COMM 1

A good model includes

1.Key elements of comm source, symbol/message,receiver, feedback, channel, noise (distractions/interruptions),context 2.Imp characteristics of comm cognitive processes: encoding, decoding, transmitting take something in your head->message/symbol->make sense on other end transactional qualities: exchange, interdependence, irreversibility(moving forward) ex: being something at the store (exchange) same in comm by symbols are exchanged how everything fits together: but most models limit their focus

experimental research

CAUSATION KEYWORD "makes" taylor swift songs is a cause for people going on more dates have different groups and show them different things seeing reaction to both seeing outcome does this cause this does this lead to this o Need control group and experimental group o CASUAL CLAIMS • Purposes: • Draw casual conclusions • Manipulate casual variable (s)= independent variables • Take variable and do something with it (divide people) • ½ participants shown tweets with powerless language • ½ shown tweets with same content with powerful language style • Control everything else • Measure effect/ outcome= dependent variable • Ex: believability of information (1-7 scale) • Issues to Consider: • Need random assignment • Need good manipulation • Limitations: o Limited participant sample o Artificial setting in order to control environment o Hard to generalize results beyond participants and lab environment • EXAMPLES: • "Taking a public speaking class reduces a person's stage fright." • "Negative ads in election campaigns make people remember more information about candidates than do positive ones." • "Being in a bad mood leads people to avoid conversations with other"

High abstractions

EVASION: to avoid providing specific details ex. daughter telling parents "going out with some friends" EQUIVOCATION: using words that are unclear or misleading to get out of uncomfortable situations ex. about a friends sweater "it's...colorful" EUPHEMISM: inoffensive words or phrases that substitute terms that might be perceived as upsetting ex. "passed on" rather than "died"

Powerful language

Fluent, direct, and doesn't use powerless language. higher ratings; competence, trust worthiness, dynamism, social/economic status, message effectiveness

Challenging/Competitive style

I win/ you lose, not compromise or give in, they will acknowledge the loss IF they lose • Concern is most with self • Tactics: assertiveness, direct aggression, hostility, presumptive attribution(declare in advance an explanation for their behavior, ex: "You are only saying this because you know that it upsets me"), threat, ultimatum(give people a false choice about something "we get married or break up") o Ex: MTV clip, "It is a 3-1 vote so we will go with it, but I hope we loose"

survey research

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GENDER WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THINGS ask people what they think or do (telephone, internet, face to face) survey is asking personal what people think or do many people think that... depends on peoples opinions Finds relationships among variables (correlation) o Cannot make casual conclusions o Ask questions about attitudes/ beliefs/ behaviors • Purposes: • Identify attitudes/ behaviors in a population • Examine relationships between attitudes/behaviors • Issues to Consider: • Need representative sample of participants • Get enough and select randoms • Need good questions • Limitations: • Reliance on self-reports • People can easily lie • People can underestimate/ exaggerate/ not remember/ have trouble estimating • Cannot make casual conclusions • 2 variables may be related • BUT cannot mean that one makes the other a certain way • There could be a third variable • EXAMPLES: • "Most people think that a college education is more important to succeeding in life today than it was 25 years ago." • "People who watch a lot of TV are more afraid of crime than are people who watch only a little TV" • "65% of physicians in this country believe that antibiotics are often prescribed unnecessarily." • "Students perceive communication professors as more wonderful, brilliant, and charming than are other types of professors."

Linear Model (shannon and weaver)

Source→ Message → Receiver no comm/feedback from the receiver noise channel for the message STRAIGHT, A CONTINUOS LINE DONT GET ANYTHING BACK PROBLEM: no feedback or transactional qualities and one way comm

Interpersonal Conflict: When do we have conflict?

