interpersonal communication Flashcards
what is interpersonal communication
- occurs between people
- creates a personal bond
- occurs between 2 or more people
- lives are interdependent and mutually influence one another in unique ways
- unique qualities as a person matters
- contrasts with impersonal communication
why care about interpersonal communication
- keeps us happy and healthy
- helps us build successful relationships and careers
- needs to be learned
why do we want to engage in IC
- instrumental
- relationship-maintenance
- self-presentation
communication competence
- ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in personal relationships
- knowledge of effective and appropriate communication patterns and the ability to use and adapt that knowledge in various contexts
CC measurement standards: fidelity
extent which meanings can be correctly inferred from the symbols
- clarity
- reduced when communicators use different kinds of symbols (differences in cultural backgrounds, age etc.)
- might be undermined by noise in the environment
- threats to fidelity are often outside a person’s control
CC measurement standards: appropriateness
messages produced match the requirements of situation
- notice and adhere to social rules
CC measurement standards: satisfaction
enjoyable
CC measurement standards: effectiveness
fulfil goals; produce outcomes that you want
CC measurement standards: efficiency
produce desirable outcomes with no more than a reasonable amount of effort
CC measurement standards: ethics
using values as a moral guide when interacting
- upholding moral values when communicating
- being true to self and others
- ethical communicators make their values and assumptions clear to others, and they demonstrate a respect for the values and assumptions that other people express
promoting communication competence
- motivation
- skills
- knowledge
what is theory
- description of the relationships among concepts
- help us to understand a phenomenon
- explanation of why something is the way it is
characteristics of a theory
- highlights specific concepts -> concepts within a theory are the categories of phenomena that are believed to be relevant to understanding an event, situation, or experience
- describes how concepts are related (positive and negative associations, curvilinear association)
- always incomplete – not as rich as the phenomenon itself, but incompleteness is useful as it focuses on the main trend
- needs to be tested and supported by evidence (cannot be proved)
what is research
systemic ways of observing reality with an aim to test theory -> comparing the observations to the ways that theories describe communication
- interview
- ethnography
- surveys
- experiments
social penetration theory
explains how information exchange among communicators functions to develop or sometimes disintegrate interpersonal r/s
- the “onion model”
stages (Altman & Taylor, 1973):
orientation
- sharing superficial, public information about self
exploratory-affective
- increase in the breadth of topics that are discussed, a little bit in depth
affective -> going into personal layer
- interactions move fluidly and are more casual, more spontaneous
stable exchange
- spontaneous, honesty, open broad
- private self is disclosed
social penetration is accomplished through self-disclosure
- purposeful process of revealing info about oneself
- increases intimacy
- involves rewards and risks
