Intro to Human Communication Exam 1

UCO Intro to Human Communication Exam 1 Ch. 1-4 Spring 2025

What are the three ages of western civilization?

• Classical age

• Middle Ages

• Modern age

Where is the birthplace of democracy?

Athens, Greece

What are the three ages of western civilization?

• Classical age

• Middle Ages

• Modern age

Where is the birthplace of democracy?

Athens, Greece

Who was the first Greek philosopher?

Socrates

Who was Socrates’ prime pupil?

Plato

Who was Plato’s prime scholar?

Aristotle

Who was Aristotle’s prime student?

Alexander the Great

What can a formal study of communication give us?

• Improved skills

• Aids in how to make sense of what happens in our lives

• Increased personal impact

What is the definition of communication?

A systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings

What are the features of communication?

• Process

• Systemic

• Symbols

• Meanings

What is the process feature of communication?

Ongoing and always in motion

What is the systemic feature of communication?

Occurs in a system of interrelated parts that affect one another

What is the symbol feature of communication?

All language and many nonverbal behaviors; anything that abstractly signifies something else

What is the meaning feature of communication?

The significance we bestow on phenomenal what they signify to us

What are the two levels of meaning?

• Content level

  • Relationship level

What is the definition of content level of meaning?

The literal, or denotative, information in a message

What are the values of communication?

• Personal identity and health

• Relationship

• Professional

• Cultural

What are the personal identity and health values?

• Gaining personal identity through communication

• Influencing our physical and emotional well-being

• Effective health care

What are the relationship values?

• Sustains relationships

• Solves problems/resolves conflict

• Self disclosing

What are the professional values?

Professional success from effective communication

What are the cultural values?

• Express and evaluate ideas

• Effective participation in social settings

What is the linear model of communication?

A one-way process in which one person acts on another person

What is the definition of noise?

Anything that has potential to interfere with the intended communication

What is the interactive model of communication?

Receivers respond to senders and senders listen to receivers

What is the definition of feedback?

Response to a message whether verbal, nonverbal, or both

What is the transactional model of communication?

People often simultaneously send and receive messages

What is the definition of interpersonal communication?

Communication between people, usually in close relationships

What is the definition of relationship level of meaning?

Expresses the relationship between communicators

What are the unifying themes of communication?

• Symbolic activities

• Meaning

• Critical Thinking

• Ethics and communication

What is the definition of organizational culture?

Ways of thinking acting, and understanding work that are shared by members of an organization and that reflect an organization’s distinct identity

What is the purpose of the allegory of the cave?

Most people are ignorant and unaware of reality

What is the definition of perception?

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

What are the three parts of perception?

• Selecting

• Organizing

• Interpreting

What is selection influenced by?

• External qualities that draw attention

• The acuity of our senses

• Change or variation

• Our motives, needs, and exceptions

What is the definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

An exception or judgment of ourselves brought about by our own actions

What is the behavioral psychology system order?

Stimulus-Response-Consequence

What is the cognitive psychology system order?

Stimulus-Organism-Response-Consequence

What is the definition of cognitive complexity?

The number of constructs used, how abstract they are, and how elaborately they interact to create perceptions

What are the cognitive layers?

• Paradigm

• Schemata

• Automatic thoughts

What is the definition of paradigms?

Deep core beliefs

What is the definition of schemata?

Structures we use to organize and interpret experiences

What are the four types of schemata?

• Prototypes

• Personal constructs

• Stereotypes

• Scripts

What is the definition of prototype?

Knowledge structures that define the clearest or most representative example of some category

What is the definition of personal contructs?

Bipolar mental yardstick that allows us to measure people and situations along specific dimensions of judgment

What is the definition of stereotypes?

Predictive generalization about people and situations

What is the definition of script?

An expected or appropriate sequence of action in a particular setting

What is the definition of interpretation?

The subjective process of evaluating and explaining perceptions

What is the definition of attributions?

Explanations of why things happen and why people act as they do

What is the self-serving bias?

The tendency to construct attributions that serve to our personal interests

What are the influences on perception?

• Physiology

• Culture

• Social roles

• Cognitive abilities

  • Person-centered perception

What is the definition of person-centered perception?

The ability to perceive another as a unique and distinct individual apart from social roles and generalizations

What are the beliefs about the self as an illusion?

