• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/332

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

332 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Interpersonal communication
the exchange of symbols used, at least in part, to achieve interpersonal goals
The 6 assumptions of interpersonal communication
1. IC requires an exchange between people 2. IC occurs between people who are themselves developing 3. IC involves the use of symbols 4. IC is strategic 5. Communicators must be competent in using IC in order to achieve their goals 6. People should consider how their communication affects others
What are the three ways we can look at an exchange
act, interact and transact
Act
At a minimum, one person sends a message to a second person. In very basic terms, that is an act, or one behavior. This act is then followed by another and another. The communication process can be seen as a series of acts that one person performs in context with another person.
Interact
An interaction involves two behaviors: one person's act coupled with the second person's act.
Transact
the simultaneous sending and recieving of messages. At a minimum, transactional analysis requires a focus on both actors, regardless of whose turn it is. It refers to both actors' simultaneous esperience of the comm. event.
what are the three elements of the assumption that IC occurs between people who are themselves developing
1. people change over the life cycle, and there IC reflects those changes 2. people are searching for meaning and develop strategies for adapting to their social world 3. the communication exchanges we have now, as fleeting as they are, can never be replicated exactly
Symbols
include verbal and nonverbal representations of ideas, emotions, objects, or events. "Behaviors that are typically sent with intent, used with regularity among members of a social community, and have consensually recognizable interpretations"
Symptoms
Information may be conveyed through behaviors that have a direct relationship with thier meaning. ex. a growling stomach is symptomatic of hunger
Strategic
refers to all goal-relevant communication behavior. "Communication is selected, structured, and patterned; it is not random, unrestrained, and lawless; it is voluntary, controllable, directional, chosen and purposeful."
Communication competence
includes such factors as empathy, interaction management, and involvement, and it involves two fundamental properties: effectiveness and appropriateness
Effectiveness (Comm. competence)
acheiveing our goals in the conversation
Appropriateness (Comm. competence)
maintaining the situational rules or expectations
What does it entail to be optimally competent
a person typically must be both appropriate and effective, it involves obtaining goals while upholding the expectations of your partner
Ethics
concerns the use of principles to guide action, such principles are often based on moral codes that one obtains in the home, church, school, and other institutions.
Ethics in terms of IC
involves people avoiding hurting others and assisting them when needed, people are obligated to treat each other with good intentions based on a number of philosophical reasons
Goal
a state that you want to achieve, have both cognitive and emotional elements (they combine thoughts and feelings)
Interpersonal goal
a goal that you want that is linked with another person's thoughts, feelings, or actions
Seven general properties of goals that are relevant to IC
1. Goals vary in their degree of absractness 2. Goals differ in clarity 3. Goals vary in their degree of challenge 4. People often engage in multiple goals 5. Goals vary in terms of immediacy 6. People's goals are affected by the communication event itself 7. Goals prompt plans for action
what are the 3 levels of abstraction that we can classify goals into
supraordinate, basic, and subordinate
Supraordinate goals
are general and inclusive ex. "be friendly" "be strong"
Basic goals
provide more specificity in terms of actors' motives and relationships. ex. the goal "to share an activity" identifies the motive for interacting (to go out and do something) as well as the role relationship with the other (friend or peer)
Subordinate goals
very specific and are quite distinct from other goals. ex. the goal "to get Kathy to go shopping on Friday night" is different from "to ask John to shoot baskets on Saturday afternoon," though both are specific instances of the basic goal of "to share an activity"
Self sufficiency
people attempt to pursue challenging goals because they believe that they can succeed at reaching thier goals, a person with high self-sufficiency persists in achieving challenging goals, even in the face of failures, and is more likely to achieve those goals. it is crucial in determining the success you experience in achieving challenging goals
Primary goals
are the most important to the communicator
Secondary goals
less important to the communicator, but they function to constrain the primary goal
Proximal goals
goals that occur in the immediate future
Distal goals
goals that must be realized in the distant future
What are the three types of interpersonal goals?