You think you have incompatible goals perceive scarce resources

cultural myopia

a form of nearsightedness grounded in the belief that one's own culture is appropriate and relevant in all situations and to all people individuals who fail to consider other cultural perspectives (japan finish food means want more; saudi arabia burp if you enjoy food)

cognitive processes within intrapersonal comm: Attention

a.We are selective about what we perceive b. Internal factors affecting attention: i. Physiological filters (ex: how tired you are/hunger) ii. Psychological filters (ex: pay attention in classes you like) c. External factors affecting attention: i. Salience: stimulus stands out from others (visual contrast, sound, movement, etc) (ex: picture with man in red with camera) ii. Vividness: provokes emotional response

Pragmatics

ability to use the symbol system of a culture appropriately ex. kid shouldn't have said "f**k" in a church

what is a model

abstract representation of the real thing: included major elements and focuses on certain characteristics

speech accommodation

adjust our language depending on who we are talking to. based on group identity-gain acceptance, establish belonging, distinguish one's group or power can shift toward (to gain acceptance) or away ( to distinguish self from group) speech repituar- the actual words you use

what is communication?

an exchange of meaningful symbols: we can't exchange meaning without them. we hope that the meaning is shared a process: an ongoing, systematic activity it is not a thing Contextual: interpersonal, dyads, groups, media, etc.

deception

attempt to use nonverbal behaviors to convince others of something that is false (sounding sincere)

small group interaction

between 3 or more people pursuing common goal (social or task) interact as a group studied topics: group decision making (juries, work teams), group dynamics, peer pressure

labeling

biased language: infused with more subtle meanings that influence our perceptions about the subject (sweetie did you finish your dinner? belittling terms) politically correct language: more neutral terms avoid bias (firefighter vs. fireman)

referential function:

categorize and labeling ex. room->lecture hall ex.peach: size, colors, fuzzy->group things with similar characteristics

personal appearance

change in appearance intentionally to send messages. body displays (hair color, style, piercings,etc) clothing and accessories can signal authority, legitimacy, belonging

cultural context

coming from a culture that shows respect for elders vs. coming from a culture that teaches you to question elders and talk back

organizational comm

comm among members of an organization (or between different organizations) formal organizational structure written down somewhere. duties...someone is someone else's boss in the organization. formal and informal networks,rules, norms STUDIED TOPICS: leadership, organizational culture, conversation networks, collaboration

interpersonal comm

comm with another (dyad): between people. face-to-face or point-to-point (texting/fb) involves self disclosure(revealing things) and relational development/intimacy (getting to know you) STUDIED TOPICS: making friends, becoming closer/falling apart, conflict; nonverbal messages

intrapersonal comm

comm within a person. thinking about other people and processing information. EX. diary, talking to yourself, encouraging yourself. STUDIED TOPICS: making attributions and forming impressions

(Purely) Transactional Models (Dance)

communicating simultaneously not just feedback but also exchange, interdependence, irreversibility takes into account cultural context, situational context, and relational context ex. using facial expressions while other person is talking • No cognitive processing, does not focus on symbols/messages, does not care what you think • Messages going to different people LOOK AT SITUATIONAL, RELATIONAL, CONTEXTUAL

intergroup/intercultural comm

communication between members of different groups/cultures look at things like gender or race interaction and identity influenced by group membership. When you find out others are apart of a different group you act different to them (stereotypes) ex.talking to older people slower/louder can be in-group with someone (shared group) or out group (different group) studied topics:in group/outgroup comm, language, ethnicity, gender, age group comm

Social information processing theory

communicators use unique lang and stylistic cues in their online messages to develop relationships just as close as those face-to-face

S.M: empirical observation

connect, study, compare collect data make systematic observations/measurement asking is not the most effective because people can lie

culture influences

contact vs. noncontact, highly influential affects all types of nonverbal

nonverbal relationship to verbal: contradicting behaviors

conveying the opposite of your verbal message (ellen degeneres saying she loved working with everyone while flipping them off)

nonverbal relationship to verbal: regulate

coordinating verbal interaction; help us navigate back and forth of comm in a constructive and appropriate manner (pause after saying hello/slouching or sitting back=dont want to talk)

denotation vs. connotation

denotative meaning: basic, consistently accepted definition connotative meaning: emotional, attitudinal response people have to it EX. school denotative: building where one gets an education/ group of fish school connotative: happy memories of text anxiety

