exam 1 COMS

How does the use of sexist and/or racist language affect perceptions of a speaker?

It is considered hate speech, used to degrade others Has been/ continues to be used as a tool in oppression and abuse of minority groups

Briefly explain the principles of nonverbal communication.

It is continuous beyond words More believable than verbal They are multi- channeled

Briefly explain the situational model of communication.

Very strict w/ rules for what counts as interpersonal communication Can only be 2 people communicating Has to be face to face contact (no mediating devices) Have to be able to see and hear the other person (possibly touch/ smell/ taste) Never defines the relationship between the two people in the situation

body movements w/ low level of awareness usually indicate boredom, anxiousness, anxiety (cracking knuckles, fixing hair, tapping pen)

adaptors

physical responses to emotions either positive or negative (hugging someone or clenching teeth)

affect displays

Paralinguistics/vocalics refers to what?

how we use our voices

Chronemics refers to what

how we use/ perceive time

label used to indicate when you use your body to help describe or visually depict something (i caught a fish this big *indicates with hands*)

illustrators

language is open and creative, create your own new sentences, encoding and decoding meaning of words

productivity

what is said, actual words

content

Forbes identified what as one of the most essential communication skill for the workplace?

-Active listening skills

According to Schutz, people communicate to fulfill three universal needs. What are they? Because this is so important, I included it as one of the 8 reasons in my first lecture.

-Control, inclusion, affection

Pay careful attention to the following ideas/facts:

-Interpersonal communication is critical for personal and professional development -Just bc people talk to each other doesn't mean they do it well -Most people don't know themselves very well/ don't know their strengths and weaknesses as communicators

Why is it just dead wrong to use the term "soft skills" when referring to interpersonal communication skills? What's the BEST term to use?

-It implies that communication is easy, effortless, and unimportant -Recommend using the term "essential skills"

Explain the four basic principles of interpersonal communication. Make sure you understand these and why they are SO important they are considered foundational. (see video lecture 2)

-It is irreversible: once you say something you cannot take it back, a pause or facial expression cannot be taken back once it is detected -It can be intentional or unintentional: likely people will attach meaning to everything you say and do, perceived w/ nonverbal behaviors like eye contact, gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and touch -It is dynamic: each time we speak we build on previous messages, developing a history with this person which reflects change -It is composed of content and relational components: content is verbal message you send/ specific words you choose and relational is how people feel about their relationship

Explain: Social media is great in many ways, but it is weakening our interpersonal skills.

-Technologies are strategically used to manage our self image (only posting certain things, editing our words), no longer important to maintain eye contact in person

Define "communication competence" and explain the three key components.

-The ability to send messages that are perceived as appropriate and effective by receivers -3 key components: knowledge, skill, and motivation -Knowledge: understanding what reaction or action is best suited for particular situation -Skill: ability to utilize the appropriate behaviors in a situation -Motivation: desire to achieve results in a competent manner

In what two ways do strong interpersonal skills influence health care providers' treatment of patients?

-When they are clear, immediate, humorous, etc. their patients are more satisfied -Being perceived as likeable helps establish relationships and succeed

Why is it important to study interpersonal communication? Be able to explain the 8 reasons. Can you offer evidence for why effective interpersonal communication isn't common sense?

1. Humans are social beings/ brains hardwired for social connections 2. Our identities are strongly influenced by relationships with others/ if interactions are healthy and constructive this leads to better personal well- being 3. Positive relationships reduce psychological distress 4. Inability to initiate and sustain constructive relationships with others often leads to anxiety, depression, loneliness, frustration, further isolation 5. High quality relationships related to longevity and quicker recovery from illness and injury 6. Positive relationships increase self- efficacy and self- esteem 7. People have 3 basic needs that have to be met or they become anxious, depressed, and unhappy: inclusion, affection, and control 8. The effectiveness of our social skills shows correlation to increased job opportunities, higher paying jobs, promotions, and generally higher ratings by peers

On average, how long does it take most people to form what they believe is an accurate first impression?

4 minutes

it is critical that you be able to define interpersonal communication and explain each part of the definition.

