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Social Psychology and Work & Organizational Psychology > W&O ch.9 - Communication > Flashcards

W&O ch.9 - Communication Flashcards

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1
Q

What is communication?

A

process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people

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2
Q

Why is communication important?

A
  • vital for decision making
  • achieve interdependence of organizations
  • change behavior (directly or indirectly)
  • support employee’s wellbeing (physical and psychological)
  • fulfills drive to bond, validate self-worth and creates social identity
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3
Q

What is the model of communication?

A
  • message is formed> encoded> transmitted> received> decoded…
  • …feedback is formed> encoded> transmitted> received> decoded
  • transmission is subjected to noise
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4
Q

What factors influence the efficiency of communication?

A
  • similar codebooks (sender+receiver)
  • encoding experience (sender)
  • motivation and ability (s+r)
  • shared mental models (s+r)
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5
Q

Similar codebooks - what does it mean?

A
  • influences efficacy of communication
  • dictionaries for symbols, expressions, language, gestures, …
  • communication is more effective when in the coodebooks there is:
    ~ less need for redundancy (“as I said before…”)
    ~ less need for confirmation feedback (“so you’re saying that…”)
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6
Q

Encoding experience - what does it mean?

A
  • influences efficacy of communication
  • extent to which the sender can communicate clearly
  • improves with practice (e.g. public speaking)
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7
Q

Motivation and Ability

A
  • influences efficacy of communication
  • efficacy dependent on whether sender and receiver both are capable and motivated to use chosen communication channel
  • e.g. chosen channel is Teams
    > are sender and receiver both motivated to use Teams?
    > are sender and receiver both capable of using Teams?
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8
Q

Shared mental models (what are they and how do they affect communication)

A
  • they are mental representations of external world (allows us to visualize elements and perceive their relationship)
  • increase accuracy of and decrease need for communication
  • e.g. more accurate and efficient communication about cable problem between two electricians compared to one electrician and one baker
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9
Q

How can the communication channels be?

A
  • verbal
    > written (better for details and accuracy of message - e.g. digital media)
    > spoken (quicker and better to convey emotions)
  • nonverbal (intonation, gestures, loudness, …)
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10
Q

What is nonverbal communication?

A
  • facial expressions, body postures, voice intonation, silence, …
  • mostly helpful when “noise” + physical distance
  • ads emotional meaning to verbal communication
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11
Q

How does nonverbal differ from verbal communication?

A

nonverbal communication is:
- less rule-bound (differences between cultures)
- automatic and nonconscious (emotional contagion*)

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12
Q

Emotional Contagion - what is it?

A
  • sharing other’s emotions by mimicking their nonverbal behavior
  • occurs because of mirror neurons (completely nonconscious)
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13
Q

What are the purposes of Emotional Contagion?

A
  1. provides continuous feedback
    - shows our understanding of the situation
    - e.g. if coworker hits his head we also make negative facial expression
  2. increases strength of emotions felt
    - it makes receiver experience stronger emotions in regard to the emotion that the sender was experiencing during the event being communicated
    - e.g. if sender talks about an event that angered them -> we frown -> we experience stronger anger
  3. fulfills drive to bond
    - increases group identity and cohesion
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14
Q

Why is the use of digital communication media increasing?

A
  1. Covid-19
  2. Generational preferences (gen z was born with this technology)
  3. Emerging workplace factors (many digital media were only recently invented)
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15
Q

What are the benefits of digital communication media?

A

1- quicker=more efficient (can be writte, edited and transmitted quickly)
2- can be sent simultaneously to many people (no need for synchronicity)
3- increases upward communication (easier to talk to boss)
4- reduces status difference (there’s fewer cues about sender)
5- might reduce stereotypes and prejudices
6- more efficient in sending precise information to coordinate work (e.g. set up google calendar for meetings)

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16
Q

What are some problems with digital communication channels?

A
  1. faulty communication of emotions
    - overestimation of how much/many emotions can be conveyed through it
    - nonverbal behavior is fundamental in perceiving and conveying emotions
  2. less politeness and respectfulness (flaming)
    - because:
    > digital media are more impersonal
    > messages are so fast that there’s not enough time for emotions to subside (sink in)
    > receivers interpret emotions in messages more harshly
  3. they are inefficient for ambiguous, complex or novel situations
  4. information overload
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17
Q

How can digital media increase the convey of emotions in the messages? Why?

A
  • through emojis
    -> transmit rich emotional meaning (mostly positive)
    -> strengthen meaning of message (easily perceived symbols)
    -> improve interpersonal relations
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18
Q

What factors must be considered when choosing a communication channel?

A
  1. Synchronicity
  2. Social Presence
  3. Social Acceptance
  4. Media Richness
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19
Q

Synchronicity

A

extent to which sender and receiver are:
- required to be actively involved in conversation at the same time (synchronous)
- allowed to be actively involved in communication at different times (asynchronous)
~ e.g. face to face is synchronous, emails are asynchronous

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20
Q

What factors does the need for synchronicity depends on?

A
  • time urgency (if matter is very urgent, channels high in synchronicity are best)
  • complexity of the topic (if matter is very complex, channels high in synchronicity are best)
  • cost of synchronicity (e.g. communicating with colleagues in different time zones can be hard-> is synchronicity really necessary?)
  • whether receiver should be given time to reflect before responding (if they should reflect on matter before responding, synchronicity is not important)
21
Q

Social Presence

A
  • extent to which communication channel creates psychological closeness to others, awareness of humanness, appreciation for interpersonal relationships
  • e.g. face to face interactions is usually the channel with the highest social presence
22
Q

When is high social presence needed?

