COMM1000 Final Exam Review

Policy Claim

Advocates actions by organizations, institutions, or members of your audience

The Communication Age

An age in which communication, technology, and media converge and deeply permeate daily life.

Convergence

The ways forms of technology-mediated communication and face-to-face communication overlap and intersect in daily life.

Digital Natives

Person who was born when cell phones, computers, video games, and digital cameras already existed.

Digital Immigrants

People who adapted to digital technology later in life.

Benefits of Studying Communication

Communication drives social change and reform; good communication abilities are associated with physical, emotional, and psychological health and well-being; Communication is what creates, maintains, transforms, and ends friendships, romances, and family relationships; According to employers, communication skills are among the most valuable abilities employees can possess.

Communication

The collaborative process of using messages to create and participate in social reality.

Key Aspects of Communication

Dynamic, ongoing process; collaborative; involves messages; creative; participatory.

Social Reality

Set of shared judgements members of a group agree upon.

Face-to-Face Communication

Refers to situations in which physically present participants speak directly to one another during the interaction.

Mediated Communication

Messages transmitted through some type of media (writing, telephone, etc.).

Interpersonal Communication

Communication with or between persons.

Intrapersonal Communication

Communication with oneself, including thoughts and self-reflection.

Small Group Communication

Communication among the members of a small group of people working together to achieve a common goal or purpose

Public Communication

Situations in which a person delivers a message to an audience-usually formal, structured, and purpose driven

Mass Communication

Messages transmitted by electronic and print media to large audiences that are distant and undifferentiated

Masspersonal Communication

When a person uses a mass communication context for interpersonal communication or when a person uses an interpersonal communication context for mass communication

Transmission Metaphor

Describes communication as a linear, one-way transfer of information in which a source sends a message through a channel or a medium to a receiver in an environment of noise that serves as interference with effective transmission of the message

Transaction Metaphor

Describes communication as a process in which participants, who are simultaneous senders and receivers, exchange meanings and influence their relationship

Social Construction Metaphor

Stresses that communication shapes and creates the larger social realities in which people operate

Interaction Metaphor

Describes communication as a two-way process of reciprocal action, involving feedback and fields of experience

Communication Competence

Refers to the ability to communicate in a personally effective yet socially appropriate manner

Ethical Communication

Ethical communication is that which promotes autonomy and responsibility

Communication Activism

Direct energetic action in support of needed social change for individuals, groups, organizations, and communities

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is a digital code that represents messages through the use of symbols

Digital Code

A system of representations based on symbols

Analog Code

A system of representations based on likeness and similarity

Language

A system of words represented by symbols, used for a common purpose by a group of people

Symbols

Things that represent or stand for something else

Words

Symbols that represent ideas, people, places, or concepts

Referent

The actual object to which the word refers

Triangle of Meaning

Explains the relationship between words, thoughts, and the referent

Characteristics of Symbols

Arbitrary: no natural likeness between a symbol and what it represents
Abstract: represent the whole idea of something rather than a specific case
Intentional: used in ways that reflect social agreement about their meaning
Uniquely human: building blocks we use to create and participate in social reality
Culturally bound: create and reflect culture
Contextually bound: they exist in a context/situation

Polysemy

Multiple meanings associated with a symbol or word

Phonemes

Sounds of a language; combine to form morphemes

Morphemes

Smallest unit of meaning in a language

Denotative

A word's formal (dictionary) definition

Connotative

Informal meanings associated with feelings and personal experiences

Semantics

Study of the meaning of words

Syntax

Meaning at the level of sentences; relies on an understanding of 2+ individual words to produce more complex chains of meaning

Functions of Verbal Messages

Creation (gives us the ability to create the social world around us); participation (allows us to participate in the social world)

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

The idea that language shapes and creates social reality

Inclusive Language

Expressions & words that are broad enough to include all people and avoids expressions & words that exclude particular groups of people

Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)

The theory focusing on how communicators move through eight levels of interpretation to coordinate their actions with one another and to make and manage meanings.

