The
Essentials of Human Communication – Chapter 1
Human communication consists of the sending and receiving of
verbal and nonverbal messages between two or more people.
Myths about Human
Communication
To begin studying communication, consider the relationship
between some common beliefs about communication and research and theory about
these beliefs.
- Belief: The more you communicate, the better
your communication will be.
-
Research and theory finds that if you practice bad habits, you are more likely
to grow less effective as a communicator.
- Belief:
When two people are in a close relationship, neither person should have
to explicitly communicate needs and wants.
-
Research and theory indicates that people are not mind readers and to assume otherwise
inhibits open and honest communication.
- Belief: Interpersonal or group conflict is a
reliable sign that the relationship or group is in trouble.
-
Research and theory suggests that interpersonal and group conflict is
inevitable and if approached effectively can be beneficial to the relationship
or group.
- Belief: Like good communicators, leaders are
born, not made.
-
Research and theory finds that leadership, like communication and listening, is
a learned skill.
- Belief: Fear of public speaking is
detrimental and must be eliminated.
-
Research indicates that most speakers are nervous; learning to manage anxiety effectively
can enhance one’s performance.
Skills of Human
Communication
Communication
skills are vital to successful personal, social, and work life.
These skills include the following:
- Self-presentation
skills – presenting one’s self to others as confident, credible, likeable,
and approachable is essential to effective human interaction.
- Relationship skills – knowing how to initiate, maintain,
repair, and even occasionally dissolve relationships makes one a better friend,
family member, romantic partner, and coworker.
- Interviewing skills – being able to interact to gather and
to share information in a variety of situations, including job interviews,
enhances one’s personal and professional life.
- Group interaction and
leadership skills –
participating as an effective group member in relationship and task groups adds
to the strength and success of the group.
- Presentation skills – speaking to small and large audiences
to inform or to persuade builds self-confidence and can serve a larger common
good.
Forms of Human Communication
Learning these skills requires engaging in and
mastering a variety of communication forms:
- Intrapersonal – through communication with oneself,
one learns about one’s self and rehearses messages intended for others
- Interpersonal – through communication between two
people, communicators learn about themselves and the other, reveal themselves
to the other, and build, maintain, repair, and occasionally terminate
relationships.
- Interviewing – through communication that proceeds
by question and answer, communicators gather and share information, counsel or
get counseling, obtain employment and select others for employment.
- Small Group – through communication within small
groups (5 to 10 people), communicators develop new ideas, solve problems, and
share knowledge and experiences.
- Public – by communicating as a speaker to an
audience, one learns how to connect with an audience to inform and to persuade.
- Computer-mediated – by studying and analyzing
communication that occurs through computer connections (e.g., e-mail, IM, chat
rooms, newsgroups, blogs) one learns the differences and similarities between
CMC and face-to-face communication as well as how to be a critical user of not
only CMC but also other forms of communication.
- Mass communication (e.g.,
newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film)
– Media literacy – the skills and competencies needed to
become a wiser, more critical consumer has become central to the study of human
communication.
Communication Models and Concepts
Human communication has been studied
from a variety of
viewpoints:
• The linear
view held that the speaker spoke and the listener listened, communicating in a straight
line.
• The
transactional view, a more satisfying view than either the linear model, holds
that each person serves simultaneously as speaker and listener. The transactional model also holds that the
elements of communication are interdependent; a change in any element of the
process produces changes in the other elements.
Communication
occurs when you send and receive messages and when you assign meaning to
others’ signals. All human
communication:
- is distorted by noise
- occurs with a context
- has some effect
- involves some opportunity for feedback
Sources-Receivers – each person involved in communication
is both a source (speaker) and receiver (listener), hence the hyphenated
term. Source-receivers send messages by
encoding their ideas into words, symbols, and nonverbal cues. Source-receivers
also decode messages by assigning meaning to the words, symbols, and nonverbal
cues of others.
Messages – vary in form and may be sent and
received through any combination of sensory organs. Messages are conveyed with
words as well as nonverbal cues such as clothing, facial expressions, and body
posture. Some messages have specialized functions:
Feedforward - messages that preface other messages,
that usually reveal something about the message
(e.g., “I’m not sure this is correct, but. . .” or “Wait until you hear
this one.”), or can also include the
table of contents of a book, the words in the subject line of an email, etc.
Feedback - messages or information prompted by
another message, such as laughing in response to a joke or a computer-generated
message indicating a password has been entered incorrectly. We also give ourselves feedback from hearing
our own messages.
Metamessages - messages that refer to other
messages; communication about the message itself, such as saying, “I don’t
think you understand what I am saying.”
Workplace Messages - In workplaces, messages are often
classified based on their direction.
