Midterm Flashcards
Communication
the process by which we use symbols, signs, and behaviors to transfer information
function
an explanation of how communication behaviors work to accomplish goals in personal, group, organization, or public situations
affiliation
the affect, or feelings, we have for other
relationships
the interconnection between 2 or more people required to achieve goals
interdependence
mutual dependence, where the actions of each partner affect the other
control
the ability of a person, group, or organization to influence situations, and the manner in which their relationship with others are conducted
symbols
arbitrary constructions that refer to people, things, and concepts
code
set of symbols that are joined to create a message
encoding
the process of mentally constructing a message for production
decoding
the process of receiving a message by interpreting and assigning meaning to it
culture
shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group of people
cocultures
smaller groups of people within a larger culture that are distinguished by features like race, religion, etc
channels
the method through which communication occurs
transactional
involving 2 or more people acting in both sender and receiver roles whose messages are dependent on influenced by those of their communication partner
competent communication
communication that is effective and appropriate for a given situation in which the communicators continually evaluate and reassess their own process
behavioral flexibility
the ability to have a number of communication behaviors at your disposal and the willingness to use different behaviors in different situations
communication skills
behavior based on social understandings that help communicators achieve their goal
linear model
communication occurring in 1 direction
sender
originates communication
message
words or ctions from sender
noise
interference that changes the message
receiver
target of the message
interaction model
2 directional process that incorporates feedback
feedback
a message from the receiver to the send that illustrates responses that naturally occur when 2 or more people communicate
competent communication model
communicators send and receive messages simultaneously within relational, situational, and cultural contexts
cognitions
thoughts that communicators have about themselves and others
behavior
observable communication; how we act or function in response to our attitudes and beliefs
cognitive complexity
ability to consider multiple scenarios, theories, and interpretations when encoding and decoding messages
rhetoric
the art of speaking well
perception
a cognitive process through which one interprets one’s experiences and comes to one’s own unique understandings
communicative processing
how we gather, organize, and evaluate the information we receive
schemas
a mental structure that puts individual but related bits of information
social constructivism
the idea that schemas are socially constructed
interaction appearance theory
argument that people change their opinion about the attributions of someone the more they interact
mindlessness
passive state in which the communicator is a less critical processor of info; characterized by reduced cognitive activity, inaccurate recall, and uncritical evaluation
selective perception
choosing to attend to some things while ignoring others
attributions
personal characteristics that are used to explain others’ behavior
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to overemphasize the internal and underestimate the external causes of behaviors we observe
self serving bias
the idea that we usually attribute our own successes to internal factors while our failures seem to be external or situational
negativity bias
inaccurate perception occurring when an individual focuses on the negative over positive or neutral attribute of another
stereotyping
the act of organizing information about groups of people into categories so that we can generalize about their attitudes, behaviors, skills, morals, and habits
prejudice
deep seated feeling of unkindness and ill-will toward particular groups usually based on negative stereotypes and feelings of superiority over those groups
self-concept
one’s awareness and understanding of who one is, as interpreted and influence by one’s thoughts, actions, abilities, values, goals, and ideals
social comparison theory
a theory that explains our tendency to compare ourselves to others, such as friends and acquaintances or popular figures in media, as we develop our ideas about ourselves
self-esteem
how one feels about oneself, usually in a particular situation
self-efficacy
the ability to predict, based on self-concept and self-esteem, one’s effectiveness in a communication situation
self-fulfilling prophecy
a prediction that causes and individual to alter their behavior in a way that makes the prediction more likely to occur
self-actualization
the feelings and thoughts one experiences when one knows that one has negotiated a communication situation as well as possible
self-adequacy
the feelings one gets when one assesses one’s own communication competence as sufficient or acceptable
self-denigration
a negative assessment about a communication experience that involves criticizing or attacking oneself
self-presentation
intentional communication designed to show elements of self for strategic purposes; how one lets others know about oneself
narrative
stories about oneself or one’s experiences to aid in self-presentation
self-monitoring
the ability to watch one’s environment and others in it for cues as to how to present oneself in a particular situation
self-disclosure
revealing oneself to others by sharing info about oneself
language
