Exam 1

Communication

The process where humans collectively create and regulate social reality

• what we do!

• we are not in a communicationS course.. this is a communicatioN course

Interpersonal communication

two individuals communicating

a process which occurs in a specific context and involved an exchange of verbal or nonverbal messages between two connected individuals with the intent to achieve shared meaning

Reasons to study communication

1. It gives us new perspective on things we take for granted

2. learning how to communicate because we spend a large amount of time doing it

3. to increase our effectiveness so relationships can work

different things for meeting personal needs

1. self-actualization

2. esteem

3. love/belonging

4. safety

5. physiological

approaches to interpersonal communication

1. situational approach (most common)

2. developmental approach

communication competence

being both appropriate and effective

principles of interpersonal communication

1. mediated communication

2. public

3. group

4. interpersonal

5. intrapersonal

transactional model of communication

• it is two way (sender and receiver)

• it is simultaneous

encoding

the sender

• speaker

decoding

the receiver

• listener

communicationS

The channel we use to communicate generally to the masses

• telephone

• radio

• TV

3 components to the perception process

1. selection/attention

2. organization of stimuli

3. interpretation

Language

A system of human communication using a particular form of spoken or written words or other symbols

• system of arbitrary signs and symbols used to communicate thoughts and feelings

relationship between symbol and referent

Symbol is something that represents something else vs

referent is the actual thing that is represented

different between denotation and connotation

Denotation is the public, more conventional meaning

• dictionary definition

Connotation is the personal, emotionally charged meaning

• based on emotions and feelings

3 levels of meaning (rules)

1. semantic meaning

2. syntactic meaning

3. pragmatic meaning

metacommunication

communication about communication

metamessages

relationship messages that are sent among people who they communicate

• verbal and nonverbal

• direct and indirect

  • can show disgust, appreciation, upset, annoyed, etc

functions of verbal communication

1. instrumental and regulatory functions

2. interactional and imaginative functions

3. personal functions

4. heuristic and representational function

5. cultural functions

different types of language

1. formal language

2. informal language

3. ambiguous language

4. relative language

verbal pitfalls

ways of talking that does not allow you to advance the conversation, but often makes it go worse

(having difficult conversations)

how to improve verbal communication

• be clear (KISS - keep it short and simple)

• appropriate (understand what is expected)

• concrete (pick words wisely to be specific)

• repetition, group words together, build vocabulary and read

nonverbal communication

communication that is given without words

• eye contact

• body language

characteristics of nonverbal communication (omnipresent)

1. continuous

2. multi-channeled

3. intentional or unintentional

4. ambiguous

5. primary conveyor of emotions

6. we cannot not communicate

why is nonverbal communication important in interactions

it would be harder to stimulate accurate meaning to others

functions of nonverbal communication

1. complementing

2. contradicting

3. accenting

4. repeating

5. regulating

6. substituting

expectancy violations theory

understanding of what happens when an individual within a interpersonal interaction violates the norms for that interaction

• your expectation on nonverbal behavior affects how you interact with others and how you interpret the meaning of nonverbal messages

  • we have expectation

two factors of expectancy violations theory

1. violation valence

2. reward value of other

3. under promise and over deliver

types of territoriality

1. primary

2. secondary

3. public

Markers

1. intimate

   1. 0-18’’

2. personal

   1. 18’’-4’

3. social

   1. 4’-12’

4. public

   1. 12’-25’+

different types of channels (-ics words)

1. proxemics

2. kinesics

3. vocalics

4. artifacts and physical appearance

5. Olfactics

6. Haptics

7. Oculesics

8. Chronemics

kinesics

How we move our body

5 types of gestures in kinesics

1. emblems

2. illustrator

3. adaptors

4. affect displays

5. regulators

Nonverbal immediacy

physical and psychological closeness that increased sensory stimulation between individuals

how to increase nonverbal immediacy

1. be open and approachable

2. use direct eye contact

3. use natural body movements

4. change your tone and have vocal variety

5. maintain closer physical distance

6. be purposeful and strategic

Appropriate communication

acceptable behaviors

effective

getting your desired personal outcome

Physical communication needs

share feelings instead of bottling them up to be more mentally clear and less stressed

communication is vital for our physical health because it offers a way to relieve tension.

(therapy-to relieve stress)

(When we are hungry we tell someone)

Identity communication needs

communication helps us discover who we are and comments influence how we think

(if someone says you need makeup you will always put makeup on)

(hurtful and helpful comments + how they shape you)

Social communication needs

-communication establishes relationships

-We share a part of ourselves with others

-we need to communicate to maintain, create and terminate friendships

Practical communication needs

communication allows us to operate and do our daily tasks

• to function

(telling a doctor what hurts)

Group communication

group = at least 3 people interacting with a common goal

(family, group projects)

Public communication

when an individual sends a specific message to an audience

(public speaking)

Mediated communication

using a form of technology to facilitate information between two or more people

• using technology to link the one sending info to the one receiving info

(phone calls, emails, texts, streaming services, websites)

