Social Interaction II

Interpersonal Gap

The gap between what the sender intends to communicate and what the listener perceives

Non-Verbal Communication

Information transmitted through various channels such as eye contact, body movements, paralanguage, and interpersonal distance.

Microexpressions

Authentic flashes of our real emotions that are hard to control and may leak out despite efforts to mask feelings.

Self-Disclosure

Revealing personal information to someone else to generate closeness.

Responsiveness

Attentive and supportive recognition of one person’s needs and interests by another, leading to feelings of being understood, valued, and cared for.

Attributions

Explanations we use to understand each other's behavior.

Internal Attribution

Explaining behavior by attributing the cause to the person or their characteristics.

External Attribution

Explaining behavior by attributing the cause to something outside the person.

Positive Illusions

Emphasizing partners' positive qualities while minimizing their faults.

Destiny Beliefs

The belief that people are either compatible or they are not.

Growth Beliefs

The belief that relationship challenges can be overcome through hard work and resolution of incompatibilities.

Egocentric simulations

Also known as projection, interpreting others based on how we ourselves would think, feel, and behave. (Epley, 2008)