system of symbols that we use to think about communicate experiences and feelings
cognitive language
specific system of symbols that one uses to describe people, things, and situations in one’s mind
grammar
system of rules for creating words, phrases, and sentences in a particular language
communication acquisition
the process of learning individual words in a language and learning to use it appropriately and effectively in the context of the situation
informing
use of language to both give and receive info
feeling
use of language to express emotion
imagining
ability to think, play, and be creative in communication
ritualizing
learning the rules for managing conversations and relationships
semantics
study of the relationship among symbols, objects, people, and concepts; refers to the meaning that words have for people, either because of the definition or placement in a sentence
pragmatics
ability to use the symbol systems of a culture appropriately
denotative meaning
basic, consistently accepted definition of a word
connotative meaning
emotional or attitudinal response people have to a word
abstraction ladder
model that ranks communication from specific, which ensures clarity, to general and vague
vasion
intentionally failing to provide specific details
equivocation
an inoffensive word or phrase that substitutes for terms that might be perceived as upsetting
hatespeech
language that employs offensive words to deride a person or group
hurtful language
inappropriate, damaging, mean, sarcastic, or offensive statements that affect others in a negative way
labeling
using terms that stereotype people according to their group memberships and ignoring their individual differences
biased language
words that are infused with subtle meanings that influence our perception about the subject
politically correct language
replaces exclusive or negative words with more neutral terms
profanity
words or expressions considered insulting, rude, vulgar, or disrespectful
civility
social norm for appropriate behavior
communication accommodation theory
explains how language and identity shape communication
speech repertoire
set of complex language behaviors or possibilities that one calls on to most effectively and appropriately meet the demands of a relationship, situation, or cultural environment
code switching
a type of accommodation in which communicators change from one repertoire to another to fit into a particular group
high language
a more formal, polite, or mainstream language used in business context, classroom, and formal social gatherings
low language
a more informal, easygoing language, used in informal and comfortable environments
sapir-whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity theory)
claim that the words a culture uses or doesn’t influence its members’ thinking
slang
language that is informal, nonstandard, and usually particular to a specific group
jargon
technical language that is specific to members of a particular profession, interest group or hobby
gossip
talk or rumors about personal affairs of others, sometimes serving to solidify group membership
nonverbal communication
process of intentionally or unintentionally signaling meaning through behavior other than words
leakage cues
uncontrolled, nonverbal messages that can reveal ones feelings, but can also be ambiguous
channel discrepancy
when one set of communication behaviors says one thing and another set says something different
repeating
offers a clear nonverbal cue that repeats and mirrors that verbal message
complementing
matches the verbal message it accompanies
accenting
clarifies and emphasizing specific info in a verbal message
substituting
replacing words with nonverbal cues
interaction management
manage the impressions and regulate interactions of communications in a variety of relationships and situations
immediacy
the feeling of closeness, involvement, and warmth, between people as communicated by nonverbal behavior
deception
attempt to convince others of something that is false
truth default theory
describes the tendency of people others without suspecting deception
nonverbal codes
symbols we use to send messages without or in addition to words
kinesics
the way gestures and body movements communicate meaning
illustrators
reinforce verbal messages and visually help explain what is being said
regulators
help us manage our interactions
emblems
movements that have a direct verbal translation in a particular group or culture
adaptors
body movements that satisfy some physical or psychological need, such as rubbing your eyes when you’re tired or twisting your hair
affect displays
body movements that display feelings, moods, and reactions; often unintentional
masking
facial management technique in which an expression that shows true feelings is replaced with an expression that shows appropriate feeling for a given interaction
oculesus
study of the use of eyes to communicate
paralanguage
vocalized sounds that accompany words
pitch
variations in the voice that give prominence to certain words or syllables
tone
modulation of the voice, usually expressing a particular feeling or mood
volume
how loud or soft a voice is
artifacts
accessories carried or used on the body for decoration or identification
proxemics
the study of the way we use and communicate with space
territoriality
claiming of an area, with or without legal basis, through continuous occupation of that area
haptics
study of touch as a form of communication (social-polite, friendship-warmth, love-intimacy, sexual-arousal)
chronemics
study of how people perceive the use of time
contact cultures
cultures that depend on touch as an important form of communication
non-contact cultures
culture that is less touch sensitive or even tends to avoid touch
