The Process of Communication

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

11:20 AM

Why?
Comm keeps you alive, wouldnt be live without communication
It impacts everything, everything you do sends some kind of a message even if
you do nothing it sends a message
Doing it well is a skill - you have to know how to communicate
Employers value it- employees with excellent comm skills
Human Communication- the process of managing messages for the purpose of
creating shared meaning
A transaction:
At least btw 2 ppl
Simultaneously sending and receiving messages
To and from one another
The message:
Verbal or nonverbal; intentional or unintentional
Usually a blend
Channeling/ channels:
The medium through which we try to interact or how the message is sent
Different degrees of communication through technology send a different
message
Interference: (noise)
Prevents message from being received or prevents intended meaning from
being understood

Not listening anymore from a distraction - technical interference

When we have trouble understanding one another because of the way
they talk- semantic interference
Other factors:
Listening
Feedback
Time
The Model of Human Communication
Communication Contexts:
At what level do you study Comm?

Intrapersonal Comm: Comm we engage in within ourselves

-positive self-talk; what you tell yourself
Interpersonal Comm: Comm with one another (dyadic)
-relationship development and its risks/ factors
Interviewing: focused on Q&A format
-very formal / sensitive
Small group comm: 3 or more members of a group influencing one
another
-trying to achieve some common goal
-group dynamics
Public comm: one person doing the majority of the sending and everyone
else doing the receiving
-face to face but at a distance
Organizational Comm: work setting

-formality and policies, designed to factor in the roles of large #s of

people
-comm in a company determines success or failure
Health comm: medical field, critical point of interaction
-doctor needs to perceive messages to patients in a way to make
them comfortable
Mass comm: messages on a large scale
-television, rafio, movies, social media
Elements of effective Comm:
Understanding
Pleasure
Attitude influence
Improved relationships
Action

Studying Communication As A Science

Wednesday, September 9, 2015
11:00 AM

The field of comm:

Humanistic approaches:
Rhetoric - in order to persuade others
Interpretivists - specific unique event and how ppl communicate about it
Critical Scholars - power presence in a specific group of people, who is "in
charge" who is not and why? What's wrong here?

Social Scientific Approaches

Qualitative
"quality"
Employs rigorous observational rules
Work "in the field"
Collect data that are rich in detail and description
In-depth reviews, ethnography, participant-observation
Quantitative
Seeks to uncover patterns in comm behaviors vis numbers
If we get enough evidence from a big # of ppl
Employ advanced statistical techniques and rigid testing to support/
reject hypothesis
Can work "in the field" or in the lab
The scientific Method:
Ask a question or state a problem
Formulate a hypothesis or research question
Think through and refine the hypo or research question
Design and conduct the observation, measurement, or experiment
Analyze and interpret the data

Empirical
Objective - minimize personal biases and follow a set of rules
Logical- sensible judgment
Public- results are publicized

Content Analysis
Systematic analysis of the content of communication messages
Purposes:
Describe frequency of a behavior
Compares behavior types/ rates across different contexts
Coders watch the behavior and code what is happening in that situation
Issues:
Requires a representative sample
Needs clear, specific definitions of behaviors
Requires coding
Limited to studying what is already occurring
Survey
Examines what people do
Relies on self-reports- can be skewed/ people lie
Examines relationships between variables
Examples:
Relationship Questionnaires
Attitude Surveys
Media Habits Research
Issues:
Need representative sample
Questions must be of high-quality

Limitations:
No control over variables
Cannot make casual conclusions: can only see relationship
Self-reports
Experiment
Manipulation of variables
Ex) one group gets treatment and the other does not
Control of other variables/ setting
Measures effect/ outcome of manipulation
Issues:
Goal: drawing casual conclusions
Requires random assignment to conditions
Limitations:
Hard to generalize results from lab environment
Artificial setting
Limited subject population
Requires strong procedure to prevent issues
Reliability- In order to us to measure something scientifically, it needs to be
consistent, results need to be consistent
Validity - accuracy, getting to the truth/ correct answer can be consistent but
wrong and we want to be both consistent and correct

Perception
Monday, September 14, 2015
11:22 AM

Perception is not always accurate- can miss details and focus on certain things
Senses play a part and we usually think they are right and they aren't always
Perception: Interpreting the sensory experience of the world
Selective Attention: the ability to register what our senses are picking up on are
limited; ability to filter senses
*why texting and driving is dangerous
Filters:
Perceptual filters: physical/physiological Limits
Psychological sets: Expectations that shape experiences; make sensitive to
certain situations based on background experiences
Perception is active:
1 Select- what catches attention, repetition
2 Organize - what our brain tells us is happening
3 Interpret - put meaning to it
We attempt to simplify complex information
Biases and limitations often lead to errors
Attribution
The process of assigning meaning to others' behavior
The act of asking WHY?
Bias
Self Attribution tends to differ from other attribution
We act a certain way because of "the situation"
Others act a certain way because of "who they are"
Attributions differ by focus on different information
Sometimes we focus on the individual
Sometimes we focus on the context or circumstances
Kinds of Bias
Dispositional Other
Overuse of personality reasons (dispositions) with others
"Joe failed because he is lazy and foolish"
Self-serving bias
Overuse of situational attributions with self
"I failed because this test was badly worded"
Impression Formation
Impression of Self
Self-concept
Looking glass self- we tend to see ourselves the way others see us
Self-expansion model
Social comparison
Self-esteem