Denotative

dictionary meaning can have more than one meaning can have idiosyncratic denotations: only someone's meaning of the word inside joke->use word differently

connotative

emotional connections to a word can have idiosyncratic and/or shared connotations too emotional or attitudinal response people have to it house vs. home pro choice vs. pro abortion pro life vs. anti abortion

social penetration theory

explains how partners move from superficial levels to greater intimacy o Onion metaphor o Relational partner attempts to reach the most intimate thoughts and feelings at the other persons "core" o Each layer contains info that is increasingly more private and more risky to divulge to someone else • Outer layers= obvious and observable, such as appearance and nonverbal behavior • Successive layer= partners assess the costs and benefits of the relationship and of disclosing information to each other

Social Exchange theory

explains the process of balancing the advantages and disadvantages of a relationship o Rewards: elements of a relationship that you feel good about o Costs: are the things that upset or annoy you, cause stress, or damage to your own self-image or lifestyle

Passive Aggression

express discontent, but not openly; want you to know they are irritated but don't want to talk about it • Tactics: keep main grievance to self, send subtle, indirect negative messages ("I just think that some people should take responsibility around here"), • Ex: Mom "Oh you are going out with your friends. It's fine I understand they are more important than your family now."

oculesics

eye contact; signal intimacy or confidence; avoidance taken as dishonesty, insincere, discomfort

Relationships: Knapps Staircase Model

focuses on differences in communication at each stage o Initiating and Experimenting • Initial display of self, small talk, audition o Intensifying • Increase in self disclosure, nicknames, "we" pronoun, personal idioms, words/tokens of affection o Integrating • Cultivate opinions as a couple, others treat you as a couple, common property, speak alike, sense of obligation/ identity together o Bonding • marriage, Public ritual, formal binding, social and institutional support o Declining • Uncertainty events • May be caused by competing relationships, deception or betrayal of confidence, and sudden or unexplained changes in sexual behavior, personality or value, or the degree of closeness • Interference • Pressure from other people to stay in their lives (friend) • Unmet expectations • From this stage you can either move to the repair stage or termination o Repair • Include improving communication, focusing on positive aspects of each partner and of the relationship, reinterpreting behaviors with a more balanced view, reevaluating the alternatives to the relationship, and enlisting the support of others to hold the relationship together o Termination • End of a relationship • Passing away- gradual fading of a relationship • Sudden death- abrupt, unexpected termination of a relationship o Reconciliation • Repair strategy for rekindling an extinguished relationship o Movement through the stages can be motivated by rewards and costs, and do not have to be linear

SM:objectivity

get rid of bias remove/control personal bias use standardized set of rules and procedures

communication privacy management

helps explain how people perceive info they hold about themselves and whether they will disclose or protect it o Ex: why some people share religious beliefs and others don't o Presumes that people believe they own private information and need to set up boundaries to control the potential risk that may make them vulnerable o Notion of privacy management- two key features • Affected by dialectical tensions such as openness vs. closeness • Requires cultural, situational, and relational rules or expectations by which people must be willing to abide • Impolite to ask boss about medical conditions

comm privacy management

how people perceive the info they hold about themselves and whether they will disclose or protect it

chronemics

how people perceive the use of time and how they structure time in relationship how quick you respond (call or text) ex.show up late to interview may show that you that you do not care but showing up late to a party is considered cool

control

influence oneself, others, and the environment

low language

informal, easygoing when in more comfortable environments, often involving slang

self presentation issues

intentional comm designed to show elements of self for strategic purposes; tend to focus on it when social identity is being evaluated by others o Self-monitoring - you ability to watch your environment and others in it for cues as to how to present yourself in a particular situation o Self-disclosure - revealing yourself to others by sharing info about yourself; must be not easily known by others and must be voluntary