·
Upward
communication: messages sent from lower
levels upward
·
Downward
communication: messages sent from higher
levels to lower levels
·
Lateral
communication: messages between equals
·
Grapevine
communication: messages that do not
follow any formal, hierarchical lines
Communication Context
Communication
exists in a context, and that context to a large extent determines the meaning
of any verbal or nonverbal message. Context also influences the content and
form of messages conveyed.
Contexts have at least four aspects:
·
physical - the tangible or concrete
environment
·
cultural - the lifestyles, beliefs, values, ways
of behaving and communicating
·
social psychological - the status relationships among
participants, the norms of the group or organization, the formality-informality
of the situation
·
temporal - the position in which a message fits
into a sequence of events
Channel - the medium through which messages are
sent; communication rarely takes place over only one channel.
Noise - anything that interferes with the
sending or receiving of messages.
Types of noise include:
o physical -
interference external to speakers and listeners, such as loud music, others’
conversations, machinery noises
o physiological -
physical barriers within the speaker or listener, such as visual or hearing
impairments
o psychological - cognitive or mental interference, such as prejudices, preconceived notions, and
expectations
o semantic - speaker and listener assigning different
meanings to messages because of varying comprehension of signals (e.g.,
different language competencies or unfamiliarity with a specialized language)
All communication includes noise. The significance of
noise may be better understood by considering the signal-to-noise ratio of a
given communicative act or channel. Most effective communicators seek
communication that contains significantly higher levels of useful information
(signal) as compared to useless information (noise).
Effects – the consequence of communication;
what occurs because of the communication process. Effects can be cognitive
(e.g., acquiring knowledge), affective (e.g., changing a belief), or
psychomotor (e.g., learning a skill)
Principles of Communication
Several principles are essential to
understanding human communication:
·
Communication Is Purposeful – some motivation leads people to
communicate.
·
Communication has five general
purposes - to learn,
to relate, to help, to influence, to play
·
Communication Involves Choices – All communication involves choice
points, deciding with whom to communicate, what to say, what not to say, how
you phrase something, etc.
These choice points can be explained using John Dewey’s
steps in reflective thinking:
-Step 1: The problem
-Step 2: The criteria
-Step 3: The possible solutions
-Step 4: The analysis
-Step 5: The selection and execution
Communication Is
Ambiguous – virtually
all messages may be interpreted in more than one way; some level of uncertainty
always exists concerning whether messages are received by listeners exactly the
same way they were intended by speakers. Because communication is ambiguous,
learning to metacommunicate (communicate about communication) may lessen
misunderstanding and reduce uncertainty among communicators.
o Language ambiguity occurs by words that can be interpreted in different ways.
o Relationship ambiguity involves the uncertainty that exists in all types of relationships.
Communication Involves
Content and Relationship Dimensions – communication
exists on at least two levels:
Ø Content dimension refers to the literal meaning of the message or the behavioral response expected
Ø Relationship dimension refers to how communicators feel about the message, about each other,
and their degrees of status difference or intimacy
Problems often result from failure to distinguish between
the content and relationship dimensions of communication.
Communication Has a Power Dimension – power, or the ability to influence or
control the actions of others, exists only in relationship to others’
perception of one’s power. People influence others’ perception of their power
through the way they communicate and, conversely, the ways people communicate
influence others’ perception of the power they can wield.
Research suggests people may convey at
least six types of power:
§ Legitimate power - when people perceive another has having the right to influence the behavior
of others because of a social role (e.g., perceiving a supervisor has having
the right to ask her employees to stay late, a police officer has having the
right to arrest drunk drivers, or a judge having the right to pass sentences on
convicted criminals).
§ Referent power -
power generated by others’ want to be like another person. People who are perceived
as having referent power are generally attractive, charismatic, confident, and
seen as having prestige. Celebrities tend to trade in referent power.
§ Reward power -
power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s ability to provide material
and social benefits. Rich uncles may be perceived as having reward power as may
rich friends and socially prominent acquaintances.
§ Coercive power -
power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s ability to administer
punishment or remove rewards. Bullies generally rely on others to perceive them
as having coercive power.
§ Expert power-
power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s special knowledge. Doctors
and lawyers are often perceived as having expert power as is the only person in
the office who knows how to replace the toner cartridge in the copy machine.
§ Information power - also called persuasion power; when others’ perceive an individual as being
able to communicate logically and persuasively. Successful politicians tend to
trade in information power.
Communication Is Punctuated – communication events are continuous
transactions with no clear-cut beginning or ending; individuals divide the
communication sequence into stimuli and response (cause and effect)
differently.
Communication Is Inevitable,
Irreversible, and Unrepeatable – we cannot help but communicate; we cannot take back the messages we
send; we cannot duplicate them.
