Interpersonal Communications Chapter 1-5

Interpersonal Communication

A distinctive, transactional form of human communication involving mutual influence, usually for the purpose of managing relationships. occurs when you treat others as unique and relate to them as authentic individuals

Impersonal Communication

Occurs when you treat others as objects or relate to them as roles

I-It

When you have a role to perform and there is mechanical,stilted interaction. Involved in Impersonal communications

I-Thou

A relationship that is true dialogue and honest sharing. Involved in Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Communications Importance in life

Improved relationships with family, friends and lovers, colleagues, and improved physical and emotional health

Source

The originator of a thought o emotion, who puts it into a code that can be understood by receiver

Message

The written, spoken, and unspoken elements of communication to which people assign meaning.

Channel

Pathways through which messages are sent

Reciever

Person who decodes the message and attempts to make sense of what the source has encoded

Noise

Interference's that keeps a message from being understood and achieving its intended effect

Feedback

A response to the message and without it, effective communication rarely occurs

Context

Physical and psychological environment for communication

Models of Communication Process

1. Communication is action: Message Transfer
2. Human communication as interaction: Message exchange
3. Human Communication as transaction:Message Creation

Interpersonal Communication Principles

connects us to others; is irreversible; and is complicated

Rule

Followable prescription that indicates what behavior is obligated, preferred, or prohibited in certain communication situations or contexts

Content Message

refers to the information ideas and suggested actions the speaker wishes to share - what is said

Relationship Message

the relationship dimension of a communication message offers cues about the emotion, attitudes, and amount of power and control the speaker feels; it is how the message is communicated

Electronically Mediated Communication (EMC)

communication that is not face to face, but rather sent via cell phone or the internet

Asynchronously

Message is not read, heard, or seen at the same time it is sent

Synchronous

Messages that are sent and received instantly and simultaneously

Self-Concept

personal, self-description of who you think you are

Self

A person's inner force

Attitude

learned predisposition to respond to a person, object, or idea in a favorable or unfavorable way. Likes-dislikes

Beliefs

Conceptions of what is true and what is false

Values

Enduring concepts of good and bad, right from wrong

Subjective Self-Awaeness

Ability to differentiate self from social and physical enviroment

Objective Self-Awareness

Object to ones own thoughts and attention

Symbolic Self-Awareness

Ability to use language (symbols) to represent ourselves to others

Material Self

total of all the tangible things you own, including your body

Social Self

Part of you that interacts with others

Spiritual Self

all you internal thoughts and analysis about your values and moral standards

Looking Glass

seeing ourselves in a figurative looking glass when we interact with others

Self-Concept vs Self-esteem

description of who you are vs evaluation of who you are

Johari Window

Perception

experiencing the world, and then making sense of what you experience

Interpersonal perception

You decide what people are like and give meaning to their actions

Stage of Perception

Stage one: Selecting
Stage two: Organizing
Stage three: Interpreting

Passive Perception

occurs simply because your senses are in operation

Active Perception

specific information is sought out through intentional observation and questioning

Impression Formation Theory

formed through noticing physical qualities and behavior, information people disclose about themselves, and information that the third parties tell us

Barriers of Perception

Ignoring information, focusing on the negative, blaming, stereotyping, avoiding responsibility, imposing consistency

Improving Perception Skills

Be aware of your personal perception barriers, be mindful of the behaviors that create meaning for you, link details with the big picture, check your perceptions, be other oriented

Gender

refers to psychological and emotional characteristic that cause people to assume masculine, feminine, or androgynous roles

Race

based on the genetically transmitted physical characteristics of a group of people who are classified together

Ethnicity

Social classification based on a variety of factors that are shared by a group of people who also share a common geographic origin

Ways to identify class distinctions

Way of life, family, job, money, and education

Culture

Learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values and norms that is shared by a group of people

Co-Culture

a distinct culture within a larger culture

Enculturation

The process of communicating a group's culture from generation to generation

Individualistic Culture

value individual achievement and personal accomplishment

Collectivistic Culture

value group and team achievement

Cultural Context

Implies that information is not explicitly communicated through language but through environmental and nonverbal cues

High Culture

derive much information form nonverbal cues

Low Culture

derive much information from the words of a message and less information from nonverbal or contextual cues

Masculine cultures

value achievement, assertiveness, heroism, and material wealth

Feminine Culture

value caring for the less fortunate, being sensitive toward others, and overall quality of life

Intercultural Communication

Involves communication between or among people who have different cultures

Culture Shock

Sense of confusion, anxiety, stress, and loss when you encounter a culture that has little in common with your own

Ethnocentrism

Stems from a conviction that your own cultural traditions and assumptions are superior to those of others

Listening Defined

a complex process of selecting, attending to, creating meaning from, and responding to verbal and nonverbal messages, while hearing is the physiological process of decoding sounds

Selecting

Choosing one sound as you sort through the various sounds competing for your attention

Attending

Focusing on the sound you select

Understanding

Assigning meaning to sounds you select and to which you attend

Remembering

recalling information

Responding

Conforming your understanding of a message

Relational Listening Style

tend to prefer listening to people feelings and emotions.

Analytical Listening Style

focus on facts and tend to withhold judgment before reaching a specific conclusion

Critical Listening Style

Good at evaluating information they hear. Spot inconsistencies, and second guessing

Task-Oriented Listening Style

interested in focusing more on achieving specific outcome or accomplishing a task tan focusing on the communication relationship when they listen to others and emphasize completing a specific transaction, such as solving a problem, taking action, or making a purchase

Self-Absorbed

causes us to focus on our own needs rather than the needs of others

Unchecked emotions

emotional noise occurs when emotional arousal interes with communications effectiveness

Meta-message

the message about the mesage

How to improve listening skills

Stop, look,listen, determine you listening goal, transform listenign barriers into listening goals, mentally summarize the details of the message, practice listening to challenging material

How to improve accurate responding skills

Ask appropriate questions, accurately paraphrase, provide well timed responses, appropriately adapt your responses

Direct Acknowledgment

When you respond directly to someting another person says and acknowledges the person is worth responding to

Agreement About Judgements

Conforms someone's evaluation of something and affirms that person's sense of taste and judgement

Supportive Response

Offer's reassurance and understanding and confirms a persons right to his or her feelings

Clarifying Response

Seeks greater understanding of another's message and confirms that he or she is worth your time and trouble

Compliment

Confirms our sense of worth

Impervious Responses

Fail to acknowledge a statement or attempt to communicate and can make the other person feel a sense of awkwardness or embarrassment

Interrupting Responses

Imply that what you have to say is more important than what the other person's has to say

Incongruous Responses

are when the verbal message is inconsistent with nonverbal behavior