COM 112 Chapter 2 Notes

benevolent lie

A benevolent lie is defined (at least by the person who tells it) as one that is not malicious—and perhaps is even helpful to the person it’s told to.

breadth

The first dimension of self-disclosure in this model involves the breadth of information volunteered—the range of subjects being discussed. For example, the breadth of disclosure in your relationship with a fellow worker will expand as you begin revealing information about your life away from the job, as well as on-the-job details

cognitive conservatism

The tendency to seek out information that conforms to an existing self-concept and to ignore information that contradicts it.

collectivistic culture

A culture whose members feel loyalties and obligations to an in-group, such as one’s extended family, community, or even the organization one works for

depth

The second dimension of disclosure is the depth of the information being volunteered—the shift from relatively unrevealing messages to more personal ones.

distorted feedback

Information that can skew a person’s self-concept; such feedback might be excessively favourable because of others’ less-than-honest behaviour (e.g., a boss may claim to be an excellent manager because her assistants pour on false praise in order to keep their jobs).

equivocation

Statements that are not literally false but cleverly avoid an unpleasant truth.

face

The image an individual wants to project to the world. See also presenting self

facework

Actions people take to preserve their own and others’ presenting images.

impression management

The communication strategies people use to influence how others view them.

individualistic culture

A culture in which people view their primary responsibility as being to themselves.

Johari Window

A model that describes the relationship between self-disclosure and self-awareness.

obsolete information

Information that can skew a person’s self-concept; such information is usually outdated and unhelpful to the person in question (e.g., perhaps your jokes used to be well-received, or your grades were high, or your work was superior, but now the facts have changed).

perceived self

The person we believe ourselves to be in moments of candour. It may be identical with or different from the presenting and desired selves.

presenting self

The image a person presents to others. It may be identical with or different from the perceived and desired selves. See also face.

privacy management

The choice people make to reveal or conceal information about themselves.

reference groups

Groups against which we compare ourselves, which thereby influence our self-concept and self-esteem.

reflected appraisal

The theory that a person’s self-concept matches the way the person believes others regard him or her.

self-compassion

Affected by one’s own suffering, leading to the desire to alleviate one’s suffering and treat oneself with understanding and concern.

self-concept

The relatively stable set of perceptions we each hold of ourselves. See also self-esteem

self-control

The ability to change (one’s thoughts, behaviours, emotions, etc.) in order to conform to an expectation.

self-disclosure

We can summarize our definitional tour by saying that self-disclosure (1) has the self as subject, (2) is intentional, (3) is directed at another person, (4) is honest, (5) is revealing, (6) contains information generally unavailable from other sources, and (7) gains much of its intimate nature from the context and culture in which it is expressed.

self-esteem

Self-esteem is the part of the self-concept that involves evaluations of self-worth. A communicator’s self-concept might include being quiet, argumentative, or serious.

self-fulfilling prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a person’s expectations of an event and their subsequent behaviour based on those expectations make the anticipated outcome more likely to occur

significant other

Social scientists use the term significant other to describe a person whose evaluations are especially influential. Messages from parents, of course, are an early and important influence on the self-concept.

social comparison

In addition to using these messages, each of us forms our self-image by the process of social comparison, by evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare with others (Festinger, 1954; Wolf et al., 2018).

social expectations

A societal convention that leads most of us to talk freely about our shortcomings while downplaying our accomplishments. For example, it’s okay to proclaim that you are miserable if you have failed to do well on a project, but it’s boastful to express your pride at a job well done. It’s fine to remark that you feel unattractive, but it’s egocentric to say that you think you look good.

social penetration model

A model that describes relationships in terms of their breadth and depth.