1/ SYMBOLIC INTERACTION

George Herbert Mead

~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory makes sense in that there are many things we put meaning to that
then become symbolic or a reality to each of us. And when something becomes a
symbolic interaction, it is generally accepted by everyone as having that same
symbolism or meaning. Or there are times when we create our own reality from
others perceptions of us as well.
Entry 1:
I can remember being in High school in the early 90s and some of the girls had
promise rings from their boyfriends. They had been dating for a while and it was
not quite an engagement, but pretty much getting there. If someone had a ring
like that, then it meant the relationship was pretty serious. Or as serious as could
be for High school I guess.
Entry 2:
Another similar type symbol was when a girl had a purity ring. Most girls
from church seemed to have those or girls who wanted to
show
their moral standpoint. This standpoint meant that they
wanted to keep their virginity until marriage and the
ring was a symbol and reminder that they would remain
that way.
For both of these examples it was a symbolic interaction for the culture and
place of that time for us in High school. Im sure not everyone would view it that
way all over the place. Some people who didnt view the symbolism the same way
for these rings would just see them at face value, only rings.
Entry 3:
Another part of this theory relates to the voices we have in our minds of how
others view us. I know that even as an adult now, I always have my grandmothers
voice in my mind critiquing the decisions that I make. For example, quitting a job a
while back, I could hear her say, Well thats not something I would do, I cant
believe youre going to walk away. This makes you look bad. When in reality, it
was a bad situation and it actually was a much healthier decision for me to leave,
rather than for me to stay just to save face in front of others for what they might
think.

2/ EXPECTANCY VIOLATION THEORY

Judee Burgoon
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

I can totally relate to this theory in that we all have certain personal spatial zones
we dont want people to overstep. Most of us call it personal space. In learning
about this theory in class it was interesting to note the specific measurements of
space depending on the relationship of the person or people surrounding you.
Most people would never think of the differences, but it really is very true.
Intimate people can stand much closer without causing someone to get freaked
out versus a complete stranger moving in as close would most definitely freak
someone out. There was a really wide range of measurement of course between
those particular two; from 0-18 inches to 10 feet out or more! Also noting that
familiarity of people caused either a positive or negative reward valance was true.
Entry 4:
This clearly shows the middle girls personal space being invaded, as the accepted
measurement is generally 18 inches to 4 feet. Obviously she knows the other girls
or otherwise her state of arousal would be high and she would be freaking out.
If she did not know them, I am sure she would not allow
them to be this close to her face!
(Friends picture from Facebook)

Entry 5:
I also remember having a foreign classmate at one time who used to stand right up
in my face (intimate space!) I couldnt stand it. I finally told her to back up and she
got offended, but I explained Im just not used to that and it made me
uncomfortable! She was still upset, but owell. That was definitely a negative
reward valence because we were not that close of friends.

3/ SEMIOTICS
Roland Barthes
~ HUMANISTIC ~

Learning about symbols and how easily their meaning can change dependent on
time frame and culture was educational for me. I never thought about these things
before. Signs are very much a part of our culture and the connotations related to
them can go from historical meaning to mythical meaning. The signified objects
can be anything physical, to ribbon color, to a hand gesture. The signifier is how
that object is defined in its time and place of culture.

Entry 6:

Christian Fish Symbol (Ichthys)

The preceding article, found online, was interesting in realizing that this fish (the
signified object) went from its historical meaning of being used by pagans to mean
fertility or birth to becoming a signifier for Christians at a later time in history when
they used it to recognize each other while being persecuted. I never knew this.

4/ SOCIAL PENETRATION THEORY

Irwin Altman & Dalmas Taylor
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

I found this theory to be very relevant to our day-to-day relationships. Its easy to
believe you know someone just by having a lengthy conversation with them,
however I was glad to learn that the depth and breadth of that conversation plus
other factors is really what determines whether or not you know someone.
Entry 7:

Scene from Shrek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bMcXVe8zIs

In this scene from Shrek, Donkey is trying to get to know Shrek better and thinks
he knows him quite well already. Shrek begins to explain that he is complicated
and tells Donkey that he is like an onion with layers. This was a great example
from this theory regarding self-disclosure. Shrek only tells him Donkey so much
about himself but doesnt seem to reach any depth within his onion layers.
Donkey knows some breadth (surface things) about Shrek from having spent time
with him but he is not even close to knowing everything about Shrek. Donkey
would probably say that they are good friends but they have a lot more to learn
about each other.
Entry 8:

Dating

Another example is when youve been in a relationship with someone and the
different stages you go through from beginning to end. In the beginning there is
reciprocity with self-disclosure but then as you begin to either grow or start feeling
like its coming to a haltthe breadth and depth factors change depending on how
its going. One person may reveal a lot of depth while the other still keeps their
personal history, secrets, attitudes, and values to themselves for the most part.