Self-presentation goal, relational goal, and instrumental goal
Self-presentation goal
aka. identity management. we communicate an image of who we are and how we want to be percieved
Relational goal
we develop relationships and then maintain or neglect those relationships
Instrumental goal
we try to get others to do us a favor or offer some kind of resource
selective self-presentation
people control how thier communication conveys their self-presentation, especially when one wants to define a relationship
3 types of relational goals
escalating, maintaining, de-escalating
Escalating a relationship
involves learning more about one another and growing more intimate or more interdependent
Maintaining a relationship
refers to acitivies and communication behaviors used to sustain various close relationships as we want them to be sustained
De-escalating a relationship
deals with how friends and lovers drift away from each other (or how relationships suddenly "explode") and how communication with these former friends and intimates decreases or ceases entirely
Transactive goals
goals can be modified or changed during interaction (change from seeking assistance to defending oneself, pg 10)
reorientation
the real or perceived presence of another person changes our awareness; objective self-awareness. Ex. being watched while writing backwards and people do not like to be watched while grooming
behavioral constraint
we adjust our behavior based on predictions about others. We modify our actions based on predictions, we expect something from the other person. Ex. talking about problem with no response
social cognition
the mental processes and structures used to make sense of, remember, and think about people and interactions. Class definition: refers to the cognitive processes related to judging and interacting with others
why are cognitive processes important
can influence our interactions with others, even when we are not aware of them. Guide our behaviors. Influence what we perceive, how we interpret actions, and what we recall from our interactions with others
Selective attention
we tend to remember very selectively, we remember only certain parts of events or only some events and not others. What we do remember tends to be in a different form than what may have happened originally. We may do this because we are not able to notice everything and must make choices (usually unconsiously) about what we will focus our attention on.
schemata
knowledge structures developed by people over thier lifetimes and which they carry with them. These structures help them interpret, remember, and organize new information. They are influenced by the culture in which poeple live and the personal experiences people have
four different types of schemata
self-schemata, event schemata, role schemata, person schemata
self-schemata
reflect peoples' views of themselves and guide how they process information about themselves
Event schemata
also called scripts, help people recognize the typical ways in which a sequence of actions tends to unfold (ex. the particular events that are likely to occur n the first day of class and the order in which they occur)
Role schemata
provide information about appropriate behavior based on social categories (ex. race, age, sex, and occupation). They are often referred to as stereotypes
Person schemata
reflect peoples' understanding of individuals they know (ex. "my husband Chuck") and/or particular types of people (ex. happy people). This knowledge guides interactions with others
pluralistic families
communication is open and discussion is encouraged
consensual families
there is strong pressure toward agreement and children are supposed to be involved in the family without disturbing the family's power structure
laissez-faire families
little direction comes from parents to children and children are influenced more by people outside the family
protective families
obedience is highly valued and the family is focused internally
four important cognitive processes
four important processes for understanding how people communicate and achieve thier interpersonal goals are 1) interpersonal expectancies 2) attributions 3)person perception and 4) stereotyping
Interpersonal expectancies
when people communicate with others, they usually bring along a set of interpersonal expectations for how they think the interaction (or the relationship they have or hope to have with another) will proceed. They focus on how we think people will or ought to communicate with us
self-fulfilling prophecy
best known interpersonal expectancies. A self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come true.
self-disconfirming prophecy
happens when the beliefs that we have about others make them act in ways that would counter the expectancy
Pygmalion effect
another type of interpersonal expectancy. if people believe something will take place, they behave in ways that ensure that it will occur (ex. teacher favoring students they think are smarter, so the students actually do become smarter)
Relational expectancies
knowledge structures that mirror the beliefs we have for how our interaction partner should act
Attributions
assesments we make about what caused a behavior (our thoughts about why someone acted as they did or what caused us to act in certain ways).
three basic assumptions of attributions
1) people attempt to determine causes of behavior (want to know/predict what happens around us to understand/control our lives 2) people assign causes systematically 3)attributed cause impacts feelings and behavior (if you did not get me a bday card bc you forgot i would be upset, but if you did not get me one bc it was known that you were too busy it might create different feelings)
casual explanations of behavior that are internal
attributed to the person's disposition or traits
Attributions
assesments we make about what caused a behavior (our thoughts about why someone acted as they did or what caused us to act in certain ways).
