Cultural Codes: Essential

Question 1

Accent

Answer 1

A way of pronouncing words that indicates the place of origin or social
background of the speaker.

Question 2

Appearance

Answer 2

The way somebody or something looks or seems to other people: an outward aspect of somebody or something that creates a particular impression.

Question 3

Bodily Adornment

Answer 3

All the ways in which ‘furnish’ and decorate the body (clothing,
jewellery, make-up, tattooing etc).

Question 4

Dialect

Answer 4

A type of language use specific to a particular area within a country.

Question 5

Facial Expression

Answer 5

The use of the face as an expressive instrument of communication.

Question 6

Feedback

Answer 6

The response received by the sender to a message.

Question 7

Gesture

Answer 7

A movement made with a part of the body in order to express meaning, emotion or to communicate an instruction.

Question 8

Group

Answer 8

A collection of individuals.

Question 9

Group Cohesion

Answer 9

The tendency of a group to remain intact.

Question 10

Groupthink

Answer 10

A feature of groups whereby individual performance is inhibited by the priorities of the group as a whole.

Question 11

Ideal Self

Answer 11

The kind of person we would like to be.

Question 12

Idiolect (idiosyncratic dialect)

Answer 12

An individual’s personal language register, it
encompasses all our experiences and knowledge of language. The idiolect consists
not only of vocabulary but also of the conventions of performance: all our words in all
the forms, contexts and with all the differing emphasis we have given to them.

Question 13

Interaction

Answer 13

Communication between or joint activity involving two or more people.

Question 14

Kinesics

Answer 14

Body movement such as gesture, facial expression, posture, head nodding, orientation (where you put your self in relation to others): the study of the way meanings are communicated by bodily movement.

Question 15

Language

Answer 15

An abstract system of communication using words and sentences to convey meaning.

Question 16

Non-verbal Communication

Answer 16

All communication other than that involving words and language.

Question 17

Non-verbal Leakage

Answer 17

When messages ‘slip out’ in spite of our attempts to control them.

Question 18

Paralanguage

Answer 18

Consists of the non-verbal elements that accompany speech. It
includes the way we speak (also known as prosodic features); volume; pitch;
intonation; speed of delivery; articulation; rhythm; the sounds we make other than
language; laughter; crying; lip smacking; yawning; sighing; screeching; coughing;
filled pauses such as ‘Mmmm’, ‘Ahhh’, Errr’, Ummm; unfilled pauses.

Question 19

Persona

Answer 19

An adopted form of the self/identity.

Question 20

Perception

Answer 20

The process of making sense of sensory data.

Question 21

Personal Style

Answer 21

The specific features of our individual communication.

Question 22

Posture

Answer 22

The way we sit, stand and hold our bodies.

Question 23

Proxemics

Answer 23

The study of how we use space and distance including seating arrangements, queuing and territoriality.

Question 24

Proximity

Answer 24

The ways in which the space around us creates meanings for ourselves and others.

Question 25

Role

Answer 25

A part we play.

Question 26

Role Model

Answer 26

A person whose behaviour, persona and/or appearance provide an influential model for others to follow.

Question 27

School of Thought

Answer 27

A set of beliefs or ideas held by a group of academics; a shared way of thinking about a particular issue.

Question 28

Self-concept

Answer 28

The idea we have of ourselves as individuals.

Question 29

Self Disclosure

Answer 29

The act of revealing ourselves, consciously or otherwise.

Question 30

Self Esteem

Answer 30

A measure of our own self worth.

Question 31

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 31

Refers to how our belief that something is true can cause it
to be so. For example, if we believe we are confident, we act as if we are confident,
and so become confident.

Question 32

Self Image

Answer 32

The view we have of ourselves.

Question 33

Self Presentation

Answer 33

The conscious process through which self becomes text.

Question 34

Verbal Communication

Answer 34

Communicating with words and language (as opposed to images, actions or behaviour).