Communication Week 1

- - - - Chapter 1 Communication - the process of creating meaning through symbolic interaction Communication is relational not individual It's all about symbols and you you interpret things Linear communication model - sender encodes ideas and feelings into a message and then conveys them to a receiver who decodes Communication channel- message is conveyed between people face-to-face, writing Mediated communication - telephone, email, direct message What causes misunderstandings? - noise. Any force that interferes with transmission and reception of a message Physiological noise - biological factors in the receiver or sender that interfere with accurate reception ; fatigue, illness Psychological noise - force within communicator that interferes with the ability to express or understand a message. Worrying about home life when you should focus on school Transactional communication model- a characterization of communication as the simultaneous sending and receiving of messages in an ongoing process Sending and receiving are simultaneous Types of communication - Intrapersonal communication - communication with yourself. Talking to yourself - dyadic/interpersonal communication - two person communication in person or online. - Small group communication - obvious - Organizational communication - large group working together to achieve goals. Charities, religious groups, and politics. Often involves specific roles. - Public communication - not everyone does the speaking. People listen and one or two people speak. - Mass communication - messages transmitted at large. Newspaper, electronic, tv Changing technology - People are having less face-to-face conversations Changing discipline - First systematic analysis of how to communicate effectively was aristotle's rhetoric written about 2,500 years ago Understanding social media - People use social media for personal reasons - Interactive, user generated content - Mediated versus face-to-face communication - Quite similar - Richness - abundance of nonverbal cues that add clarity to a verbal message - Face-to-face - abounds with nonverbal messages - Synchronicity - occurs in real time - Asynchronous - lag receiving and responding - Permanence - text or video you send that can be saved permanently - Transitory - face-to-face can't be saved forever How people use social media - Information - asking questions, finding info - Personal relationships - seeing what friends are up to, announcing changes - - - - Personal identity - asserting your values and getting feedback - Entertainment - gaming online with friends Functions of communication - Communication satisfies many of our needs - Physical needs - Lonely people experience depression, socially isolated people tend to die at a younger age - Identity needs - Our sense of identity comes from the way we interact with people - No sense of identity without communication - Social needs - Researchers and theorists have identified a range of social needs we satisfy by communicating: pleasure, affection, relaxation, control - Drive for meeting social needs as the human career - Practical needs - This is where to cut my hair, here is where the pipe leak is, this is where it hurts doc. Relationships communications and hugs What makes an effective communicator? - Communication competence defined - Ability to maintain a relationship on terms acceptable to all parties - Some communication styles may be good in one circumstance but not the other - Behaviors are good in some situations but not others - Characteristics of competent communicators - Wide range of behaviors and being able to choose the right one - Find the context, your goal, and know the other person - empathy/perspective taking - understand points of view - Cognitive complexity - construct a variety frameworks for viewing an issue - Self monitoring - process of paying close attention to one’s behavior and using these observations to shape the way one behaves - Commitment to the relationship - Communicating competently with social media - Choose the best medium - treat others how you want to be treated - Be careful of what you post - Be considerate - Respect others needs for undivided attention - Keep your tone civil - Disinhibition - tendency to transmit messages without considering their consequences - Flaming - sending angry messages Clarifying misconceptions about communication - Does not always require complete understanding - Communication will not solve all problems - Communication isn’t always a good thing - Meanings rest in people, not words - Communication is not simple - More communication isn’t always better Chapter 2 The Self, Perception, and Communication - Communication and the Self - Self concept defined - perceptions we hold about ourselves - What is unique about us and what makes us similar and different from others - Mental mirror not only of our physical features but our emotional states, talents, dislikes, values, and rolls - Self esteem - the part of the self concept that involves evaluations of self worth - High self esteem = confidence. Low self esteem = negativity about themselves - Biology personality and the self - Personality - enduring characteristics that define a