Content

actual information contained in a spoken or written message

Speech act

Various actions we perform through speech

Episode

Broader situation created by conversational partners

Relationship

Impact on how they coordinate their actions and manage meanings

Self

Each of us brings a "script for who we are" into every interaction

Culture

Set of rules for acting and speaking, which determine what we consider to be normal and acceptable in a given situation

Coordination

Establishment of rules that help guide people through the interaction

Mystery

The idea that not everything within communication can be easily explained by understanding the situation; catch all for everything else

Constitutive Rules

Stipulate what counts as what and how our messages and behavior are to be interpreted

Regulative Rules

Guide how individuals respond or behave in interactions

Cooperative Principle

The expectation that people will use messages that are appropriate and meet the demands of the type or nature of the conversation at hand; people generally cooperate in conversation with each other; 4 maxims

Quality Maxim

The idea that communicators assume verbal messages are not being used to convey information that is believed to be false or lacks adequate evidence; match the depth of conversation

Quantity Maxim

The expectation that verbal messages offer the appropriate amount of information, given the situation

Relevance Maxim

Communicators expect one another to "be relevant" in their verbal messages

Manner Maxim

The expectation that communicators be clear

"I" Statements

When you share your ideas and thoughts with "I statements," you make it clear that you accept responsibility for your own feelings

Nonverbal Communication

an analog code that represents things through likeness or similarity

Repeating

duplicating a verbal message (nodding while saying yes, pointing while referring to a location)

Accenting

emphasizing a part of a verbal communication (stress the word despise in "I despise this weather" to emphasize your strong negative feelings)

Conflicting

nonverbal behavior is inconsistent with verbal message (crying while saying "I'm fine")

Complementing

Reinforcing a verbal message (saying "I'm listening to you," while leaning forward, making eye contact, and avoiding engaging in any other tasks)

Regulating

controlling the flow of communication (raising hand in class)

Substituting

taking the place of a verbal message (wave to say hello)

Vocalics

the study of the use of voice to express self

Vocal cues

tone, volume, articulation, pitch, rate of speech, and use of silence

Kinesics

the study of body movement, including both posture and gestures

Gestures

movements you make with your hands and arms

Emblems

meanings in specific communication and cultural contexts that substitute for words ("come here" gesture)

Illustrators

gestures that complement, enhance, or substitute for the verbal message (giving directions by pointing)

Affect Displays

nonverbal gestures, postures, and facial expressions that communicate emotions (smiling when happy)

Regulators

gestures used to control the turn-taking in conversations (raising hand to speak in class)

Adapters

gestures we use to release tension (playing with our hands, poking, picking, fidgeting, scratching)

Proxemics

the study of how people use space and distance to communicate

Intimate zone

0-18 inches, reserved for significant others, family members, and our closest friends

Personal zone

18 in - 4 ft, reserved for friends and acquaintances

Social zone

4-12 ft, reserved for strangers and conducting business

Public zone

over 12 ft, large formal events

Environment

the surroundings that shape communication context

Chronemics

the study of ways in which time is used to structure interactions

Facial Expressions

the use of facial movements to convey emotions

Neutralization

controlling facial expressions to erase/numb how you feel

Masking

hiding an expression connected to a felt emotion and replacing it with an expression that is more appropriate

Intensification

an expression that exaggerates how you feel about something

Deintensification

reducing intensity of facial expression of a certain emotion

Eye Behavior

the study of how eye movements convey information

Deception cues

hints that a person is being less than forthright

Haptics

the study of touch

Physical Appearance

refers to observable traits of the body and its accessories and extensions

Impression Management

the formation of an impression, a perception, or a view of the other

Nonverbal Immediacy

the use of closeness-inducing nonverbal behavioral cues

Deductive reasoning

using general conclusions to reach a specific conclusion

Inductive reasoning

use specifics to reach a general conclusion

Epideictic Presentation

introducing yourself or another person, celebrating an event, or commemorating a special occasion such as a wedding, awards, or a funeral; often contain a strong emotional element

Informative Presentation

seeks to convey new information and increase the audience's understanding about a topic; will explain a concept or process, describe an event or idea, or demonstrate how to do something

Persuasive Presentation

seeks to change, alter, or modify an audience's attitudes, beliefs, values, or outlook about a topic

Audience Analysis

the process of gathering and analyzing information about an audience to make informed choices about your content and delivery