The self-disclosed person may feel really close to the other but in reality its just
not the case unless more onion layers peel back.

5/ SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY

John Thibaut & Harold Kelley
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

Costs Rewards = Outcome. Most people weigh out their relationships by how
much they get out of them. If the relationship makes them happy (rewards) and
the happy feelings are greater than what it cost to actually be in the relationship,
then they will stay put. However if the cost of being in the relationship is greater
than the reward or happiness they feel they get from it, then they will look for
other options that make them feel better and they will leave the relationship. CL,
which is the comparison level, is how they gauge the outcome of what they will
decide. Sometimes there is also an alternative CL involved with decision-making.
This comes into play with abusive relationships. Even when someone is in a high
cost and low reward relationship they will tend to stay because they feel anything
would be better than nothingso they have to be able to see that there are other
better options if they leave a bad relationship via a comparison level alternative
(CLalt).
Entry 9/10: Enough Movie with ending song. (Jennifer Lopez)
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jenniferlopez/alive.html

This movie is a perfect example of the Social Exchange Theory including the CLalt!
Slim finds herself in a very abusive relationship. When it first begins everything
seems great and the costs of being the relationship are minimal with outstanding
rewards! Her
husband whoos her
and gets her a
beautiful home and
she get pregnant
and everything is
perfect. Then
she discovers he
cheats often and
he becomes abusive.
For a while she
remains in the
relationship
because she doesnt
think there are any
better options for her
and her child other
than to stay. She is
too afraid to go until
finally her friends help
convince her its time
to get out. Because
she gets this help
(CLalt) and she sees
that she actually
might be better off
free from him and
safe with her kid
then she finally
leaves. The song lyrics are the part of the movie at the end. She was lucky to
have made it out Alive with the help of her friends.

6/ RELATIONAL DIALECTICS
Leslie Baxter & Barbara Montgomery
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory was great to review and learn about the normalcy of tensions that
can occur with being in a relationship! We all have our individual selves but yet
desire to be connected with others as well. So, in romantic relationships this
absolutely makes more sense now. There are moments when and individual needs
just thatautonomy. And then there are moments when a person just needs and
wants to feel connected with another.
Entry 11:

Personal Experience

I can attest to the proof of this theory having lived out my most recent romantic
relationship and break up. There were times when I absolutely loved being with
him and then there were times when I missed just being on my own and doing
things my way. Ive been on my own for years so I see its natural now to have a
desire for both sides of this coin. I believe its healthy to have both. As much as
you want to connect with someone, you also need time to just work on and have
time with yourself as an individual. Time to reflect, think, and grow. I believe that
is healthy and keeps a good relationship going because you always have even

more to offer after having had some time to refresh yourself. The break up showed
me this even more so. I spent almost every weekend with this person, and now I
have time to just do things on my own that make me happy. I miss this person, but
I also see that its good to have time apart. Next time I will have a better grasp of
dealing with this balance.

7/ CONSTRUCTIVISM
Jesse Dalia
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory was a bit difficult for me to grasp for some reasonbut I gather from
what I read about the person-centered messages that each of us has a certain
level of cognitive reasoning that allows us to judge and respond to
people/situations accordingly. Some people are better able to asses what is
happening in a certain situation and can come up with better responses to handle
the said situations than maybe others would with less cognitive comprehension.
Entry 12:

Text page 104 example

I really valued this example of Laura that was told in our text. She was able to
recollect personal experience and also pair that with her cognitive level of thought
processing in order to give a very sound response to her boss that was that was
giving unwelcome advances towards her. I like that in those short moments of her
reasoning how to reply to himshe was able to salvage her job and save face for
both she and her boss in the way that she responded to his unwelcome advances.
I agree with the author that most people would be bothered by her response and
would probably have told the man where to go, but she was able to stay calm
and keep rationality over emotion to give a wise and healthy response in the given
situation.

