COM1101 Exam 1

Reflected appraisal

How we think others perceive to the messages we send. What we think others think of us

Social comparison

How we think we compare to others. Media provides many parts of comparison, but so do people we meet face-to-face. How might social media be used for social comparison?

Assimilation effect

Ignoring small differences between messages and our self-concept

Be able to give examples of highly individualistic and collectivist cultures.

Individualistic -- America, Canada, Australia; Collectivist-- China, Russia, Japan, Brazil

Explain the idea that "culture is the stuff everybody takes for granted"

Information that you assume everybody knows.Information that you hear many times in many places. Visitors to a culture may be especially aware of natives take for granted.

Cognitive cultural intelligence

Knowledge of norms, practices and conventions in different cultures

According to the textbook and the lecture on communication models, where can we find meanings?

Meanings are not in the message but rather the person. Body language... How we choose to interpret in the decoding stage.

Self-serving bias

Means that when we perform poorly, we usually blame external forces-- and when we perform well, we credit ourselves rather than the situation.

Decoding

"receiving" -- the act of assigning meaning to a message -- who is the audience? Meanings are in/among people, not messages. Messages in influence meaning, but do not fully control them

How much information does the average American consume from media each day?

34 gigs and 100,500 words per day

Content vs. relational dimension of a message

Content: The information that is being said. Relational: How the relationship between the sender and receiver affects how the message is said or communicated

Ambient communication

Culture is the stuff that we take for granted.... Assume everyone knows or information you hear everywhere. Impact on: What you can do with communication. How you are evaluated as a communicator, Level of social coordination, Culture is the toolkit for creating shared meanings

Low context cultures

Cultures in which what is said is more important than how it is said

Encoding

the source. Where the message came from

Out group

those we view as different

Out group

those we view as different; a group that we're not a part of

Face

to describe the socially approved identity

Facework

to describe the verbal & nonverbal ways in which we act to maintain our own presenting image and the image of others.

Transactive memory

Memory constructed with others help. Often constructed & reconstructed memories through conversation. Other people become our 'external storage' 3 aspects --- Transactive encoding, Transactive retrieval, Co-construction

Metacognitive cultural intelligence

Mental processes such as planning and monitoring

Co-constructed memory

No one has all the pieces, instead a joint memory is 're-assembled' through conversation.

We have many self-concepts. Are they all equally important?

Not all self-concepts are equally important. Some self-concepts change overtime or are completely discarded from our "list", while others are central to our identity

Selective perception

Organizing & interpreting perceptions. Once you orient to something you have to make sense of it. Example: Selling something at a higher price so everything else seems cheaper

What are three principles guiding what we pay attention to?

Potential Danger/threat, Things that are comforting or encouraging that line up with our beliefs, Vividness or novelty

How do self-concepts influence our choice of friends, people to associate with?

Reinforcement Principle-- We prefer to associate with people who will accept us-- that is, who will reinforce our existing self-concepts.

What is the reinforcement principle? How does it affect the way we process messages?

Reinforcement Principle-- We prefer to associate with people who will accept us-- that is, who will reinforce our existing self-concepts.

Social identity theory

Reminds us that surface factors count: We use them to instantly classify in-group and out-group member. Triggers differences in how we feel and interact with them.

Richness vs. Leanness of channels

Rich channels convey a lot of information through nonverbal messages, tone, body language etc. (face to face, phone call, facetime). Lean channels consist of just words, less clear due to lack of nonverbal cues (Texting, email)

Horizontal cultures

Seek to minimize power difference, reduce hierarchy, inequalities not seen as fixed, emphasize equality between people.

Selective exposure

Seeking contact with people who are similar to us-- similar age, ethnicity, economic status, political beliefs, interests, etc.

Transactive retrieval

Thinking about who in a group would most likely to have remembered something

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to give more weight to personal qualities than to the situation when making attributions. EX-- If someone you know makes a hurtful comment, you're likely to chalk it up to flaws in her or his character than to external factors.