Culture and Human Communication
Culture refers to the beliefs, ways of
behaving, and artifacts of a group that are transmitted through communication
and learning rather than through genes.
·
Gender
is considered a cultural variable largely because cultures teach boys and girls
different attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of relating to one another.
The Importance of
Culture –
o Demographic changes—These changes bring the need to understand and adapt to new ways of
looking at communication.
o Sensitivity to cultural differences—As the U.S. moves from an assimilationist perspective
(the idea that people should leave native customs behind) and toward valuing
cultural diversity, we have become increasingly sensitive to cultural
differences.
o Economic interdependence—More countries are more economically dependent on one another, so
understanding intercultural communication is more crucial than ever before.
o Communication technology—has made intercultural interaction easy, practical, and inevitable.
o Culture-specific nature of communication—Communication competence is very
culturally specific.
The Dimensions of
Culture – cultures
differ in regard to at least five different dimension continuums:
ü Uncertainty avoidance—the degree to which a culture values
predictability
ü Masculinity-femininity—the extent to which a culture embraces
traditionally masculine or feminine characteristics
ü Power distance—the way power is distributed
throughout the society
ü Individualism-collectivism—a culture’s emphasis on the importance
of the individual or the group
ü High and low context—the extent to which information is
seen as embedded in the context.
ü Indulgence and restraint—the relative emphasis a culture places
on the gratification of desire or having fun.
ü Long- and short-term orientation—the degree to which a culture teaches
an orientation that places a value on future or immediate rewards.
The Aim of a Cultural Perspective – because culture permeates all forms
of communication, cultural understanding is needed to communicate effectively
in the wide variety of situations. A cultural perspective allows communicators
to distinguish between what is universal (true to all people) and what is
relative (culturally based).
Ethnic Identity and Ethnocentrism – Ethnic identity refers to one’s
commitment to the beliefs and philosophy of one’s own culture; ethnocentrism
refers to the tendency to judge others and their behavior through one’s own
cultural filters and to give greater credence to one’s own cultural norms and
behaviors than to those of other cultures.
The ethnocentrism continuum summarizes the interconnections between
ethnocentrism and communication in five degrees:
-
Equality
-
Sensitivity
-
Indifference
-
Avoidance
-
Disparagement
Communication Competence
Refers to your knowledge and
understanding of how communication works and your ability to use communication
affectively.
• The Competent
Communicator Thinks Critically and Mindfully
- Create and recreate categories
- Be open to new information
- Beware of relying too heavily on first impressions
- Think before you act
• The Competent
Communicator Is Culturally Sensitive
The principles of effective
communication vary from one culture to another.
• The Competent
Communicator is Ethical—the study of good or bad
• The Competent
Communicator Is an Effective Listener—you cannot be a competent communicator if you are a poor
listener.
Key Terms and
Facts
Human communication:
Human communication is
the field dedicated to understanding how people communicate:
•with themselves: intrapersonal communication
•expression: body language
•another person: interpersonal communication
•within groups: group dynamics
•within
organizations: organizational
communication
•across cultures: cross-cultural communication
Why we communicate:
We need to communicate by nature and we communicate by choice. There are
physical needs, identity needs, social needs, and practical goals; and all of
these are ways we use to communicate. When it comes to physical needs
communication is so important that its presence or absence affects physical
health.
Computer-mediated
communication:
Computer-mediated communication is defined as any communicative
transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers.
While the term has traditionally referred to those communications that occur
via computer-mediated formats (e.g., instant messages, e-mails, chat rooms), it
has also been applied to other forms of text-based interaction such as text
messaging. Research on computer mediated communication focuses largely on the
social effects of different computer-supported communication technologies.
Interpersonal
communication:
Communication scholars define Interpersonal communication in
numerous ways, usually describing participants who are dependent upon one
another. It can involve one on one conversations or individuals interacting
with many people within a society. It helps us understand how and why people
behave and communicate in different ways to construct and negotiate a social
reality.
Intrapersonal
communication:
Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought
internal to the communicator. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal
communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains
a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.
Definitions:
Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or
more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of intrapersonal
communication made some argue that this definition is too narrow.
Public speaking:
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of
people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or
entertain the listeners. It is closely allied to 'presenting', although the
latter has more of a commercial advertisement connotation. Overview In public speaking, as in any form
of communication, there are five basic elements, often expressed as 'who is
saying what to whom using what medium with what effects?' The purpose of public
speaking can range from simply transmitting information, to motivating people
to act, to simply telling a story.
Literacy:
Literacy refers to the ability to read for knowledge, write
coherently, and think critically about the written word. Visual literacy
includes in addition the ability to understand all forms of communication, be
it body language, pictures, maps, or video. Evolving definitions of literacy
often include all the symbol systems relevant to a particular community.