8/ UNCERTAINTY REDUCTION THEORY

Charles Berger
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory deals with axioms and theorems about how people deal with each
other when getting to know each other. Upon meeting a new person, you
generally dont go up to them and ask personal questions (axiom 6) because that
would be inappropriate. If the person knew you already it would not be as bad, but
when they dont know you at all and you ask deep questions, then they will just be
creeped out by you. Axioms 5, 7, and 8 deal with reciprocity, liking, and shared
networks; this is relevant in the fact that if you are comfortable with someone it
will produce high levels of reciprocity in communicating with each other; if you like
the person you will be also be more receptive and not as uncertain or closed off
toward them; and lastly if you have shared networks, there is more trust to be
applied because you share a commonality on which to communicate. If none of
these axioms are present in a good way then the opposite applies; you will have

less certainty about the person you are getting to know and will not be as
receptive.
Entry 13:

Scene of Hitch and Sarah from the movie Hitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnxojUcLBoU

This was a great scene showing both aspects of this theory. At first another man
approaches Sarah with some really goofy pick up lines at this bar. Because of the
way he does this, she does not reciprocate, does not necessarily like, and has a
heightened sense of uncertainty. Next comes Hitch who approaches her in a much
more appropriate, mysterious, and congenial manner. Because of how he does this
he catches her attention in a more positive way and she lowers her sense of
uncertainty and begins to respond with more certainty and reciprocation.

9/ SOCIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY

Joseph Walther
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory is based on computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is textbased messages that filter out most nonverbal cues. This theory basically states
that people can still achieve high levels of intimacy and getting to know one
another through self-disclosure just as well through computer communication as
they would be able to in a face to face speaking situation.
Entry 14:

Personal Experience

I believe this is true. Self-disclosure can sometimes become hyperpsersonal

though as the text suggests on page 143. Because the communication is all
written and you have more time to think of responses to messages, it does make it
easier to self-disclose more than people normally do when meeting face to face.
The pace seems to go quicker which makes you wonder how legitimate this way of
communicating is. On the other hand, depending on perspective, sometimes this
way of communicating is easier for people and becoming close quickly may not be
such a bad thing. I have done online dating/meeting people and it is most
definitely a different dynamic from just meeting someone in person. Its almost a
backwards process. When you meet in person, you usually take more time to self-

disclose. When you meet online you have the freedom to think and really create
your messages with less boundaries because there is no one actually in your face.
So it can feel like a backwards process of communicating in that you become close
quickly but then meet and feel like youre not sure if you really do know each other
because the physical presence is different than what you have built up in your
mind. Whereas if you meet in person, it seems to build slowly and then grows into
something bigger at a general pace of communication.

10/ SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

Muzafer Sherif
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory has a lot of facets to it in my opinion. There are latitudes of

acceptance, rejection, and non-commitment, which are a base measurement as to
how an individual will receive or reject or not care about ideas/topics that are
presented to them. Each of us has an anchor that we make these judgments or
determinations from. In other words, our personal experiences help determine
which latitude we will choose. In addition to personal experiences we also have
filters that can make us lean closer toward or further from our anchor point. These
filters include ego-involvement, assimilation, contrast, and the boomerang effect.
If someone is ego involved, they are usually extremely passionate about an issue
so much so that join groups to show their judgments on the topic. When people
are in contrast to a topic they are judging the message as being further from their
anchor point than it actually is. The opposite is true with assimilation; people are
judging the message as being closer to their anchor point than it actually is. When
boomerang effect occurs, someone is so fed up with the extreme verbiage or focus
of a message that it pushes him or her even further away from the message rather
than persuade his or her acceptance of the message.
Entry 15:

Personal Experience

I had to purchase a car and was a first time buyer. Instead of feeling persuaded by
the sales pitch I was pushed further away from wanting to buy a car which resulted
in a boomerang effect for the salesman who was trying to persuade me.

11/ ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

Richard Petty & John Cacioppo
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory focuses on how messages are presented via a central route or a
peripheral route. If the message is central is more detailed and allows time for
longer thought process when making a decision or taking in the message. If the
message is peripheral it is like a mental shortcut to cause persuasion so someone
will have an impulse or quick reaction to the message when making decision or
taking it in.

Entry 16:

Sales Ad (Peripheral Route)

Entry 17:

Peripheral Route Personal Experience

When I have gone to home make-up / skincare parties like Mary Kay products or
Arbonne products, I almost always end up making impulse buys in the excitement
of the moment because these one of a kind products are only on super discount
the day of the party and cant be bought anywhere else or in a regular store! If I
thought about it realistically, Im sure I could find valid options that were just as
good or better and not as expensive.