person's temperament, thought processes, and social behavior. Partly determined by genes - Reflected appraisals - how we develop an image of ourselves from the way we think others view us - Social comparison - evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare with others - Cultures and the self concept - Different cultures have different ways to view themselves and others - The self-concept and communication with others - Self concept shapes the way we communicate with other people - The self fulfilling prophecy and communicating - A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when a person's expectations of an outcome and subsequent behavior make the outcome more likely to occur. - Expectations influence your behavior. Ex. psyching yourself out during a volleyball game - One Person's expectations govern others reactions. Ex. teachers were given bright students (really just 20 random kids) and the teachers treated them special so after the semester the students showed a high IQ. - Perceiving others - The ways we perceive others shape our interactions with them - Steps in the perception process - We sort out and make sense of others behavior with these three steps: selection, organization, and interpretation - Selection - the perceptual act of attending to some stimuli in the environment and ignoring others - External factors help shape what we notice about others - Something that is louder, brighter, larger than its surroundings stands out - Your mood affects your self talk - Organization - perceptual process of organizing stimuli into patterns - Arrange things into meaningful ways to make sense of the world. - Four types of schema help us classify others - Physical constructs - classify people according to their appearance - Role constructs - social position, such as student, parent, boss - Interaction constructs - focus on social behavior, friendly, sarcastic - Psychological constructs - internal state of mind. Confidence - These factors affect how we perceive each other - Interpretation - attacking meaning to stimuli that have been previously selected and organized - Plays a role in almost every type of communication Influences on perception Psychological influences - age, health and nutrition, and biological cycles ( body temp, alertness, mood) all affect how we perceive people - Cultural and social influences - Sex and gender roles - social expectations on male nad female roles. Ex. “that's not ladylike” “so which one of you gays is the dude in the relationship” and bitch usually refers to a woman - Sex- male or female - Gender - socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women - Androgynous- combining both masculine and feminie traits - Occupational roles - The kind of work we do also governs our view of the world - Relational roles - Your personal roles (roomate, cool kid) can affect your perception Narratives, perception, and communication - Common perceptual tendencies - Attribution- process of attaching meaning to behavior - We make snap judgements - Judging without knowledge of others gets us in trouble - Stereotyping- exaggerated beliefs associated with a categorizing system - 3 characteristics distinguish stereotypes from reasonable generalizations - Categorizing others on the basis of easily recognized but not necessarily significant characteristics. Ex skin color does not tell you who someone is - Ascribing a set of characteristics to most or all members of a group. Ex. all men are insensitive to women's concerns - Applying the generalization to a particular person. Ex. senior citizen is senile and a man is a gross pig - Self serving bias- interpret and explain information in a way that casts the perceiver in the most favorable manner - We pay more attention to negative impressions than positive ones - We are influenced by what is most obvious - Intense (loud music, bright dressed), repetitious ( persistence), contrastive (normally happy person who is sad), motives (goals). - We cling to first impressions, even if it’s wrong - We tend to assume that others are similar to us - People won’t always get your sense of humor, same ideas, etc Perception in Mediated Communication - What you think something sounds like on social media might not be what other people hear when they read it. Comes off wrong Empathy, perception, and communication - Empathy - ability to recreate another person’s perspective, to experience the world from the others point of view ( personal sense of another's experience) - Dimensions of empathy - - - - - Empathy involves perspective taking - set aside your own point of view and understand anothers - Emotional dimension allows you to experience what others are feeling by sharing their joy, sadness, fear - Requires genuine concern - Sympathy - compassion for another person’s situation (you can’t relate to the persons problems. - Perception checking - 3 part method for verifying the accuracy of interpretations, including a description of the sense date, two possible interpretations, and a request for confirmation of the interpretations - provides a better way to handle your interpretations. This helps not assume. Has three parts - 1. A description of the behavior you noticed - At least two possible