three basic assumptions of attributions
1) people attempt to determine causes of behavior (want to know/predict what happens around us to understand/control our lives 2) people assign causes systematically 3)attributed cause impacts feelings and behavior (if you did not get me a bday card bc you forgot i would be upset, but if you did not get me one bc it was known that you were too busy it might create different feelings)
casual explanations of behavior that are external
attributed to the environment or situation
casual explanations of behavior that are internal
attributed to the person's disposition or traits
casual explanations of behavior that are external
attributed to the environment or situation
What are the attribution biases
Fundamental attribution error, actor-observer effect, false consensus effect, self-serving bias
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to assume others' behavior is caused by internal rather than external factors (particularly strong with negative behavior)
Actor-Observer effect
explain our own behavior si caused by situation (external), but others is the result of dispostion (interanl)
false consensus effect
tend to assume that one's own behavior is typical abd under same circumstances other would do the same
Self-serving bias
in regard to self, tendency to take credit for success and deny responsibility for faliure
Self-serving bias
in regard to self, tendency to take credit for success and deny responsibility for failure
intent
Behaviors judged to be intended are thought to say more about the person rather than be attributes to external factors
Distinctiveness
whether or not a person’ s behavior is clearly different in one situation than in other situations (if get one bad grade and four good grades, external attributes, vise versa, internal)
Consistency
extent to which a person’s behavior is the same over time
Consensus
the perception of similar others in similar situations, such as how well your friend is doing in one class relative to other similar students in the class
ultimate attribution error
asserts that peoples’ tendency to assume another’s actions were caused by something internal is particularly likely when another’s behavior is negative
Negativity bias
If people are watching someone from afar, they tend to make relatively negative judgments of the other’s actions
Positivty bias
It appears that having a chance to actually talk with another person helps us focus on more positive attributes
Relationship enhancing bias
The inclination for happy couples to “to see the best”. People are seen to be the cause of and responsible for positive, but not negative, actions
Distress-maintaining bias
The tendency for unhappy couples to “see the worst”. Gives people responsibility for behaving badly but not for positive behavior
person perception
AEvery day, as we communicate with others, we attempt to determine what others are like and whether we like them. It is a communicative goal in itself and a skill used to purse other goals
Prototypes
general person schemata based on personality traits such as shyness, humorous, and kindness
Individuating information
knowledge that comes from learning about a person’s particular characteristics as compared to information that is part of a general category or prototype. How an individual acts may prove more important than how we thought they would act
Chronic view of self
people want to confirm their self-views not as an end in itself, but as a means of bolstering their perception that the world is predictable and controllable, we ten to seek out, notice and remember those things that are consistent with our self-views. These “stabilizing processes” cause us to often have a chronic view of oneself (one that is particularly unlikely to change)
Reflected appraisal
the part of the self-concept that we may develop because of how we seem to be to others
Self-esteem
who we see ourselves to be and how we evaluate ourselves
Why is how we view ourselves important
our degree of self esteem influences the goals we set and whether or not we pursue them, self-views affect the choices of others with whom we wish to interact or form relationships, the way we see ourselves is also likely to influence how we interpret others’ behaviors in regard to us and our relationship with them
Metaperceptions
our beliefs about how others perceive us, and we are accurate in our metaperception to the degree that they match others’ actual views of us
Stereotyping
When categories are about people and are based on their group membership, they are called stereotypes (ethnic or cultural groups, gender groups, social groups). Stereotypes beliefs about the characteristics common to all members of that group.
Stereotypes, as a type of categorization, are a common way to make sense of people and objects and in this regard are thought of as important to communication
SIDE
Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects. A model to help show some of the ways that this integration of expectancies, attributions, person perception, and stereotypes occurs, and it has been applied specifically to explain computer-mediated communication. Assumes that communicators may have different identities, or aspects of selves, that “come out” in different situations because certain situations make particular identities more or less prominent
Deindividuation
Rather than perceiving individual differences among others or the self, the invisibility of the interaction often causes people to cling more tightly to whatever prominent identity is most available
Semantic
study of the meaning of words
Denotative meaning
the primary and literal meaning of a word
Connotative
the secondary meanings that a word might convey
Semantic triangle
model showing the relationship between words and the reality that words represent.
Referent
thought or thing being perceived (a person, an event, or an object)
Symbol
the word
Reference
your collective image of the class of the perceived person, event, or object. Composed of your previous experience
Syntactic Code
Has its roots in how people have examined logic and literacy, largely in the written word. Ex. I want to go to the party; To the party, I want to go; Go to want I party the to; Party the to to go want I (the first and second have acceptable syntax, but in the second the noun and object are switched)
Pragmatic Code
Concerns how people coordinate actions and activities during real-time communication. People have experiences and tendencies that they use to interpret words. Using the pragmatic code, communicators rely on context and their mutual interdependence to interpret the meaning of language
Alignment
Refers to the degree to which both parties share in the construction of the interaction. Two people do not have to agree, but must cooperate
Grice’s Principle of Cooperation
Contribute what is required to keep your conversation progressing so it meets both parties’ pragmatic objectives
conversational Maxims
provide direction regarding how one fulfills the Cooperative principle
Quantity maxim
providing as much information as is needed, but no more than is required, to keep the conversation running smoothly
Quality maxim
the most critical maxim, concerns not stating falsehoods nor making assertions for which you know you lack sound evidence
Relation maxim
being relevant
Manner maxim
concerns being clear and avoiding obscure expressions
When two people in a conversation fulfill these four maxims, they accomplish what certain things?
