COM EXAM 1

What is culture?

a set of shared values, beliefs, norms, and traditions of groups of people.

inculturation

growing up with parents from different countries and being immersed in both, learning the language, adopting cultural values.

all communication is framed by what?

culture

in order to have effective communication you need...

either a shared culture or a strong understanding of intercultural communication

intercultural communication

communication that occurs in interactions between people who are culturally different

4 types of bias frames

homogeneity, negativity, simplicity, and self-serving

homogeneity

assumption people are like us - same way of communicating, same values.

assuming that all of your classmates share the same cultural values.

example of homogeneity

negativity

giving more attention and value to bad info than good info.

fixating on a singular negative comment among positive feedback

example of negativity

simplicity

assuming communication is simple and easy; looking for simplest explanation.

assuming that everyone knows how to effectively communicate in small groups without being educated on it

example of simplicity

self-serving

bias for things that benefit us. Belief others are at fault for our problems while we are responsible for our success.

if you get an A in a group project, you believe you earned it. If you get a C, you believe your group is at fault.

example of self serve

4 parts of perception

selecting and attending; organizing; interpreting; retriving

selecting and attending

parsing data from source and determining what we pay attention to

organizing

putting stimuli into an orderly pattern

interpreting

assigning meaning to our perceptions

retrieving

recalling stored information. this may be selectively selected.

fisher small group model

oreintation, conflict, emergence, and reinforcent

oreintation

members get to know each other and establish common goal

conflict

discuss possible solutions, test them, and argue about alternatives.

emergence

closing in on a solution

reinforcement

celebrating finding a solution, peak cohesion

standpoint theory

idea that people's perspectives are shaped by their social positions, such as race, gender, or class

standpoint as a white, middle class, english speaker living in the US.

example of standpoint theory

semiotics

the study of signs and symbols

relational dialects

desire to have two things within a relationship simultaneously

Connection-Autonomy

wanting to have a connection while wanting space and personal identity

openness-protection

wanting to be open and share while also not wanting to disclose everything

predictabillity-novelty

wanting both stability and unpredictability

groupthink

the tendency for a group to make decisions based on consensus and conformity

dismissing personal doubt in order to avoid social shame

example of self-censorship (groupthink)

belief that the group is so smart and skilled that they will not fail

example of illusion of invulnerability (groupthink)

not telling group members about opposing info you found that could change your smooth path you are on

example of mindgaurds (groupthink)

verbal communication

exchange of mutually understood verbal codes (communication using words)

nonverbal communications

exchanging non-linguistic cues (everthing other than words)

nonverbal codes

kinesics, proxemics, haptics, paralanguage

kinesics

body movement, gestures

proxemics

space and distance

haptics

touch

paralanguage

tone, pitch, volume