interpretations of the behavior - A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior - Ex. you haven't laughed much in the last couple of days [behavior]. I wonder whether something’s bothering you [first interpretation] or whether you’re just feeling quiet [second interpretation] whats up? [request for clarification. - You haven't dropped by lately is there anything to matter? Communication and identity management - Public and private selves- we have different selves depending on situations. - Perceived self - the person you believe yourself to be. Often private - Presenting self- public image of the way we want others to see us - Face- the socially approved identity that a communicator tries to present - Facework - verbal and nonverbal behavior designed to create and maintain a communicators face and the face of others. Involves - managing our own identity and communicating in ways that reinforce the identities that others are trying to present - If a person gives you bad directions to a party instead of blaming them, say that “i'm a terrible navigator” don’t blame them. Makes you a better person - Characteristics of identity - We have multiple identities- we play a variety of roles, wannabe athlete, dedicated student, hardworking and funny employee, sub par friend. But we also act differently with our friends then we do with our parents. - Identity management is collaborative - how conversations run smoothly between people - Identity management can be conscious or unconscious - most communication is spontaneous but at times you speak in a way to manage impressions. Interview vs pal - Frame switching - adopting the perspectives of different cultures. Acting differently depending on how you want to present yourself - Script - habitual, reflexive way of behaving - People differ in their degree of identity management - some people are much better than others. Being able to change your identity based on the event. It's a good thing to have - They are good people readers by adjusting their behavior to get a desired reaction - Too high or too low of self monitoring is not good - Flexibility is key to successful relationships - Identity management in the workplace- as you consider how to manage your identity at work, consider the following - Proceed with caution - be cautious of what you do and say - - Assess the organization's culture- if people in the workplace seem supportive of differences, then revealing more of yourself may be safe - Consider the consequences of not opening up - keeping too much inside may not be good, find a new place - Test the waters - if you have a trusted person, test the waters and open up Why manage identities - social rules. You won't say “mommy why is that man fat” when you're older than 4 - Don't wear ridiculous clothes to work, treat customers good, etc - We might manage identities to accomplish our goals - When you want someone to like you, act a certain way. Impress someone, dress this way and act this way. Trying to get a point across is another thing Chapter 1&2 Discussion Respond to the video given the text's discussion of identity and perception. How did the video makes me feel or think about race, identity and societal structures. Do you agree that all whites who have graduated from high school are racist? If I was in the audience how would I have responded. Make specific links to concepts from your textbook Think of a situation in which you observed stereotyping. Discuss how this stereotyping was communicated. Was it primarily communicated verbally or non-verbal. Was the stereotyping behavior discussed or did the people let it pass or slide without saying anything. Section 1 QUIZ 1 1- Which communication channel allows for mediated interactive communication with small and large audiences? - social media 2- By communicating pleasure, affection, and inclusion, we satisfy our___. - social needs 3- Shonda was sitting in a crowded room that was very warm and stuffy. This was making it difficult for her to listen to the speaker's message. What type of noise was interfering with Shonda's message reception? - external noise 4- When there is a time gap between when a message is sent and when it is received, one is using___.asynchronous communication (letters, emails) 5- Which of the following terms do social scientists use to describe the multiple nonverbal cues that add clarity to a verbal message - message richness 6- The tendency to transmit message without considering the consequence of the message is called_____.disinhibition 7- Julia told Kacie that Taylor was "loaded." Kacie took this to mean that Taylor had had too much to drink, whereas Julia had meant that he was very wealthy. This is an example of:- meanings are in people- not words 8- Julia told Kacie that Taylor was "loaded." Kacie took this to mean that Taylor had had too much to drink, whereas Julia had meant that he was very wealthy. This is an example of: - empathy 9- Even though she doesn't like her very much, Belinda talks with Josie because it makes her feel less lonely. Belinda is using her interactions with Josie to fulfill her___. - social needs 10- Cassandra is mad at her friend, Nicole, for spreading rumors about her at school. Consequently, Cassandra