a. The two parties share a common goal b. Their contributions are sequentially ordered c. They continue to communicate in a suitable way until both people decide to end the conversation
Illocutionary acts
Speech acts that have intended effects on the listener
Constatives
reflect the intention that the speaker wants the listener to believe something. Ex. Assertions, predictions, descriptions, information and disputations
Directives
concern affecting the probable behavior of the listener. Such speech acts include requests, requirements, prohibitions, and permissions
Commissives
concern obligating oneself, and two major forms occur here: promises to negotiate a contracted agreement, to guarantee that something will occur, or to bet on the future; and offers to engage in future behavior
Acknowledgements
express one’s feelings for the listener. Ex. apologies, condolences, congratulations, greetings, thanks, acceptances, rejections
Pair parts
When people respond to one another, they engage in at least one sequence of two consecutive messages (or pair parts)
Preferred pair part
How a person wants you to respond to his or her initial statement
dispreferred pair part
a statement that does not validate the previous illocutionary act
Event-focused messages
concern the broader, underlying topic of discussion
Issue-focused messages
relate to the precise content under discussion at that particular conversational turn
Coherent topic shifts
occurred when the response somehow tied the new topic into the previous topic. Ex. By the way…Listen to this…Like I was saying
Noncoherent topic shifts
occurred when there was no transition from one topic to the next
Sin licenses
Function to obtain permission to change the topic (“I don’t mean to change the topic, but…” “I heard this one from my sister-in-law” “Don’t think I am being rude…”
Confirming messages
Recognition of your partner’s existence
b. Recognition of your partner as a unique individual
c. Expression of your partner’s significance
d. Acceptance of your partner’s way of experiencing life
e. Expressions of concern and willingness to become involved with your partner
Disconfirming messages
conveys a negative evaluation of your partner and the relationship
Indifference
disconfirming the other through silence, through absent (mindless) responses, or by interrupting or disrupting what the partner is saying
Imperviousness
involves being inattentive to the other’s thoughts and feelings, as if the person did not matter, also includes lack of involvement such as a blank gaze
Disqualification
entails being unaware of the other, as when one person talks endlessly about his or her own concerns and in monologues. Also irrelevant responses to messages or tangible responses, whereby the communicator responds incidentally to the issue and the proceeds with a different though, ex. do you think I should take that job? Who knows? Lets get an ice cream
Individualism
the tendencies of people in some cultures to emphasize their individual selves over their group membership, personal rights and responsibilities over group rights, and personal gains over group gains
Individualistic cultures
people tend to develop personal identities that focus on obtaining personal rewards, avoiding personal costs, and viewing people and organizations in terms of their personal relevance for gain. Ex. US.
Collectivism
how people in some cultures tend to stress group identity over individual identity, group rights over individual rights, and group needs over individual needs
Collectivist cultures
tend to rely more on context for meaning, they use more indirect language
Ethnocentrism
the extent to which we judge other people’s cultures by our own cultural standard
Communication Accommodation Theory
specifies how two people from different cultures interact in ways that reflect their personal goals as well as cultural identity
2. Although we are not aware of that we alter our behaviors, several verbal and nonverbal behaviors may be involved in the accommodation, including the use of different languages, speech rate, volume, and other message behaviors
Mutual Accommodation
when communicators both switch their speech styles to move towards the partner’s use of language and nonverbal behaviors
Message Design Logics
theory that explains why people use various messages based on underlying beliefs about communication. These beliefs are message design logics
Expressive message design logic
the belief that communication functions primarily to express ideas and feelings
Conventional message design logic
the view that communication is a kind of game with commonly understood rules (conventions). People who are associated with this logic are concerned with both expression and achieving their goals within the boundaries of social appropriateness
Rhetorical message design logic
the belief that communication functions primarily to create a person’s social world. People who adopt this believe that self-expression and social conventions can be used or changed to meet their interpersonal objectives
Self-construals
ways of thinking of themselves and what brings them happiness
Independent self-construals
these individuals see themselves as unique from others, as having a stable personality, as having the ability to take care of themselves, and so forth
interdependent self-construals
these people see themselves as willing to sacrifice their own interests for the sake of others, as avoiding arguments with their own group, as remaining in the group when they want to leave and the like
Intrinsic cues
cues include behaviors that have a direct relationship to a biologically shared signal system, would be understood by anyone at any time, are innate
Iconic cues
cues are those behaviors that stem from this biological base but are used purposefully or in some modified way. AKA semblances- signs that resemble their referents but are expressed voluntarily
Arbitrary cues
cues are created within a social or cultural group to convey meanings specific to that group
facial primacy
indicates that facial cues rank first among all forms of communication in their influence on initial impressions
Static facial features
skin color, nose size, and bone structure
Dynamic or changeable facial features
person’s degree of expressiveness is an example. We use these features to decide what someone is communicating and to evaluate what that person is like
Kinesics
A. any movements we make with our bodies, the way we sit, walk, gesture etc “body language”
Gestures as emblems
we are using them whenever we use our bodies to communicate something that could also have been communicated with words. Ex. waving “hello”
Gestures as illustrators
providing a visual image of something we are saying or to which we are referring
Gestures as regulators
to punctuate the rhythm or importance of what we are saying such as accentuating a point by hitting the table as we speak about it
Haptics
a special category of kinesic behavior involves touches. Touches can vary based on their duration, location, strength, and these varieties of touch influence the meanings that we give to touches.
