Speech 106 Final Study Guide (copy)

The Five Steps of the Listening Process

• Receiving (Hearing): This is the physiological process of sound waves hitting the eardrum and being transmitted to the brain. It is the physical prerequisite to listening.

• Attending: This involves the psychological process of selection. Because humans are bombarded with stimuli, the brain must filter which messages to focus on and which to ignore.

• Understanding: This is the stage where a listener attaches meaning to the message. It requires knowledge of the language used and context of the situation.

• Responding: This step involves giving observable feedback to the speaker. This can be nonverbal (nodding, eye contact) or verbal (asking questions, paraphrasing) to indicate the message was received.

• Remembering: This is the ability to recall information. Research suggests that humans remember only about $50\%$ of what they hear immediately after hearing it, and that percentage drops to approximately $25\%$ within $24$ hours.

Faulty Listening Behaviors

• Pseudolistening: An imitation of true listening where the individual gives the appearance of being attentive (nodding, smiling, eye contact) while their mind is elsewhere.

• Stage Hogging: This occurs when people are only interested in expressing their own ideas and do not care about what anyone else has to say. They frequently interrupt or turn the topic of conversation to themselves.

• Selective Listening: The listener responds only to the parts of a speaker’s remarks that interest them, rejecting everything else.

• Insulated Listening: Whenever a topic arises that the listener would rather not deal with, they simply fail to hear or acknowledge it.

• Defensive Listening: These individuals take innocent comments as personal attacks and assume the speaker is trying to belittle or trick them.

• Ambushing: A listener who listens carefully but only because they are collecting information to use in an attack on the speaker later.

• Insensitive Listening: The failure to look beyond the words and behavior to understand the hidden meanings or emotions. These listeners take a speaker's remarks at face value.

Fallacies in Arguments

• Ad Hominem: An attack on the person’s character rather than the argument they are making.

• Red Herring: Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the subject under discussion.

• Straw Man: Misrepresenting or exaggerating an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack.

• Bandwagon (Ad Populum): The fallacy that because something is popular or many people believe it, it must be true or correct.

• Hasty Generalization: Reaching a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence.

• Either-Or (False Dilemma): Presenting only two outcomes or choices when, in fact, more exist.

• Slippery Slope: Claiming that a single step will inevitably lead to a chain of significant and negative events.

Group Characteristics and Dynamics

• Definition of a Group: A collection of people who interact with one another, usually face-to-face over time, in order to reach a goal. Most scholars define a small group as having between $3$ and $15$ members. Interdependence is key, as the actions of one member affect all others.

• Rules vs. Norms:

  • Rules: Explicit, officially stated guidelines that govern group functions and member behavior. They are often written down.
  • Norms: Implicit, unstated shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that govern the group. They are learned through observation and social pressure rather than official decree.

• Group Roles:

  • Task Roles: Roles that help the group accomplish its goals (e.g., Initiator, Information Seeker, Secretary).
  • Maintenance Roles: Roles that help the relationship between group members run smoothly (e.g., Encourager, Harmonizer, Gatekeeper).
  • Dysfunctional Roles: Individual roles that hinder the group's progress. These include the Blocker (constantly negative), the Recognition Seeker (seeks the spotlight), the Dominator (tries to take over), and the Deserter (withdraws or acts indifferent).

Group Problem Solving and Reflective Thinking

• Advantages of Solving Problems in Groups:

  • Resources: Groups have a greater pool of information and diverse perspectives.
  • Synergy: The collective effort of a group often produces a result greater than the sum of individual efforts.
  • Commitment: Members are more likely to support a solution they helped create.
  • Accuracy: Group members can catch each other's errors.

• Reflective Thinking Method (Dewey's Steps):

  1. Identify and define the problem: Clearly state what needs to be solved.
  2. Analyze the problem: Gather information and identify the causes and extent of the issue.
  3. Establish criteria for solutions: Determine the requirements a solution must meet to be successful.
  4. Generate possible solutions: Often involves brainstorming without immediate evaluation.
  5. Evaluate solutions: Compare generated ideas against the established criteria.
  6. Select the best solution: Choose the option that best fits the group's needs.
  7. Implement the solution and follow up: Put the plan into action and evaluate its effectiveness later.

