Interpersonal Communication
The verbal and nonverbal interaction between two (or more than two) interdependent people.
What does interdependent mean?
Connected"; What one person does has an impact on the other person. The actions of one person have consequences for the other person.
Interpersonal Communication takes place within...
a relationship. The way you communicate is determined in great part by the kind of relationship that exists between you and the other person.
There is a very clear relationship between...
what you say and the relationships that develops (or deteriorates).
Interpersonal communication says something about YOU.
Regardless of what you say, you are making a reference to yourself in some way.
-To who you are;
-To what you are thinking and feeling;
-To what you value.
Interpersonal Communication exists along a continuum...
What are the 2 ends of the spectrum?
1.
Relatively impersonal
- A simple conversation between people who really don't know each other.
Ex. Communication b/w customer and waiter.
2.
Highly personal
- communication that takes place between people who are intimately interconnected.
Ex. Father a
Interpersonal Continuum
In book: 1.2.3
Social Role versus Personal Information
Social Role:
The individuals are likely to respond to each other according to the roles they are currently playing.
Ex. Customer and waiter.
Personal Information:
The two people react to each other as unique individuals.
Ex. Father and Son.
Societal versus Personal Rules
Societal Rules:
Act according to the rules of society.
Personal Rules:
The way the 2 individuals address each other, their touching behavior, and their degree of physical closeness are unique to them and are established by them rather than society.
Social versus Personal Messages
Social Messages:
There is little personal information exchanged and there is little emotional content in the messages they exchange.
Personal Messages:
My run the entire range and sometimes may include lots of personal information and lots of emotion.
What are the 5 Purposes of Interpersonal Communication?
Ch.1.2.5
Choice Points
Moments when you have to make a choice about whom you communicate with, what you say, what you don't say, how you phrase what you want to say, etc.
A Model of Interpersonal Communication
CH.1.3
It is circular, not linear.
Essential Elements of Interpersonal Communication
1. Source Receiver - Both functions are performed by each individual in a conversation, often not equally. Source (formulate and send messages) and Receive (perceive and comprehend messages).
2. Messages (by gesture & touch AND words & sentences).
3. Chan
Interpersonal competence
Your ability to communicate effectively.
Knowing how to adjust your communication according to the context of the interaction, the person with whom you're interacting, proper use of code switching, and more.
Learned through observation, explicit instructi
A. Encoding
B. Decoding
A. The act of producing messages. ex. speaking or writing.
B. The act of understanding messages. ex. listening or reading.
Code Switching
Using different language styles depending on the situation.
Ex. Talking to a child vs adult; Writing a text vs a paper.
Good because you are included in the group and makes your meaning clearer. Bad if you aren't being genuine or use the wrong code in a s
A. Synchronous Communication
B.Asynchronous Communication
A. The messages are sent and received at the same time as in face-to-face and phone messages (real time).
B. The messages are sent at one time and received at another and perhaps even responded to at still another time.
Metamessages
A. Definition
B. 2 Types
A. Messages that are about other messages.
Ex. "Do you understand?", "Did I say that right?", "That's not logical."
B. Feedback and feed forward.
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: Transactional Perspective/Process
Views interpersonal communication as a process with elements that are interdependent and the participants are mutually influential.
Circular model rather than linear model where person is both speaker and listener.
Traditional Media Vs. Social Media
Traditional: Newspapers, magazines, television ---> You
Social:
Wikis, Social Networks, dating, photo/video sharing <-->You
5 Purposes of Interpersonal Communication
1. To learn: About yourself and the world.
2. To relate: To establish/maintain close relationships.
3. To influence: To persuade you or others.
4. To play: Talk of leisure activities or online games/flirting.
5. To help: To offer help or get help from oth
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: Ambiguity
A message can be interpreted as having more than one meaning.
Strategic ambiguity (on purpose) is used in delaying decisions. Or when you don't want to insult but also don't want to lie to someone.
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: Symmetrical or Complementary
Symmetrical Relationship: When 2 individuals behaviors mirror each other. Ex. One persons anger causes the other person to respond with anger.
Complementary Relationship: The 2 individuals engage in different behaviors. Ex. strong/weak; passive/active; te
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: Content and Relationship Messages/Dimensions
Content: Refer to the real world, external to both speaker and listener.
Relationship: The connections between the 2 individuals who are interacting.
Men focus more on content and women on relationships.
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: A Series of Punctuated Events
The tendency to divide communication into sequences of stimuli and responses.
Each person sees their behavior as a response to the other individuals stimuli.
Principles of Interpersonal Communication: Inevitable, Irreversible, and Unrepeatable
Inevitable: Communication cannot be avoided; All behavior in an interactional setting is communication.
Irreversible: Communication cannot be reversed; Once something has been communicated, it cannot be uncommunicated.
Unrepeatable: The fact that all comm
Ch.2 Culture
The relatively specialized lifestyle of a group of people that is past on from one generation to the next through communication, not through genes.