Feedback
Self-fulfilling prophecy - whether you think you can or cannot do
something and believe that, you are right-- it will affect your behavior and
guarantee your prediction
Impressions of others
First impressions
The Primacy Effect- how we look at a person based on first
impression
Physical Attractiveness
Nature vs. Nurture
Expressiveness
Charisma - magnetic personality; a quality of making people want to
interact with them
Stereotyping
A generalization about a class of people, objects, or events that is widely held
by a given culture
A "normal" thing to do even though it can be bad> can carry negative effects;
takes away the individual and focuses on the group
Social Roles - how do we act differently
Work
Student
Gender-linked
Marital
Accuracy of Perceptions
Context - how people act in certain situations
Interpersonal Sensitivity - how to read people
Perceiver Self-Confidence - how well you think you are at judging
Intelligence - allows us make better conclusions about other people, but can
overthink
Dispositional Intelligence - "therapist" connect personality to behavior,
understand them better
Flexible Expectations - different contexts
Awareness of Limitations - being aware that you are not perfect at this

Verbal Communication
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
11:15 AM

Verbal communication:
a system of symbols and codes used to construct and convey messages
Symbol- arbitrary, give meaning
Referent- connects to the symbol
Connecting words to an object to understand
"Freedom" - referent is loose
Semantic Triangle
SYMBOL>> symbolizes a>> THOUGHT
THOUGHT>> refers to a>> REFERENT

SYMBOL>> is created to represent a>> REFERENT

Denotative meaning- the dictionary meaning
Connotative meaning- what we personally assign a meaning to words; personal
interpretation/ connection
Cocky

Confident

Nitpick
y

Meticulous

Pushy

Assertive

Stingy

Economica
l

Cheap

Inexpensiv
e

These mean mostly the same thing but connotation is different

Private Meaning- own personal meaning to a symbol
Shared meaning- between two people or group, cultural
Code switching- changing on a dime for an audience, how you speak to/around
certain people
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis- language shapes how we see the world,
Strong determinism- should think about the language we use because it
specifically determines or thoughts
Weak determinism- how we view the world is not solely dependent on
language, but language has input
-language triggers memory/ shapes memory
Language Issues
Abstract/ Vague Language - not specifying term
Inferences - we take information and draw conclusions, predict, "he said this,
so it means that," reading into it
Dichotomies - it's one or the other, opposing words, lacks range, no full
understanding
Equivocal Language - we use words that have multiple meanings
Euphemisms - (George Carlin) replacing words with other words to adjust
communication, make it easier
Shell shock to PTSD>>> maybe those Vietnam vets would've got the
treatment they needed
Words have power
Sexism and language
Males are represented by fewer words than females in English language
But males are connected to more positive words than women
Power and language
We want to be perceived as having power
You say "I think" when you know when there is a person with more authority in
the room - hedges
Dont disclaim things- we seem more confident and attractive
Metacommunication

Communication about communication - trying to explain communication,

makes us more aware of communication
Might help to talk about this

Listening
Monday, September 21, 2015
11:20 AM

A process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or

nonverbal messages
Listening VS. Hearing
Hearing is physiological (detect sounds) and listening is a psychological
process (make meaning)
Listening matters but it is difficult >> it's more fun to talk than it is to listen
Listening helps people be successful
Components of listening:
Hearing - physical
Understanding - wrap you head around it
Remembering - we need to lock in what the person says
Interpreting - what do they mean by this?
Evaluating - what do I do
Responding - respond
It is easy to skip out on one of these things, can happen in a second
Barriers to listening
Physical/ physiological - noises, pain, preoccupied by something bothering you,
woman in labor, fatigue/exhaustion, when your tired, actual hearing issues

Psychological - boredom makes learning drop, emotions, preoccupied

psychologically
Conflicting objectives - you want more/ something different out of a
conversation, when something doesn't apply to you and now you have to act
like you care about the conversation
Poor listening - eye contact, interrupting, not responding to requests,
Improving listening skill
Listening effectively, what are we listening for >> pleasure? Obligation?
Find the main points in any discussion, try to repeat back what they say, big
ideas
Use spare time in conversations to think about relationship in conversations>>
metacommunication with yourself
Aerobic
Concentrate - focus
Acknowledge - notice who you're talking to
Respect - give it to get it
Empathize - where are they coming from?i

