Interpersonal Communication Exam 1
What is functional ambivalence?
Essentially the same as the "DARK SIDE" definition, no one communication event is completely bad or good. Pros and cons to each
What are accounts?
Explanations we make for our undesirable or unexpected behaviors
What are the negative outcomes associated with affection hunger?
Inadequate social connections predict lower likelihood of survival; social pain; poorer well being, health, self-care.
How is social media and technology an example of interpersonal communication's functional ambivalence?
It has both dark and light sides but nothing is wholly evil or good about it, even though the dark side is more noticed there is plenty of light: 1. social Information processing theory: how people can grow very close even though there can be little to no nonverbal cues (hyperpersonal communication) 2.support: increased connectedness to individuals whom seek to better other's well being
What is the difference between linear and circular causality and how does that relate to interpersonal communication?
Linear causality: action then outcome Circular causality: cause then effect This is to say that our actions/comm either pos/neg will generate an effect on someone which can in-turn cause them to generate another cause which can bring about an effect back to us.
How do social mobility, social creativity, and social competition differ from each other?
1. social mobility: 2. social creativity: 3. social competition:
What are the different theories and their assumptions about whether or not we reciprocate or compensate for intimacy and immediacy in people's nonverbal cues?
- Intimacy: closeness that people feel for or express in one another - immediacy: how actively engaged we are in an interaction - reciprocity: acting with similar non-verbal behaviors - compensation: acting in opposite/different manner than the other person THEORIES- 1. ( I )nteraction adaptation theory: tend to move towards reciprocity in our interaction in each other, likely based on the required, expected, and desired levels of interaction behaviors 2. ( C )ognitive Valence Theory: reciprocity (pos) and/or compensation (neg) can occur depending on the expectancy of a violation and the pos/neg label we assign, (depends on culture, mood, etc.) 3. ( E )quilibrium theory: always compensates by attempting to maintain a certain comfort balance in their interactions with others; if too much intimacy there is pull back and vise versa
How do we decide how to respond when disclosing information?
-Am I expected to respond? -Is it appropriate to do so? -Valence (pos or neg) -honesty -timing
Why do we engage in this totalizing communication?
-Easier to deal with one-dimensional person (race, sex, disability, economic standpoint, etc) than some one with depth. and possibly an automatic process of the brain which can mesh qualities of everyone in that group into the individual (implicit personality theory) -Thereby you REFLECT your perception of them, which SELECTS your view of reality, in turn DEFLECTS all other aspects that don't fit for consistency.
What are the general assumptions of communication accommodation theory?
-Explain and predict how others in an interaction perceive, evaluate, and respond
How do theories such as affection exchange theory and tend and befriend relate to this perspective?
-affection exchange theory is the notion that one would seek personal relations through communication on order to procreate -tend and befriend theory is the notion that one would try to gather as many networks, or interpersonal communicative relationships, in order to gain valuable resources and protection for survival
How do memorable messages affect our cognitive and affective frames?
-career choices -relationship advice -aging all gives a different and meaningful view of the world
What are the functions of stories as communicated sense-making devices?
-creating identity -socializing group members -coping with difficulty
What is totalizing communication? What implications does that have?
-emphasizes one aspect of a person above all others, this single aspect is the totality of that person. this reduces uncertainty which reduces discomfort in situations -this limits perception by labeling and creates barrier between individuals blocking healthy/comfortable relationships
What does it mean to say that communicators are biological beings? Why does it matter?
-expressing and receiving affection have physiological changes on our bodies, - matters as there are physiological consequences such as depriving the affection induces physical pain and sleep disturbances
What are the impacts of memorable messages?
-remembered over long periods of time -may be positive or negative -impact our behavior -most personal when delivered interpersonally
What are the different stages of the perception process?
-select -organize -infer
What are the general assumptions of Social Identity Theory?
-social membership to be part of a collective identity -want the group to be viewed positively -usually view ingroup more positively than outgroups, compare themselves to one another -if not viewed positively they either leave, change group, or find ways to be viewed so.
Explain and apply outgroup homogeneity, stereotyping, and the ultimate attribution error.
-viewing outgroup members to be more similar to them then their own ingroup members. (Outgroup Homogeneity) -Fixed, simplified perception of an entire outgroup or person (stereotyping) - associating another's behavior to their character rather than their external factors or forces (ultimate attribution error)
Be able to explain Spitzberg & Cupach's 4-quadrant model outlining the boundaries of the dark side.
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What are the three models of communication? Differences?