ritualizing

learning the rules for managing conversations and relationships

conflict accommodation

let other have his/her way; appease • Ex: just give the kid the candy and shut them up • Shows concern for the other, but... • Appropriate when argument is not really that big of deal to you o Tactics: passive agreement(make them believe that you agree), openly giving in

nonverbal relationship to verbal: misperceptions

lying with your eyes. truth is the nonverbal; is its own body language

SM: logical reasoning

make consistent, rational inferences from the data construct good theories/models explain what is going on

mimicry

matching gestures, body position, tone, facial expressions to create immediacy (warmth/closeness)

gender language

men interrupt more women are intensifiers women use tag questions (showing uncertainty) resistance messages (no vs. not saying anything-men seeing as yes women see as no)

Schemas

mental structures that put together related bits of information

Mass communication

messages disseminated on large scale. mediated (print or electronic) televised or posted on youtube. typically professional communicators. less immediate feedback. television gets feedback from ratings. STUDIED TOPICS: effects of TV on behavior/attitudes; role of media in society

high language

more formal,polite, or "mainstream"

imagining

most complex; the ability to think, play, and be creative in communication, communicate creative idea

kinesics

movement/gestures illustrators: complement verbal; help visually explain what is being said (hand gestures "it was this big") emblems: movements and gestures that have a direct verbal translation (shrug/ok sign) affect displays: show emotions (jump up and down/behind the wheel and angry=grab the wheel tighten muscles) adapters: satisfy some physical or psychological need don't realize you're doing it (twisting hair when nervous)

Relational Dialectics Perspective (or theory)

o Disagree with Knapp o Argues that relationships do not progress in stages o Always have contradictory feeling in relationships • Autonomy vs. connection • Openness vs. Closeness • Predictability vs. Novelty

Interpersonal Comm: characteristics

o The dual level of IP messages • Content level: • The "what" of the message • Easiest way to convey verbally • Relational level • Info about how interactants feel about themselves and each other in a relationship o Can be conveyed verbally or nonverbally (more often nonverbally) • Often expressed ambiguously o Scared of rejection/want to protect ourselves o Can be consistent or inconsistent with contextual level • Inconsistent mostly when upset • Ex: discussing weekend plan and boyfriend says he is going to hang out with friends and you say " You always hang out with your friends"(contextual) (relational)= I'm probably unhappy

Interpersonal Comm: Self Disclosure

o Two dimensions of disclosure • Breadth of information • Kind of like GE course → well-rounded and more variety = more breadth • Know a little about a lot • Talk about different areas of life • Depth of information • Major courses • Getting deeper on certain topics • More personal= more depth o Functions of disclosure • Impression management • Reveal things you think will impress people • Intimacy management • If we want to progress→ expose more at deeper levels o Ex: "love ya" vs. "I love you " • Reciprocity • Same level of depth • Catharsis • Process of releasing emotion • Do not want to burden friend with the evil you have done • Self clarification/ validation • Haven't thought about what you think until you talk about it • Hope people will agree with you

Interpersonal Comm: Reducing Uncertainty

o We attempt to get information about the other person • Passively: observe the other • Actively: seek info from a 3rd party (ask friends) • Interactively: talk to the other

public comm

one or a few individuals speaking to an audience. face to face but with a "distance". relatively one way. EX. mullins does most of the talking during lecture STUDIED TOPICS:rhetorical devices used in speeches, imagery in pop culture

tech influences

over the internet; when normal verbal channels are not possible

Matching hypothesis

positing that we seek relationships with others who have comparable levels of attractiveness