Entry 18:

Article from CNN health. (Central more elaborated route)

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/31/study-eat-7-servings-of-fruit-veggies-daily/

12/ FUNCTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Randy Hirokawa & Dennis Gouran
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory is generally used for decision-making and problem-solving groups. It is

based on four functions: Problem Analysis, Goal Setting, Identification of
Alternatives, and evaluation of positives & negatives. It also uses FOICS (Function
Oriented Interaction Coding System). This system helps determine by verbal
utterances whether someone will be a promotive, disruptive, or counteractive
influence for a group.
Entry 19:

Article on a study of eight firms in the microcomputer industry.

http://amj.aom.org/content/31/4/737.short

13 /CULTURAL APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONS

Clifford Geertz & Michael Pacanowsky
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory talks about how organizations do not have a culture, they are a
culture. The theorists use ethnography (observation) to interpret stories, rites, and
other symbolism to make sense of corporate culture. I can see where this has
been evident in a few different places where I have worked. Ethnographers use
thick description, very detailed observation to explain what an organizations
culture really is. Symbolic interpretive stories are a tool used to explain the culture
as well as metaphors and rituals (rites of passage).
Entry 20:

Industrial Piping, Inc. (Current workplace)

This company is a culture of people who value and promote quality, safety, and
great service regarding the works of mechanical processes. Basically they create,
design, and build all sorts of containers, piping, etc. for huge warehouses and
manufacturing companies. If they were to tell you a symbolic story it would be a
thick description of a particular job they designed and built (i.e building a
production line that helps weave rugs together or helping produce mechanical
production lines for the Ralph Lauren Clothing Company.) In particular I have
witnessed the ritual culture here at this company with trying to format a few forms
differently. Change is hard for them and does not come about easily! I was told,
You cant change something that has been done the same way for 50 years! I
believe in time a manager could be an agent of change here but it would be at a
slow moving pace.

14/ CRITICAL THEORY APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONS

Stanley Deetz
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory was really eye opening and interesting to me. Its not something Ive
ever really thought about but yet its extremely relevant to everyday life!
Corporations really do have a lot to do with how our reality is shaped and the way
we think about certain topics. We often just believe whatever we are told without
even realizing it. Media is definitely a tool used by corporations to feed society
suggestions and ideas on how to contemplate things in life. Upon viewing the
example of the movie scene from Erin Brockovich, I was able to better grasp the
meaning of managerialism and the unwitting allegiance to covert control. This led
me to my example of the Enron Scandal.

Entry 21:

The Enron Scandalsummarized in an article.

http://finance.laws.com/enron-scandal-summary

An ENRON Scandal Summary

The ENRON Scandal is considered to be one of the most notorious within American history; an ENRON scandal
summary of events is considered by many historians and economists alike to have been an unofficial blueprint for
a case study on White Collar Crime White Collar Crime is defined as non-violent, financially-based criminal
activity typically undertaken within a setting in which its participants retain advanced education with regard to
employment that is considered to be prestigious. The following took place in the midst of the ENRON Scandal:

ENRON Scandal Summary: The Deregulation of ENRON

While the term regulation within a commercial and corporate setting typically applied to the governments ability to
regulate and authorize commercial activity and behavior with regard to individual businesses, the ENRON
executives applied for and were subsequently granted government deregulation. As a result of this declaration
of deregulation, ENRON executives were permitted to maintain agency over the earnings reports that were
released to investors and employees alike.
This agency allowed for ENRONs earning reports to be extremely skewed in nature losses were not illustrated
in their entirety, prompting more and more investments on the part of investors wishing to partake in what seemed
like a profitable company
ENRON Scandal Summary: Misrepresentation
By misrepresenting earnings reports while continuing to enjoy the revenue provided by the investors not privy to
the true financial condition of ENRON, the executives of ENRON embezzled funds funneling in from investments
while reporting fraudulent earnings to those investors; this not only proliferated more investments from current
stockholders, but also attracted new investors desiring the enjoy the apparent financial gains enjoyed by the
ENRON corporation.
ENRON Scandal Summary: Fraudulent Energy Crisis
In the year 2000, subsequent to the discovery of the crimes listed in the above ENRON Scandal Summary,
ENRON had announced that there was a critical circumstance within California with regard to the supply of
Natural Gas. Due to the fact the ENRON was a then-widely respected corporation, the general populace were not
wary about the validity of these statements.
However, upon retroactive review, many historians and economists suspect that the ENRON executives
manufactured this crisis in preparation of the discovery of the fraud they had committed although the executives
of ENRON were enjoying the funds rendered from investments, the corporation itself was approaching
bankruptcy.
ENRON Scandal Summary: Embezzlement
An ENRON Scandal Summary of the acts of Embezzlement undertaken by ENRON Executives may be defined
as the criminal activity involving the unlawful and unethical attainment of monies and funding by employees;
typically, funds that are embezzled are intended for company use in lieu of personal use. While the ENRON
executives were pocketing the investment funds from unsuspecting investors, those funds were being stolen from
the company, which resulted in the bankruptcy of the company.
ENRON Scandal Summary: Losses and Consequences
Due to the actions of the ENRON executives, the ENRON Company went bankrupt. The loss sustained by
investors exceeded $70 billion. Furthermore, these actions cost both trustees and employees upwards of $2
billion; this total is considered to be a result of misappropriated investments, pension funds, stock options, and
savings plans as a result of the government regulation and the limited liability status of the ENRON Corporation,
only a small amount of the money lost was ever returned.

