COMS 130H Exam #1

Interpersonal Communication

A type of human communication distinguished by greater vunerability and awareness

Stimulus

Something that is being communicated that provokes or triggers a thought

Intrinsic

Internal, Intangible, a feeling

Linear Model + example

Sender —> Message Channel —> Reciever

ex: Turn on the news and receive the news

Transactional model of communication + example

Communicator A → Message channel → Communicator B

ex: Phone call

Interaction model of communication + example

Sender → Message Channel → Receiver + Feedback

Motivation defintion

Advantages, weighing benefits and costs

Channel

Carries coding of the message

Language

verbal

Paralanguage

How we sound → Tone

Encoding

Creating the message

Decoding

Deciphering the message

Martin I-it Theory

Self centered, communicating with the goal of getting a need fulfilled

I-Thou Theory

Other-centered, relates to as an equal

Purpose of Mass Communication

An action (something that you do), very impersonal and done to inform everyone as quickly as possible

Purpose of small group communication

More interactive, done to accomplish a task that requires everyone to work together

Purpose of Interpersonal Communication

Transactional, to start and sustain relationships (most personal type of communication)

Mass personal + example

More personal but interactive

ex: Guy is displayed on Jumbotron as he proposes

Interference

Anything that infers with the sending or receiving of a message

Frame of Reference

All of your knowledge, goals, and experiences that make you you

Context

Entire environment in which the communication of the interaction takes place

The Johari Window: what are the four parts

Open, Hidden, Blind, and Unknown self

Self Concept

How you see yourself

Self Concept: Direct Definition

Being told specifically what we are ex: you are a girl

Self Concept: Reflected Appraisals

How others behave towards you that makes you think of what we are

Social Comparison

Comparing yourself to others ex: Getting scores back and comparing you did to your seat partners

The three traits of noxious people

1. Negative/overly critical

2. Do not like themselves so much they drag others down with them

3. Resist change

Imposter syndrome

Ignore all the evidence to the contrary

Cognitive Conservatism

Seek out people to confirm our inaccurate sense of self

Perception definition

Resolving Ambiguity, vagueness, or uncertainty

Halo/Horn Effect

Linking good traits with other good traits/ bad traits with other bad traits

How to be more “other-oriented” (3)

1. Suspend judgement

2. Individualize rather than generalize

3. Contextualize and Empathize

Perception Checking (3)

1. Describe behavior (What did you experience)

2. Provide two possible interpretations of what happened

3. Ask for clarifaction

Bias: We hold others more responsible for… (5)

1. negative results (over positive results)

2. for not trying (incompetence)

3. when they aim to improve (rather than to avoid loss) ex: wanting to own a gun to protect yourself not shoot random people

4. when we fear the same thing could happen to us

5. than we hold ourselves (self-serving bias)

Fundmental Attribution Error

Underestimating the role external influences play and overestimating the role internal influences play in our lives

How to increase awareness

Rather than judging, remember that our perceptions are biased, incomplete, subjective, and limited

Stages of perception (3)

1. Selection

2. Organization

3. Interpretation

Selective exposure

Choosing the context

ex: I choose to come to school and sit in class

Selective attention

Where am I placing my attention

ex: Turning on a show but zoning out and no actually watching

Inattentive/Change Blindness

Only seeing one thing at a time (YOU CAN NOT MULTI-TASK)

Organization (3)

1. Create Categories

2. Link them together

3. Seek closure

Interpretation

Figuring out “what this is”