoid speaking up, tell the WHOLE truth.

what were the utilitarian philosophers' views on the topic of lying as an alternative to self disclosure?

it leads to the greatest unhappiness for the greatest number of people.

what is bok's test of publicity?

consult in person with people affected by the decision or to conduct a hypothetical conversation if it is impossible or impractical to discuss the issue with those persons

how does one organize impressions?

through perceptual schema.

what is an example of organizational impressionism?

if you perceive a professor as mean, you'll behave differently

what are varying examples of perceptual schema that are used to organize impressions?

appearance, social roles, interaction style, psychological traits, & membership.

what leads to stereotyping?

when generalizations lose touch with reality.

true or false: generalizations and stereotyping are the same thing.

false.

in regards to interpersonal communication, what is punctuation?

the determination of causes and effects in a series of interactoins.

what is interpretation?

the attachment of meaning to sense data.

true or false: beauty is ONLY in the eye of the beholder.

false. (you finding someone attractive will shift depending on whether or not your friends agree)

true or false: opposing narratives provide for smoother communication.

false.

______ narratives provide the best chance for smoother communication.

shared

ethnocentrism

the attitude that one's culture is superior to others.

androgynism

the combination of masculine and feminine traits.

what does it mean when someone is "undifferentiated"?

they are neither masculine nor feminine

what is attribution?

the process of explaining people's behaviors

what is self serving bias?

the judgement of oneself in the most generous terminology possible.

what is the halo effect?

the formation of an overall positive impression based on one positive characteristic of someone.

what is the devil effect?

being unable to bounce back from a negative first impression

what are the elements of a perception check?

description of behavior you noticed, two possible interpretations of the behavior, & the request for clarification.

what are the steps of reappraising your irrational beliefs?

1. decide whether each belief you've recorded is rational or irrational
2. explain why the belief is rational or irrational
3. if the belief is irrational, write down a more rational way of thinking about it.

true or false: perception checking does not work in saving face and pointing out other's behavior.

false

what is an example of perception checking?

asking "am i boring you or do you have something else on your mind?" is a less direct way of letting the other person know that they appear disengaged

what are the dimensions of empathy?

perspective taking, emotion, and concern.

true or false: empathy is hardwired and built into our brains.

true

true or false: the degree to which we are born with the ability to sense how others are feeling seems to vary according to genetic factors.

true

_____________ ___________ are the key to developing the understanding of others.

environmental experiences

true or false: people raised in an individualist culture are more adept at perspective taking than those from collectivist cultures.

false

____________ cultures that value _______________ are more adept at perspective taking.

collectivist; interdependence

sympathy

you view the other person's situation from your point of view

empathy

you view the other person's situation from their perspective, NOT yours

what is cognitive complexity?

the ability to construct a variety of frameworks for viewing an issue.

true or false: empathy requires agreement with the other person.

false.

what is the pillow method?

viewing an issue as if it has four sides and a middle. viewing an issue from each of these perspectives almost always leads to valuable insights.

what are the 5 different positions common to the pillow method?

1. i'm right, you're wrong
2. you're right, i'm wrong
3. both right and wrong
4. the issue isn't important
5. there are truths in each position

true or false: communication shapes our feelings.

true

true or false: feelings shape our communication.

true

what is emotional intelligence?

the ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and be sensitive to other's feelings.

what are some different ways to emotionally react?

physiological factors, nonverbal reaction, cognitive interpretations, and verbal expression.

true or false: physical behavior is always a good indicator of emotional state.

false

what is an example of physical behavior not being a good indicator of emotional state?

trembling could either mean extreme excitement or extreme fear

true or false: there is no relationship between personality and the way we experience & communicate emotions.

false.

most often, ___________ people have an upbeat, optimistic, and more positive emotional state.

extroverted

true or false: the same events can generate quite different feelings in different cultures.

true

what are some influences on emotional expression?

personality, culture, gender, social conventions, social media, and emotional contagion

______ is the best detector and interpreter of emotional expression(s).

gender

which gender is more accurate in recalling emotional images?

females. they are 10-15% more accurate in remembering emotions.

what is the best predictor of the ability to detect & interpret emotional expressions?

gender

what is emotional labor?

situations in which managing, and even suppressing, emotions is both appropriate and necessary.

true or false: suppressing emotions is always damaging and unnecessary.

false.

_________ _____ is an important component of many, if not most, occupations.

emotional labor

true or false: both senders and receivers experience emotions more intensely online.

true

what is it called when you "catch" the emotions of those around you, like a social virus?

emotional contagion