[COM 102] Week 1: What Is Interpersonal Communication? (Reflect & Relate 4 ed. McCormack)

Interpersonal Communication (IPC)

"A dynamic form of communication between two (or more) people in which the messages exchanged significantly influence their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships."

appropriateness

"A measure of communication competence that indicates the degree to which your communication matches the situational, relational, and cultural expectations regarding how people should communicate."

I-It

"A type of perception and communication that occurs when you treat others as though they are objects that are there for your use and exploitation—for example, when you dismiss someone by saying, "I don't have time for your stupid questions. Figure it out yourself.""

I-Thou

"A way to perceive a relationship based on embracing fundamental similarities that connect you to others, striving to see things from others' points of view, and communicating in ways that emphasize honesty and kindness."

intrapersonal communication

"Communication involving only one person, such as talking to yourself."

dyadic

"Communication involving only two people."

selective listening

"Listening that takes in only those parts of a message that are immediately salient during an interpersonal encounter and dismisses the rest."

impersonal communication

"Messages that have negligible perceived impact on your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, or relationships, such as commenting about the television schedule or passing someone and saying, "How's it going?" without looking up."

social comparison

"Observing and assigning meaning to others' behaviors and then comparing their behavior to ours (when judging our own actions). For example, you might subtly check out how others are dressed at a party or how they scored on an exam to see if you compare favorably."

self-fulfilling prophecy

"Predictions about future encounters that lead us to behave in ways that ensure the interactions unfold as we predicted."

communication skills

"Repeatable goal-directed behaviors and behavioral patterns that enable you to improve the quality of your interpersonal encounters and relationships."

looking-glass self

"Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley's idea that we define our self-concepts through thinking about how others see us. For example, a young girl who believes that others consider her poor in sports formulates an image of herself as uncoordinated even though she is a good dancer."

mental bracketing

"Systematically putting aside thoughts that aren't relevant to the interaction at hand if your attention wanders when listening—for example, by consciously dismissing your worries about an upcoming exam in order to focus on a customer's request at work."

interpersonal communication competence

"The ability to communicate consistently in appropriate, effective, and ethical ways."

effectiveness

"The ability to use communication to accomplish interpersonal goals."

self-awareness

"The ability to view yourself as a unique person distinct from your surrounding environment and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors."

self-concept clarity

"The degree to which you have a clearly defined, consistent, and enduring sense of self."

self

"The evolving composite of who one is, including self-awareness, self-concept, and self-esteem."

receiving

"The first stage of the listening process in which a listener takes in information by seeing and hearing."

listening

"The five-stage process of receiving, attending to, understanding, responding to, and recalling sounds and visual images during interpersonal encounters."

self-discrepancy theory

"The idea that your self-esteem results from comparing two mental standards: your ideal self (the characteristics you want to possess based on your desires) and your ought self (the person others wish and expect you to be)."

self-esteem

"The overall value, positive or negative, you assign to yourself."

long-term memory

"The part of your mind devoted to permanent information storage."

short-term memory

"The part of your mind that temporarily houses information while you seek to understand its meaning."

self-monitoring

"The process of observing your own communication and the norms of the situation in order to make appropriate communication choices."

attending

"The second stage of the listening process in which a listener devotes attention to received information. For example, you may hear a radio but attend only when a favorite song comes on."

hearing

"The sensory process of taking in and interpreting sound."

ethics

"The set of moral principles that guide our behavior toward others. Ethical communication consistently displays respect, kindness, and compassion."

understanding

"The third stage of the listening process in which a listener interprets the meaning of another person's communication by comparing newly received information against past knowledge."

meta-communication

"Verbal or nonverbal communication about communication—that is, messages that have communication as their central focus."

self-concept

"Your overall idea of who you are based on the beliefs, attitudes, and values you have about yourself."

content information

"actual meaning of the words you utter"

impact

"changes participants' thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships"

dynamic

"communication is constantly in motion and changing over time"

relationship information

"consists of signals indicating how each of you views your relationship"

WEEK 3

PRESENTING YOUR SELF

transactional communication

both parties contribute to the meaning

verbal communication

communication using language

linear communication

no feedback or interplay between parties; there is a sender, message, and receiver

dyads

pairs of people

functions of verbal communication

sharing meaning, shaping thought,