Chapter 1 - Introduction to Interpersonal Communication

Question 1

What does it mean to be ‘other-oriented’?

Answer 1

To be aware of the thoughts, needs, experiences, personality, emotions, motives, desires, culture, and goals of your communication partners while still maintaining your own integrity.

Question 2

True or False: being other-oriented is a skill?

Answer 2

False: it is not a single skill but a collection of skills and principles

Question 3

What is the simplest definition of communication?

Answer 3

The process of acting upon information

Question 4

What is human communication?

Answer 4

To be aware of the thoughts, needs, experiences, personality, emotions, motives, desires, culture, and goals of your communication partners while still maintaining your own integrity.

Question 5

What is interpersonal communication?

Answer 5

A distinctive, transactional form of human communication involving mutual influence, usually for the purpose of managing relationships.

Question 6

Interpersonal communication occurs when _______

Answer 6

You treat the other as a unique human being

Question 7

What is impersonal communication?

Answer 7

Communication that occurs when we treat people as objects or when we respond to their roles rather than to who they are as unique persons.

Question 8

Scenario: you walk by a store in the mall and see a cute pair of shoes that are also on sale; you decide to buy them and as the salesperson hands your bag to you to mumble ‘thank you’ without looking up and walk out the store. What kind of communication did you just participate in?

Answer 8

Impersonal communication

Question 9

What is mass communication?

Answer 9

Type of communication that occurs when one person issues the same message to many people at once; the creator of the message is usually not present and there is virtually no opportunity for listeners to respond to the speaker.

Question 10

What is an example of mass communication?

Answer 10

Messages communicated via a television or radio broadcast

Question 11

What is public communication?

Answer 11

Type of communication that occurs when a speaker addresses a large audience in person.

Question 12

What is small-group communication?

Answer 12

Type of communication that occurs when a group of from three to fifteen people meet to interact with a common purpose and mutually influence one another.

Question 13

What is intrapersonal communication?

Answer 13

Communication with oneself

Question 14

When you are thinking, what kind of communication are you engaging in?

Answer 14

Intrapersonal communication

Question 15

What is a relationship?

Answer 15

An ongoing connection made with another person through interpersonal communication.

Question 16

What is depression?

Answer 16

A widespread emotional disorder in which the person has problems with sadness, changes in appetite, difficulty sleeping, and a decrease in activities, interests, and energy.

Question 17

_______ is the most commonly diagnosed mental illness

Answer 17

Depression

Question 18

The most basic components of communication include the following elements: ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, and ______

Answer 18

source, message, channel, receiver, noise, feedback, context

Question 19

What is a source?

Answer 19

The originator of a thought or emotion, who puts it into a code that can be understood by a receiver.

Question 20

What is encoding?

Answer 20

The translation of ideas, feelings, and thoughts into a code.

Question 21

What is decoding?

Answer 21

The interpretation of ideas, feelings, and thoughts that have been translated into a code.

Question 22

What are messages?

Answer 22

The written, spoken, and unspoken elements of communication to which people assign meaning.

Question 23

What is a channel?

Answer 23

The pathway by which messages are sent.

Question 24

What is the receiver?

Answer 24

The person who decodes a message and attempts to make sense out of what the source has encoded.

Question 25

What is noise?

Answer 25

Information, either external or internal, that interferes with the accurate reception of a message.

Question 26

What is feedback?

Answer 26

The intentional or unintentional response to a message.

Question 27

What is context?

Answer 27

The physical and psychological environment in which communication takes place.

Question 28

What are the three models of the communication process?

Answer 28

Communication as action (message transfer), interaction (message exchange), or transaction (message creation)

Question 29

What is the systems theory?

Answer 29

A theory that describes the interconnected elements of a system in which a change in one element affects all the other elements.

Question 30

Which approach to communication is based on the systems theory?

Answer 30

Transactional model

Question 31

What is an episode?

Answer 31

A sequence of interactions between individuals during which the message of one person influences the message of another.

Question 32

What is a symbol?

Answer 32

A word, sound, or visual device that represents a thought, concept, or object.

Question 33

What is a rule?

Answer 33

A prescription for behaviour that indicates what is obligated, preferred, or prohibited in certain communication situations or contexts.

Question 34

What is content?

Answer 34

New information, ideas, or suggested actions that a speaker wishes to share.

Question 35

What is a relationship dimension?

Answer 35

The implied aspect of a communication message, which conveys information about emotions, attitudes, power, and control.

Question 36

What is metacommunication?

Answer 36

Verbal or nonverbal communication about communication.

Question 37

What is an egocentric communicator?

Answer 37

Someone who creates messages without giving much thought to the person who is listening; a communicator who is self-focused and self-absorbed.

Question 38

What are ethics?

Answer 38

The beliefs, values, and moral principles by which people determine what is right or wrong.