Interpersonal communication

Question 1

What is theory?
- three types

Answer 1

Method of teaching and learning
- systematic: new observation connects with other observations
- informed: evidence based
- explanation: explanation for why/how phenomena works

Question 2

‘What is personal may become mass’
(Nancy Baym)
- mass communication
- interpersonal communication

Answer 2

Posits that new media allow us to communicate personally within what used to be big groups -

ex. online groups about a television show has a mass communication audience
- but the communication between each other can be interpersonal (directed to an individual within the group)
- as well as mass (when available to everybody in the group)

Question 3

Interrelationship between micro- and macro- levels of communication

Answer 3

Communication can be viewed at both micro and macro levels (micro- macro- interchangeable relationship)
Micro - interpersonal communication between individuals or small groups: used for building/maintaining relationships, may impact larger social structures e.g individual communication can help shape social and cultural norms
Macro - communication involves communication within larger groups e.g organizations/societies: can shape at individual level by influencing (e.g mass media) how people understand the world around them, shape norms, influence political decisions
**1992 presidential election between Clinton & Bush (mass became personal, influencing the entire election)

Question 4

Symbolic interactionism

Answer 4

Humans interpret/define each other’s actions instead of just ‘reacting’
e.g: response is not a reaction directly to action, but based on meaning that is ‘attached’ to those actions
“human interaction is a process by the use of symbols, interpretation or making sense of another’s action” (Herbert Blumer 1962).
- Marwick and Boyd “identity and self is made up by constant interaction with others - self presentation is collaborative”

Question 5

Erving Goffman 1922 - 1982
“Life is a stage”

Answer 5

Associated with symbolic interactionism
- Life is a stage and we are actors who perform different roles on the stage
- Don’t perform on one stage / multiple stages depending on who we’re with, where we are etc. E.g family, friends, co-workers, at school, at work

Question 6

Goffman
“life is a stage” and its parts

Answer 6

(Audience) fellow actors & those we interact with
(Front stage)
Personal front
a - appearance: indication of social status e.g how we dress
b - manner: role we are expected to play / how we are expected to act / how others expect us to act
(Back stage)
(+ Setting) props, decor, scene e.g a large desk is sign of status
(Back stage) where the impression given by a certain performance is knowingly contradicted

Question 7

Front vs. backstage example

Answer 7

• Different types of behaviours front vs. back
  E.g in a hotel, everything is good in the restaurant, but people swear/stress and eat the food in the back
  E.g (2) media coverage: journalists decide the front stage of a celebrity story - Meghan Markle

Question 8

Impression management: face
-Goffman

Answer 8

The impression we want to give to society ‘socially acceptable’ facade
(similar to the idea of stage, but with heavier emphasis on how others perceive you)
- Face is a social constraint, even though one is comfortable in this facade ‘Goffman’
- Face / work: the work he/she does to maintain this image
- Loss of face: embarrassment

Question 9

Expression: giving / giving off

Answer 9

• People have an expression they ‘give’ internal conversation and shared facts
  E.g private setting
• People have an expression they ‘give off’
  unintended signals we give, perhaps through appearance (put together may infer a sign of self confidence)
  E.g publicly
  (Ed and the bacon sandwich)

Question 10

Frames / Breaking frames

Answer 10

• what was a meaningless aspect of a scene becomes meaningful (Goffman)
• organises experiences through social and cultural schemas: provide context that enable our interpretation of an event
• Frame break: reduces the frames power to influence our interpretation

Question 11

‘Presentation of self’ in social media
-Papacharissi “The Networked Self”

Answer 11

Social media carries deeper meaning (positive approach to social media):
- presentation of self is augmented (made greater) through social media
- when presenting ourselves on social media we are presenting ourselves to multiple audiences
- increases sociability
- skills needed to edit presentation of self to audiences

Question 12

Social media & overlapping audiences
- Deborah Chambers

Answer 12

Lacks ability to distinguish between audiences - e.g casual and intimate relationships disrupts social networks by blending audiences / blurs lines between relationships

Question 13

Problems and opportunities of self-presentation
- Boyd

Answer 13

• Networked public provides a forum for people to meet/connect for social and cultural purposes
• Blurs private and public relationships - causes problems for opportunities and face: self-presentation

Question 14

Networked Publics circle model
- Chambers

Answer 14

Permanence – Replicability – Scalability – Searchability
core:
invisible audiences
collapsed contexts
blurring of public/private

Question 15

Impression management and ‘context collapse’
- Boyd / Duguay

Answer 15

Cons of overlapping audiences
E.g employer looking you up on social media and denying you an opportunity
E.g twitter using overlapping audiences to conceal info in order to portray authentic information & being interesting (funny) at the same time

Question 16

Presentation of self online
- Tufecksi

Answer 16

• Negative view to social media and self presentation
• Social media causes problems in that young people feel the need to present a constrained unitary (ONE SINGLE) version of themselves online to multiple audiences which, in the past, have been separate
• finding one presentation, because of social media, that tends to everybody