Self-actualization

esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of/by others

• leads to creativity and problem solving

Different needs for communication

1. physical

2. identity

3. social

4. practical

Context of the transactional model

the setting in which the communication encounter occurs

• the situation

• what precedes and follows what you say

Physical context

physical environment

• the space you are in

• the room

• location/where

Social context

Expectation for how you should behave and the societal norms

• appropriate

historical context

the events going on around you, including the experiences we have had

• personal events

• historical events

psychological context

Emotions you are feeling in your head

• distractions

• whats going on in your head

Cultural context

What are the cultural similarities and differences between you and the person you are interacting with

Relationational context

The connection between you and the person you are interacting with

• significant other

• family

• friend

• professor

Participants of transaction model

the individuals involved in the interaction

• we are senders and receivers at the same time

(encoder and decoder)

Messages of transaction model

the verbal utterances and nonverbal behaviors to which meaning is attributed during communication

• What factor

Channels in transaction model

the route traveled by the message and the means of transportation

• whether its in person or online

(verbal and nonverbal)

Noise in transaction model

any stimulus that interferes with the process of sharing

Physical noise

Things that you can hear that block what is being said

• beeping, other people talking

• auditory

psychological noise

things in your head that are distracting you from the message, you usually aren’t actually listening because you are thinking about other things

• prevents the communication process

• sometimes you will say things you dont mean to say because your mind is somewhere else

semantic noise

not being able to understand what is being said because of limitations

• thick accents

• complicated words

• misunderstanding/misinterpreting

physiological noise

things that are inside you that aren’t mental but are more physical

• things you can feel

• being hungry/stomach growl

• being hot or cold

• being tired

Situational approach to IPC

external characteristics define whether interaction is interpersonal

Developmental approach to ICP

content/quality of information exchanged defines whether interaction is interpersonal

Selection/attention of perception

using your senses to notice and choose from many stimuli

• choosing what to focus on

• based on needs

  • interests and expectations

organization of perception

focusing in on something and sorting through it

1. proximity

2. similarity

3. closure

4. simplicity

interpretation of perception

interpreting the meaning of the messages and stimuli

• assigning meaning to information

  • 1234 1234 1234 1234 (we know this is a credit card)

symbol

something that represents something else

• sounds that stand for concepts

  • alphabet

• words are symbols because they are a collection of sounds

referent

the actual thing that is represented

• the connection to what a collection of sounds represents

• thing we are referring too

denotation

Dictionary definition, the meaning that is agreed upon and the conventional meaning

connotation

the personal meaning we apply to things based on emotions and feelings

semantic meaning

denotative and connotative meanings

syntactic meaning

the meaning based on word order and grammatical sequence

• produce (the farm was used to produce the produce)

pragmatic meaning

how language is used in interactions

• purpose of what your saying

  • is it a threat? question? warning? etc.

sender

The speaker or encoder

receiver

the listener or decoder

instrumental and regulatory functions

Instrumental function use language to fulfill need vs regulatory functions influence the behaviors of others through requests, rules or persuasion

interaction and imaginative functions

interaction → maintain or develop the relationship '

• thank you, please

imaginative → help create imaginary constructs and tell stories

• roleplay in activities

person function

use of language to help form your identity or self of self

• “how do you describe yourself”

heuristic and representation functions

Heuristic function is used to learn, discover and explore

• ex: asking questions to learn

Representation function is used to request or relay information

• ex: the light isn’t working

Cultural function

using language to figure out what culture you are speaking to. Language helps describe and understand our world.

This helps us understand how culture and language coexist

Jargon

specialized or technical language of a specific group that may not be understood by outsiders

Proximity

noticing the things around you and near eachother

similarity

Noticing things that are similar and have things in common

• the same t-shirt

closure

filling in gaps with information that might not be there

• a messed up fortune cookie but we can still read what it says

triangle of meaning

1. symbol (the word)

2. referent (the thing the word presents)

3. thought (the mental process of connecting the symbol and the referent

abstract words

ideas or concepts that cannot be observed or touched such as fairness, freedom and work

• vague, emotion

concrete words

specific things that can be perceived by the senses and it minimizes misunderstanding

• actions, touch

formal language

official and academic language that is intelligent sounding

• can be in writing too

informal language

common, everyday knowledge, continuous and casual

• includes slang

ambiguous language

language that has various meaning, this often causes unclear conversations

relative language

based on people’s backgrounds and depends on who is communicating

continuous

Conversations have a clear start and end but nonverbal is always happening

multichanneled

two nonverbal ways at once

• waving while wearing perfume

intentional vs unintentional

nonverbal communication is both intentional and unintentional

ambiguous (nonverbal)

the nonverbal movements can be difficult to interpret because everyone comes from different backgrounds. It can be contracting and movements can have different meanings depending on the situation

primary conveyor

nonverbal communication is the primary conveyor of emotions and we tend to believe/trust the nonverbal behavior more than the verbal

• it is easier to lie with verbal communication and harder to control nonverbal things

complementing

nonverbal behavior that is used in combination with the verbal portion of the message to emphasize the meaning

• being excited and jumping up and down

contradicting

when nonverbal communication contradicts verbal communication

• saying something positive but with a monotone tone

accenting

emphasizing a word or a part of a message

repeating

nonverbal communication that repeats the meaning of verbal communicating assists the receiver by reinforcing the words of the sender

• the word yes and a head nod