1. (T) transaction: Both are senders/receivers of messages and non-verbal comm 2.(A) Action: One sender, one receiver, no feedback 3.( I ) Interaction: One sender, one receiver but they send feed back either verbal or non
Name, explain, and apply Stewart's six features of communication
1. Meaning: We make sense of the communication in abstract ways, no one person can completely control comm or be blamed for the outcome 2. Choice: Some actively consider what they say/do, sometimes its automatic; reveals ethics/standards 3. Culture: affects what we say about during comm, how we respond, whether we can relate or not, if not use to enhance world view and further comm 4. Conservation: MOST influential, ordinary conversations that result in many different negotiations among personal relationships 5. Identities: collaborative creation constantly negotiated ; content/relational dimensions involved with identity messages 6. Nexting: MOST important comm skill, can change the context of the conversation by adding/agreeing, negotiating, or ceasing; "what can I help to happen next?"
What's the general summary of Social Penetration Theory (breadth and depth) and Communication Privacy Management theory?
1. Social penetration theory: breadth vs depth 2. communication privacy management theory: people own private information, disclosing makes it no longer private, others now own that information, someone give it away without you telling them to do so is Boundary Turbulence, or people pressing for the private information is Boundary Permeability
Name, explain, and apply Stewart's five features of the personal
1. Uniqueness - Noninterchangeable, Genetic, experiential, and individually unique 2. Unmeasurable - Nonphysical aspects such as the soul, pyche, human spirit; these are related to measurable things such as emotion/mental state, but not directly measurable 3. Reflectiveness - Aware of what's around us, and of our own awareness; How you reflect on your actions in a conversation 4. Responsiveness - only objects can only react, humans can react and then respond with what next; Outcome determined by the response not simply the reaction. 5. Addressable -
What are the functions of nonverbal communication?
1. express emotions 2. showing affection 3. impression management 4. conveying relational messages
What are the different kinds of nonverbal cues?
1. facial expressions/gaze 2. kinesics (movement) 3. Haptics (touch) 4. Vocalics (tone) 5. Proxemics (closeness) 6. Physical appearance 7. chronemics (time use) 8. Environment (way home is set, etc) 9. Artifacts (personal belongings)
What are the four facilitating conditions for effective intergroup contact? Explain them.
1. groups need to be equal status in the situation 2. perceived common goals among the group 3. group must cooperate rather than compete 4. groups must have support of the authorities/law
What are some of the considerations we must make when deciding whether or not we should disclose information?
1. norm of reciprocity: norm of disclosing information that matches the level of disclosure of the other individual 2.need for privacy: we each have a different tolerance for being vulnerable and a comfort level with being honest and open
Apply the four facilitating conditions for effective intergroup contact
1. not feeling superior/inferior to the other 2. may be trying to achieve same goal but differing routes 3. routes may be different but need to come to a compromise to facilitate the end goal 4. must not be a goal in opposition to society standards such as genocide
How does technology provide means of accessing support?
1. provide authentic and positive self-presentation which promotes inc self-esteem 2.increased weak tie relationships 3.online support groups
What are some of the dark aspects of our communication through technology?
1. selective self-presentation: inauthentic self to appease others = lower self esteem and higher anxiety 2. social comparison: identity distress and rumination 3. harmful interactions: cyberbullying can lead to suicide.
What are the pathways that Parks (2012) identifies connecting interpersonal communication and well-being?
1. social skill deficits - 2. violence and suicide 3. cardiovascular difficulties 4. immune system malfunctions 5. risky health practices
What does it mean to say that we can be (non)accommodative through converging, diverging, or maintaining our communication?
ACCOMODATION Convergence: actively trying to change for 1. identity maintenance; attempts to assimilate an accommodate (affective mode) & 2. improve comprehension (cognitive mode) NONACCOMODATION Divergence: actively attempting to not change comm Maintenance: no change made to comm
What is Principle 4? Apply it.
All forms of communication are functionally ambivalent
Define nonverbal communication.
All messages or communication other than written or spoken language that creates meaning for someone and exchanged in interactive contexts misconceptions: 1. they are largely natural , unintentional, and out of our awareness 2. they are a universal language and have cross culture consistency
What is Principle 5? Apply it.
All of our meaning making is filtered through cognitive and affective frames
What are intergroup tensions?
Aspects that bring about personal confliction with the group to which you associate, ie. outgroup homogeneity, stereotyping, and the ultimate attribution error.
Explain and apply attributions, the characteristics of attributions (e.g., causal loci, stability, etc.), as well as attribution errors and biases in our attributions.