Media literacy:
Media literacy is a repertoire of competences that enable
people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media
modes, genres, and forms. Education Media Education is the process of teaching
and learning about media. It is about developing young people's critical and
creative abilities when it comes to the media.
Models of
communication:
Models of communication refer to the conceptual model used
to explain the human communication process. The first major model for
communication came in 1949 by Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell
Laboratories Following the basic concept, communication is the process of
sending and receiving messages or transferring information from one part (sender)
to another (receiver). The original model was designed to mirror the
functioning of radio and telephone technologies.
Receiver:
In modulated ultrasound terminology, a receiver is a device
that receives a modulated ultrasound signal and decodes it for use as sound,
navigational-position information, etc. Its function is somewhat like that of a
radio receiver.
Nonverbal
communication:
Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process
of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) cues
between people. Messages can be communicated through gestures and touch, by
body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact, which are all
considered types of nonverbal communication. Speech contains nonverbal elements
known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and
speaking style, as well prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and
stress.
Phatic communication:
Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not
cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be
addressed. Small talk is conversation for its own sake, or The phenomenon of
small talk was initially studied in 1923 by Bronislaw Malinowski, who coined the
term 'phatic communication' to describe it. The ability to conduct small talk
is a social skill; hence, small talk is some type of social communication.
Asynchronous
communication:
In telecommunications, asynchronous communication is
transmission of data without the use of an external clock signal, where data
can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. Any timing
required to recover data from the communication symbols is encoded within the
symbols. The most significant aspect of asynchronous communications is variable
bit rate, or that the transmitter and receiver clock generators do not have to
be exactly synchronized.
Grapevine:
To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of
something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor. The usual
implication is that the information was passed person to person by word of
mouth, perhaps in a confidential manner among friends or colleagues. It can
also imply an overheard conversation or anonymous sources of information.
Lateral
communication:
In organizations and organisms, lateral communication works
in contrast to traditional top-down, bottom-up or hierarchic communication and
involves the spreading of messages from individuals across the base of a
pyramid.
Lateral communication in organism or animals can give rise to
Collective intelligence, or the appearance of Collective intelligence.
Examples of lateral communication in organisms include:
•A coordinated flock of birds or a shoal of fish all maintains their relative
positions, or alters direction simultaneously due to lateral communication
amongst members; this is achieved due to tiny pressure variations
•An ants, termites, bees nest is not coordinated by messages sent by
the queen ant / bee / termite but by the lateral communication, mediated by
scent trails of the ants.
Upward communication:
Upward Communication is the process of information flowing
from the lower levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels. This type of
communication is becoming more and more popular in organizations as traditional
forms of communication are becoming less popular. The more traditional
organization types such as a hierarchy, places people into separate ranks.
Semantic noise:
Communication noise refers to influences on effective
communication that influence the interpretation of conversations. While often
looked over, communication noise can have a profound impact both on our
perception of interactions with others and our analysis of our own
communication proficiency. Forms of communication noise include psychological
noise, physical noise, physiological and semantic noise.
Ambiguity:
Ambiguity of information, in words, pictures, or other
media, is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is generally
contrasted with vagueness, in that specific and distinct interpretations are
permitted (although some may not be immediately apparent), whereas with
information that is vague it is difficult to form any interpretation at the
desired level of specificity. Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity.
Abstraction:
The term abstraction has a number of uses in the field of
linguistics. It can denote a process (so called object abstraction) in the
development of language, whereby terms become used for concepts further removed
from the objects to which they were originally attached. It can so denote a
process applied by linguists themselves, whereby phenomena are considered
without the details that are not relevant to the desired level of analysis.
Speech disorder:
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of
communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean
stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder
is considered mute.
Referent power:
Referent power is individual power of an individual over the
Team or Followers, based on a high level of identification with, admiration of,
or respect for the powerholder/leader. Nationalism, patriotism, celebrities,
mass leaders and widely-respected people are examples of referent power in
effect. Referent power is one of the Five Bases of Social Power, as defined by
Bertram Raven and his colleagues in 1959.
Assertiveness:
Assertiveness is a particular mode of communication.
Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines assertiveness as: During the second half of the 20th century, assertiveness was
increasingly singled out as a behavioral skill taught by many personal
development experts, behavior therapists, and cognitive behavioral therapists.
Assertiveness is often linked to self-esteem.
Referent:
In semantics a referent is a person or thing to which a
linguistic expression refers, a discursive entity, the subject of speech. The
term referent may sometimes be ambiguous in that it can mean the thing that
refers, or the thing which is referred to. In most fields, however, it usually
has the second meaning - the thing to which another thing refers.
