COMM 305 Exam 1 Study Guide

Contexts of Communication

Individual and social, Interpersonal, Intercultural, Persuasion, Group, Organizational, Mediated, Mass Communication

Individual and Social

How individual differences and social roles influence the communication process

Interpersonal

The interaction between two individuals who often have a relationship with each other.

Intercultural

Interpersonal communication when two people are from different cultures

Persuasion

How to change other peoples attitudes and behaviors

Group

How people work together and make decisions in groups

Organizational

How people communicate in an organization. Formal, Structured

Mediated

How technology influence our interpersonal, group, and other organizational communication

Mass communication

The influence of mass-mediated messages

Communication competence

How communication changes over time in an individual (Child to adult). How effective and appropriate the communication is for a given situation.

Three ways in which existing definitions of communication differ from each other:

Levels of Observation, Intentionality, Normative Judgement

Levels of Observation Broad Definition

Nonverbal & verbal body language, gesture, winking, body tempreture

Levels of Observation Narrow Definition

Spoken words

Intentionality

Communication has to be intentional to be communication

Two Types of Intentionality

Sender-Oriented and Receiver-Oriented

Sender-Orientated Definition

Need to want to send out information messages to you to be a communication

Sender-Oriented Example

If your boss yawns out of physical exhaustion, it is not communication because it was unintentional

Receiver-Oriented Definition

Believes that as long as the receiver gets the message or some information, then it is communication

Normative Judgement

Does it have to be successful/accurate to be considered communication?

Normative Judgement Example

Asking a girl to marry you and she says no. Is that communication?

Effectiveness

A Dimension of Communication Competence. Means you need to achieve the goals you want to achieve.

Example of Communication Competence: Effectiveness

If you are going to sell something that other people are actually going to buy it from you.

Appropriateness

Dimension of Communication Competence. Means you have to do it in an appropriate manner

Example of Communication Competence: Appropriateness

You can only talk nicely to your classmate

Common Sense Theory

We come up with conclusions based on personal experience/observation. You observe something and you come up with some conclusions or you learn a lesson from it. Only applies to yourself & not always true & not tested at all.

Example of Common Sense Theory

Based on her own experience, personal experience, Jennifer came up with the theory that people cannot be trusted. Noticing that Aggies are nice.

Working Theory

Theories that people within our profession came up with about the best techniques for doing something.

Scholarly Theory

Most developed kind of theory that has been empirically and rigorously tested by scholars using academic research to show that they are true. Based on systematic research. Provides the most accurate, thorough, and abstract explanation but typically most complex and difficult to understand. Consist on Politeness Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Relational Dialectics theory.

Example of Scholarly Theory

Cultivation Theory: The more time you spend watching TV, the more likely you will think the world is full of violence and danger.

Inductive Reasoning Theory Development

When you make a number of observations and then you reach a general conclusion. Research comes before Theory.

Example of Inductive Reasoning

Make observation that all Aggies are nice, the general conclusion is that all Aggies are nice.

Deductive Reasoning Theory Development

Start with a general conclusion and then apply it to individual cases. Develop a hypothesis before research is conducted.

Example of Deductive Reasoning

All football players are big. Ray is a football player. Ray must be big.

Primary Research

When one collects their own data

Secondary Research

When one analyzes other peoples results. You synthesize or reanalyze the results of other peoples studies.

Research Methods

Experiment, Survey, Textual Analysis, and Ethnography

Experiment

Concerned with Causation and Control. Most specific kind of research method for social science research. Only research method that allows researchers to determine one thing causes another.

Causation

When two things occur at different times but impact each other. Cause happens before effect. If we want to establish that A causes B, then A needs to happen before B. Also, you need to make sure that A and B are not both caused by a third variable, C.

Correlation

When two things occur together at the same time but they don’t affect each other, one thing won’t impact the other

Control Group

Individual Variable is constant

Experimental Group

The group that receives the experimental procedure. Individual variables are changed. Causality is determined because experiments are controlled with variables (Ind.(cause) and Dep. Variables(Effect)).

Survey Research

Find out how someone thinks, feels, or intends to behave. Captures peoples perceptions and attitudes. Cannot determine what people actually do.

Types of Survey research

Interviews and Questionnaires

Interview

Ask participants to respond orally. Intentional questions.

Focus Groups

When an Interviewer leads a small group of people in a discussion about a specific product or program.

Questionnaires

Ask participants to respond in writing via mail or internet or administered with the researcher present. Faster but people can lie more easily.

Sampling

Process of picking out a smaller group of population to survey. (small subset of people)

Population

Greater than sample. The entire group of people.

Random Sample

Every member of the target audience has an equal chance of being selected. Mathematically and statistically The conclusion that we draw based on our small sample can be generalized to the whole population.

Conveience Sample

Non-random sample. Sample might be biased which means the conclusion might not be easily generalized to the larger population.

Textual Analysis

Used to uncover the content, nature, or structure of messages or to evaluate messages, focusing on their strengths, weaknesses, or effectiveness.

What are the forms of Textual Analysis?

Rhetorical Criticism, Content Analysis (Text-Mining), and Interaction Analysis.