Attributions:explanations we make for our behavior -Causal Locus: one's behavior based on external or internal factors -Stability/consistency: acted like this previously, pattern -Consensus: others experienced them acting said way before -Distinctiveness: the action happen(s) selectively or w/ everyone
What are the risks and benefits of self-disclosure?
BENEFITS: - enhanced relationship and trust - reciprocity - emotional release (catharsis) - assistance to others RISKS: -rejection - chance of obligating others - hurt others - violation of privacy
What is Principle 1? Apply it.
Communication is a big huge awesome mess
What is Communicated Narrative Sense-Making theory and what does it suggest about the connections between storytelling and well-being?
Communicative Narrative Sense Making (CNSM) aka story telling is an empirical approach to understanding the ways in which narratives and storytelling affect reflect individual and relational well-being in families
Summarize the dark side perspective of interpersonal communication perspective.
Form of IPC that recognizes no one side of communication is completely dark (bad) nor fully light (good) 1. interactions have multiple mixed motives 2. IPC entails multiple outcomes may be functional or dysfunctional 3. how one views the outcome as light or dark is based of their differences in themselves, upbringings, context, and culture 4. temporality contributes to the functional ambivalence of IPC 5. hierarchy; what is functional for one person may not be so for another.
What is Principle 2? Apply it.
IPC is inseparable from culture and context
What is Principle 3? Apply it.
IPC is tied to well-being
How do different types of accounts range from mitigating to aggravating?
MOST MITIGATING -concession: Admit failure, may appologize -Excuse: Admit failure, but not responsible -Justification: Accept resp., but say it was for pos -Refusal: deny the infraction or prove innocence MOST AGGRIVATING
What are cognitive schemata and how do they affect interpersonal communication?
Mental guidelines that can help us organize incoming cues
What is "nexting" and how does it relate to the concepts of linear and circular causality?
Nexting is when we decide what to do next in communication. Your next action is due to some other effect. So, No matter the action (cause) you take there will be (effects) ramification, benefits, pros/cons, etc.
Why should we give up the notion of fault and blame?
No one person can have full responsibility for the outcome of a situation, both sides come from differing view points, backgrounds, etc. and one idea no more right than the other.
What are the perceptual problems that can get in the way of effective interpersonal communication?
Perceptions are not objective, check either indirectly (gather more information) or directly (ask questions)
Which of the three models of communication do we prefer and why?
Prefer Transaction because it is a collaborative (co-created), transactional, and constitutive discussion and not one way / linear.
What does it mean to say that you adopt the constitutive view of communication?
Relationship comes into being based on the interaction/ communication
What are social identities?
The result of collaboration, choices, culture, identities, conversations and nexting which we communicate daily. two types: 1. Impersonal: role filler; ie. employee 2. personal: unique individual
What is affection hunger?
The theory as to why we have affectionate communication to one another and how consequences arise from that interaction 1.the need/ capacity for affection are innate 2. affectionate feelings and expressions are distinct 3. affectionate comm is adaptive; maintains bonds, denotes commitment, inc physical well being 4. vary in tolerance for affection 5. violations to tolerance are psychologically aversive
What are memorable messages?
Verbal messages that people remember (usually hear early in life) and consider it influential in some way
What is stigma?
a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.
Define and explain the different kinds of accounts we explained in class.
adoptive identity lesbian headed families relational agression
How does interpersonal communication contribute to the stigma surrounding mental illness?
if they have poor IPC skills then poor social skills which creates disordered relationships. Thus mental health issues inhibits connections with others therefore we joke about the issues, the way we may talk to those with an illness or about their treatment
What is self-disclosure?
process of purposefully revealing to others personal information about yourself that is significant and others would not know unless you told them
What is the importance of narrative and storytelling?
provides a way to deal with emotional states by utilizing interactional sense making processes such as: engagement, perspective-taking, coherence, and turn-taking
What are the differences between public stigma and self stigma?
public stigma: 1. stereotype: mentally ill have character flaws 2. prejudice: feeling anger or fear towards them 3. discrimination: avoiding or withholding opportunities self stigma: 1. stereotype: I have a character flaw 2. prejudice: low self esteem or low self efficacy 3. discrimination: I won't/cant pursue dreams due to my flaws
How does social pain relate to physical pain?
social pain is due to emotional distress caused by events that thwart our need for social connections. This emotional distress causes changes physiologically that have been treated in some manner with acetaminophen and ibuprofen