7 Metaphors of Culture
1. Salad/Jelly Beans:
Made up of individuals that work together to produce an even better combination.
2. Iceberg:
Only a small part of culture is visible, but most of it is hidden from inspection.
3. Tree:
You only see what's above ground, not the root s
Cultural Evolution
AKA Social Darwinism
Cultures evolve and so some are considered advanced and others primitive.
Cultural Relativism
All cultures are different, but no culture is either superior or inferior to any other.
A. Subculture
B. Co-culture
A. Smaller cultures that exist within larger cultures.
B. A variety of cultures co-existing side by side.
A. Sex
B. Gender
A. Biological distinction between male and female. Determined by genes, biology.
B. The social construction of masculinity and femininity within a culture. The attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of communicating and relating to one another that boys and
A. Enculturation
B. Ethnic Identity
C. Who are the main teachers of culture?
A. The process by which culture is transmitted from one generation to another.
B. The commitment/adoption of the beliefs, philosophy, and customs of one's culture. The degree to which one identifies with his or her cultural group.
C. Parents, peers, schoo
Acculturation
A. The process by which one culture is modified or changed through contact with another culture. You learn the rules and norms a culture that is different from your native culture. Ex. Immigrants
- Happens more quickly to younger, open-minded individuals
Assimilation
The gradual process by which the values, ways of behaving, and beliefs of the host/dominant culture become more and more a part of the immigrants' culture.
The Importance of Intercultural Communication
1. Demographic Changes
2. Increased sensitivity to cultural differences
3. Economic and Political Interdependence
4. Advances in Communication Technology
5. Culture-specific nature of interpersonal communication
7 Cultural Differences That Impact Communication
1. Individualist or Collectivist Orientation
2. Emphasis on Context (High or Low)
3. Power Structure
4. Masculinity/ Femininity
5. Tolerance for Ambiguity
6. Long- and Short-Term Orientation
7. Indulgence and Restraint
A. Individualist or B. Collectivist Orientation
A. Teaches members the importance of individual values such as power, achievement, hedonism, and stimulation. Ex. US, Australia, UK, Italy, Belgium, and Canada.
B. Teaches members the importance of group values such as benevolence, tradition, and conformi
A. High Context
B. Low Context
A. Much of the information in communication messages is left implied. Much of the information is in the context or the person itself. Personal relationships and Oral Agreements. Emphasis on Face Saving.
Collectivist Cultures
B. Most the information is exp
A. Power Distance
B. High-Power
C. Low-Power
A. How power is distributed in a society.
B. Power rests in the hands of a few. A great difference between the power held by these people and the power of ordinary citizens.
C. Power is relatively evenly distributed throughout the citizenry.
A. Masculine and B. Feminine Cultures
A. Value aggressiveness, material success, and strength. Win-lose strategies.
B. Value modesty, concern for relationships and the quality of life, and tenderness. Win-win strategies.
A. Ambiguity Tolerance
B. High- Ambiguity
C. Low-Ambiguity
A. Refers to the degree to which members of a culture feel comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty.
B. Do not feel threatened by unknown situations: uncertainty is a normal part of life and accept it as it comes. Encourage diversity in communication. V
A. Long-term Orientation
B. Short-term Orientation
A. Promotes the importance of future rewards. More likely to save and value of education in the future.
B. Look more to the past and the present. Spend resources in the present and want quick results.
A. Indulgence
B. Restraint
A. Emphasizes the gratification of desires and a focus on having fun and enjoying life. Two major factors of happiness: Life control and Leisure.
B. Fosters the curbing of immediate gratification and regulates it by social norms. Less happy. Place great v
Intercultural Communication
Communications between persons who have different cultural beliefs, values, or ways of behaving.
Improving Intercultural Communication
1. Prepare Yourself
2. Reduce Your Ethnocentrism
3. Confront Your Stereotypes
4. Increase Mindfulness/Awareness
5. Avoid Over-attribution
6. Recognize Cultural Difference
7. Adjust Your Communication
A. Self-Concept
B. Self-Awareness
C. Self-Esteem
A. The way you see yourself; self-image.
B. The extent to which you know yourself.
C. The extent to which you value yourself.
What are the 4 sources of Self-Concept?
1.
Others images of you:
What do others say about me?
2.
Social comparisons:
How do I compare to my peers?
3.
Cultural teachings:
How do I fulfill the teachings of my culture?
4.
Your own interpretations and evaluations:
The way you interpret and evaluate
Self-Awareness - The Johari Window: Your 4 Selves
1.
Open Self:
Information about yourself that you and others know.
2.
Blind Self:
Information about yourself that you don't know but others do know.
3.
Hidden Self:
Information about yourself that you know but others don't know.
4.
Unknown Self:
Informati
5 Ways to increase your self-awareness
1. Ask yourself about yourself.
2. Listen to others.
3. Actively seek information about yourself.
4. See your different selves.
5. Increase your open self.
3 Types of Self-Esteem
1.
