Interpersonal Messages Chapter 1

source-receiver

A communication term that emphasizes that both functions are performed by each individual in an interpersonal message.

ambiguity

A condition in which a message or relationship may be interpreted as having more than one meaning.

information overload

A condition in which the amount or complexity of information is too great to be dealt with effectively by an individual, group, or organization.

mindlessness

A lack of conscious awareness of the logic or reasons behind your thoughts or behaviors.

signal-to-noise ratio

A measure of the relationship between meaningful information (signal) and interference (noise).

metamessage

A message that makes reference to another message, such as "Did I make myself clear?" or "That's a lie."

temporal context

A message's position within a sequence of events.

inevitability

A principle of communication holding that communication cannot be avoided; all behavior in an interactional setting is communication.

irreversibility

A principle of communication holding that communication cannot be reversed; once something has been communicated, it cannot be uncommunicated.

unrepeatability

A principle stating that a communication act can never be duplicated because everyone and everything is constantly changing.

code

A set of symbols used to translate a message from one form to another.

mindfulness

A state of awareness in which you are conscious of the logic and rationality of your behaviors and of the logical connections existing among elements.

communication accommodation theory

A theory of communication holding that conversationalists adjust to (or accommodate to)the speaking styles of each other.

transactional views

A view of communication as an ongoing process in which all elements are interdependent and influence one another.

response

Any bit of overt or covert behavior.

stimulus

Any external or internal change that impinges on or arouses an organism.

source

Any person or thing that creates messages—for example, an individual speaking, writing, or gesturing, or a computer solving a problem.

receiver

Any person or thing that takes in messages. Receivers may be individuals listening to or reading a message, a group of persons hearing a speech, a scattered television audience, or computers that store information.

message

Any signal or combination of signals that serves as a stimulus for a receiver. See also stimulus.

noise

Anything that interferes with your receiving a message as the source intended the message to be received. It is present in communication to the extent that the message received is not the message sent.

interpersonal communication

Communication between two persons or among a small group of persons and distinguished from public or mass communication; communication of a personal nature and distinguished from impersonal communication; communication between or among connected persons or those involved in a close relationship.

asynchronous communication

Communication in which the individuals send and receive messages at different times (as in e-mail communication). Opposed to synchronous communication.

synchronous communication

Communication that takes place in real time; sending and receiving take place at the same time (as in face-to-face communication). Opposed to asynchronous communication.

feedback

Information that is given back to the source. Feedback may come from the source's own messages (as when you hear what you're saying) or from the receiver(s)—in forms such as applause, yawning, puzzled looks, questions, letters to the editor of a newspaper, or increased or decreased subscriptions to a magazine. See also negative feedback, positive feedback.

feedforward

Information that is sent before a regular message, telling the listener something about what is to follow; messages that are prefatory to more central messages.

semantic noise

Interference created when a speaker and listener have different meaning systems; such noise can include language or dialectical differences, the use of jargon or overly complex terms, or ambiguous or overly abstract terms whose meanings can be easily misinterpreted.

physical noise

Interference that is external to both speaker and listener and that interferes with the physical transmission of a signal or message.

physiological noise

Interference within the sender or receiver of a message, such as visual impairments, hearing loss, articulation problems, and memory loss.

psychological noise

Mental interference in the speaker or listener, such as preconceived ideas, wandering thoughts, biases and prejudices, closed-mindedness, and extreme emotionalism.

relationship messages

Messages that comment on the relationship between the speakers rather than on matters external to them.

content messages

Messages that refer to matters external to the relationship between source and receiver.

legitimate power

Power a person possesses because others believe he or she has a right—by virtue of his or her position—to influence or control their behavior.

reward power

Power derived from an individual's ability to give another person what that person wants or to remove what that person wants removed.

coercive power

Power derived from an individual's ability to punish or to remove rewards from another person.

expert power

Power that a person has because others believe the individual to have expertise or special knowledge.

information or persuasion power

Power that a person has because others see that individual as having significant information and the ability to communicate logically and persuasively.

referent power

Power that a person possesses because others desire to identify with or be like that individual.

encoder

Something that takes a message in one form (for example, nerve impulses) and translates it into another form (for example, sound waves). In human communication, it is the speaking mechanism; in electronic communication, it is, for example, the telephone mouthpiece. This action is the process of putting a message into a code—for example, translating nerve impulses into speech sounds. See also decoder.

decoder

Something that takes a message in one form (for example, sound waves) and translates it into another form (for example, nerve impulses) from which meaning can be formulated. In human communication, it is the auditory mechanism; in electronic communication, it is, for example, the telephone earpiece. This action is the process of extracting a message from a code—for example, translating speech sounds into nerve impulses. See also encoder.

politeness strategies

Strategies that are often used to make ourselves appear likable.

interpersonal competence

The ability to communicate effectively in interpersonal interactions.

power

The ability to influence or control the behavior of another person; A has power over B when A can influence or control B's behavior; an inevitable part of interpersonal relationships.

ethics

The branch of philosophy that deals with the rightness or wrongness of actions; the study of moral values; in communication, the morality of message behavior.

punctuation of communication

The breaking up of continuous communication sequences into short sequences with identifiable beginnings and endings or stimuli and responses.

culture

The lifestyle of a group of people; their values, beliefs, artifacts, ways of behaving, and ways of communicating. It includes everything that members of a social group have produced and developed—their language, ways of thinking, art, laws, and religion—and that is transmitted from one generation to another through communication rather than genes.

cultural context

The lifestyles, beliefs, values, behavior, and communication styles of a group.

effect

The outcome or consequence of an action or behavior; communication is assumed always to have some effect.

context of communication

The physical, psychological, social, and temporal environment in which communication takes place.

principle of adjustment

The principle of verbal interaction that claims that effective communication depends on the extent to which communicators share the same system of signals.

code switching

The process of switching the language or language style in a single conversation.

social-psychological context

The social distinctions and psychological differences between the individuals, for example, the status relationships among the participants: distinctions such as employer versus the employee or salesperson versus store owner.

physical context

The tangible or concrete environment, the room, park, or auditorium.

channel

The vehicle or medium through which signals are sent, for example, the vocal-auditory channel.

choice points

Times when you have to make a choice as to whom you communicate, what you say, what you don't say, how you phrase what you want to say, and so on.