Chapter 15 - Terms Flashcards
Communication
the process of transmitting information from one person or place to another
Perception
the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from their environments
Perceptual filters
the personality-, psychology-, or experience-based differences that influence people to ignore or pay attention to particular stimuli
Selective perception
the tendency to notice and accept objects and information consistent with our values, beliefs, and expectations, while ignoring or screening inconsistent information
Closure
the tendency to fill in gaps of missing information by assuming that what we don’t know is consistent with what we already know
Attribution theory
the theory that we all have a basic need to understand and explain the causes of other people’s behavior
Defensive bias
the tendency for people to perceive themselves as personally and situationally similar to someone who is having difficulty or trouble
Fundamental attribution error
the tendency to ignore external causes of behavior and to attribute other people’s actions to internal causes
Self-serving bias
the tendency to overestimate our value by attributing successes to ourselves (internal causes) and attributing failures to others or the environment (external causes)
Encoding
putting a message into a written, verbal, or symbolic form that can be recognized and understood by the receiver
Decoding
the process by which the receiver translates the written, verbal, or symbolic form of a message into an understood message
Feedback to sender
in the communication process, a return message to the sender that indicates the receiver’s understanding of the message
Noise
anything that interferes with the transmission of the intended message
Jargon
vocabulary particular to a profession or group that interferes with communication in the workplace
Formal communication channel
the system of official channels that carry organizationally approved messages and information
Downward communication
communication that flows from higher to lower levels in an organization
Upward communication
communication that flows from lower to higher levels in an organization
Horizontal communication
communication that flows among managers and workers who are at the same organizational level
Informal communication channel (grapevine)
the transmission of messages from employee to employee outside of formal communication channels
Coaching
communicating with someone for the direct purpose of improving the person’s on-the-job performance or behavior
Counseling
communicating with someone about non-job-related issues that may be affecting or interfering with the person’s performance
Nonverbal communication
any communication that doesn’t involve words
Kinesics
movements of the body and face
Paralanguage
the pitch, rate, tone, volume, and speaking pattern (that is, use of silences, pauses, or hesitations) of one’s voice