15/ NARRATIVE PARADIGM

Walter Fisher
~ HUMANISTIC ~

I really enjoyed learning about this theory; probably because I love stories and
storytelling. I do often use these tools, coherence and fidelity to judge my social
reality, as I believe most people do. I liked hearing the examples of your daughter
as well and how you could tell she was fibbing by the fact that the characters in
the story did not behave in a reliable manner. I think Walter Fisher was really in
tune with how we tend to communicate through narrative paradigms and shifting

paradigms from a rational world to a narrative one. This is probably why movies,
songs, tales, etc. are so engaging to us in general. It helps to make sense of things
or decide if its just BS.
Entry 22:

Song Lyrics by Francesca Battistelli (Christian Music Artist)

Entry 23:

Using My Testimony As a Christian

I have had many opportunities to share my personal story with how I decided to
believe in Jesus Christ and give my heart to him. Paradigm Shift is so relevant to
this context when I share! Of course some people believe in this type of faith and
others do not. So I can see where a person listening to me is definitely going to
use their experience, perspectives, and values to decide whether or not my story
rings true or has fidelity. Then they can shift the information I have given them
from a rational to a narrative thought process in which to decide if they will choose
to believe this faith or not.

16/ CULTIVATION THEORY

George Gerbner
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

In a nutshell this theory claims that t.v. cultivates or promotes a view of social
reality that is inaccurate, but that viewers assume reflects real life. Synthetic
reality of t.v. shapes heavy viewers attitudes and beliefs about the real world.
Some specific examples of this type of shaping are: Resonance the extent to
which something is congruent with personal experience and Mean World Syndrome
belief that the world is a dangerous place, full of selfish mean people who cannot
be trusted and who are likely to harm us.
Entry 24:

My resonance from t.v. or movies.

Anytime I have watched a movie or t.v. show having to do with children that have
issues with their parents, especially unknown parents, I definitely deal with
resonance. I cant think of a specific movie at the moment but I know that when I
watch such a scene or scenario, my emotions get triggered from my personal
experience of having not met my biological mother until I was in 6th grade! I never
knew her and always wondered about her. When I did finally meet her, I almost
wished that I just would have never know her. So when movies or shows portray
emotional scenes with people struggling with these types of issues I cry and I
remember and I am affected.
Entry 25:

Romanticism (Similar to Mean World Syndrome)

I completely understand the example of Mean World Syndrome but more so see it
in view of romanticism in movies! Instead of believing in the world being a
dangerous place, people tend to believe that every romance is a fairy tale, which is
not the case! Shows and movies portray love stories as being so full of passion
and perfect moments with less problems that reality is definitely skewed when it
comes to thinking about relationships. People end up thinking that if their
relationship is not a fairy tale like story then its not validthis of course is NOT
reality and untrue. There are many great relationships that face struggles and
come out strong because of them. I believe the greater reality is that people figure
out the greatest romances dont have to be fairy tales; they just need to be true
stories of persons who struggle through challenges and end up deeper in love and
more connected than any character in a fairy tale romance!

VS.