Vocalics
we may employ components of our voice to fulfill our interpersonal communication goals. AKA paralanguage, vocal cues include the rate, pitch, character, volume, and amount of variation used as we speak. Also includes our use of silence
Proxemics
refers to our use of personal space when communicating with others
4 physical distance zones
1. distance for interacting with intimates (0-18 in)
2. casual-personal distances (1-4 ft)
3. impersonal of social-consultative distance (4-12 ft)
4. public distances (past 12 ft)
Chronemics
time, as a medium of communication. Includes several characteristics such as rules of time (how late to arrive), rhythms (body cycles), and how many activities we perform at one time. Can communicate preferences based on how much time we spend with another person
Misconceptions about nonverbal cues and how they work to accomplish our goals
1. Nonverbal cues are largely natural, unintentional, and out of our control and awareness
2. Nonverbal cues make up a universal language and have cross-cultural consistency
Intentionality
situations arise in which we think about and use our nonverbal cues with intentionality. Ex. when we want to deceive someone, we look them directly in the eyes to try to seem sincere and sometimes nod heads while someone speaks
Channel consistency
We try to make all of our behaviors send the same message by being consistent with one another. Usually helps us send a clear, credible message
Channel discrepancy
Occurs when some behaviors seem to say one thing, and others (including language) appear to communicate a different message. Unintended discrepancy may make us appear dishonest or not credible. Intended discrepancy can make our communication purposefully ambiguous and is often necessary, such as when we are trying to be sarcastic or evasive
Display rules
The distance we stand from others, the amount and direction of our gaze, the form of our buildings and landscapes, and the number of activities we perform at once are all tied to our culture and/or ethnicity. These cultural variations and the prescriptions that underlie them are referred to as display rules, indicating that they are learned behaviors dictated in large part by the community in which they exist
Six basic human emotions
1.Surprise
2.Anger
3.Fear
4.Happiness
5.Disgust
6.Sadness
Functional approach to nonverbal behavior
Nonverbal cues perform a range of communicative functions; they allow us to try to fulfill a number of our interpersonal goals
Two assumptions of functional approach to nonverbal behavior
1. clusters of behaviors are used together to communicate a function; although a single behavior such as a gaze may fulfill a function, it is more common for cues, including language, to work together. 2. Any one behavior can be used, alongside other cues, to communicate any of several functions
Emotional Expression
Reflect an area of universal communication that can be used and understood by all. However, most of the emotional expressions we actually use are modified through our culture’s display rules. Ex. we learn how to show sadness, happiness and anger in ways appropriate to our culture. Most emotional expressions used in everyday conversations cannot be interpreted outside of the conversation in which they occur
Interjections
communicating the equivalent of “gosh” “geez” “really” or “oh please”
Affection communication
the need or goal for the communication of affection for others. It is critical for the development and maintenance of personal relationships
Affectionate nonverbal behavior
hugs, kisses, holding hands, etc
Affection Exchange Theory
Affection is thought of as an adaptive behavior, helpful to human long-term survival by promoting bonding and its subsequent increased access to resources. So, affection ought to increase as its ability to enhance survival also increases. Parents should be likely to be more affectionate with those children who are able to carry on their reproductive lines
Impression formation
how nonverbal cues work as part of person perception
Identity management
the ways in which people work to get others to see them in a certain way
Deception
the deliberate attempt to foster (cultivate) a false belief
Interpersonal Deception Theory Assumptions
1. the deception that occurs when people are interacting with others differs in form from that which occurs outside of interpersonal contexts, such as in a taped deposition. Deception during interaction results in less accurate judgements about another’s deception when compared to those from a monologue 2. familiarity with another “moderates the behaviors, perceptions and interpretations” that people use when lying and when deciding if a partner is lying
Conversation Management
The way in which nonverbal cues allow for the structuring of conversation
Relational messages
include the amount of intimacy two people share, whether the power balance is matched or not between interactants, and the degree to which one’s relationship with another person is formal or informal
Relational communication
addresses the processes and messages whereby people negotiate, express, and interpret their relationships with one another (and such messages are typically sent nonverbally)
Synchrony
can occur in many forms (ex. mirroring, mimicry, or behavioral meshing), but overall it refers to the amount of coordination in people’s behaviors (ex. 2 ppl move in the same ways, behaviors fit with each others). When 2 or more peoples’ nonverbal cues are in sync with one another, the relational message sent is usually solidarity, agreement, support, and attraction