Nonverbal Communication
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
11:18 AM

Nonverbal communication
The use of objects, actions, sounds, time, and space to convey meaning.
65% of meaning comes from nonverbal comm

When in doubt we focus on nonverbal >> like when trying to see if someone is
lying
Spontaneous
Tie into emotion (will talk about that next week)
When verbals and nonverbals dont match we tend to believe the nonverbals
Two types of nonverbal comm
Vocal:
Tone, sounds people make
Nonvocal:
Facial expressions, movement, gestures, eye contact
Nonverbal >>>>>>>>>>>>> Verbal
Compliments
Regulates
Substitutes for
Contradicts
Illustrates
Methods of nonverbal
Paralanguage
It's not what you say, it's how you say it; how the English language only
says so much without emphasis
Objectics
Personal appearance; object to signal something; use objects to signal
certain things about how we feel about it and to send certain messages
Proxemics

Proximity; use of space, distance or territory to convey some type of

message; fluid- personal space depends on atmosphere;
uncomfortable/unsettling when territory is breached
>> Public: 12' or more; Social: 4'-12'; Personal: 18"-4'; Intimate: 0-18"
How we behave differently from space to space^
Orientation
What you say with how you position your body with someone
Haptics
Touch comm; physical contact made to show emotion, to control, sexual,
playful, accidental, instrumental- to show people how to do things;
indicator of dominance; sex differences: men are more likely to think that
there is more meaning to touch than women think
Kinesics
General movement, gestures, facial expressions to signal;
Face>>can be intentional and unintentional facial expressions; can be
culturally different
Body movement and gesture>> posture, etc.
People can think differently on certain reactions; one person may think
someone is mad when they aren't
Makes it complicated
Body language:
Emblems- gesture that substitute for words
Illustrator- helps show a word
Regulators- help pace conversation, little motions to signify
conversation
Adaptors- anxiety in conversations/ nervous energy; fiddle
subconsciously; helps adapt to the situation and expel the nervous
energy

Affect displays- show emotion to show how your feeling during

interaction
Oculesics
Where we look when we talk; eye contact
Chronemics
Use of time in comm; being late and early; signal on different things based
on context; factors into key decisions; how long after you get someone's
number that you text them?
Language using time to communicate
Varies in culture
Monochronic
Tend to focus on one thing at a time, and interruptions are
bad/rude, and time commitment is serious
Polychronic
Constant juggle, interruptions are nbd, people are more
important than time sensitive commitments, drifting into our
culture now as technology moves on

The Communication of Emotion

Monday, September 28, 2015
10:59 AM

Most scientific set of material we cover

Verbal VS. Nonverbal
Was split into two different fields
Emotion
Celebration of the Superbowl
People cheering > spontaneous reaction, not mediated
Emotional communication
Minute signals of affect, attention, approach/avoidance, dominance submission
Help shape social order
Must be studied by studying the individual within the social system

Signs from others emotions, not a symbol, but behavior that is directly related
to the referent
>> dogs growling
Natural reaction of emotion, evolutionary based, communication- when we see
these emotions, we react the same
>> fear in haunted house
Spontaneous communication
Based upon a biologically-shared signal system
Nonvoluntary
Involves signs, not symbols
Nonpropositional (never false)
Might right-brained: focused on emotion and vision
Symbolic Communication
Juxtaposition here
Communicate on a higher level to share our thoughts, but not immediate
emotion
Socially-shared system
Voluntary
Involves symbols(arbitrary)
Propositional (can be false)
Mainly left-brained
Includes some nonverbal behavior**
Spontaneous vs. Symbolic
Three different types of emotion:
Bodily Adaptation and Maintenance of Homeostasis
Fight or flight responses and needs for survival:
food/water/oxygen/reproduction
Natural reaction
The External Expression of Motivational/ emotional states
Useful for social coordination, sexual reproduction, dominance/submission
Used to communicate, can have control over this
The Subjective Experience of Motivational/Emotional States
Useful of self-regulation, reflection, learning
A monitoring system for humans
"heaviest"
We think about how we feel, engage in dialog of it
Primary affects
Happy, sad, fear, anger, surprise, disgust
Bodily process
Nonverbal sending accuracy
How easy is it for others to read you
Nonverbal receiving ability
How easy it is for you to read other people
If you're "poker-faced," your physical body takes a toll
Maybe blood pressure spikes
Pseudospontaneous communication
A friend detects something is wrong, picking up on the tiniest of things
"something is off"
Deception of other of self

Lying to help others and to help self

Lie to cope and to not hurt others
Deceive our own selves
Repression, rationalizing
Emotional Education
Appropriate communication to deal with emotions
>> toddlers learn not to throw temper tantrums
Developmental interactionist theory (Buck, 1984)
Simple creatures:
New situations
Infants
Complex creatures:
"familiar" situations
Adults