Chapter 5: Communication Flashcards
1
Q
table talk
A
a research procedure that involves rating whether the message you are sending to your partner is positive or negative on a 5-point Likert scale and then having your partner rate their interpretation of it
2
Q
benefit of table talk as a research procedure
A
it allows researchers to get a record of both your private thoughts and public actions
3
Q
table talk findings
A
The impact of unhappy couples’ messages tends to be more negative
4
Q
simple model of interpersonal comunication
A
- sender’s intentions (private and known only to the sender)
- sender’s actions (public and observable by anyone)
- effect on the lister (private and known only by the listener)
* between each stage, noise, inference, and the sender’s style of encoding/ listeners style of decoding can influence the message
5
Q
interpersonal gap
A
- When the sender’s intentions differ from the effect on the receiver
- More likely to occur in close relationships
- Leads to relationship dissatisfaction
- Can prevent rewarding relationships from beginning
6
Q
functions of nonverbal communication
A
- providing information
- regulating interaction
- defining the nature of the relationship
- interpersonal influence
- impression management
7
Q
providing information
A
a person’s behaviour allows others to make inferences about his or her intentions, feelings, traits, and meaning
8
Q
regulating interaction
A
nonverbal behaviour provides cues that regulate the efficient give-and-take of smooth conversations and other interactions
9
Q
defining the nature of the relationship
A
the type of partnership two people share may be evident in their nonverbal behaviour
10
Q
interpersonal influence
A
goal-oriented behaviour designed to influence someone else
11
Q
impression management
A
nonverbal behaviour that is managed by a person or a couple to create or enhance a particular image
12
Q
facial expressions
A
Spontaneous facial expressions signal people’s moods
13
Q
are emotions innate or learned?
A
Cross-cultural similarities in basic emotions suggest that they’re innate
14
Q
correlates of happy expressions
A
Happy expressions are correlated with success in life
15
Q
why do people sometimes deliberately manage their facial expressions
A
display rules
16
Q
display rules
A
cultural norms that dictate what emotions are appropriate in particular situations
17
Q
Four ways we can modify our expressions
A
- intensify
- minimize
- neutralize
- mask
18
Q
intensify
A
exaggerating our expressions so that we appear to be experiencing stronger feelings than we really are
19
Q
minimize
A
trying to seem less emotional than we really are
20
Q
neutralize
A
trying to withhold our true feelings altogether
21
Q
mask
A
replacing our feelings with an entirely different emotion
22
Q
fake vs. real expressions
A
Fake expressions usually differ from authentic expressions
23
Q
microexpressions
A
authentic flashes of real emotion that are visible during momentary lapses of control when one is trying to fake emotions
24
Q
pupils and looking behaviour
A
Our pupils dilate when we’re looking at something that interests us
25
eye contact and relationships
When others make eye contact, they signal that we are the target of their attention
26
gazing and relationships
- Gazing helps define the nature of a relationship
- The more intimate the relationship, the more time people spend gazing into one another’s eyes
27
typical looking behaviour during conversations
People usually look at their conversation partners more when they’re listening than when they’re speaking
28
Visual dominance ratio (VDR)
compares the “look-speak” to “look-listen”
29
typical VDR
40/60
30
high-power VDR
60/40
31
function of body movement
Body movements support our verbal communication, making it easier for us to convey what we mean
32
are gestures innate?
no, gestures have different meanings in different languages
33
body movement as a status symbol
High-status people tend to adopt asymmetric postures and take up a lot of space, while low-status people adopt symmetric postures and take up less space
34
what body posture is considered most attractive?
Men and women find expansive body posture more attractive because it is more indicative of confidence
35
touch and relatonships
- Different types of touches have different meanings
- Positive feelings engender touches that are different from those that communicate disgust
- People tend to touch each other more when their relationship is intimate
- Loving touches are good for our health
36
interpersonal distance
the physical space that separates two people that is usually reserved for intimate interactions
37
4 types of interpersonal distance
- Intimate zone (1.5 feet <)
- Personal zone (1.5-4 feet)
- Social zone (4-12 feet):
- Public zone (12+ feet)
38
Intimate zone (1.5 feet <)
either be loving or hostile interactions
39
Personal zone (1.5-4 feet)
friendships and acquaintances
40
Social zone (4-12 feet)
interactions tend to be more business-like
41
Public zone (12+ feet)
interactions tend to be quite formal
42
cross-cultural differences in interpersonal space
- Asian countries routinely use larger distances
- In warmer countries, people tend to prefer closer distances when they interact with strangers and larger distances with intimate partners than people in cooler climates
43
gender differences in interpersonal distance
Women tend to like larger distances than men
44
smell and relationships
- Different emotions cause people to release different chemicals from their bodies
- We are affected by chemosignals
- Smelling happy chemosignals makes us more happy
45
paralanguage
- All the variations in a person’s voice other than the actual words they use
- About how people say things
46
gaining information from voices
Our voices provide better information about what we’re feeling than our facial expressions do
47
gender and voice
- Women speak in a higher pitch when talking to their lovers and men speak in a lower pitch
- Women’s voices become more attractive during ovulation
- Women prefer men with lower voices
48
combing aspects of nonverbal communication
- The components of nonverbal communication work together to convey consistent information about one’s intentions
- Nonverbal behaviour allows us to fine-tune the intimacy of our interactions
49
non conscious behavioural mimicry
- All of the methods of nonverbal communication can be involved in nonconscious behavioural mimicry
- People tend to like others more when their behaviour is being mimicked by their conversation partner (s), even if they don’t consciously realize it
50
nonverbal sensitivity
The sensitivity and accuracy with which couples read, decode, and correctly interpret each other’s nonverbal behaviour predicts how happy their relationship will be
51
gender differences in nonverbal sensitivity
- Women are better encoders and decoders of information than men in general
- Men seem to be worse at nonverbal communication due to both skill and motivation
52
nonverbal sensitivity studies
- In one study, men in troubled marriages did a poor job encoding and decoding their wives’ communication, but the same trend was not found for women
- In another study, both the husbands and wives in an unhappy marriage understood strangers better than they understood each other
53
nonverbal insensitivity as a vicious cycle
Nonverbal insensitivity and dissatisfaction can become a vicious cycle, with each exacerbating the other
54
problems with nonverbal sensitivity stem from either
1. skill deficits
2. performance deficits
55
can we improve at nonverbal communication?