Punctuation:
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure
and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be
observed when reading aloud. In written English, punctuation is vital to
disambiguate the meaning of sentences. For example, 'woman, without her man, is
nothing' (emphasizing the importance of men) and 'woman: without her, man is
nothing' (emphasizing the importance of women) have greatly different meanings,
as do 'eats shoots and leaves' (to mean 'consumes plant growths') and 'eats,
shoots and leaves' (to mean 'eats firstly, fires a weapon secondly, and leaves
the scene thirdly
Intercultural
communication:
Intercultural communication is a form of global
communication. It is used to describe the wide range of communication problems
that naturally appear within an organization made up of individuals from
different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. Intercultural
communication is sometimes used synonymously with cross-cultural communication.
Interdependence:
Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is
mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a dependence
relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not. In an interdependent
relationship, participants may be emotionally, economically, ecologically
and/or morally reliant on and responsible to each other.
Perspective:
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a
context or a reference (or the result of this choice) from which to sense,
categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief,
typically for comparing with another. One may further recognize a number of
subtly distinctive meanings, close to those of paradigm, point of view, reality
tunnel, umwelt, or weltanschauung. To choose a perspective is to choose a value
system and, unavoidably, an associated belief system.
Uncertainty
avoidance:
Uncertainty Avoidance: 'a society's tolerance for
uncertainty and ambiguity'. It reflects the extent to which members of a
society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty. The uncertainty
avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which a person in society feels
uncomfortable with a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Orientation:
Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness of
three dimensions: time, place and person. Problems with orientation lead to
disorientation, and can be due to various conditions, from delirium to
intoxication. Typically, disorientation is first in time, then in place and
finally in person.
Ethnocentrism:
Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values
and standards of one's own culture. The ethnocentric individual will judge
other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture,
especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These
ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique
cultural identity.
Identity:
In philosophy, identity, from Latin: ('sameness'), is the relation each thing
bears just to itself. The notion of identity gives rise to many philosophical
problems, including the identity of indiscernible, and questions about change and
personal identity over time. It is important to distinguish the philosophical
concept of identity from the more well-known notion of identity in use in
psychology and the social sciences.
Impression
management:
In sociology and social psychology, impression management is
a goal-directed conscious or unconscious process in which people attempt to
influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event; they
do so by regulating and controlling information in social interaction (Piwinger
& Ebert 2001, pp. 1-2). It is usually used synonymously with
self-presentation, in which a person tries to influence the perception of their
image. The notion of impression management also refers to practices in
professional communication and public relations, where the term is used to
describe the process of formation of a company's or organizations public image.
Critical thinking:
Critical thinking is a type of reasonable, reflective
thinking that is aimed at deciding what to believe or what to do. It is a way
of deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or
false. Critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic
method of Ancient Greece and in the East, to the Buddhist kalama sutta and
Abhidharma.
Principles of Communication Quiz
1. Of
the following definitions, the one that implies that communication is
intentional is:
A) communication has as its central interest those
behavioral situations in which a source transmits a message to a receiver with
conscious intent to affect the latter's behaviors.
B) communication is the discriminatory response of an organism to a
stimulus.
C) communication is a
process of acting on information.
D) speech
communication is a process through which people make sense of the world.
2. Why
do we communicate?
A) To create and maintain our sense of
identity
B) To help us create communities and to form
and strengthen relationships
C) To develop the ability to influence others
D) To convey and create information
E) For all of the above reasons
3. Storytelling
and joke telling can accomplish which purpose of communication?
A) to discover
B) to relate
C) to help
D) to play
4. When
people who study communication focus their attention on spoken symbolic
interaction, their primary interest is in which of the following?
A) The unintentional
behaviors that accompany speaking
B) The way people use words to create common meaning
C) The unspoken body
language that people use
D) All of the ways
organisms (including non-human organisms) create meaning
5. Communication
is considered a(n)_______ because it has no beginning or end.
A) process
B) mediation
C) speech
D) interaction
E) transaction
6. A
communication source performs which of the following roles?
A) Determining the
meaning of what is to be communicated
B) Encoding the
meaning into a message
C) Sending the
message
D) Perceiving and
reacting to a listener's response to the message.
E) All of the above
7. Models
do all of the following EXCEPT:
A) capture a process completely.
B) generate research
questions.
C) make predictions
about the future.
D) help us organize
our thinking.
8. The
essential components of communication are
A) symbols,
understanding, purpose, ideas, opinions, nonverbals, and reaction.
B) source, message, interference, channel, receiver,
feedback, environment, and context.
C) source,
destination, interaction, and correlation.
D) symbols,
understanding, communication, and communicant.
9. When
individuals communicate both as sources and receivers of communication messages
at the same time, they are involved in a ____________________________.