Social identity theory

Theory that the cultures and groups we belong to influence how we think and act

How does the reinforcement principle help explain why self-concepts are so hard to change?

We prefer to associate with people who will accept us-- that is, who will reinforce our existing self-concepts.

Reinforcement principle

We prefer to associate with people who will accept us--that is, who will reinforce our existing self-concepts

Collectivism

cultures where helping the group, family, community, or organizations are more important than individual needs. Peoples identity lies in the groups they belong to

Individualism

cultures whose members view their primary responsibility as helping themselves. People shape their own identities and value independence

In group

group with whom we identify

Self-esteem

how our self concept affects the way we think of ourselves. More negative self concepts indicate low self esteem while more positive self concepts show a high self esteem

Disinhibition

lack of restraint when communicating that leads to breaking of social norms or standards, happens more online due to lack of accountability

Self-monitoring

regulating speech and actions to fit with social norms and expectations

Receiver

the audience of the message who assigns meaning to it

Do sources always have to intend to communicate in order for communication to occur?

Communication occurs without knowledge. We can communicate with body language or facial expressions without meaning to.

Halo effect & horns effect

Applying one positive or negative trait of a person to everything about them. (someone is attractive so we think they are a good person/ smart etc.)

According to Dr. Bellinger, what is the most important communication skill?

Being able to anticipate how others will interpret our message

Motivational cultural intelligence

Capability to direct attention & energy toward engaging others cultures

Behavioral cultural intelligence

Capability to exhibit appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors in cross-cultural situations

When somebody says something that challenges how you see yourself, what are four ways you might mentally discount and ultimately reject the message?

Challenge the sources motives, Challenge the sources expertise, Say the circumstances are unusual, Simply ignore or forget

What are two factors that create cultural fragmentation and mixing?

Communication and transportation

Be able to explain this sentence: "Culture is a toolkit for creating shared meanings."

Different cultures provide and create diversity. It is a toolkit because it allows us to learn and understand different cultures. This enables us to gain new perspectives and better understanding of each other.

The five sources of self-concepts & self-esteem

Direct Feedback, Indirect Feedback/ Implicit, Media Images, Social Roles, Social Comparisons

What's the difference between a direct message and an indirect or implicit message?

Direct messaging is what others say directly to you or about you. (EX-- Recognition, award, face-to-face expression). Indirect or implicit messaging is what we imaging others think about us through our own inferences based off of body language or facial expressions of the sender.

Contested memory

Disagreements about memory can happen in couples, group, communities, cultures. -- Contested memory is about tension in both past and present. Examples: Memory of coach Owens is contested. It reflects: Conflicting version of history, Conflicting views of the present situation

Vertical cultures

Emphasize power differences, hierarchy, acceptance of inequalities between individuals and groups, loyalty to one's own group

According to the first lecture, what are the effects of expressing affection (kissing) more often?

Expressing affection increased relationship satisfaction, decreased stress, and decreased cholesterol.

Impression management

Face and Facework

What was Dr. Bellinger's advice for improving communication with someone from another culture?

First, there's standard stuff that we already know.. Understanding your own attitudes and prejudices. Don't use stereotypes. Also helps to...Be curious and have a sense of humor, manage your own anxiety. Actively seek and descriptive feedback. Pay attention to nonverbal expressions.Ask for help - to have something repeated, explained, etc.Try to identify shared goals, focus on what each person is trying to accomplish. Be open to using other channels, sometimes writing may be better than speaking. Focus on the individual, not the culture

Be able to distinguish between selective exposure, selective attention, selective perception, and selective memory.

Selective Exposure-- You choose to expose yourself to some sources and types of information rather than others. Selective Attention-- We obviously can't give equal attention to every piece of information that comes our way. So our attention has to be selective. Selective Perception-- Once you orient to something, you have to make sense of it. Selective Memory-- We forget most of what happens. Most of what we see or do. We usually remember things that stand out. Our memory changes over time due to perception.