Intimacy
the closeness that people feel for or express to one another
Immediacy
part of how actively engaged we are in an interaction
Non-response/non-accommodation reaction
person acts exactly as they had been
Reciprocity
act more like partner
Compensation
act in lesser manner than before
Equilibrium Theory
people attempt to maintain a certain comfort balance in their interactions with others
Valencers
a. social or cultural norms
b. interpersonal relationship history
c. perceptions of the other person
d. environmental context
e. the state of the other person
f. psychological or communicative traits of the other person
Interaction Adaptation theory
for biological reasons and because of social learning, we tend towards reciprocity. We use compensation only in a few instances, such as when the roles that we are playing dictate so or when a disliked other acts more immediate or involved than expected
Factors that make up one’s interactional position
the required, the expected and the desired level of interaction behaviors
3 primary nonverbal abilities
1. Encoding skill
2. Decoding ability (or sensitivity)
3. Skill in regulating or controlling nonverbal communication
Encoding skill
the ability to enact the nonverbal cues that you wish to and to have them interpreted consistently with what you intended
Decoding (or receiving) skills
concerned with people’s ability to pick up and interpret others’ nonverbal cues as the others intended
Nonverbal control
deals with one’s ability to perform the function of conversation management
What is self-presentation?
When others first meet you, they form impressions of you based on your physical characteristics, what you say and how you say it, as well as your poise, posture, gesturing (or lack of), and other body movement
Impression management or strategic self-presentation
an individual’s conscious attempt to exercise control over selected behaviors in order to make a desired impression
Goffman’s term “dramaturgy”
based on the view that the whole world is a stage, and we are all actors performing various roles (some more competently than others)
Goffman’s notion of the presentation of self details the coordination of six elements
the actor, the audience, the stage, the script, the performance and audience reactions
The Actor
we can claim a number of roles
The Audience
we can achieve goals by performing appropriately to the audience
The Stage
most of us engage in a scripted performance based on the norms of the situation, different scripts used for different stage settings
The Script
for a number of events we enter with a certain notion of what to expect, and/or we develop plans regarding how we will create our desired image
the Performance
the communication aspect of dramaturgy rests in our ability to combine behaviors that are verbal, vocal, and nonverbal in order to perform the role, on stage, to the particular audience and achieve the desired outcome
Audience Reactions
we depend on confirmation from others regarding major portions of our public self-presentations
Richer channels
ones involving access to words and nonverbal behaviors (tone of voice, speed of speech etc.), such face-to-face and telephone conversations, provide more information and feedback to both communicators
Leaner channels
ones involving limited information, such as electronic mail and letters
Hyperpersonal interaction
people who can competently use the internet can communicate with others in ways that parallel or even exceed face-to-face messages in terms of friendliness, intimacy and desirability
3 main reasons for managing impressions
Self-glorification, self-consistency, accurate presentation of self
Self-glorification
reflects our desire to promote and maintain a positive image
Self-consistency
we try to create images of our self and our social environments that verify and maintain stable, consistent self-conceptions
Accurate presentation of self
promotes fewer but more genuine reactions
Sandbagging
a self-presentational strategy involving a false claim of your ability to perform a task, such as sport or a test. They may possess certain skills and abilities, but communicate to others that they are less skillful, less competent, or less qualified than they are in real life
5 common self-presentational strategies
ingratiator, self-promoter, intimidator, exemplifier, supplicator
Ingratiator
desires to be liked and to arouse the emotion of affection
Self-promoter
wants to be seem as competent, successful, and talented, but he or she runs the risk of being perceived as conceited
Intimidator
seeks to be perceived as a dangerous, tough individual who wants to be feared and respected by others
Exemplifier
wishes to be viewed as dedicated, committed, and self-sacrificing, and engages in self-denial and helping others, they live their life based on certain values
Supplicator
desires to be perceived as helpless and in need of nurturing; although there may be relatively few supplicators in college, they depend on others for assistance, help, advice, nurturance
Purposes our identities must serve
An identity must explain our thoughts, feelings and actions. Help us predict future thoughts, feelings, and actions. Help guide our actions
Inclusiveness of an explanation
refers to the number of different thoughts, feelings, and actions for which it is able to account, the greater the number the more inclusive
Coherence of an explanation
refers to how well the items we use to develop an identity fit together, the better they fit the more coherent
