COMM 128 UCSB

Low intergroup and high interpersonal communication

Communication based on personal identities (relationship between two old friends)

High intergroup and low interpersonal communication

Communication based on group identities (watching the news about someone who been arrested)

Ingroup

Group with which an individual identifies with

Minimal Group Paradigm

an experiment where they split people based on their liking and they start to degrade eachother.

Social Identity Theory

sense of who we are based on the groups or categories we belong to
We identify with groups(feel an attachment).

social cognition

us vs them thinking, stoping thinking as an individual and starts thinking as a group

Downward Comparison

Comparing oneself to those perceived as worse.

Interpersonal communication

is defined by unique qualities of individuals
Two friends chatting with each other about their life

Group Hierarchy

Ranking of groups based on power and status.

Communication Strategies

Methods to maintain positive group identity.

Group Life

Defined by power dynamics and social status.

Group

Individuals sharing common beliefs and values.

Obligatory Interdependence

Dependence on others for survival and success.

Social Categories

the categories or stereotypes individuals employ during person perception and impression formation(how we view others)

Social Identity

those parts of individuals' self-concepts derived from groups and social categories(how we view ourselves)

Self-Concept

Mental representation of what makes us who we are

Salient Identity

Social identity that is in our mind

Chronically Salient

Identity consistently present in one's mind.

Temporarily Salient

Identity activated in specific contexts.

Positive Distinctiveness

Our drive to differentiate our group from other groups in a positive way (what makes my group better than other)

High interpersonal and high intergroup

communication based on both group and personal identities (sister and bother aruging about abortion)

low intergroup and low interpersonal

communication where both personal and group interactions interactions are irrelevant. (you and the store clerk)

Outgroup

Group with which an individual does not identify with

Ingroup Favoritism

Preference for one's own group over others.

Outgroup Derogation

Negative attitudes towards groups not identified with.

Upward Comparison

Comparing oneself to those perceived as better.

Intergroup Communiation

is defined by groups or social categories people identify with
When the two friends get their politics involved with what they are talking about

Need to Differentiate

Desire to establish uniqueness from other groups.

Intergroup Communication

Communication between different social groups.

Social Media Influence

Impact of social platforms on group identity.

Belonging and Pride

Emotional connection derived from group membership.

Ascribed Identities

Identities inherited at birth, like gender.

Acquired Identities

Identities gained through experiences over time.

Shared Identity

Common social identity enhancing communication effectiveness.

Conflict

Disagreement arising from differing group identities.

identification

how much are you attached to that identity

Internal vs external identities

Internal- social identity is what it means to the person to be apart of the group
External- how other people place you into buckets

Communication Boundaries

Distinctions between 'us' and 'them' in groups.

Using SIT carefully

1. identity choice
2. Groups and categories that lack meaning
3. Critiquing the system of power
4. multiple identities

Intersectionality

Overlapping identities affecting experiences of discrimination.

Strategies for maintaining positive group identity

Leave the group
Downward Comparison
Devaluing dimension making in-group bad
Focusing on dimension making in-group good
Change the group hierarchy

Permeability of group boundaries

Can you switch teams?
High permeability- easy to switch
Low Permeability- hard to switch

Security/legitimacy of the status quo

Can you change which group is more powerful? Is the arrangement between groups fair?

Identification with the ingroup?

How committed are you to your group?
When threaten it matter if it is a big deal to you or not because it is based on how you will act
low identification- if someone makes fun wot affect you
high identification- if someone make fun will hurt

Social Mobility

Group boundaries permeable + Status Quo secure/legit + Identification low
ex- the fake president switching between when talking to black people vs white

Social Creativity

Group boundaries impermeable + Status quo secure/legit + identification high
Push aside the identity thread and instead focus on something good about our group

Social Competition

Group boundaries impermeable + status quo insecure/illegit + Identification high
When a group member fights about against a identity threat

Realistic threat

Risk to the in group safety, economy, politics, or well in

Identity Threat

Something that makes you feel negative about your group identity

Symbolic Threat

Risk to non material good like the in group morals values norms attitude and esteem.

Prototypes

Our mental image of someone with a specific identity

High comparative fit

Helps explain similarities and differences, prototypes are useful here, group of children with one from a different country

Low comparative fit

Social categories doesn't help decide similarities or difference, prototype is not useful here, group of children all from the same country

High normative fit

When a person fits there stereotype, a male mechanic(traits of being a mechanic align with being a male)

Low Normative Fit

A female mechanic(traits of the job that don't align with the person who is doing the job)

Depersonalization

Stop using unique characteristics to see a person identity and start relying on the prototypes.

Communication Accommodation Theory

Framework for understanding adjustment people make to create maintain or decrease social distance

Convergence

Move to be more similar with conversation partner , decrease social distance and gain social approval

Divergence

Move to be different than conversation partner, increase social distance

maintence

Sustaining one default communication style, maintain social distance

Under Accomodation

Recognize what people want but don't give to them( we give them less)

Over Accomodation

Give people too much of what we think they want, people feel you are being condescending toward them

Stereotype

Applications of a prototype when encountering groups of people

gender

The different characteristics that begin a person as masculine or feminine

Referential Communciation

-facts, ideas, and emotions
- "I am goign to tell you something and when I tell you something it is infrmation I want you to get from it
-Information I want you to know

Initial orientaton

we all enter and encounter with an oritenation with ourselves and the other person we are communicating with

Upward Convergence

-shift to more prestigious speech to match somone from a higher status group
-interviewer from high status group and interviewee from lower status

Downward convergence

shift to less prestigious speech to match someone from a lower status
-politicians who are more powerful than average person but like to act like the average person

Upward divergence

-shift to more prestigious speech to be different from someone from a lower status group
-how adults speaker to younger children

Downward divergence

-shift to less prestigious speech to be different from someone of a higher status group
-people in the deaf community using accessive sign language

Types of accomodation- Partial vs Full

-full can be perceived as negative and not genuine

Affective Motivation

-decrease social distance
-EXCEPT- when idenities are threated

Cognitive Motivation

-Improving comprehension

Communcation theory of identity

-all of the things we do in communication become part of our idenitity
—social relations and roles are internalized by individuals as idenitity through communication

Personal Identity- CTI layer

-who am I?
-how an individual defines themselves
-this is our twitter bio

Relational identity- CTI layer

-who am i to other?
-Idenitiy formed through relationships with others

Enacted identity- CTI layer

-How do I perform my idenities?
-does it fit with my roleplaying

Communal Identity- CTI layer

-How does my community define my identity
-we learn about this layer from our friends and family

Interpenetration

the process of blending or uniting elements of identity

Identity Gaps (CTI)

-when parts of you identity dont align with each other
-ex: people who hold a LGBTQ+ identity and a heavy religion identitiy(communal identity of being jewish conflict with personal)

Social Category Communication

-signaling identity, group membership
-was of signaling about social categories we carry or belong to
-groups I want you to know I belong to