Chapter 1: Introduction To Interpersonal Communication Flashcards
Communication apprehension (CA)
Of fear or anxiety pertaining to the communication process
Intercultural communication apprehension
The fear or anxiety pertaining to communication with people from different cultural backgrounds
Interpersonal communication
The process of message transaction between two people to create and sustain shared meaning
Process
When used to describe interpersonal communication, an ongoing, unending, vibrant activity that always changes
Message exchange
The transaction of verbal and nonverbal messages being sent simultaneously between two people
Meaning
What communicators create together through the use of verbal and nonverbal messages
Communication models
Visual, simplified representations of complex relationships in the communication process
Linear model of communication
The characterization of communication as a one-way process transmits a message from a sender to receiver
Sender
The source of a message
Message
Spoken, written, or unspoken information sent from a sender to receiver
Receiver
The intended target of a message
Channel
A pathway through which a message is sent
Noise
Anything that interferes with accurate transmission or reception of a message. See also physical noise, physiological noise, psychological noise, and semantic noise
Physical noise
Any stimuli outside of the sender or a receiver that interferes with the transmission or reception of a message. Also called external noise.
Physiological noise
Biological influences on a sender or a receiver that interfere with the transmission or reception of a message
Psychological noise
Biases, prejudices, and feelings that interfere with the accurate transmission or reception of a message. Also called internal noise.
Semantic noise
Occurs when senders and receivers apply different meanings to the same messages; may take the form of jargon, technical language, and other words and phrases that are familiar to the sender but that are not understood by the receiver.
Context
The environment in which a message is sent.
Physical context
The tangible environment in which communication occurs.
Cultural context
The cultural environment in which communication occurs refers to the rules, roles, norms, and patterns of communication that are unique to a particular culture.
Social-emotional context
The relational and emotional environment in which communication occurs.
Historical context
What type of context in which messages are understood in relationship to previously sent messages.
Interactional model of communication
The characterization of communication as a two-way process in which a message is sent from sender to receiver and from receiver to sender.
Feedback
A verbal or nonverbal response to a message.
Internal feedback
The feedback we give ourselves when we assess our own communication.
External feedback
The feedback we receive from other people.
Transactional model of communication
A characterization of communication as the reciprocal sending and receiving of messages. In a transactional encounter, the sender and receiver do not simply send meaning from one to the other and then back again; rather, they build a shared meaning through simultaneous sending and receiving.
Field of experience
The influence of a persons cultural, past experiences, personal history, and hereditary on the communication process.
Relational history
The prior relationship experiences that two people share.
Relational rules
Negotiable rules that indicates what to relational partners expect and allow when they talk to each other.
Relational uniqueness
The ways in which the particular relationship of two relational partners stands apart from other relationships they experience.
Self-actualization
The process of gaining information about ourselves in an effort to tap our full potential, our spontaneity, and our talents and to cultivate our strengths and eliminate our shortcomings.
Irreversibility
The fact that our communication with others cannot be unsaid or reversed
Semiotics theory
The study of signs and symbols in relationship to their form and content
Symbols
Arbitrary labels of representation (such as words) for feelings, concepts, objects, or events
Rule
A prescribed guide that indicates what behaviors is obligated, preferred, or prohibited in certain contexts
Content level
The verbal and nonverbal information contained in a message that indicates the topic of the message.
Relationship level
The information contained in a message that indicates how the sender wants the receiver to interpret the message.
Ethics
The perceived rightness or wrongness of an action or behavior
Categorical imperative
An ethical system based on the works of philosopher Immanuel Kant, advancing the notion that individuals follow moral absolutes. The underlying tenet in this ethical system suggest that we should act as an example to others.
Utilitarianism
And ethical system, developed by John Stuart Mill, suggests that what is ethical will bring the greatest good for the greatest number of people
Golden mean
And ethical system, articulated by Aristotle, proposing that a persons moral value stands between two vices, with the middle, or the mean, being the foundation of the rational society
Ethic of care
And ethical system, based on the concepts of Carol Gilligan, that is concerned with the connections among people and the moral consequences of decisions
Significant choice
And ethical system, conceptualized by Thomas Nilsen, that underscores the belief that communication is ethical to the extent that it maximizes our ability to exercise free choice. In this system, information should be given to others in a non-coercive way so that people can make free and informed decisions.
Communication competency
The ability to communicate with knowledge, skills, and thoughtfulness
Civil communication
The acceptance of another person as an equal partner in achieving meaning during communication.