A) dyadic process.
B) transaction.
C) interaction.
D) encoding process.
E) decoding process.
10. The
process of understanding information within oneself is called
___________________.
A) intrapersonal communication.
B) interpersonal
communication.
C) dyadic
communication.
D) active communication.
E) interactive
communication.
11. According
to the social constructionist perspective we can improve communication by
________________________________________________________________.
A) recognizing that we create reality by talking about it
and should take responsibility for our talk.
B) learning to see
things from the receivers' point of view.
C) encoding messages
as clearly as possible.
D) describing and
understanding destructive patterns.
12. Each
of us has a frame of reference, which is
A) our role as the
source of messages.
B) something that is
only relevant when we give a public speech.
C) our role as the
receiver of messages.
D) an alternative to
communicating.
E) our unique view of the world and everything in it.
13. The
primary channels that individuals use to communicate with others are:
A) television and radio.
B) sight and sound.
C) touch and tone of
voice.
D) voice mail,
conventional mail, and e-mail.
14. A component
in the communication process that we often send without being aware of it is
________________________________________________.
A) verbal
communication.
B) feedback.
C) an encoded
message.
D) a message sent via
touch.
15. The
context of an interaction includes two major components:
A) the physical
setting and the encoding.
B) the supportive
climate and the defensive climate.
C) the physical setting and the psychological climate.
D) a business
proposal and a personal friendship.
16. Which
aspect of a message focuses on new information or ideas?
A) context
B) content
C) channel
D) relationship
17. Which
of the following is the definition of a speech act?
A) A clearly marked
occasion that calls for speech
B) An identifiable sequence of speech activity
C) People who share
common attitudes toward speech
D) The purpose served
by a given form of talk
18. The
idea that "communication is a process of adjustment" means that:
A) both the content
and relational dimensions of a message can change during communication.
B) people will adapt
to others' attitudes and speech while communicating.
C) people usually
engage in complementary transactions during communication.
D) people have to learn each other's meanings for words,
as well as their nonverbal behaviors during communication.
19. People
who take a pragmatic perspective to communication:
A) are interested in
exploring the individual psychology of communicators.
B) are interested in interaction rather than personality.
C) focus on the
cultural background of communicators.
D) are interested in
uncovering the hidden power relations that often exist in mediated texts.
20. Because
communication is a "package of signals," the best meaning of any
message will always be:
A) determined over a
course of interactions, rather than in just a single interaction.
B) in a combination of verbal and nonverbal signals.
C) deliberately
constructed, though not always consciously constructed.
D) ambiguous and
difficult to comprehend.
21.
Communication refers to the process by which we create and share meanings.
True
False
22. The
term definition comes from a Latin word meaning "to determine or bring to
an end."
True
False
23. Communication
competence varies from one culture to another.
True
False
24.
Communication is a process that is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable.
True
False
25. Any
stimulus that affects a receiver is a message from the source.
True
False
26.
Interpersonal communication is the informal exchange of information between two
or more people.
True
False
27. One of the many functions of communication is to enable us to influence
or persuade others.
True
False
28. An
intentional definition of communication holds that communication is purposeful
and planned.
True
False
29.
Ambiguous messages are messages that have only one potential meaning.
True
False
30.
Today we study communication according to the transactional model, which sees
communication as an interdependent process.
True
False
31. A
person's purpose for communicating is always conscious and recognizable.
True
False
32.
Internal and external noise may be filtered by the receiver to combat message
distortion.
True
False
33.
Noise is defined as the extent to which a sender amplifies a message by making
it louder and clearer.
True
False
34. The
best definition of communication is one that is narrow and sender-based.
True
False
35.
"I hate to break bad news, but..." is an example of feedforward
True
False
Chapter Review
Multiple Choice
Questions
1) Which of the following statements is true of communication?
A) The more you communicate the better
communicator you will be.
B) Good communicators are born, not
made.
C) Fear of speaking in public is
detrimental and should be eliminated.
D)
None of the above.
Page Ref: 2
2) E-mail, blogging,
Google+, and Facebook are all examples of __________ communication.
A)
computer-mediated
B) small group
C) public
D) intrapersonal
Page Ref: 4
3) During a
video-conference job interview for an entry-level position with a large
fast-food chain, Melkamzer answers a series of questions posed by Annie, a
regional manager. What type of communication did they both engage in?
A) small group communication
B) intrapersonal communication
C)
computer-mediated communication
D) public speaking
Page Ref: 3–4
4) __________
communication is the general term used to describe communication from one
source to many receivers who may be scattered throughout the world.
A)
Mass
B) Intrapersonal
C) Public
D) Computer-mediated
Page Ref: 4
5) Which of the
following myths of communication is identified in your book?