situational influence

powerful impact; determines the rules of behavior and the roles people must play under different conditions (dancing at a funeral would look strange) public-private dimension: you might touch or caress partner's hand at private dinner but not at family dinner/job meeting informal-formal dimension:the environment, the event, the level of touch, the punctuality expected

feeling

primarily relational; let people know how much we value/don't value them by the emotions we express

listening

process of recognizing, understanding, accurately interpreting, and responding effectively to the messages you hear o Process: selecting, attending: willing to focus attention on both presence and comm of someone else, understanding: interpreting messages, remembering, responding o Types/Goals • Informational - process and actually understand what's being said • Critical - evaluate or analyze info, evidence, ideas, or opinions • Empathic - attempting to know how another person feels; involves listening to people with openness, sensitivity, and caring • Appreciative - simply take pleasure in the sounds that you receive o Challenges: listening barriers - facors that interfere with our ability to comprehend info and respond appropriately • Environment factors • Hearing and processing challenges • Multitasking - attending to several things at once • Boredom/overexcitement • Attitudes - talking is more powerful, overconfidence/laziness, listening apprehension: state of uneasiness, anxiety, fear or dread associated with a listening opportunity o Unethical listening • Defensive - responding with aggression and arguing with the speaker without fully listening to the message • Selective - zero in only on bits of info that interest you, disregarding other messages or parts of messages; common when feeling defensive/insecure • Selfish/monopolistic - in order to control the comm interaction; conflict situations • Insensitive/hurtful - we fail to pay attention to the emotional content of someone's message, instead of taking it face value • Pseudolisting - pretending to listen by nodding or saying "uh-huh" when you're really not paying attention

comm can happen at multiple contextual levels

public: band to audience Intergroup: all fans sharing interest/bonding and fans vs. artist Interpersonal: communication with friends, sharing experience

nonverbal relationship to verbal: complement

reinforcing the verbal message (pat a friend on the back means good job)

Semantics

relationship among symbols, object, people, and concepts and refers to the meaning that words have for people, either being of their definitions or because of their placement in the sentence structure ex. kids says "f**k" in church to show anger as he watched his dad use it for same reason

facial masking

replacing an expression that shows true feelings with an expression that shows appropriate feeling for a given interaction

nonverbal relationship to verbal: substitute

replacing words such as no with shaking head left and right signaling no

relational context

saying lets be friends to a new person you meet vs. to your boyfriend can mean different things

cooperative styles

seek to benefit both parties/relationship • Compromise: both gain something AND both lose something too • Tactic: restating positions(instead of needs), experimental integration(how far is the other person willing to go) • Collaboration: the goal is a win/win outcome, flexible goals and perspective • Tactics: focusing on needs(instead of positions), high disclosure("here is what is important to me"), avoiding blame, showing empathy; validating needs

Genetic

similarity hypothesis: argues that two individuals who hail from the same ethnic group are more genetically similar than two individuals from different ethnic groups

Attraction

similarity hypothesis: suggests that the extent to which we project ourselves onto another person is the direct result of the attraction we feel for that person

proxemics

space distance territory interpersonal distances: how close you sit/stand while talking depends on the situation claim our space- put suff down in the cup holder at the movies/use the arm rest to claim it intimate (0-18in spouses or romantic partners, very close friends and family) personal (18in-4ft friends, relatives, and occasional colleagues) social (4-12ft professional setting, business meeting, teacher-student conference) Public (12ft+ public speaking event or performance)

escapist style: conflict avoidance

stay away from conflict entirely or don't want to engage • Often think they are being selfless • Ignore own needs AND others' needs o Tactics: change the subject, physical avoidance, denial, postponement, resorting to formal rules(holidays spent with one family one year and another family another year), controlling the process, gunnysacking(something you don't bring up but something you tuck away), sarcasm

triangle of meaning

symbol(word)-thought(reference)-object(referent) flag-america/4th of july-actual flag different kinds of meaning use context, knowledge, experience, relationship, etc. to interpret its meaning "rock" means music genre, stone, actor part of speech helps us interpret meaning ex. a rock buried in the sand not referring to music/actor

jargon

technical language specific to members of a given profession or interest group or people who share a hobby business jargon bang for the buck internet jargon LOL