Everyone can improve at nonverbal communication if they try
56
self-disclosure
- The process of revealing personal information to someone else
- One of the defining characteristics of intimacy
57
ways people can become closer to each other
- breadth
- depth
58
social penetration theory
holds that relationships develop through systematic changes in communication
59
breadth
the variety of topics they discuss
60
depth
the personal significance of the topics they discuss
61
opener scale
assess the ability of people to elicit self-disclosure from others
Early encounters typically involve reciprocity in self-disclosure
62
interpersonal process model
argues that general intimacy is likely to develop between two people only when certain conditions have been met
63
3 conditions of interpersonal process model
1. People have to engage in meaningful self-disclosure
2. They have to respond to each other’s disclosures with interest and empathy
3. Perceived partner responsiveness
64
perceived partner responsiveness
They have to recognize that the other is being responsive
65
secrets in relationships
People generally keep secrets in relationships to protect themselves, their relationships, or others
66
taboo topics in relationships
- Sometimes, partners will agree to steer clear of taboo topics
- The most taboo topic is the state of the relationship
67
triangle test
watch closely to see how their lover responds to other attractive people
68
endurance test
contrive difficulties that the lover must overcome to demonstrate their devotion
69
separation test
find reasons to be apart and see how enthusiastically their lovers welcome their return
70
taboo topics and relationship satisfaction
The more taboo topics there are in a relationship, the less satisfied the partners are unless they’re avoiding the topics to promote and protect their relationship
71
self-disclosure and relationship satisfaction
- The more self-disclosure couples share, the happier they tend to be
- We like people more because we have self-disclosed to them, and we self-disclose to people we like
- It’s rewarding to be entrusted with self-disclosures from other
- Those who self-disclose more have better health and greater life satisfaction
72
secure attachment and communication
- People with secure attachment styles exhibit warmer and more expressive nonverbal behaviour
- Secure people are more affectionate and keep fewer secrets than insecure people
73
avoidance of intimacy and communication
Those who are high on avoidance of intimacy tend to engage in less self-disclosure, decode others’ expressions of positive emotions less accurately, and judge others’ negative emotions to be more intense and hostile than they really are
74
anxiety about abandonment and communication
Those who are high in anxiety about abandonment are more talkative and self-disclose too much too soon
75
gender differences in verbal communication
- Women are more likely to discuss their feelings about their close relationships and other personal aspects of their lives
- Men tend to stick to more impersonal matters, so their conversations tend to be less intimate
- When men and women interact with each other, these differences are less apparent
- Women are more indirect and speak less forcefully than men
- Women speak more often than men but produce fewer monologues
- Women are more self-disclosing than men and score higher on the “Opener” scale
- Heterosexual men share their most meaningful intimacy only with women
76
what explains gender differences in verbal communication
Communication differences are more associated with gender roles than biological sex
77
kitchen-sinking
addressing several topics at once, which causes one’s primary concern to get lost in the barrage of frustrations
78
off-beam
conversations that wander from topic to topic
79
mindreading
occurs when people assume that they understand their partners’ thoughts, feelings, and opinions without asking
80
yes-butting
finding something wrong or un-workable with anything their partners say
81
cross-complaining
ignoring what your partner said and meeting his or her complaint with a complaint
82
belligerence
aggressive rejection
83
The four horsemen of the apocalypse
4 criteria that emphasize that the end of a relationship is near
84
four horsemen of the apocalypse
criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling
85
critcism
attacks a partner’s personality or character instead of identifying a specific behaviour that is causing concern
86
contempt
insults, mockery, or hostile humour
87
defensiveness
seeking to protect oneself from an unreasonable attack by making excuses or hurling counterattacks
88
stonewalling
withdrawal into a stony silence
89
miscommunication patterns of unhappy couples
- They do a poor job of saying what they mean
- They do a poor job of hearing each other
- They display negative affect when they talk to each other
90
behaviour description
tells our partners what’s on our minds and focuses the conversation on discrete, manageable behaviours that can readily be changed
91
I-statements
statements that start with “I” and then describe a distinct emotional reaction
92
xyz-statements
statements that follow the form of “When you do X in situation Y, I feel Z.”
93
two tasks when we're listening
- Accurately understand what our partner is trying to say
- Communicate attention and comprehension
94
how can we accomplish the two tasks of listening?
paraphrasing
95
paraphrasing
repeating a message in our own words and giving the sender a chance to agree that that’s actually what they meant
96
perception checking
people assess the accuracy of their inferences about a partner’s feelings by asking the partner for clarification
97
negative affect reciprocity
when people are contemptuous of each other with each being scornful of what the other has to say
98
how to stay cool?
- Anger results from the perception that others are causing us illegitimate, unfair, or unavoidable grief
- We can reframe this perception to reduce or prevent anger
99
validation
acknowledging the legitimacy of others’ opinions and communicating respect for their positions
100
using validation to minimize conflict
We don’t have to agree with others, but showing respect and validation for their opinions will minimize conflict
