Communication Midterm

communication

the process through which people create messages using a variety of modalities and sensory channels to convey meanings within and across contexts

self-presentation goals

presenting ourselves so others view us the way we want them to

instrumental goals

practical objectives we wish to achieve/tasks we want to accomplish

relationship goals

building, maintaining, or terminating bonds with others

a more fundamental drive compelling our communication

the desire for human connection, we NEED to interact and communicate with others

linear communication model

communication is an activity where information flows in one direction from a start point to an endpoint

linear communication model components

messages, channels, sender, receiver, noise

interactive communication model

views communication involving senders and receivers; however, it is influenced by two additional factors: feedback and fields of experience

interactive communication model components

messages, channels, sender, receiver, noise, feedback, fields of experience

transactional communication model

views communication as multidirectional, participants; that is, participants mutually influence one another's communicational behavior

transactional communication model components

messages, channels, communicators, noise, feedback, fields of experience

5 features of communication

process, messages, modalities, sensory channels, contexts

process

unfolds overtime as a series of interconnected actions, everything we and others say and do during encounters shapes what happens in that moment and in the future

messages

package of information transported during communication

modalitites

forms of exchanging messages: face-to-face, photos, social media posts, tweets, texting, emails, handwritten notes, and phone calls

channels

sensory dimensions where communicators transmit information, most common: auditory, visual, and tactile

contexts

situations; in class, at parties, at work, at home

communication competence

the ability to consistently interact with others in an appropriate, effective, and ethical fashion

communication competence components

appropriateness, effectiveness, and ethics

appropriateness

the degree to which our communication matches expectations regarding how people "should" communicate

effectiveness

the ability to use communication to achieve the three types of goals (self-presentation, instrumental, and relationship)

ethics

the set of moral principles that guide our behavior towards others

self-awareness

the ability to view ourselves as unique people, distinct from our surrounding environments, and to reflect on our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

self-concept

the overall assessment of who we are as a person; based on the beliefs, attitudes, and values we have about ourselves

self-esteem

the overall value we assign ourselves; strongly shapes our relationships, communication, physical, and mental health

self-verification theory

choosing relational partners based on how well they support one's self-concept

self-fulfilling prophecies

predictions people make about interactions that cause them to communicate in ways that make those predictions come true

social identity

the aspects of your identity that come from and/or demographic groups that you belong to

impact of gender on self

socialized

impact of culture on self

individualistic or collectivistic cultures

self-monitoring

the process of observing one's own communication and the norms of the situation in order to communicate appropriately

face

the positive self that individuals want others to see and believe

process of critical self-reflection

a special kind of self-awareness that focuses on evaluating and improving our communication; consider asking yourself these questions:

1. what am i thinking and feeling?

2. why am i thinking and feeling this way?

3. how am i communicating?

4. how are my inner thoughts and feelings affecting my communication?

5. how can i improve my thoughts, feelings, and communication?

perception process

1. select information to focus our attention on

2. organize the information into an understandable pattern, such as words, phrases, ideas, or images

3. interpret the meaning of the pattern

gestalts

a general impression of a person that's positive or negative, they form rapidly and require little mental or communicative effort

algebraic impressions

analyzing the positive and negative things we learn about someone to calculate an overall impression, then updating this impression as we learn new information

stereotypes

impressions formed to categorize people into social groups and then evaluating them based on the information we have related to this groups

perception checking process

1. review your knowledge about that person

2. assess attributions you've made about this individual

3. question your impression

4. share your impression with the individual

5. check your impressions with the person

empathy

understandings of another person's perspective and awareness of their feelings in an attempt to identify with that individual

attribution theory

reasons we give for other's behavior

• good self: internal attribution

• good other: external attribution

• bad self: internal attribution

• bad other: external attribution

gender

complex combination of physical, behavioral, and psychological attributes

sex

a person's biological, anatomical characteristics assigned at birth

gender identity

a person's deeply felt inner sense of themselves

gender roles

the shared social expectations for conduct and behaviors that are deemed appropriate for girls or women and boys or men

gender socialization

cultural training through which we all learn the gender norms that are expected of us

culture

an established, coherent set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices shared by a large group of people learned, communicated, layered, and lived

dominant culture

determined by co-cultural communication theory; the people with the prevailing views, values, and traditions of the society

co-cultures

members of society whose language, values, lifestyles, or physical appearances differ differ from those of the dominant culture

co-cultural communication theory

the people who have more power within a society determine the dominant culture because they decide the prevailing views, values, and traditions of the society

high context cultures

assume people share beliefs and use relatively vauge and ambiguous language/silence to convey messages

low context cultures

people try not to presume others share their beliefs, attitudes, and values

high uncertainty-avoidance cultures

they often desire structure in their organizations, relationships, and everyday lives

low uncertainty-avoidance cultures

they care less about rules, tolerate diverse viewpoints and beliefs, and welcome innovation and change

high power-distance cultures

considered normal and even desirable for people of different social and professional status to have different levels of power

low power-distance cultures

people in high status positions often try to minimize the differences between themselves and lower-status persons by interacting with them in more informal ways and treating them as equals