Rhetorical Criticism

Analyzing peoples reviews

Content analysis (Text-Mining)

Using computers or technology to process online messages / Text to analyze data.

Weakness of Textual Analysis

The actual effects on the audience cannot be determined soley by focusing on texts

Ethnography

Focuses on the communication rules and meanings in a particular culture or context. Involves the researcher immersing himself into a culture or context. Naturalistic and emergent. Observe in real life. Allows for the greatest objectivity in recording data

What are the roles of Ethnography?

Complete Participant, Participant-Observer, Complete Observer

Complete Participant

Do whatever the things that the people you are studying are doing. Fully involved in the social setting, and the participants fo not know that the researcher is studying them.

Participant-Observer

Participate a little to blend but not fully. The researcher becomes fully involved with the culture or context but they have admitted the research agenda before entering the environment. Knowledge is gained firsthand by researchers. More frequently chosen.

Complete Observer

No interaction, completely observing subjects.

What are the factors that influence the way we communicate

Nature vs. Nurture, Standpoint, Communibiological Approach to Communication.

Nature

Genetic components. You’re destined to do something. When one says they are born to be like that.

Nurture

This person is influenced by the circumstances, environment, the families that he or she grows up in.

Standpoint

Society (circumstances, identities) influence the way we communicate.

Example of Standpoint

Are you a man or a woman? are you color or non-color?

Communibiological Approach to Communication

Biological Nature influences the way we communicate. Genetically determine related to the neurological brain function.

Gender

Socially constructed. How we identify

Communal Qualities

Qualities associated with women. Ex Compassionate, affectionate, sympathetic, helpful, and sensitive to other people’s feelings.

Agentic Qualities

Quality associated with men. Ex. Assertive, controlling, confident, ambitious, and forceful.

Role Congruence Theory and Leadership

Says women in leadership positions are more likely to experience two types of prejudice: Descriptive Prejudice and Prescriptive Prejudice.

Descriptive Prejudice

Stereotypes that women have less leadership potential than men, because they lack the required agentic qualities

Prescriptive Prejudices

Women leaders are judged as less effective or more harshly than male leaders. “I want every girl who’s told she’s bossy, to be told instead she has leadership skills”

Double Bind

Combination of Descriptive Prejudice and Prescriptive Prejudice. If women conform to their traditional gender roles, they are not seen as potential leaders. However, if they adopt the agenda characteristics associated with leadership skills (Agentic) then they are evaluated negatively for behaving in an unfeminine way.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to monitor one’s own emotions.

Stages of Emotional Intelligence

Perceiving, Using, Understanding, Managing

Perceiving

Perceive, appraise, and express emotion. Being able to recognize others/your own emotions. The ability to read nonverbal cues and facial expressions.

Using

Using your emotion to facilitate cognitive processes. Ex Listening to different music when you’re doing different tasks.

Understanding

Understanding complex emotional information and how emotions are linked to relationships. Ex Asking for better grades is more than one emotion

Complex Emotions

When one emotion is made of two emotions

Managing

Managing your emotions to promote emotional, intellectual, and personal growth. The most challenging part of Emotional Intelligence.

Message Design Logics

Your belief about communication that links to thoughts to the construction of messages

Kinds of Message Design Logics

Expressive, Conventional, Rhetorical

Expressive Logic

Sender Focused. Concerned with self-expression. Say what they think/feel. open and honest.

Conventional Logic

Rule-based. Concerned with appropriateness.

Rhetorical Logic

Communication as a tool to create situations and negotiate multiple goals.

Example of Conventional Logic

Giving a speech, polite and appropriately

Example of Rhetorical Logic

Queen being able to use words to recreate the emotions that the people felt. Shifted her image in a positive light.

What happens when individuals share the same MDL

Acknowledge communication problem and communicate better together

What happens when individuals have different MDL

Blame the other for communication problems, bad intentions, different beliefs. Harder to get along

Social Exchange Theory

Theory about relationship maintenance (Economics Theory)

Assumptions of Social Exchange Theory

Personal relationships are a function of comparing benefits gained versus costs to attain those benefits. Humans are selfish and not that rational.

Relational Rewards

Positives you gain from relationships

Relational Cost

Negative things, costs of relationships

Outcome Value

Reward Minus Cost

Comparison Level (CL)

When you expect to get out of a relationship. What happened in the past that sets your expectations for what you want in a relationship.

Comparison Level for Alternatives (CL alt)

When you’re deciding if there’s a better alternative out there. If you dump someone, can you do better in the future?

Situation A: Outcome > CL, CLalt

Relationship is better than what you expected and better than your alternatives

Situation B: CL, CLalt > Outcome

The outcome is less than our expectations and less that comparison level alternatives. Person will likely terminate relationship and you can do better in the future.

Situation C: CLalt> Outcome > CL

Comparison level of alternatives is bigger than the outcome but there are better alternatives. Your current relationship is better than your past relationship but there are better options out there if you break up.

Situation D: CL > Outcome > CLalt

Your current relationship doesn’t meet your expectations but you think you wouldn’t be able to do any better.