comm theory ch 25

communication accommodation theory

accommodation

adjustments to communication that decrease social distance

non-accommodation

communication behavior that maintains or increases social distance

social distance

how similar or different we are from another person

convergence

a strategy of accepting your communication behavior to become more similar to another person

this can also be accomplished through discourse management which is the sensitive selection of topics to discuss

divergence

a communication strategy of accentuating the differences between you and another person

counter accommodation

direct, intentional, and even hostile ways of maximizing social distance

(divergence is usually the norm and convergence is usually the acceptation

self handicapping

for older adults, a face saving strategy that invokes age as a reason for not performing well

done by talking about age, health, patronize, painful self disclosure, hearing problem, mental confusion

maintenance

persisting in your original communication style regardless of the communication behavior to the other; similar to divergence

over accommodation

demeaning or patronizing talk, excessive concern paid to vocal clarity or simplification, message simplification, or repetition similar to divergence

cause and effect of cat

desire for approval (personal identity) » convergence » positive response

intergroup contact

when communicators are aware of group affiliations that distinguish them

social identity

group memberships and social categories that we use to define who we are

initial orientation

communicators predisposition to focus on either their individual identity or group identity during conversation

collectivistic cultural context

collectivistic uses we centered and is oriented toward social identity people on the out group are divergent

distressing history or interaction

if previous interactions were bad, both communicators attribute that to the other persons identity (men are like that, white people suck)

stereotypes

the more specific and negative the images people have of an out group, the more likely they are to think of the other in terms of social identity and then resort to divergent communication

norms for treatment groups

“expectations about behaviors that members of a community feel should or shouldn’t occur in particular situations”

ex respect your elders

high group solidarity / group dependence

ex: somebody who works for a nursing home is being questioned by a health official about their practices and it becomes us against them

attribution

the perceptual process by which we observe what people do and then try to figure out heir intent or disposition

6 criteria for good objective theories

1: explanation of the data

2: prediction of the future

3: relative simplicity

4: testable hypothesis

5: quantitative research

6: practical utility