17/ SPIRAL OF SILENCE

Elizabeth Noelle- Nuemann
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory is definitely applicable to many social situations. People dont want to
be isolated or go against public opinion. In situations where an individual might
have a different opinion that goes against the majority they tend to remain silent
rather than have people ostracize them because they believe differently on a
subject. Media contributes to SOS because it is repetitious of a single point of view

regarding a subject and everyone wants to be accepted so they end up staying

quiet if they have a difference of opinion. They do not want to be standing out like
sore thumb.
Entry 26:

Personal Experience

When Obama ran for president I definitely found myself in instances where I did
succumb to the Spiral of Silence, especially if people who really wanted to vote for
him surrounded me. Usually I feel pretty good about speaking up and if someone
had asked my opinion I probably would have said something but otherwiseit was
just best to keep quiet most of the time. Im sure because of my silence that
people just thought I agreed even though I really did not.

18/ AGENDA SETTING THEORY

Maxwell McCombs & Donald Shaw
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

Media tells us what to think about and how to think about it. Items move from the
news to the public agenda where they end up being the central focus of everything
media oriented. Basically media dictates what the public should be talking about.
Entry 27: Casey Anthony Trial (Young woman believed to have murdered her 2year-old
child) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/crime-lawjustice/crime/caseyanthony-PECLB004341.topic.
This story was all you would hear about or see on t.v. for months. Other people
have done horrendous crimes too but in the heat of the moment its the only thing
that the media focuses on and therefore we the public do as well. You can tell by
the article dates & pictures below it was definitely placed on the public agenda via
media.

19/ FACE NEGOTIATION THEORY

Stella Ting-Toomey
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory makes sense and shows the differences of how a collectivist culture
handles conflict and thinks about it as opposed to how an individualistic culture
handles conflict and thinks about it.
Entry 28: 300 Rise of An Empire Movie Scene This is a link to an actress
describing
the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70LujOefKLs
There is a scene in the movie where a war general named Themistocles wants to
collectively join Greece to fight the Persian Empire who had just killed 300 of
Spartas finest warriors. The Queen of Sparta is very much of an individualistic
cultural mindset that anything done from Sparta will ONLY be FOR and about
Sparta no matter what. Eventually she changes her mind almost at the end of the
movie, but I see this theory in action between the two cultural views even though
they are both from Greece and it is not an Asian collective culture versus an
Individualistic American culture.

20/ SPEECH CODES

Gerry Philipsen
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theorist explores the different types of vernacular and speech codes
throughout the English language. He studies a community outside of Chicago, IL
which he calls Teamsterville. He also studies a community near Santa Barbara,
CA which he calls Nacirema. There are a list of propositions related to this theory
that help exlain the differences and effects of speech codes in different
communities. In studying the online lesson I found the code switching clip to be
very helpful.
Entry 29:

Personal Experience

Upon moving from the West Coast to the East Coast here in Charlotte, I definitely
had some culture shock in a few different ways, but one of those ways was with
speech codes! The way Ebonics and Southern English are used on the East Coast if
very different from the speech codes used on the West Coast. There are definitely
different euphemisms and colloquialisms between the two! The most blatantly
obvious one is the Southern English Yall wanna do something? and the West
Coast English, Would all of you like to do something? Makes me giggle.

21/ MUTED GROUP THEORY

Cheris Kramarae
~ HUMANISTIC ~

This theory uses explanations of masculine bias, different experiences, and social
construction to show the power differential between men and women in language
uses. Men typically are the ones to name thought processes or how things are
thought of and sometimes women dont know how to talk about something in the
same way because of this. It is called muted group theory because this type of
perspective with the bias of men tends to mute womens voices.
Entry 30:

Clip from t.v. show Mad Men, this illustrates the facets of masculine
bias, different experiences and social construction very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCs7IXonOIA

This is based on a 1960s advertising agency and its environment / relationships.

22/ STANDPOINT THEORY

Sandra Harding & Julia Wood
~ DETERMINISTIC ~

This theory talks about how people view the world depending on their standpoint
(where they were raised, how they were brought up, their own personal
experiences, whether they are high class or lower class individuals). The theorists
believe that females have the best worldview perspective because they see things
and situations from the bottom upwards. Whereas, richer, higher class people,
especially males may not have as clear of a view from their own perspective which
is top looking downwards. Their views tend to be a bit more distorted as they are
not exposed to the same experiences as lower class persons are.
Entry 31:

Scene from the movie Crash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QXyyj1RiCE

This scene shows two black males and one complaining about their treatment from
a black female waitress because of the way they think she possibly views them.
The higher-class couple later in the scene walking toward them brings up another
perspective of how the white higher-class female tends to stiffen up upon viewing
them and this is probably because of her worldview and stereotype of how lower
class black men are.