A)
The more you communicate, the better your communication skills will be.
B) Once you start communicating
effectively, you will always be effective.
C) Communication skills are learned.
D) Knowing your audience is very
helpful in order to be effective.
Page Ref: 2
6) The transactional
view is more satisfying than the linear view because the process:
A) is simpler.
B)
allows each person to serve as both speaker and listener.
C) demonstrates that speaking and
listening take place at different times.
D) explains everything about media
communication.
Page Ref: 4-5
7) The linear model of
communication is analogous with a _________________________.
A) arrow hitting or missing a target.
B)
tennis game.
C) circus.
D) person solving a puzzle.
Page Ref: 4-5
8) When Henri wants to
share information with Chantal but not with others in a room, he switches from speaking
English to speaking French, which Chantal understands. Which of the following
best describes what Henri does to keep his comments to Chantal private?
A) He decodes his message in a way he
thinks only Chantal will understand.
B) He changes the cultural context of
the message in a way he thinks only Chantal will understand.
C) He changes the temporal context of
the message in a way he thinks only Chantal will understand.
D)
He encodes his message in a way he thinks only Chantal will understand.
Page Ref: 5
9) Before launching into
her presentation to the board of directors, Sandra circulates through the room making
small talk about the weather, the results of last night’s ball game, etc.
Sandra is engaging in:
A)
phatic communication.
B) metamessaging.
C) feedback.
D) back-channeling.
Page Ref: 6
10) The information on
the cover that entices the reader to buy a magazine would be an example of:
A) feedback.
B) phatic communication.
C) informativeness.
D)
feedforward.
Page Ref: 6
11) The statement, “I
may be wrong about this but...,” best illustrates the element of communication known
as:
A)
feedforward.
B) punctuation.
C) displacement.
D) immediacy.
Page Ref: 6
12) Phatic communication
is also referred to as:
A) message overload.
B) more efficient.
C) displacement.
D) immediacy.
C)
small talk.
D) neutral communication.
Page Ref: 6
13) The news of Tom’s
promotion started spreading around the company well before the official announcement
was made. The news of Tom’s promotion is
an example of _________________ communication.
A)
upward
B)
downward
C)
lateral
D) grapevine
Page Ref: 7
14) The temporal
dimension of context can consist of __________________________.
A) the sequence of the message.
B)
a message’s position within a sequence of events.
C) the tangible environment in which
the communication takes place.
D) culture.
Page Ref: 7-8
15) Which of the
following is true of communication contexts?
A)
Contexts have at least four aspects.
B) Context has little bearing on how
messages are conveyed.
C) Context is simply the physical
environment in which communication takes place.
D) Context is the same as the content
dimension of communication.
Page Ref: 7
16) Before going to a
reception at the university president’s house, Abby reminds her date, Homer,
not to act like he’s at a fraternity party. Abby wants Homer to be most aware
of the __________ context.
A) physical
B) cultural
C)
social-psychological
D) temporal
Page Ref: 7-8
17) “Do you understand
what I’ve just asked you to do?” is an example of a:
A) paradigm.
B) paraverbal.
C) anomaly.
D)
metamessage.
Page Ref: 6
18) When someone sends a
message in response to your initial message, such as laughing at your joke, they
are sending _______________________.
A)
feedback.
B) feedforward.
C) a metamessage.
D) paramessages.
Page Ref: 6
19) The vehicle through
which we send messages is referred to as the:
A)
channel.
B) sender.
C) receiver.
D) metamessage.
Page Ref: 8
20) Biases or prejudices
of the sender–receiver are examples of what kind of noise?
A) physical
B)
psychological
C) semantic
D) channel
Page Ref: 8
21) During a department
meeting, Antonio’s boss was discussing the new software that will be implemented
in the department. Anthony was
daydreaming about his upcoming vacation.
We can assume that Anthony’s boss’s message to Anthony was distorted by
__________ noise.
A)
physical
B) psychological
C)
semantic
D)
physiological
Page Ref: 8
22) Christina and Deanna
were having a quiet conversation over drinks before the band started to play, but
now they have to shout and even then can’t really hear what the other is
saying. We can assume that once the band started to play, the signal-to-noise
ratio in this scenario:
A)
went from high signal/low noise to low signal/high noise.
B) went from low signal/high noise to
high signal/low noise.
C) went from low signal/low noise to
high signal/high noise.
D) didn’t change and had nothing to do
with the communication problems they experienced.
Ref: 8-9
23) Bobby: “I got a new
bat!” Jan: “That’s great. I can’t wait to see you swing it at the game next Saturday.”
Bobby: “Not that kind of bat! His name
is Del and he’s my new pet.” This exchange between Bobby and Jan best
illustrates which principle of communication?