2 main features of self-identity
We believe and adopt as our own an identity of there os sufficient available evidence. We believe and adopt as our own an identity if it is confirmed and validated through communication with relevant others
Indicators of Attainment
operate as symbols of the desired identity that communicates to ourselves and others that we have attained a particular identity. Indicators could include fulfilling the responsibilities of being a student
3 factors that influence the choice to enact ingratiation
incentive value, subjective probability of success and percieved legitimacy
Incentive value
assocaited with being liked by a certain person
illicit ingratiation
considered phony behavior targeted soley to get soemthing from the other person in the interaction
Authentic ingratiation
occurs when a person's primary motivation is to meet the demands of the situation
Subjective probability of success
requires we assess our own skills and resources as well as the probability that our tactics might fail
Ingratiator's dilemma
as the need to be liked by a particular target perons increases, the probablilty of successful ingratiation decreases
percieved legitimacy
we develop moral standards that govern whether we believe certain behaviors are appropriate or not, and any ingratiating behavior we choose must fit within those standards
opinion conformity
agreeing with others. we tend to find people similar to us more attractive than those who are disimilar. similar thers are often considered more attractive because they add support to the correctness of our world view, we expect them to be more cooperative, and we expect them to help us reach our goals
Rendering favors
communicates to others that we respect them and are willing to help them pursue thier goals
Affintity seeking strategies
employed to byp people to get others to like them. ex. conversational rule keeping, self-concept confirmation, nonverbal immediacy, self-inclusion, listening, facilitating enjoyment, openness and altruism
bragging statement
one in which the communicator emphasizes a personal and chronic quality of power, staus or welath. Involve exxageration, emphasis, or elaboration of how the speaker accomplished the acheivement with no effort or of how much the achievement benifited others. the communicators emphasize that they are better than others at a skill or a task
Self-handicapping
an individual's attempt to prtect self-esteem and competence by pointing to soemthing external to him or her as an excuse or casual explanation for any possible failure
Exemplifiers
attempt to project the image of integrity and moral worthiness (political leaders and heroes are examples)
Supplication
communicators that attempt supplication base their self-presentation on the social norm that the strong are supposed to help the weak, and hence they attempt to create the impression of being weak and helpless
Derogation of competitors or blasting the opposition
involves making negative statements and assertions of a rival group, school, team, or individual in order to tarnish the image of the opponent or rival and enhance the self-presenter's image by comparison
strategies for presenting a favorable image
basking in reflected glory, using an entitlement, enhancement, boosting, power display and identification
basking in reflected glory
highlighting one's association with positively evaluated others. ex. wearing school jersey
entitlement
person associates himslef or herself with positive events. ex. claiming "i was there"
enhancement
person who is already associated with an identity, group or event may benefit from an increase in status of the group, identity, or event.
boosting
using entitlements, or using enhancements. A person knows about or uncovers that s/he is associated with a negative event
power display
an assertive indirect strategy that communicates(via nonverbal means) one's sense of power, strength, and potential
identification
how individuals exploit group membership to create or maintain a public image ex. motorbiker's tatoos, clothing are self-presentational tactics
self-disclosure
comm that offers info about oneself
Evaluative intimacy
disclosure that presents one;s attitudes. ex. "he is a pig" and "florida beaches are better than the one in cali". used when the communicator's goal is to create a favorabel impression more than when the communicator's goal is to obtain information. people tend to reciprocate disclosures of evaluative intimacy but not of descriptive intimacy
Descriptive intimacy
disclosure that conveys an objective observation. refers to self revelations, or personal information about yourself
Social penetration theory
each relationship is assessed in terms of its rewards and costs. Rewards>costs=increases in intimacy are sought. If costs>rewards=no further intimacy is sought
depth dimension of self disclosure
level of intimacy of the disclosure
breadth dimension of self disclosure
number of topics that are discussed
consequences of revealing a secret
disclosing reduces psychological and physical problems, revealing a secret avoids making the secret highly salient and accessible to others, revealing a secret helps people gain insights and thereby obtain a degree of control
the norm of reciprocity
offering a communicative response that matches the partner's previous communication
main reason for not disclosing (students)
"if i disclose, i might project an image that i do not want to project" (maintaining a positive self-presentation)
why do men avoid disclosure?