Complex process occurs in specific context and involves exchange of verbal or nonverbal messages between 2 connected individuals w/ intent to achieve shared meaning -4 distinct approaches to defining IPC: situational, developmental, interactional, and message-centered -Situational: the number of interactants and exchange of messages -Developmental: communication between 2 people who have an established relationship, they are in someway connected -Interactional: one person influencing another person's behavior, above and beyond "normal baselines of action" -Message-centered: exchanging messages (verbal and nonverbal) to reach goals/ objectives during interactions and agree on what messages mean

Know the three body shapes and the stereotypes people assign to them.

Endomorph: short, round, and soft Lazy, better natured, more old- fashioned, less good- looking, more agreeable, more dependent on others Mesomorph: physically fit, muscular, average height and weight, athletic Stronger, better looking, more adventurous, younger, taller, more mature compared to others Ectomorph: tall, thin, and frail Tenser, nervous, quiet, taller, younger, introverted, more afraid of people, lacking confidence, being less social compared to others

Be ready for examples of disconfirming messages.

Impervious message: Ignoring someone/ responding with silence Interrupting message: Cutting a message short when someone else is talking Irrelevant response: Response is unrelated to current convo, indicates lack of conversational involvement Tangential response: Acknowledging someone's message but immediately taking convo in a different direction

spoken word fades rapidly/ can be lost quickly, clarity is essential in oral communication

Instant intelligibility

List and offer a one-sentence explanation of each of the contexts of communication (see video lecture 3)

Intrapersonal communication: how the brain and body are involved in interpreting communication and generating messages, attitudes, beliefs, values, thoughts Interpersonal communication: involves 2 people Group communication: 3rd person shows up Public (rhetoric) communication: like public speaking event Organizational communication: how corporations and companies communicate within and to their customers Mediated communication: anytime you use a device (radio, TV, film, social media) to communicate

3. Explain the developmental model of communication (3 levels of information, 3 levels of knowing, intrinsic vs. extrinsic rules). (see video lecture 3)

Levels of information Cultural (stereotyping) Sociological (know a person in terms of group affiliation, ex: professor, doctor, fraternity, sorority) Psychological (know someone well enough to know their personality traits) Levels of knowing Physical (know what they look like) Predictive (you can predict what they're going to do or say) Explanatory (you can predict what they're going to do and why) Intrinsic rules: your own rules unique to you, could be roommate, friend, romantic partner (close relationship) Extrinsic rules: societal rules, ex: looking nice for a date, minding your manners, certain topics not to talk about, general public behavior

10. What is metacommunication? Do people who metacommunicate have better relationships than people who do not metacommunicate? Define it, and give me three examples of it. Your examples cannot be examples I used in lectures.

Metacommunication: whens someone wants to clarify a message's meaning -Examples: "I like when you tell me you're not in the mood for me to tell jokes," "When we sit next to each other we don't always have to be touching, I like my own space," and "In the car I don't like riding with the windows down because it messes up my hair"

What's the difference between a monochronic and polychronic culture? What kind of culture is the US, monochronic or polychronic?

Monochronic: time is linear/ has a timeline Polychronic: time is circular/ many things can be done at the same time Americans are monochronic, we can schedule appointments one after another in an orderly fashion, planner

Pay careful attention to the following ideas/facts:

Notion of humans being wired for SOCIAL COORDINATION/CONNECTION, which can only be accomplished via interpersonal communication. People consistently report that RELATIONSHIPS are what give their lives MEANING. Our identities are shaped by how others communicate with us, concept of looking-glass self. Positive relationships reduce psychological distress—how? (notion of social support helps prevent depression and even lengthens lifespan). A lack of positive relationships (weak social support networks and destructive relationships can hurt us mentally and physically. What's the evidence for this? How do positive interpersonal relationships increase self-efficacy and self-esteem? What's the difference between self-efficacy and self-esteem? It is only through interpersonal communication that Schutz's 3 interpersonal needs are met. Define/explain those 3 needs. The quality/effectiveness of our social skills has also been shown to correlate with increased job opportunities, higher paying jobs, promotions, and generally higher ratings by our peers. Chapter 1 (questions below) offers considerable insight into the reasons for this, and you should know those reasons.

What are environmental artifacts and why are they important?