A)
Communication is ambiguous.
B) Communication is a package of
signals.
C) Communication is punctuated.
D) Communication is purposeful.
Page Ref: 11-12
24) The tendency to
divide the various communication transactions into sequences of stimuli and responses
is referred to as:
A) compartmentalization.
B) departmentalization.
C)
punctuation.
D) sequentization.
Page Ref: 14
25) “You cannot not respond
to the messages of others” expresses which principle of communication?
A)
Communication is inevitable.
B) Communication is irreversible.
C) Communication is purposeful.
D) Communication involves content and
relationship dimensions.
Page Ref: 15
26) Dong-Sun and Chris
had a very serious argument during which Dong-Sun said some very hurtful things
to Chris. After the argument, he tried to apologize to for what was said during
the argument. Dong-Sun’s later behavior best reflects which principle of communication?
A) Communication is a package of
signals.
B) Communication is punctuated.
C) Communication is transactional.
D)
Communication is irreversible.
Page Ref: 15
27) Mario has a deep
commitment to the identity and beliefs of his Puerto Rican-American culture, following
customs, and embracing specific artifacts.
This is Mario’s ________________.
A)
ethnocentrism.
B)
stereotypes.
C) ethnic identity.
D)
social-psychological context.
Page Ref: 18
28) Ethnic identity
refers to ______________________________________________.
A)
one’s commitment to the beliefs and philosophy of one’s own culture.
B) the tendency to judge other
cultures based on one’s own culture.
C) the ability to take the
perspectives of people of other cultures.
D) adapting to the communicative style
of people from other cultures.
Page Ref: 18
29) According to your
book, competent communicators:
A) are born, not made.
B)
think critically and mindfully.
C) do not consider power important in
the communication process.
D) constantly change their ethics
based the context.
Page Ref: 20
30) Individualistic cultures put more emphasis on
self-reliance, _________________________.
A)
independence and individual achievement.
B) Independence and group achievement.
C) independence and social bonds.
D) social bonds and conformity to the
larger social group.
Page Ref: 17
True/False Questions
31) With advances in
technology, few differences exist between face-to-face and computer-mediated communication.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 4
32) Sunglasses may be
regarded as communication noise.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 8-9
33) Daydreaming is an
example of psychological noise.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 8-9
34) Some communication has
no effect on those involved in the process.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 9
35) Ambiguity is
tolerated more in low-uncertainty-avoidance cultures than in
high-uncertainty-avoidance cultures.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 17
36) All messages involve
content and relationship dimensions.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 12
37) Choice points are
moments when you have to make choices regarding your communication.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 10-11
38) The punctuation of
communication is the segmenting of the continuous stream of communication into smaller
pieces.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 14
39) The process of
communication is reversible and erasable.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 15
40) Competence refers to
your interpersonal communication abilities rather than to small group or public
speaking abilities.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 19-21
41) People are either
ethnocentric or not ethnocentric.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 18-19
Completion Questions
42) __________ is a form
of interpersonal communication that proceeds by questions and answer.
Answer: Interviewing
Page Ref: 3
43) The communication
__________ is the vehicle or medium through which messages pass.
Answer: channel
Page Ref: 8
44) The concept of
__________ suggests communication has consequences for those involved in the process.
Answer: effects
Page Ref: 9
45) __________ is
anything that interferes with your receiving a message.
Answer: Noise
Page Ref: 8
46) Some motivation
leads people to communicate; this is the same as the principle that __________.
Answer: communication is purposeful
Page Ref: 9-10
47) The __________
context has to do with the status relationships among speakers.
Answer: social-psychological
Page Ref: 16-17
48) Lecia had a great
conversation with Brad at a party the first time they met, but subsequent
conversations have not
been as good. This illustrates that communication is __________.
Answer: unrepeatable
Page Ref: 15
49) __________ refers to
the degree to which a culture values predictability.
Answer: Uncertainty avoidance
Page Ref: 17
50) People with high
ethnocentrism view different cultures as __________ to their own culture.
Answer: inferior
Page Ref: 18-19
Matching Sequence
Match the perception scenario with the power
1) Kalya perceives
Sachit as powerful because he knows how to prepare income tax forms.
|
A) legitimate power
|
2) Andy perceives
Siobhan as powerful because she is the CEO of a company.
|
B) referent power
|
3) Rebecca perceives
Angel as powerful because Angel can help her get a promotion at work.
|
C) reward power
|
4) Yebin perceives
Amanda as powerful because she is the class bully.
|
D) coercive power
|
5)
Perfecto perceives his big brother Larmar as powerful because he wants to be
just like him when he gets older.
|
E) expert power
|
Answers: 1. E; 2. A; 3. C; 4. D; 5. B
Page Ref:
13-14
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