decides to get back at her by posting embarrassing pictures of her online. She also persists in making hateful and hurtful comments about Nicole on her social networking page. Cassandra's behavior can be recognized as____. Flaming 11- In the transactional model of communication, individuals who participate in an interaction are known as____. - communicators 12- intrapersonal - conversation with oneself _____ is the transmission of messages without considering the consequences while ______ is the impulsive transmission of angry and hostile message. - disinhibition-flaming 13-Research has indicated a link between heavy reliance on mediated communication and _____. - increased loneliness 14-James is great at talking to his peers but is not so skillful when communicating with authority figures. This illustrates how communication is - situational 15-Which type of communication is less personal, controlled by gatekeepers and sent by organizations to large audiences? - mass communication 16-Sandy really likes talking to Belinda. Every time she speaks with her, Sandy feels calmer and less anxious. Sandy is using her interactions with Belinda to fulfill her______. - physical needs 17-Tom was angry at Becky, his supervisor, and quickly sent an angry and vicious text message stating his displeasure with comments she made during a work meeting. The correct term for this behavior, according to scholars, is "flaming - - true 18-Effective communications is able to solve any issue or conflict. - false 19-Which method of communication provides the greatest level of control over how the message is composed? - handwritten message Quiz 2 1-Personal stories that we create to make sense of our personal world are known as______. - narratives 2-Judy did not correctly complete a task that her supervisor had given her. Judy's supervisor attributed the unsatisfactory result to Judy's failure to listen well or try hard enough. Judy felt that her errors were due to unclear instructions and to her supervisor's failure to allow enough time to complete the task. Judy's explanation is an example of___ - self serving bias 3-The ability to re-create another person's perspective and experience the world from the other's point of view is known as____. - empathy 4-Our perception of what is unique about ourselves and what makes us both similar to and different from others is known as_____. - self concept 5-Your friend gave you confusing directions to a party, which caused you to be late. When you arrived, you stated "Sorry I am late, I'm a terrible navigator." By using this sort of mild, self-deprecating humor to defuse a potentially unpleasant situation, you were exemplifying_____. - facework 6-Which of the following is an advantage of using mediated communication for identity management?- it allows the sender to choose the ambiguity level of the message 7-Self-concept refers to how the self is _____ while self-esteem refers to how the self is______.- perceived, evaluated 8-Attribution refers to________. -attaching meaning 9-Dave tells an inappropriate joke that he thought was funny to his coworker. The coworker becomes offended and files a complaint with Dave's supervisor. Where did Dave go wrong? - he assumed silialarith 10-The process of arranging information in the environment in a meaningful way is called_____. - organization - 11-When we use verbal and nonverbal communication to maintain our presenting image and images of others, we are engaging in______. - faceworkk 12-Which of the following methods will help you interpret the behavior of others more accurately? - perspective checking 13-When a person's expectations of an outcome, and the subsequent behavior, cause the outcome to occur, it is called__ - self fulfilling prophecy 14-What is the first step in perception?- selection 15-Snap judgments become particularly problematic when they are based on__ - stereotyping 16-The ability to construct multiple identities is one element of _ - communication competence 17-Why do we manage our identities? 18-Which of the following best characterizes a low self-monitor? -need to be themselves and are easy to read 19-When she was a child, Amy had a bad experience jumping from a diving board. To this day, she considers herself a weak swimmer. That experience affected her - self concept 20-A stereotype is essentially a (n) -exaggerated belief 21-Our emotional state (mood, feelings) can determine what we choose to select in the perception process. true 22-Introverts cannot be effective leaders. - false 23-High self-esteem guarantees successful business and personal relationships. - false 24-Self-fulfilling prophecies can shape one's self-concept in both positive and negative ways. - true 25-Until a child is past the age of around 7 years old, he or she cannot take another person's point of view - true 26-our occupational choice will have little influence over how you see the world- false 27-In general, we judge others more kindly than we judge ourselves. - false 28-We pay more attention to negative impressions than positive ones.- true 29-We cling to first impressions even if they are inaccurate.-true 30-Empathy and sympathy are two different words to describe the same concept.- false