Personal adornment: how we use artifacts on our bodies (tattoos, jewelry, makeup, glasses) Environmental adornment: artifacts that we use in our environment to identify ourselves (bedroom- cleanliness, artwork, clothes hanging) Environmental factors: room layout, lighting, context (high end restaurants have darker lighting to relax people eating)

What are the key elements that give our voices the specific qualities they have? (pitch, rate, volume etc). Know that vocal fillers are also known as segregates and can get extremely annoying (like, uh, um, ahhhh).

Pitch, rate, volume, pronunciation, inflection, tempo, accents, vocal fillers, hesitations Sounds that can stand alone as symbols bc they can be interpreted as having a specific meaning Ex: laughing, yelling, crying, grunting

Physical appearance is a nonverbal channel. When people observe someone, they have a subconscious mental checklist that typically goes in WHAT order?

Race, gender, symmetry, cultural rules of beauty

The eyes are used to convey many messages and your text list four specific messages eyes are very good at conveying. What are they?

Showing attention, interest, and respec

Proxemics refers to what?

The invisible bubble we place around our bodies

Facial expression is used for what 3 reasons?

To display emotion To supplement verbal communication To reinforce verbal communication

What are the five biggest problem areas employers cite with regard to communication skills during job interviews.

Topic relevance, response organization, response clarity, grammar, and response feedback

Which channel of NVC is most critical to healthy human development? Why?

Touch, it comforts us/ stimulates us in ways that are essential to our health and development

Explain verbal immediacy and give examples.

Using specific word choices and synaptic structures to increase perceptions of psychological closeness Using "we" and "our" vs "I" and "yours" Instructors in classrooms use humor, utilizing students' names, incorporating students suggestions, and showing willingness to work with students outside of class

generated by the interplay of thoughts, symbols, and (referents) objects/ ideas, direct connections between thought/ symbol and thought/ referent but INDIRECT connection between symbols/ referents

Triadic model of meaning

. With regard to regulating conversation, how do people engage in turn maintenance, turn requesting, turn denying, and backchanneling?

Turn maintenance: suppressing signals to suggest we want to keep talking (talking more quickly/ loudly, using hand gestures to suggest "wait a minute" or "one last point") Back channeling: used by listeners to signal they are motivated to listen/ not interested in "taking over the floor" (nodding, saying "I agree" or "uh-huh") Turning requesting: listeners use buffers, short words, phrases like "buh uhh.." or "you know.." to signal to speaker they are interested in speaking Turn denying: listeners use when they are not interested in "taking over the floor" (increasing space between themselves and speaker or avoiding direct eye contact with speaker)

Explain gender differences in verbal communication (rapport talk vs. report talk).

Women engage in "rapport talk": talking for pleasure and to establish connections w/ others Men engage in "report talk": talking to accomplish goals, solve problems, and are more instrumental in their approach

meaning is not within words themselves, meaning exists in people's heads/ not in external world or within the language system

arbitrary

What does the term "kinesics" mean?

body movement

subjective or emotional meaning of word

connotation

objective definition, kind you would find in a dictionary

denotation

language permits us to discuss topics that cut across time, space, reality/ fantasy, messages delivered can influence events and people in other time/ other cultures

displacement

specific nonverbal gestures w/ particular translation (finger over lips= quiet)

emblems

What is oculesics?

eye behavior

This chapter covers 8 channels of nonverbal communication. Which channel is considered THE MOST IMPORTANT?

facial expression

Know Hall's zones of interaction.

intimate: reserved for those closest to us Personal: reserved for family members and close friends Social: distance we feel comfortable conducting everyday social situations w/ strangers, acquaintances, and business partners Public: distance reserved for large audiences

productive system capable of displacement and composed of arbitrary, culturally transmitted symbols

language

What are artifacts?

physical objects and environmental attributes that communicate directly, define the communication context, or guide social behavior in some way

any body movements used in convo to control communication flow (using hand to gesture)

regulators

what content implies about the relationship

relational

What does SADFISH stand for?

sadness, anger, disgust, fear, interest, surprise, & happiness

What are vocal characterizers?

sounds that can stand alone as symbols because they can be interpreted as having a specific meaning

Linguists believe the most important function of language is what?

to transmit knowledge from one generation to another

Haptics refers to what?

touch

What is the most AMBIGUOUS channel of nonverbal communication?

touch