Self concept issues

the awareness and understanding of who you are—as interpreted and influenced by your thoughts, actions, abilities, values, goals, and ideals o Social comparison - comparing ourselves to others as we develop our ideas about ourselves; influences how we think about ourselves and what we're willing to do to close the unavoidable gap created by this comparison o Self-esteem - how you feel about yourself; essentially a set of attitudes that people hold about their own emotions, thoughts, abilities, skills, behavior, and beliefs that fluctuate accordingly to the situation or context o Self-efficacy - the ability to predict actual success from self-concept and self-esteem; guides your ultimate choice of comm situations • Accurate self-efficacy can lead to self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that causes an individual to alter his or her behavior in a way that makes the prediction more likely to occur

situational context

the situation in which the communication occurs. husband coming home from long day of work asks whats for dinner? wife snaps back. husband didn't notice she is still in work clothes, kitchen is a mess, dog threw up on floor

civility

the social norm for appropriate behavior

Content analysis

the systematic quantitative analysis of content of messages • Purposes: • Describes the media (or other comm) content (counting instances of whatever it is that you're observing is occurring) Primetime television shows depicts same sex marriages (can only say how often this happens or if its portrayed positively or negatively. can not explain why they do it) • Ex: how often are FB disclosures highly personal vs. surface level? • Access image of particular group of media • Portrayal of particular group • Ex: How are fathers stereotyped in TV shows? • Issues to Consider: • Need representative sample (of media messages) • Need clear, specific definitions of content variables • Ex: What is a "personal" disclosure? What is a "stereotypical" portrayal on TV? • Limitations: • Can only describe content • Cannot give information about why content is the way it is or the effects on the audience • EXAMPLES: • "Most TV ads during children's programming advertise sugary foods" • "A celebrity who is on trial for murder says that he will not be able to get a fair trial because of all the bad publicity he has gotten. To back this claim, he says that the vast majority of the news articles written about him portray him in a negative manner."

Attribution processes

the way we assign explanations for peoples behavior (internal or external) • Internal attributions: we see it as caused by the person/self; within person's control when you walk into class late it is your fault because you are lazy • External attributions: we see it as caused by the situation or other factors outside of the person's control you walked into class late it is because of environment, traffic o Biases in Attributions • Fundamental Attribution Error: tendency to assume others behaviors are caused by internal factors • Ex: someone falls→they are just a cluts • Self-Serving Bias: our positive outcomes (successes) are due to internal factors and our negative outcomes (failures) are due to situational (external factors) • Ex: get a good grade on the paper→ I am really smart • Ex: get a bad grade on the paper→ The teacher is really hard • Interaction appearance theory : explains how people change their perception of someone's appearance as they spend more time with them o Self Concept: who we think we are • We are more willing to interact in situations where we feel we have strengths, and our self- concept is confirmed or changed by responses from others • Social comparison theory: we compare ourselves against idealized images in the media • Self- esteem: relates to self concept and is how we feel about ourselves in a particular situation • Self- efficacy: the ability to predict, based on self-concept and self-esteem, one's effectiveness in a communication situation • Self-fulfilling prophecy: a behavior is altered to make the prediction more likely to come true • Self actualization (high performance) self-adequacy (adequate performance) self- denigration (poor performance) • Self- presentation: intentional communication designed to show elements of self for strategic purposes; its how we let others know about ourselves • Self- monitoring: the tendency to watch our environment and others in it for cues as to how to present ourselves in particular situations • Self-disclosure: sharing important information about ourselves, such as with a close friend