Shibboleth

Specifically: A word whose pronunciation identifies its speaker as being a member or not of a particular group. Generally/Metaphorically: Something that identifies an individual as a member of a particular group

Synchronous vs. asynchronous channels

Synchronous: Communication that occurs in real time (face to face, phone call). Asynchronous: Communication that happens at between people in different locations at different times (texting, email, letters)

Primacy effect

Tendency to remember and be affected by the first items presented more than the rest

Self-concept

The 'residue' of all the messages we have received, how we view ourselves based on direct and indirect feedback

"Encoding" (or "sending")

The act of translating (expressing) inner thoughts and feelings into observable behavior. Sources can be individuals, groups, institutions. Not automatic, but we are often not aware of how we do it. You can communicate without knowing it. Humans are "multi coders" -- we are usually sending several messages simultaneously.

Culture

The language, values, beliefs, traditions and customs people share and learn

Channel

The medium through which the message is being sent (face to face, over the phone, written, email)

In class we said that differences between cultures were often difficult to talk about. What is that?

The real differences are difficult to talk about because we don't think about our own culture, it's always background

In class we said that differences between cultures were often difficult to talk about. Why is that?

The real differences are difficult to talk about because we don't think about our own culture, it's always background

Dr. Bellinger said that culture was becoming both less important and more important at the same time. How could that be?

Today cultures and co-cultures mix and influence each other as never before in history. Communication and transportation drive cultural mixing and fragmentation. This makes culture both less important and more important at the same time.

Contrast effect

Treating larger differences as if they are bigger than they actually are. Also, using mental strategies to reject others' messages.

Perception involves a number of highly selective activities. Are we usually aware of these processes as they are occurring?

We are not usually aware as they are occuring. Due to selective attention; we can not give our attention to every single thing that comes our way. We have to make choices and only focus on one thing at once. ---EX. Gorilla Video

How does the fact that so much information is available via computer change the way we go about remembering things? What would Plato say about our use of books and computers to remember things for us?

We automatically think of using the computer when asked a general knowledge question. We are more likely to forget what we're told if it can be found online. Better memory if we're told it's not available online. We make more mistakes recalling information if we have been told it is stored online. Fewer mistakes if not online. We do a better job of remembering where we stored information than what it was.

Be able to recognize examples of how people express different self-concepts, or aspects of themselves, in different situations.

We express different self-concepts when put into different environments. Our expressions and self-concepts around our friends are different from those that are expressed in a classroom or work setting.

Selective memory

We forget most of what happens, and most of what we say and do. But we do so selectively... We tend to think and talk about, memories in term of storage, like a book kept on a library shelf. But memory is not fixed. It is revised by each new experience. So memory of what happened today will change over time

Why do "surface factors" sometimes make a big difference in intercultural communication?

We use them to constantly classify in-group and out-group members and this triggers the way we feel and interact with them. There are larger judgments about us then one can learn from social identity indicators.

WYSIATI

What You See Is All There Is

Message

What is being communicated, what the receiver is responding to. Can be intentional or unintentional, and can sometimes be received differently than the sender intended.

Noise

What might interfere with the message reaching the receiver? Channel or 'external' noise. Internal noise ( distractions inside the source or receiver)

Selective attention

What you dwell on. Principles guiding where we place our attention: Potential danger/threat, Things that are comforting in line with our desires and expectation (Reinforcement Principle), Vividness, novelty ( bright & shiny object affect)

Once we put something into memory, does it ever change?

Yes; due to shifts in perception that we gain overtime. It is also revised by new experiences.

Co-culture

a group that exists within a larger, dominant culture but different from the dominant culture in one or more significant ways ( subculture)

Confirmation bias

a tendency for a person to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions

Feedback

added in the interaction model: any message the receiver makes in response to the sources original message. Links the sender and receiver because the receiver's response becomes a message that is sent to the original sender

High-context cultures

cultures that operate on mostly nonverbal cues, body language is more important than what is said