Communication Flashcards
Explain how communication begins
Communication begins with a sender who encodes information with an intention
What does the receiver do in communication
Transmitted to a receiver that decodes the message - interpretation of information
What can influence encoding and decoding
Mood, noise, context
What is noise
makes message hard to interpret
Interpersonal gap:
the senders intentions differ from the effect on the receiver
The five functions of nonverbal communication
Providing information, regulating interactions, defining nature of relationship, interpersonal influence, impression management
Providing information:
behaviour allows others to make inferences about intentions, feelings, traits and meaning
Regulating interactions:
Nonverbal behaviour provides cues that regulate efficient give and take of interactions
Defining the nature of the relationship:
type of partnership can be evident
Interpersonal influence:
goal-orientated behaviour to influence someone
impression management:
enhance or create a particular image
Main components of nonverbal communication
Facial expressions, Eyes and gazing behaviour,, Body movement, touch, interpersonal distance, smell, paralanguage
are facial expressions universial:
We do not need socialization to develop facial expressions
How do we modify facial expressions
- can be authentic or inauthentic
- Deliberately disguising true emotions
- can occur to display rules for what is appropriate
Intensity, minimize, neutralize, mask
Gazing behaviour:
Gives information - pupils, time looking, anxiety-provoking
- Defines the relationship
Visual dominance ratio:
Compares “look-speak” to “look-listen” percentage of gazing
Higher ratio is more dominance
Interpersonal distance model
Distance varies based on relationship
- Intimate 0-50 cm
- Personal 0.5-1m - friends
- Social 1-4 m - businesslike
- Public >4 m - structured interaction
Paralanguage
what is being said but not the word - tone, rhythm, emphasis, pitch
What is Mimicry:
participants in a conversation adopt similar postures and mannerisms, paralanguage, expressions
Nonverbal sensitivity:
some people are better at reading cues from others - emotional intelligence can lead to better interactions; people do not interpret nonverbal behaviour well, dissatisfied with marriages
Self-disclosure
Intimacy involves sharing personal information about oneself to one’s partner
How do different attachment styles self-disclose
High in anxiety are more talkative - disclose too much too soon
Avoidance of intimacy engage in less self-disclosure
Reciprocity in self-disclosure
- Builds trust through equal exchange
- Closeness involves communication increases in breadth and depth
Social penetration theory:
- Beginning relationship: superficial
- Developing relationship: begin intimate discussion
- Close relationship: more intimate relationships
Interpersonal process model of intimacy:
True intimacy develops when three conditions are met:
- Engaging in self-discolsure
- Authentic, open and honest reltionship
- Responsive partners with interest and empathy; including perceived partner responsiveness
Secrets in communication
We keep some things private, penetration theory is never total; selective secrecy can continue to satisfaction
Differences in verbal communication
- Topics
- Style
- self-disclosure
- instrumentality vs expressivity
Expressivity:
Intimate verbal communication and comfortability talking about feelings. Intimacy is tied to a person’s expressivity
Kitchen sinking:
address several topics at once - primary concern to get lost in the barrage of frustrations
Off-beaming:
wandering from topic to topic so that the conversation never stays on one problem long enough to resolve it
Mind-reading:
when people assume that they understand their partners’ thoughts, feelings, and opinions without asking - perceive unpleasant motives where neutral or positive ones actually exist
Interrupting:
problematic to express disagreement
Yes-butting:
finding something wrong or un-workable with anything their partners say
Cross-complaining:
respond to a complaint with one of their own
Criticism:
attacks a partner’s personality or character instead of identifying a specific behavior that is causing concern
Defensiveness:
partners seek to protect themselves from the unreasonable attack by making excuses
Stonewalling:
withdrawing into a stony silence
Belligerence:
aggressively rejecting the other altogether
Contempt:
insults, mockery, or hostile humor
Four horsemen of the relationship apocalypse:
criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling
Improving communication:
Use I-statements, XYZ, active listening, perception checking, asking for clarification, remaining calm, validation
Remaining calm: - negative affect reciprocity
negative affect reciprocity in which they’re contemptuous of each other, with each being scornful of what the other has to say
Validation:
acknowledges the legitimacy of their opinions and communicates respect for their positions