Impression formation

the way we combine information to get a general "sense" of a person • Whittle things down based on not a lot of information • Attend to some information and not other information • Notice unusual or odd things and can miss important • Organize information into a weighted average • Some things count for more than others • Ex: Someone in prison counts for more than their hair color • What carries the greatest weight? • Info about stable traits • Info from a credible source • Info we receive first • Info about extreme or unusual behavior • Info about negative traits • Info about "central traits" (ex: change in just "warm and cold" in classroom activity o Biases in Impression Formation • Halo effect: initial perceptions influence how we perceive later in formation • Ex: someone is good looking= we think they have good traits • Contrast effect: impressions influenced by what just came before hand • Ex: "He is a tough act to follow" compare all guys to your ex boyfriend • Stereotyping: assume a person ahs certain traits or behaviors because of group membership • Normal to categorize the world and to divide people into "us" and "them" • Minimizes cognitive "work" • Ex: sorority girl • Managing the Self "BIRG" vs. "CORF' • BIRG= bask in reflected glory • Soak yourself up in glory of someone else • Hang out with "important" people o Ex: "UCSB has 5 noble prize winners" • CORF=cut off reflected failure • Politician does something dumb→their political party backs down • Stay away from outcasts in high school

why model communication?

to help visualize and organize info clearly to help make predictions about behavior to suggest new ideas for understanding comm

haptics

touch make contact w/ another person positive affect (high five, hug, pat on back) control (grab"get over here", grab by the ear, arm around the shoulder to move someone)

Powerless language

uses lots of hedges(sorta/kinda), hesitations, intensifiers(totally,extremely) tag questions(isn't it?),disclaimers (I heard it on the internet) lowers impression of competence/trustworthiness/ dynamism/social-economic status/message effectiveness BUT: can seem more polite/likeable/good natured

informing

using language to both give and receive (question, describe,reinforce,withhold)

paralanguage

vocalized sounds that accompany our words to nonverbal behaviors--pitch, tone, volume, vocalization, rate and fluency, quality

Conflict styles: Escapist style

want to prevent or get away from conflict avoidance physical, change subject, denial, postponement

cognitive processes within intrapersonal comm: Interpretation

we evaluate our perceptions interpret->make sense->draw conclusions (ex.duck or bunny slide)

cognitive processes within intrapersonal comm: Organization

we structure our perceptions Proximity: we perceive separate stimuli as related if they are close to one another similarity: we perceive stimuli as related if they are similar to one another closure: we see incomplete patterns as complete figure:we perceive images as having an object(figure) and background(ground)

Relational network

web of relationships that connect individuals to one another (family, friendship, romance/intimacy, online)

Uncertainty reduction theory

when two people meet, their main focus is on decreasing uncertainty about each other

Profanity

words/expressions considered insulting,rude,vulgar or disrespectful; from culture's language conventions

Managing Conflict: tactics that tend to reduce conflict

• Ask for more information • Metacommunication: communicating about communication • Ex: "We are yelling right now, let's see if we can approach this another way" • Respond to different levels of conflict (facts and feelings) • Accept responsibility: acknowledge your fault in the situation • Ex: "I am sorry"

interaction (process) models (scramm and Berol, Watalick, Beavin, and Jackson)

• Includes feedback • Emphasizes cognitive process • Encoding and decoding • Uses attitude and knowledge to encode message

Managing Conflict: tactics that tend to escalate conflict

• Labeling/name calling • Threats • Issue expansion- dump out other stuff that does not have to do with the argument • Ex: Jules gets mad that I didn't make my bed and she starts yelling about EVERYTHING that I do wrong around the house • Coalition formation • Ex: Maddy and Haley know that I am right • Breaking relational rules • Ex: sore subject with each other and you bring it up during conflict→ heats things up

Managing Conflict: Tactics that tend to maintain conflict

• quid pro quo (tit for tat) • You do something to me, I am going to do something to you • Ex: "You didn't invite your kid to my birthday party, I am not going to invite your kid to mine" • Combining escalation/reduction tactics