Communication Flashcards
communication
transmission of messages from one person to another
- use of different media can affect the way message is received
- messages can be verbal or non verbal
- what is communicated depends on the contents of the message and how it is conveyed
ways communication is social
- involves inter relationships among people
- requires people to acquire shared understanding of what particular sounds, words and gestures mean
- means whereby people influence others and are in turn influenced by them
for communication to work, it requires
- speaker of message
- listener of message
- message itself
ways communication can be complex
- speaker can also be the listener
- there may be multiple messages, some of which may contradict one another
communication styles
styles in which we learn to communicate depends on the culture in which we were raised, our socioeconomic background and our gender
Bernstein
- claimed that working and middle class people in UK used different language codes
- children from working class families had language deficit because they could only use restricted code
- claimed that this limited their ability to benefit from education
language code
types of language used that reflects particular social groups
restricted code
- short and simple sentences used
- much of meaning only makes sense if the context is known
- carries social message of inclusion and implicitly acknowledges that the person addressed is ‘one of us’
elaborated code
- long and complex sentences used
- meaning is clear from the sentence alone
- covers more details so everyone can understand
African American Vernacular English
- considered as just as complex and rule governed as standard english and should be considered different not deficient
- criticism: usage of double negative where in standard english, it is greatly shunned upon
- Labov argued that several European countries also used double negative the same way as AAVE
Malcolm et. al
- considered that Australian Aboriginal children were still required to submit education that only recognizes standard english in which teachers have little appreciation for the differences in speaking and listening style
- Aboriginal children find it threatening and embarrassing when interacting with teachers during Q&A sessions
- highlighted importance of understanding and respecting differences in communication styles for effective communication
Deborah Tannen
- described communication styles that she considered to be typical of men and women
- recorded conversations between men and women to identify and understand gender differences in ways of speaking
report talk
- type of talk used in public speaking and for sharing information
- use talk as way of gaining and holding the attention of audience and to negotiate and maintain status
- gets more air time and exchanges information with little emotional connection
rapport talk
- based on establishing relationships and intimacy, developing understanding and negotiating differences
- focuses on personal and small talks
- tend to talk over one another, overlapping and simultaneous talk
socialization
communication styles evolved from childhood where boys and girls were socialized differently in terms of expectations about language styles
- girls are taught to maintain relationships through talk
- boys are taught to maintain relationships through actions
understanding differences
- friction between men and women can occur because of lack of understanding of differences of communication styles
- Tannen considered that if men and women simply understood each other, a lot of anguish can be avoided
other research findings
- women use more confirmatory noises like ‘mmm’ and ‘yeah’ to indicate that they’re listening
- women use grammatical form known as hedges to soften requests or statements
- hedges are words or phrases used to soften the impact of statements or requests being made
persuasive communication
communication designed to try to change the beliefs, feelings and behaviors of others
Petty & Cacioppo
1986
- developed the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
- in this model, people think about the argument being made when they receive a message
- persuasion follows one or two routes and the route chosen depends on the amount of elaboration or scrutiny required
central route
- consists of thoughtful consideration of the contents of a message by the receiver as an active participant in the process of persuasion
- can only occur if the listener has both the motivation and ability to think about the message and its contents
- if the listener doesn’t care about the topic or understand it, they will lack motivation to process it
- advantage: attitudes changed from central route to persuasion are more likely to have longer lasting effects
- disadvantage: if the message is not clear and convincing, the listener will not be persuaded and would require cognitive effort to listen to the message
peripheral route
- occurs when listener decides whether to agree to the message based on cues other than the contents of the message
- listeners engaged in peripheral processing are more passive than those doing central processing
- advantage: quick and does not require cognitive effort
- disadvantage: listeners don’t always have the motivation and ability to think about the contents of the message
variables in context in which persuasion takes place
- source of message
- nature of communication
- characteristics of audience
sources of message
expertise
- accepts message from people with perceived expertise in that area which comes from occupation
- experts are seen as more trustworthy or knowledgeable and competent
fast talkers
- Smith and Shaffers found that as long as the gist of the message can be understood, listeners will assume that fast talkers are more intelligent and knowledgeable
- fast presentations make it more difficult for listeners to evaluate the contents properly
trustworthiness
- a person who is seen as trustworthy is more likely to persuade someone
likeability
- physical attractiveness can impact a persons likeability and make that person more persuasive
nature of communication
- contents of a message as well as the medium used for communication between the source and audience
- tone of language can be formal or informal, accusatory or conciliatory, polite or rude
criteria of nature of communication
keep it simple