• Goal is to dissolve ego

• Uses self-knowledge to attain enlightenment

• The self is not a human being experiencing the universe, but the universe experiencing human

Who stated the self is not fixed?

Buddha

What did Aristotle believe about the self?

• Mind and soul are not separate

• Knowing yourself and controlling self-weakness are the key

What is the definition of self?

A multidimensional process in which the individual forms and acts from social perspectives that arise and evolve in communication

What did Descartes believe about the self?

• The self is mind only

• Duality: mind and body are separate

What is the modern view of the self?

Split into three parts: the Id, Ego, and Superego

What is the basic definition of narcissism?

Unhealthy focus on the self

What are the methods of developing self-awareness?

• Learning to live the flow

• Seek out others’ perceptions

• Journaling

• Self-acceptance and self-esteem

• Emotions

What are the forms of communication the self arises in?

• Family

• Peers

• Society

What kind of communication typically happens first between families?

Direct definition

What is the definition of direct definition?

Communication that explicitly tells us who we are by specifically labeling us and reacting to our behaviors

What kind of script is typically initially communicated in families?

Identity scripts

What is the definition of identity scripts?

Rules for how we are supposed to live and who we are supposed to be

What is the definition of attachment styles?

Any of several patterns of attachment that result from particular parenting styles that teach children who they are, who others are, and how to approach relationships

What are the four main attachment styles?

• Secure

• Anxious/ambivalent

• Dismissive

• Fearful

What is the comparison type that happens during peer communication?

Social comparison

What is the definition of social comparison?

Comparing ourselves with others to form judgments of our own talents, abilities, qualities, and so on

What are the multiple dimensions of the self?

• Physical

• Cognitive

• Emotional

• Social

• Moral/spiritual

What is the definition of ego boundaries?

A person’s internal sense of where they stop and the rest of the world begins

What is the definition of particular others?

Viewpoints of specific people who are significant to us

What is the definition of reflected appraisal?

Our perceptions of others’ views of us

What are the four dimensions of personal identity emphasized by modern western culture?

• Race

• Gender

• Sexual orientation

• Socioeconomic class

What are the two types of social perspectives?

• Constructed

• Changeable

What is the definition of self-sabotage?

Self-talk that communicates that we are no good. Undermines belief in ourselves.

What is the definition of an upper?

People who communicate positively about us

What is the definition of a downer?

People who communicate negatively about us

What is the definition of vultures?

An extreme form of downer who also attack our self-concepts

What is the definition of hearing?

The physiological activity that occurs when sound waves hit our eardrums. A passive process

What is the definition of listening?

A complex process that consists of being mindful, physically receiving messages, selecting and organizing information, interpreting, responding and remembering

What are steps of listening?

• Being mindful

• Physically receiving messages

• Selecting information

• Organizing information

• Interpreting

• Responding

• Remembering

What is the definition of mindfulness?

Being fully present in the moment

How does someone physically receive messages?

By hearing words and sounds, including things like lip reading or seeing sign language

What is physically receiving a message affected by?

• Fatigue

• Background noises

What happens during the selecting and organizing phase?

We selectively attend to some messages and disregard others

What do we use to organize our perceptions?

Cognitive schemata

What happens during interpreting?

You put together all that you have selected and organized to make sense of the overall situation

What is the definition of responding?

Communicating attention and interests as well as voicing our own views

What is the definition of remembering?

Retaining what you have heard

What fraction of information do we retain?

Roughly 1/3

What are the external listening obstacles?

• Message overload

• Message complexity

• Environmental distractions

What are the internal listening obstacles?

• Preoccupation

• Prejudgment

• Lack of effort

• Failure to accommodate diverse listening styles

What are the forms of nonlistening?

• Pseudolistening

• Monopolizing

• Selective listening

• Defensive listening

• Ambushing

• Literal listening

What is the definition of pseudolistening?

Pretending to listen

What is the definition of monopolozing?

Continually focusing communication on oneself instead of on the person who is talking

What is the definition of selective listening?

Focusing on only selected parts of communication

What is the definition of ambushing?

Listening carefully in order to attack a speaker

What is the definition of literal listening?

Listening only to the content level of meaning

What is the definition of informational listening?

Listening to gain and understand information, focusing on the content level of meaning

What is the definition of defensive listening?

Perceiving personal attacks criticisms, or hostility in communication when no offense is intended

What is the definition of critical listening?

Attending to communication to analyze and evaluate the content of communication or the person speaking