Chapter 6, 8, 9, 11, and 15 Communication Study Guide
The Five Stages of the Listening Process
The listening process, as explored in Chapter , is a complex cognitive and physiological sequence consisting of distinct stages. While hearing occurs automatically, conscious listening requires active engagement.
Hearing: This is the physiological starting point of the process. It involves the automatic reception of sound waves and their subsequent transmission to the brain. Unlike the other stages, hearing is a biological mechanism rather than a conscious effort.
Attending: In this phase, the focus is directed toward specific stimuli within the environment, filtering out other competing sounds or distractions.
Understanding: This stage involves interpreting the message and determining its specific meaning.
Responding: This consists of providing observable feedback to the speaker. Examples include maintaining eye contact, using facial expressions, adjusting posture, and offering questions or verbal comments.
Remembering: The final stage focuses on the ability to recall information that was previously presented.
Memory Trick: Attend → Understand → Respond → Remember, initiated by physiological hearing.
Faulty Listening Behaviors
Effective communication is often hindered by common faulty listening habits identified in Chapter :
Pseudolistening: The act of pretending to listen while the mind is elsewhere.
Selective Listening: Focusing only on the specific parts of a message that interest the listener.
Insensitive Listening: Missing the underlying thoughts or feelings of a speaker by taking their words strictly at face value.
Dividing Attention: Splitting focus between the speaker and another task or stimulus.
Conversational Narcissism: Redirecting the focus of the conversation back to oneself instead of supporting the speaker's topic.
Insulated Listening: Actively ignoring information that the listener does not wish to hear or acknowledge.
Defensive Listening: Interpreting neutral comments as personal attacks and reacting with defensiveness.
Logical Fallacies in Argumentation
Understanding logical fallacies is essential for evaluating arguments in Chapters and . There are primary fallacies used to distort reasoning:
Ad Hominem: Attacking a person’s character or personal traits instead of addressing the substance of their actual issue or argument.
Reductio ad Absurdum: Stretching an argument to a ridiculous or impossible extreme to make it seem invalid.
Either-Or: Falsely presenting a situation as having only choices when other viable options exist.
Post Hoc / False Cause: Assuming that because one event occurred before another, the first event must have caused the second.
Appeal to Authority (Argumentum ad Verecundiam): Citing someone as an authority on a subject when they lack true expertise in that specific field.
Bandwagon (Argumentum ad Populum): Claiming a statement is true simply because a large number of people believe it.
Straw Man: Distorting a person's original argument into a weaker or more extreme version to make it easier to attack.
Red Herring: Introducing an irrelevant topic to distract from the actual issue being discussed.
Begging the Question: Utilizing circular reasoning where the claim itself is used as its own proof.
Faulty Analogy: Drawing a comparison between two things that are not sufficiently similar to justify the conclusion.
Hasty Generalization: Drawing a broad, sweeping conclusion based on an insufficient amount of evidence.
Small Group Dynamics and Communication
According to Chapter , a small group consists of a limited number of interdependent people who interact over time to pursue shared goals. The core components of a group are interaction, interdependence, the passage of time, and shared objectives.
Rules and Norms
Rules: These are explicit, official guidelines that dictate how group members are expected to behave.
Norms: These are unspoken, shared values and behaviors. Norms are categorized into types:
Social Norms: Govern how members relate to one another.
Procedural Norms: Direct the methods used to reach decisions.
Performance/Task Norms: Establish expectations for how hard members work.
Memory Trick: Rules are written/official; Norms are understood/unspoken.
Group Member Roles
Roles are divided into formal positions (officially assigned) and informal/functional roles. Informal roles include:
Task Roles (Focus on productivity): These include the Initiator, Researcher, Opinion Seeker, Elaborator, and Clarifier.
Social/Maintenance Roles (Focus on harmony): These include the Encourager, Harmonizer, Tension Reliever/Peacekeeper, and Feeling Expresser.
Dysfunctional Roles (Hinder the group): Includes the Aggressor, Withdrawer, Know-It-All, Stage Hog, Joker, and Cynic.
Problem-Solving and the Reflective Thinking Method
Solving problems in groups offers major advantages over individual problem-solving: the collection of more resources, better error-catching, and greater buy-in from members who helped create the solution.
Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Method provides a systematic -step process for groups:
Identify the problem.
Analyze the problem: This includes gathering information, setting criteria for success, and conducting a forcefield analysis (evaluating forces that support or restrain change).
Develop creative solutions.
Select an option.
Implement the plan.
Follow up.
Groupthink and Power Dynamics
Groupthink is the tendency for members to support ideas without challenging them. This suppresses disagreement and can lead to serious mistakes, such as the Challenger disaster. Prevention strategies include recognizing agreement that happens too quickly, minimizing status differences, encouraging respectful disagreement, and assigning a devil’s advocate.
Types of Power
Power is not possessed by an individual but is given by the group and exists in degrees. There are types of power:
Legitimate Power: Derived from an official position or title.
Expert Power: Derived from specific knowledge or ability.
Connection Power: Derived from personal relationships or networks.
Reward Power: The ability to provide desirable consequences.
Coercive Power: The ability to threaten or deliver unpleasant consequences.
Referent Power: Derived from being liked, trusted, and respected by others.
Interpersonal Relationships and Self-Disclosure
As discussed in Chapter , interpersonal closeness develops over time. Communication is considered qualitative and interpersonal when people share emotional closeness and treat each other as unique individuals rather than role occupants.
Knapp’s Developmental Model
Romantic relationships typically follow a "coming together" sequence of stages: Initiating → Experimenting → Intensifying → Integrating → Bonding.
Social Penetration Model
Self-disclosure is the deliberate revelation of significant personal information. The Social Penetration Model measures intimacy through dimensions:
Breadth: The range or number of topics discussed.
Depth: How personal the information becomes.
Conflict Communication and Negotiation
Chapter distinguishes several approaches to conflict:
Avoidance / Accommodation.
Indirect Communication / Passive Aggression.
Direct Aggression.
Assertiveness: Clearly expressing needs and feelings without attacking others.
Negotiation outcomes follow a hierarchy: Win-Lose → Lose-Lose → Compromise → Win-Win. Win-Win is a collaborative approach focusing on underlying interests rather than rigid positions.
Nonverbal Communication Contexts
The study of communication includes several critical nonverbal elements:
Kinesics: The study of body movement and its various aspects.
Artifacts: Objects and possessions that communicate information about a person.
Proxemics: The study of how humans use space, categorized by Hall to describe spatial distances and leur implications.
Cues: Identifying which nonverbal cues exert the most power in interactions.