Cognitive:
What is your ideal self? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
2.
Affective:
Do you feel pleased with your self after analyzing your strengths and weaknesses?
3.
Behavioral:
What are your verbal and nonverbal behaviors in certain situation
6 Suggestions for Increasing Self-Esteem: A learned behavior
1. Attack self-destructive beliefs.
2. Seek out nourishing people.
3. Beware the impostor phenomenon: disregarding your success, saying you don't deserve it and that your a fake or phony.
4. Work on projects that will result in success.
5. Remind yourself
5 Stages of Interpersonal Perception
1.
Stimulation:
2.
Organization:
3.
Interpretation-Evaluation:
4.
Memory:
5.
Recall:
p. 87
Stage 1: Stimulation
Selective Perception
A. Selective Attention
B. Selective Exposure
The tendency to perceive certain things and not others.
A. The tendency to attend to those things that you want to see or that you expect to see.
B. The tendency to actively seek out information that supports your beliefs and to actively avoid information
The Just World Hypothesis
You get what you deserve."
This causes people to:
- de-emphasize the influence of situational factors,
- over emphasize the influence of internal factors
when explain your own or others behaviors.
Stage 2: Organization
People organize their perceptions by:
1. Rules
2. Schemata
3. Scripts
1. 3 rules: Proximity, Similarity, and Contrast: When things are physically close or similar to each other, we perceive them to belong together. When they are different, they don't belong together.
2. Mental templates of general ideas about people, yourse
Stage 3: Interpretation-Evaluation
Influenced by experiences, needs, wants, values, and beliefs about the way things are or should be.
Stage 4: Memory
Your perceptions and interpretation-evaluation are stored in memory so that you can retrieve them at a later time using "cognitive tags".
Stage 5: Recall
Involves accessing the information stored in memory through reconstruction not reproduction.
Impression Formation
Consists of a variety of processes that you go through in forming an impression of another person. AKA People Perception
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
A prediction (schema) that comes true because you act on it as if it were true.
Ex. Pygmalion Effect
Personality Theory
A system of rules that tell you which characteristics of an individual go together.
Ex. Halo Effect: The belief that if a person has some positive qualities they are likely to have other positive qualities. Reverse Halo Effect is the same but with negativ
Perceptual Accentuation
A process that leads you to see what you expect or want to see.
A. Primacy and B. Recency
A. Giving more importance to that which occurs first instead of what occurs last or most recently. Ex. First Impressions stick with us.
B. Giving more importance to that which occurs last or most recently instead of what occurs first.
Consistency
A tendency to maintain balance in in your perception of messages or people making you tend to see what you expect to see and being uncomfortable when you don't see what you expected to see.
Attribution of Control
A. Self-serving Bias
B. Over-attribution
C. Fundamental Attribution Error
The process by which we assign causation or motivation to a person's behavior.
A. When you take credit for the positive and deny responsibility for the negative.
B. The tendency to single out one or two obvious characteristics of a person and attribute ev
Increasing Accuracy in Impression Formation: Analyzing Impressions
1. Recognize your own role in perception.
2. Avoid early conclusions.
Increasing Accuracy in Impression Formation: Check Perceptions
1. Describe what you see or hear.
2. Seek confirmation.
Increasing Accuracy in Impression Formation: Reduce Uncertainty
Observe, learn, and interact before drawing conclusions.
Ambiguity Tolerance
Refers to the degree to which members of a culture are accepting of uncertainty.
Increasing Accuracy in Impression Formation: Increase Cultural Sensitivity
Recognizing and being sensitive to cultural differences.
Impression Management
The process you go through to communicate the impression you want the other person to have of you.
To Be Liked:
A. Affinity Seeking
B. Politeness Strategies
A. Behaviors to increase interpersonal attractiveness. Ex. Be helpful, comfortable/relaxed, polite, active, enthusiastic, good listener, optimistic, warm, shared values, and supportive. Flattery.
B. To make yourself appear likable.
Positive Face: the desi
To be believed: Credibility Strategies
Techniques by which you seek to establish your competence, character, and charisma.
To Excuse Failure: Self-Handicapping Strategies
Techniques you use to excuse possible failure by setting up barriers or obstacles to make the task impossible so that when you fail you won't be blamed or thought ineffective.
1. Self-deprecating strategies: Techniques you use to signal your inability to
To Hide Faults: Self-Monitoring Strategies
Techniques to monitor what you say or do carefully. AKA Self-censoring.
To Be Followed: Influencing Strategies
Strategies designed to influence the attitudes and behaviors of others.
1. Use logic.
2. Stress similarity.
3. Stress agreement.
4. Provide positive social proof. "the herd instinct
To Confirm Self-Image: Image Confirming Strategies
Techniques you use to communicate or to confirm your self-image, the image you want others to see.