Groupthink

• Definition: A phenomenon that occurs when a group's desire for harmony and reaching a consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative ideas or viewpoints.

• Effects of Groupthink:

  • Illusion of invulnerability: The group believes it cannot fail.
  • Self-censorship: Members withhold doubts to avoid rocking the boat.
  • Pressure on dissenters: Those who disagree are pressured to conform.
  • Mindguards: Certain members protect the leader from adverse information.
  • Poor decision-making: Failure to examine risks or seek expert advice.

Nonverbal Communication

• Most Powerful Nonverbal Cues: Facial expressions and eyes (oculesics) are considered the most powerful because they provide the most immediate and complex emotional data.

• Artifacts: These are physical objects that people use to communicate information about their identity, status, or values. Examples include jewelry, clothing, tattoos, hairstyles, and even the vehicles people drive.

• Body Movement (Kinesics): The study of how people communicate through body motion. It includes five aspects:

  • Emblems: Gestures with precise verbal meanings (e.g., a wave for "hello").
  • Illustrators: Gestures that accompany and reinforce speech (e.g., pointing while giving directions).
  • Affect Displays: Body movements that reveal emotional states (e.g., slumping when sad).
  • Regulators: Cues that control the flow of conversation (e.g., nodding to encourage a speaker).
  • Adaptors: Unconscious movements to satisfy physical or psychological needs (e.g., scratching an itch or twisting hair when nervous).

Proxemics: The Use of Space

• Definition: The study of how people use space and how distance affects communication.

• Hall's Four Space Zones:

  • Intimate Distance: From skin contact to $1.5$ feet. Usually reserved for people with whom we have a very close emotional relationship.
  • Personal Distance: From $1.5\,feet$ to $4\,feet$. The distance at which most couples and friends stand in public.
  • Social Distance: From $4\,feet$ to $12\,feet$. The distance for standard business interactions or casual social gatherings.
  • Public Distance: Beyond $12\,feet$. The distance used for public speaking or formal classroom settings.

Power in Groups

• Definition: Power is the ability to influence others to behave in a certain way or to achieve a specific goal.

• Types of Power:

  • Legitimate Power: Power derived from one’s formal position or title.
  • Reward Power: The ability to provide incentives or positive consequences.
  • Coercive Power: The ability to punish or threaten members.
  • Expert Power: Influence based on special knowledge, skills, or expertise.
  • Referent Power: Power that comes from the respect, liking, or attraction others have for a person.

Interpersonal Communication and Self-Disclosure

• Development of Interpersonal Relationships: Relationships typically develop through stages of increasing intimacy, starting from initial contact (initiating) and moving toward shared identities (integrating) and formal commitments (bonding).

• Qualitative Communication: This occurs when people treat one another as unique individuals, regardless of the context in which the interaction occurs or the number of people involved. It is characterized by irreplaceability and interdependence.

• Self-Disclosure: The process of deliberately revealing information about oneself that is significant and would not normally be known by others.

• Characteristics of Self-Disclosure:

  • It is intentional and deliberate.
  • The information is significant or private.
  • It is not easily accessible via other means.
  • It varies in breadth (the range of topics discussed) and depth (the intimacy of the topics).

Dealing with Conflict

• Avoiding (Lose-Lose): Choosing not to face the conflict. This results in the issue remaining unresolved.

• Accommodating (Lose-Win): Giving in to the other person's demands while ignoring your own needs.

• Competing (Win-Lose): A power-based approach where one person seeks to satisfy their own interests at the expense of others.

• Compromising (Partial Lose-Lose): Both parties give up something to reach a middle-ground solution.

• Collaborating (Win-Win): Working together to find a creative solution that satisfies the needs and goals of all parties involved.