Module 1: Fundamentals of Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Purposive Communication Module 1, including models of communication, listening barriers, nonverbal codes, communication principles, and perception stages.

Communication

The process of generating meaning by sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs that are influenced by multiple contexts.

Communicatio

A Latin noun meaning "a sharing" or "an imparting," which serves as the origin of the word communication.

Communicare

A Latin verb meaning "to make common," "to share," or "to impart to others."

Communis

A Latin adjective meaning "common," "shared," or "public."

Intrapersonal Communication

Communication with oneself using internal vocalization or reflective thinking, triggered by internal or external stimuli.

Interpersonal Communication

Communication between people whose lives mutually influence one another, which functions to build, maintain, and end relationships.

Group Communication

Task-focused communication among three or more people interacting to achieve an explicit shared purpose or goal.

Public Communication

A sender-focused form of communication in which one person is typically responsible for conveying information to an audience to inform, persuade, motivate, or entertain.

Mass Communication

Public communication transmitted to many people through print or electronic media, distinguished by the required technology and lack of personal connection between participants.

Source / Sender

The person who creates and packages an idea into words or signs to share with others.

Message

The actual information, meaning, or feeling produced by the sender for the audience.

Channel

The medium or pathway used to transmit the message from the sender to the audience.

Receiver

The person or audience who takes in the message and interprets it based on their own understanding.

Feedback

The response the receiver sends back, letting the sender know how the message was understood.

Environment

The physical space and mental state of the people involved that affects the interaction.

Context

The specific situation, social setting, and background expectations that shape how the interaction is understood.

Interference (Noise)

Any internal or external distraction that alters, distorts, or blocks the original meaning of the message.

Hearing

A passive, involuntary physiological process where the ears detect sound waves.

Listening

An active, cognitive process that requires conscious effort to assign meaning to sounds, evaluate information, and retain it.

Anticipatory Listening

A barrier to retention caused by trying to guess what the speaker will say next or obsessing over a previous question, leading to missing current information.

Information Overload

A barrier to retention that occurs when a person becomes overwhelmed by the volume of words, causing the brain to stop absorbing the message.

Psychological Distractions

Internal anxieties, such as memory concerns or test anxiety, that block the brain from forming immediate mental anchors.

Physical Distractions

External environmental factors that momentarily break concentration, causing permanent gaps in what was heard.

Transmission Model of Communication

A linear, one-way process in which a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver, who acts as a target or end point.

Interaction Model of Communication

A two-way process in which participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending messages and receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts.

Transaction Model of Communication

A communication process where communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural contexts to build relationships and communities.

Shannon-Weaver's Model of Communication

A linear communication model developed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver in 1948 that focuses on technical aspects and signal transmission in telecommunications without accounting for feedback.

Schramm's Model of Communication

A circular communication model developed by Wilbur Schramm in 1954 that emphasizes the role of the field of experience in encoding, decoding, and interpreting messages.

Field of Experience

In Schramm's model, the background and lived experiences of communicators that influence how they interpret, encode, decode, and provide feedback on messages.

Berlo's SMCR Model of Communication

A linear model developed by David K. Berlo in 1960 that outlines communication through Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver components and their respective influencing factors.

Verbal Communication

The use of words to convey a message, categorized into written and oral forms.

Synchronous Communication

Communication that takes place in real time, such as face-to-face conversations.

Asynchronous Communication

Communication that is not immediate and occurs over longer periods of time, such as letters, emails, or text messages.

Nonverbal Communication

The use of body language, facial expressions, gestures, and other non-spoken cues to convey a message.

Emblem

A gesture that has a specific, widely understood meaning within a culture, such as placing an index finger on the lips to signify silence.

Illustrators

Hand and body movements that demonstrate and reinforce the meanings intended by verbal messages, such as pointing at an object.

Adapters

Unintentional hand, arm, leg, or bodily movements used to reduce stress or relieve boredom, such as biting one's nails.

Paralinguistics

Vocal elements accompanying speech separate from actual spoken words, such as tone of voice, pitch, volume, rate, rhythm, and inflection.

Proxemics

The study of human space requirements and personal space during communication, developed by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in the late 1950s.

Public Space

In proxemics, a physical distance ranging from 12 to 25 feet maintained during formal public interactions or presentations.

Social Space

In proxemics, a physical distance ranging from 4 to 12 feet typically utilized for professional interactions and casual group conversations.

Personal Space

In proxemics, a physical distance ranging from 1.5 to 4 feet reserved for comfortable interactions with friends and family members.

Intimate Space

In proxemics, the closest physical distance extending up to 1.5 feet, reserved exclusively for highly private interactions and close emotional connections.

Haptics

Communication through physical touch, essential for infant development, emotional bonding, and security.

Physical Needs (Communication)

Communication needs that maintain the body and mind's basic functioning and support basic human survival.

Instrumental Needs

Communication needs that assist in accomplishing daily tasks and achieving short- and long-term goals, such as seeking information or assistance.

Relational Needs

Communication needs that help individuals form, maintain, and terminate social bonds and interpersonal relationships.

Identity Needs

Communication needs centered around presenting oneself to others and managing how one is perceived.

Perception

The process of becoming aware of objects and events in the external world and making sense of them.

Selection (Perception Stage)

The first stage of perception in which individuals filter and focus on environmental data based on interest, need, aesthetics, and biology.

Organization (Perception Stage)

The second stage of perception where selected data is sorted into cognitive frameworks or schematas based on binary opposition, social categories, or similarities.

Interpretation/Comprehension (Perception Stage)

The third stage of perception where individuals evaluate and make sense of the data placed in their cognitive folders.

Halo and Devil Effect

A cognitive bias in perception where a single dominant characteristic (positive or negative) leads an observer to unearned assumptions about a person's other traits.

Selective Exposure

The process of consciously or unconsciously attending to messages that align with existing attitudes while avoiding conflicting ideas.

Selective Retention

The tendency to remember information that matches pre-existing attitudes and interests while forgetting conflicting information.

Selective Perception

The mental recasting or interpretation of messages to align them with one's existing beliefs and attitudes.

Self-Serving Bias

Also known as the Fundamental Attribution Error, the tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors and failures to external factors, while doing the opposite when evaluating others.