intercultural competence

the ability to communicate appropriately, effectively, and ethically with people from diverse backgrounds

individualistic cultures

a culture that values independence and personal goals over group goals

display rules (emotional displays)

norms regarding how people should and shouldn't express emotion

collectivistic cultures

a culture that values the needs, goals, and views of the community or group above those of an individual

world-mindedness

demonstrating acceptance and respect toward beliefs, values, and customs that are different from our own

attributional complexity

ability to acknowledge that other's behaviors have complex causes

barriers to intercultural competence

anxiety, assuming similarity or difference, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice, incompatible communication codes, incompatible norms and values, lack of reflexivity, blindness to our perceptions/attributions, blindness to our prejudices, and blindness to our fears

4 characteristics of verbal communication

symbolic, governed by rules, conveys meaning, and intertwined with culture

constitutive rules

explains which words stand for which objects

regulative rules

control how we use language (spelling, grammar, and structure)

denotative meanings

the literal meaning of words, as agreed upon by members of a particular culture

connotative meanings

the meanings we associate with words based on our life experiences

dialects

reflect the shared history, experiences, and knowledge of people who live in a particular geographical region, share a common socioeconomic status, or possess a common ethnic or religious ancestry

cooperative principle definition

making our verbal communication as informatice, honest, relevant, and clear as required for a particular situation

cooperative principle skill

you language: phrases that place the focus of attention and blame on others

i language: phrases that emphasize ownership of our feelings, opinions, and beliefs

we language: phrases that both emphasize inclusion and enhance feelings of connection and similarity

inclusive language

language that does not stereotype, demean, or patronize people on the basis of gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other factors

do's of managing cultural differences

• try using gender-neutral pronouns

• adjust your verbal communication to match others' speech rate and desired balance of turn-taking

don'ts of managing cultural differences

• avoid gender-based assumptions about communication norms

• avoid gender-based occupation associations

• avoid assuming gender and pronouns

• don't change your language or voice in substantial ways just because you're speaking to someone from another culture

4 verbal communication challenges

prejudiced language, verbal aggression, deception, defamation

prejudiced language

ways of speaking that display contempt, dislike, or disdain for a group or its members

verbal aggression

the use of language to attack others self-concepts rather than their positions on topics of conversation

deception

the deliberate use of uninformative, untruthful, irrelevant, or vague language for the purpose of misleading others

defamation

intentionally false communication that harms a person's reputation

7 characteristics of nonverbal communication

• multichanneled

• primary conveyor of meaning

• blends with verbal communication

• influenced by gender

• influenced by culture

• ambiguous

• continuous

7 types of nonverbal communication

kinesics, vocalics, haptics, proxemics, chronemics, appearance, environmental factors (fixed and semi-fixed features)

kinesics

use of body (face, eyes, gestures, and posture)

vocalics

use of voice (tone, pitch, volume, and rate)

haptics

use of touch

proxemics

use of space

chronemics

use of time

4 ways to strengthen your nonverbal communication skills

• enhancing your nonverbal expressiveness (self-awareness and feedback from others)

• Inhibiting your nonverbal behaviors (critical self-reflection and intrapersonal communication affect interpersonal actions)

• checking your nonverbal attributions (perception-checking, people's behavior rarely, if ever, stems from just one simple cause)

• managing power with your nonverbal (be aware of dominating nonverbal behaviors and try to be at eye level with the person that you're addressing)

6 stages of the listening process

receiving, understanding, interpreting, evaluating, remembering, and responding to others communication

effective attending

the process of selecting and focusing on specific stimuli

• get physically and mentally ready to listen

• resist mental distractions while you listen; silence and hide the phone

• resist interrupting others

• hear a person out before you react; focus on what they're saying instead of planning how to refute them

• observe nonverbal cues

empathetic response

questioning, paraphrasing, reframing

empathetic response: questioning

• putting the "burden of ignorance" on you

• avoid beginning questions with "Why..."

empathetic response: paraphrasing

• putting ideas and feelings into your own words

• content paraphrasing: paraphrasing the ideas of a message

• feeling paraphrasing: paraphrasing the feelings in a message

empathetic response: reframing

offering ideas, observations, information, and alternative explanations that might help your partner understand the situation in a different light

4 listening styles and when they're appropriate

task-oriented listeners, relational listeners, critical listeners, and analytical listeners

task-oriented listeners

see listening as transactional and prefer brief, to-the-point, and accurate messages from others so that they can focus on task completion

relational listeners

those who use listening as an opportunity to build and maintain relationships with others

critical listeners

focus their attention on the accuracy and consistency of what another person says

analytical listeners

prefer to withhold their judgement until they have considered all the facts and sides of an issue, taking time to carefully evaluate information and details before forming an opinion about what they've heard

barrier to active listening

selective listening, pseudo-listening, and aggressive listening

selective listening

taking in only bits and pieces of information from a speaker and dismissing the rest

pseudo-listening

behaving as if one is paying attention though they're really not, somewhat unethical because it's deceptive