public-private dimension
an aspect of the situational context of communication dealing with the physical space that affects nonverbal communication
informal-formal dimension
psychological aspect of the situational context dealing with our perceptions of personal vs impersonal situations
hearing
the physiological process of perceiving sound; the process through which sound waves are picked up by the ears and transmitted to the brain
listening
process of recognizing, understanding, accurately interpreting, and responding effectively to the messages communicated by other
selecting
step in the listening process of choosing one sound over another when faced with competing stimuli
attending
step in the listening process of focusing attention on both the presence and communication of someone else
understanding
step in the listening process of interpreting and making sense of messages
remember
recall info as a listener by providing feedback or paraphrasing
paraphrasing
parts of listening empathetically that involves guessing at feelings and rephrasing what one thinks the speaker said
active listeners
active participants in making choices about selecting, attending, understanding, and responding
passive listeners
those who fail to make active choices in the listening process
confabulation
phenomenon where passive listeners fabricate and defend distorted memories, unaware that info is false
listening fidelity
the degree to which the thoughts of the listener and intentions of the message producer match following their communication
relational listening
listening to establish and maintain a relationship
analytical listening
listening to explore all ideas before making judgements
task oriented listening
listening that is used to focus on clear and pertinent info quickly
critical listening
listening to find inconsistencies or errors in the speaker
listening barrier
factor that interferes with the ability to accurately comprehend info and respond appropriately
multitasking
attending to several things at once
listening apprehension
state of uneasiness, anxiety, fear, or dread associated with an opportunity
defensive listening
responding with aggression and arguing with the speaker without fully listening to the message
biased listening
involves zeroing in only on bits of info that interest the listener, disregarding other messages or parts, confirming an existing point of view
insensitive listening
occurs when we fail to pay attention to the emotional context of a message, instead of taking it at face value
monopolistic listening
listening in order to control this interaction
psuedolistening
pretending to listen when one is actually not
worldview
framework through which you interpret the world and people in it
intercultural communication
the communication between people from different cultures who have different worldviews
high-context cultures
relies on contextual cues to interpret meaning and send subtle messages
low-context cultures
culture the uses direct language and relies less on situational factors to communicate
collectivist
culture in which individuals perceive themselves first and foremost as members of a group and communicate from that perspective
individualist
culture whose members place value on autonomy and privacy with relatively little attention to status and hierarchy based on age or family connections
uncertainty avoidance
process of adapting behaviors to reduce uncertainty and risk
masculine culture
places values on assertiveness, achievements, ambition, and competitiveness sometimes referred to as achievement culture
feminine cultures
place values on relationships and quality of life; sometimes referred to as nurturing cultures
power distance
the way in which a culture accepts and excepts the division of power among individuals
orientation
the way cultures communicate about and with time
hyperbole
vivid, colorful language with great emotional intensity and often exaggeration
understatement
language that downplays the emotional intensity or importance of events, often with euphemisms
coculture
smaller group of people within a culture who are distinguishable by features such as race, religion, age, etc
generation
group of people born into a specific time frame, along with its events and social changes that shape attitudes and behaviors
gender
behavioral and cultural traits assigned one’s sex; determined by the way members of a particular culture define notions of masculinity and femininity
social identity theory
personal identity, which is a sense of unique individual personality, and a social identity, the part of our self-concept that comes from group memberships
in groups
group with which one identifies to which one belongs
out groups
those groups one defines as others
intergroup communication
branch of the communication discipline that focuses on how communication within and between groups affects relationships
salient
brought to mind in the moment; one’s social identity and communication shift depending on which one’s multiple group memberships is salient in a given moment
ethnocentrism
a belief in the superiority of one’s own culture or group and a tendency to view other cultures through the lens of one’s own
discrimination
behavior towards a person or group based solely on their membership in a particular group, class, or category
intercultural sensitivity
mindfulness of behaviors that may offend others
intergroup contact theory
interaction between members of different social groups generates a possibility for more positive attitudes to emerge
accomodation
adapting or adjusting one’s language and nonverbal behaviors for other people
convergence
when speakers shift their language or nonverbal behaviors toward each other’s way of communicating