- much of persuasive information are often misunderstood
aim at emotions
- messages often aim to provoke emotional responses and try to change your thinking
- positive emotions:
– research evidence linking good mood and ability to persuade is mixed
– a person in a good mood might not process information and will not be swayed by rational arguments but might still buy the product
- inducing fear
– research shows that for this type of appeal to work, it needs to arouse sufficient anxiety to convince us to attend to the message
– too much anxiety and avoidance of message will occur
characteristics of audience
need for cognition - Petty & Cacioppo 1982
- individuals differ in how carefully they evaluate an argument
- people with high need for cognition enjoys examining issues, weighing pros and cons and are more likely persuaded by strong arguments and unmoved by weak ones
- people with low need for cognition focus less on strength of argument and more on expertise and trustworthiness of the person presenting the message
gender - Carli
- message was read by either man or woman either tentatively or assertively
- male listeners were more easily persuaded than females when message was read tentatively by females
- both genders were equally persuaded when message was read by men in both conditions
cultural differences
- Zhu Yunxia
– investigated cultural differences in what people find persuasive
– goal is to invite readers to trade fair
– invitations to western countries focused on logic
– invitations to Chinese readers focused on logic and emotion and was more formal and polite
- Kim and colleagues
– investigated cultural differences where attempts at persuasion are evaluated
– collectivistic cultures valued interdependence and are likely to use hint strategies as effective means of persuasion
– individualistic cultures valued independence and considered direct statements as best way of making requests
– if confronted with non compliance, all participants reported that they would like to resort to more direct requests for their second attempts
age
- language used should be appropriate with regards to the age of the audience
relationship to speaker
- if the speaker if of the same age group as the audience, then the speaker should not consider himself or herself as more important than them
language
system for combining symbols so that an infinite number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others
types of knowledge to be acquired to master a language
- contents of language: knowledge about what to say
- form of language: knowledge about how to say
- use of language: knowledge on how to use
Chomsky
innate theory of language
- at first assumed that language developed naturally as everyone learned to speak their own native language
- believed that the principles underlying structure of language are biologically based and hence genetically transmitted
- argues that all languages share the same linguistic structure irrespective of sociocultural differences
features of innate theory of language
language acquisition device
- mysterious black box hard wired for language where learners know in advance what a language is and can acquire it quickly
- assumes that children don’t need other people to talk to them as all linguistic knowledge is built in
- parents don’t correct their children but are still able to talk in grammatical sentences
- assumes that all languages share similarities in sentence construction
input and output
- LAD works by receiving language that child is surrounded with as input and generates sentences in that same language as output
universal grammar
- as child processes languages as input, they will apply universal grammar
- universal rules of grammar could help distinguish grammatical sentences from ungrammatical ones
- surface structured rule: describes grammatical structure of each spoken language
- deep structured rule: enables generation and production of grammatical sentences
limitations of innate theory of language
- paid little attention to social environment in which child was raised
- parents play active role in helping child develop language, especially languages that are not mother tongue
- LAD is an abstract concept with little empirical evidence
Bruner
learned theory of language
- believes that social environment plays fundamental role in development of language
- proposed language acquisition support system based on descriptions of processes through which language was learned by 2 boys from 3 to 24 months
features of LASS
- describes how parents guided and supported their children’s emerging language through interactions
- LASS requires LAD and vice versa as language can only develop through interacting with others
- child component: innate propensity to learn language
- adult component: adults provide necessary instructional framework to encourage talk and facilitate learning of language
scaffolding
- theory proposed that adults provide suitable interactional framework to allow language to develop
- caregivers must stay one step ahead of child and can push child a little beyond his or her capabilities to talk more, use more words and learn new meanings
formats
- micro interactional patterns including activities like meals and bath times and familiar games like peek a boo
- these activities are tightly structured and offer rich opportunities for mothers to raise her expectations of what she considers appropriate in her child’s language
reference
- how people manage and direct each others attention by linguistic means
- develops out of non linguistic means of directing attention
- highly context sensitive and takes place in space and time, using words like here and this
types of formats in the study of reference
joint attention
- shared focus of two individuals on an object
first established through eye contact between mother and infant where primitive vocal turn taking then develops
- once is this routine is firmly established, caregiver will introduce objects for infant to look at, accompanied by talk
- over time, objects get moved further away and looking gets replaced by pointing whereby infants gradually associate names of objects
book reading
- format with routine structure requiring mother and child to sit down together and read
- children learn about books, meanings associated with words and use of language
- by the time book reading appears as a format, children are able to take turns and know conventions of conversations
