Basics of Communication

Question 1

Norm

Answer 1

a rule of what behavior is acceptable in a given situation

Question 2

Three types of norms

Answer 2

Folkways, Mores, and Taboos

Question 3

Folkways

Answer 3

social rules to which people generally conform despite minimal pressure to do so, not a big deal if you break them
Ex: you should wear matching socks

Question 4

Mores

Answer 4

strongly held norms
Ex: adults running around naked in their front yard

Question 5

Taboos

Answer 5

extremely strongly held norms
-often laws against such action
Ex: having sex with a family member (incest) or a dead person (necrophilia)

Question 6

Examples of norms in dating

Answer 6

1. Normative to be gracious when turned down
2. Negotiating prices on a first date breaks a folkway.

Question 7

Types of pick-up lines (5)

Answer 7

Friendly: “Would you mind some conversation while we wait?”
Offbeat: “Do you think we’re ever going to switch to the metric system?”
Humorous: “So what’s a nice girl like you doing in an elevator like this?”
Altar: “You look just like my third husband” (only had two)
Seductive: “You’re the sexiest woman in the room.”

Question 8

The S-E-M-C-D-R Model

Answer 8

S (source)
E (encoder)
M (message)
C (channel)
D (decoder)
R (receiver)

Question 9

Source

Answer 9

the person from which the idea is communicated

Question 10

Encoder

Answer 10

takes the idea and puts it into some form that someone else will understand (source and encoder are the same person)

Question 11

Decoder

Answer 11

translates the idea into thought (decoder and receiver are the same person) e.g. hearing and reading

Question 12

Channel

Answer 12

the medium in which a message is sent
Ex: television, radio, telephone, text

Question 13

Receiver

Answer 13

person who receives the message being sent

Question 14

A message has three aspects:

Answer 14

1. Message Code
2. Message Content
3. Message Treatment

Question 15

Message Code

Answer 15

a shared symbol system (“code” = “form)
Ex: language, morse code, colors (such as in a traffic light), facial expressions, how you dress, sirens, sounds, music

Question 16

Message Content

Answer 16

the basic content of the message, from the first symbol to the last

Question 17

Message Treatment

Answer 17

how you convey the message
Ex: In what tone you say something – can convey your feelings or relationship to the person with whom you’re speaking

Question 18

Double-bind

Answer 18

clashes with what you say and how you say it
-in a double bind we tend to read non-verbal cues instead of verbal
Ex: a rise in volume when your friend says “I’m not mad.”

Question 19

Communicative Competence

Answer 19

knowing how to treat messages in certain circumstances
-you follow the norm of appropriateness

Question 20

Fidelity

Answer 20

the degree of exactness with which a message is sent

Question 21

High Fidelity

Answer 21

a message that gets from the source to the receiver without distortion
-the enemy of fidelity is noise
Ex: face to face conversation
-a low fideltiy example is a tv with a lot of static

Question 22

Noise

Answer 22

anything that interferes with fidelity

Question 23

Two types of noise

Answer 23

(1) internal noise and (2) external noise

Question 24

Internal Noise

Answer 24

Internal thoughts that interfere with a message getting through to you
Ex: thinking about the party you’re going to on Friday distracts you from listening to your professor during the lecture
Ex: hunger, sickness

Question 25

External Noise

Answer 25

noise occurring in the external world, can be social or physical
Ex: checking out an attractive person during a lecture

Question 26

Feedback

Answer 26

the receiver can send a message back to the source, the receiver becomes the source

Question 27

Linear Models

Answer 27

models that don’t have feedback and go in one direction (SEMCDR Model)

Question 28

Circular Models

Answer 28

models that include feedback
-can increase fidelity through clarification
-takes longer

Question 29

Four Systems of Communication

Answer 29

1. Intrapersonal
2. Interpersonal
3. Small Group Communication
4. Mass

Question 30

Intrapersonal

Answer 30

communication with yourself
Ex: thoughts and feelings

Question 31

Interpersonal

Answer 31

communication between TWO people (dyadic)
-higher feedback
-Ex: two people sitting across from each other on a date

Question 32

Small group

Answer 32

communication between 3 and 30 people
-people must perceive themselves as a member, not random
-if there is a small group and there’s one person who isn’t a member, it becomes mass
-the same goes for if someone who is a group member is missing and it is perceptible
number of small group and mass are capable of being the same
Ex: a basketball team meeting

Question 33

Mass Communication

Answer 33

a very large group of people (often a linear form of communication)
Ex: a lecture in college

Question 34

Mediation

Answer 34

something that comes in between or intercedes two or more things
-a physical inanimate thing interferes with face-to-face communication
-mediated and non-mediated can occur at the same time

Question 35

Examples of mediated vs non-mediated

Answer 35

• talking directly to a person is a non-mediated interpersonal
  -talking on the phone is mediated interpersonal
  -a zoom meeting is mediated small group
  -re-reading an essay you wrote is mediated intrapersonal
  -looking in a mirror is mediated intrapersonal

Question 36

Aggregate

Answer 36

a group of people who don’t know each other, more-so in the same place at the same time