A
  • need to influence others
    > provides immediate feedback*
  • need to emphatize with others
    > if sensitive topics are at stake
    > if wanting to know interlocutor better
23
Q

What factors can influence level of social presence in designated channel?

A
  • sender’s style of communication (if casual syle, social presence is higher compared to formal style)
  • sender’s conveyance of personal information
24
Q

Social Acceptance

A
  • extent to which channel is approved and supported by both sender and receiver
  • e.g. “is everyone ok with using Teams when discussing this topic?”
25
Q

What does social acceptance depend on?

A
  • organizational and team norms for using specific channel (e.g. in this firm we use Zoom and not Teams)
  • individual preferences (e.g. I prefer using gmail instead of Teams)
  • channel’s symbolic meaning (based on what needs to be communicated)
26
Q

Media Richness (and its theory)

A
  • data-carrying capacity of media (volume and variety of information that media can transmit)
  • high richness is important for ambiguous and novel situations, while lean media is preferred in routine situations
27
Q

What are some features of media with high richness?

A
  • conveyance of multiple cues (e.g. verbal and nonverbal information)
  • allow for timely feedback
  • allow for personalised messages
  • allow for complex symbols (e.g. whether it allows sender to use words/phrases with many meanings)
28
Q

Media richness of digital communication channels

A
  • media richness models predicts that digital channels are low on media richness
  • exceptions:
    > ability to multicommunicate (have different conversations with different people at the same time)
    > varied communication proficiency (big difference between beginners and proficient users of digital media)
    > social presence effects (traditional media are subjected to more distractions and therefore less efficacy - e.g. during meeting focus on how we present ourselves to CEO instead of focus on message)
29
Q

Persuasion

A

Attempt to change other person’s beliefs and behaviors through facts, logical arguments and emotions

30
Q

What media channel is persuasion more effective with? Why?

A
  • spoken interaction
    > accompanied by nonverbal communication
    > immediate feedback (allows to adjust persuasion techniques)
    > more effective if high social presence
31
Q

What are some barriers in communication? (noise)

A

1- language
2- perception
3- jargon
4- filtering
5- information overload

32
Q

Language - when does it become a barrier to communication?

A
  • often not same codebook used (especially if communicating with someone who has different mothertongue)
  • ambiguous and obscure language often used to manipulate emotional responses
33
Q

Perception - when does it become a barrier to communication?

A
  • wrong perception of how much the receiver is listening and how well we are explaining
  • overestimation of how much the message is understood
34
Q

Jargon - what is it and why does it become a barrier to communication?

A
  • special words or expressions used by a profession or group
  • e.g. abbreviations and job-specific vocabulary
  • usually makes communication more efficient, but often it hinders it
35
Q

Filtering - why is it a barrier to communication?

A
  • filtering out harsh expressions
  • delaying conveyance of negative information
36
Q

information overload - what is it and why is it a barrier to communication?

A
  • information load exceedes processing capacity
  • results in overlooking and misinterpretation of information
37
Q

How can information overload be resolved?

A
  • increase in processing capacity (not sustainable in long run)
  • decrease information load
    > buffering (e.g. assistant filters information for you beforehand)
    > omitting (e.g. you decide to skip nonrelevant information)
    > summarizing
38
Q

Cross-cultural differences in communication

A
  • language problems
  • voice intonation
  • silence and overlaps (different interpretation - e.g. in Japan overlaps are considered as rude, but in France they are a sign of interest)
  • nonverbal differences (e.g. nodding to say no)
39
Q

Gender differences in communication

A
  • talk (M: report-facts, F: rapport-emotions)
  • advice (M: direct, F: indirect)
  • style (M: dominant, F: flexible)
  • apologies (M: less, F: more)
  • sensitivity to cues -e.g. nonverbal behavior (M: less, F: more)
40
Q

How can interpersonal communication be improved?

A
  • as sender: getting message across
  • as receiver: active listening
41
Q

How can you get your message across more efficiently?

A
  • empathize
  • avoid noise (e.g. use time efficiently)
  • repeat the message
  • be descriptive (focus on message and not on receiver - e.g. when delivering bad news)
42
Q

Active listening model

A
  1. sensing
    - postpone evaluation
    - avoid interruptions
    - keep focus on message (don’t get distracted, keep listening)
  2. evaluating
    - empathize
    - organize information
  3. responding
    - show interest (“I see…”)
    - clarify the message (“Oh so you mean…”)
43
Q

Organization-wide communication strategies (how can communication be efficient at an organizational level?)

A
  • workplace design
  • digitally-based communication
  • direct communication with top management
44
Q

How can workplace design influence communication?

A

e.g. open offices
- benefit: allow sharing of knowledge and collaborations
- disadvantage: distractions and less privacy

45
Q

How can direct communication with top management be achieved?

A
  • town-hall meetings (large gatherings with most employees)
  • roundtable forums (small gatherings with few employees)
  • management by wandering around (MBWA)
46
Q

MBWA (management by wandering around) - what + benefits

A
  • boss chatting casually with employees on a regular basis
  • benefits:
    > less filtering
    > more empathy for future decision making
    > quicker and deeper understanding of organizational problem
47
Q

Grapevine

A
  • unstructured and informal communication network
  • = gossiping
48
Q

What are some benefits and limitations of grapevine?

A
  • benefits:
    > main mean of communication for organizational stories
    > relieves anxiety
    > fulfills drive to bond
  • limitations:
    > negative emotions arise when management is slower than grapevine
    > information is distorted (exaggerations or omissions)

Social Psychology and Work & Organizational Psychology (14 decks)

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