to maintain control over the social situation
why do women avoid disclosure?
to prevent personal hurt and relational problems
dialectical tension between expressiveness and protectiveness
self limits self's own vulnerability and strives to protect other while still expressing thoughts and feelings
2 factors that affect the degree of expression or protectiveness
tolerance of vulnerability and likelihood of candor
tolerance of vulnerability
arises becasue our disclosures make us susceptible to others, when deciding whether to disclose we must asses how vulnerable we will become
factors of tolerance of vulnerability
the need to be open and the degree of trust in the toehr
likelihood of candor
the probability that you will make personal observations about your communication partner
factors of likelihood of candor
your percieved need to be honest about the issue at hand and your restraint or awareness that certain topics should be avoided
Privacy Boundary Coordination theory
the manner in which married couples coordinate thier boundaries of privacy. disclosure functions to define the boundaries of privacy
boundary coordination
the degree to which the explicit or implicit demand within a disclosure is met by an explicit or implicit response
four ways in which disclosure demands and responses are coordinated in daily life
satisfactory fit, overcompensation, deficient fit and equivocal fit
satisfactory fit
disclosure with an esplicit, direct message and a response that is also direct.
overcompensation
disclosure is implicit and the repsonse if explicit ex. "i have the day off tomorrow" "i cant go on that trip tomorrow"
deficient fit
disclosure is explicit and response is implicit ex. "u never surprise me with flowers anymore" "i never thought of that before"
equivocal fit
both the disclosure and response are implicit or indirect
high context cultures
depend less on verbal explanation and so would not value or need disclosures
Low context cultures
such as the US, value and need explicit information and thus would be likely to disclose more
we can examine the consequences of self-disclosure in terms of ...
amount, reciprocity, valence, honesty and timing
Amount of disclosure
in terms of depth and breadth. 2 hypothesis: 1)a positive and linear association should exist btwn disclosure and liking the disclosure because disclosures are a reward for the recipient and lead to relational intimacy 2)a curvilinear assocaition should exist between disclosure and liking the disclosure. linking rises with increased disclosures to a point; then liking decreases as disclosure continues to increase
personalistic self-disclosure
involves messages expressed because the particular relationship btwn the communicator and the recipient permits deep disclosures
general self-disclosures
messages sent to almost anyone- the disclosure offers personal info to friends, aquaintances, Mom and Dad etc.
language intensity
the use of language that connots emotional involvement rather than nuetrality ("i feel fantastic!" instead of "i feel fine")
Valence
the positive or negative elements in a message
honesty in self-disclosure
refers to offering information that accurately reflects your thoughts and feelings
Timing of disclosures
people who immediatley offer a disclosure are viewed negatively. It is good right away if you are accepting responsibility for an action
four approaches to account-giving
we use accounts to be polite and coordinate our actions with others during interaction, we use attributions to place blame on external causes (or we accpet responsibility for what happened), we use a triangle model of responsibility to evaluate the credibility of an account, and to evaluate people as they communicate excuses, and we use impression management to prmote, or maintain, a particular public image
account
a linguistic devise employed whenever an action is subjected to valuative inquiry
valuative inquiry
request for an explanation of either an innapropriate or unexpected behavior or a failure to engage in an appropriate or expected behavior
2 common forms of accounts
excuses and justifications
excuse
the communicator admits that the act in question occured but claims not to be fully responsible for it (ex. apeal to accident most common form- the dog ate my homework)
appeal to biological drives
appeal to fate or limits to human endurance ex. men are men, fatigue or falling asleep
appeal to defeasibility
the accounter claims that he or she did not have full knowledge about an action and its consequences and therefor should not be held responsible for what occured
justification
accounter accepts responsibilty for the act in question but denies that is was harmful or tries to claim that it actually had positive consequences
denial of injuru
accounter admits that an action occured and that he/she is responsible for it, but because no harm came from it, no penalty should be assessed
denial of victim
accounter argues that the person who was hurt isnt worthy of concern ex. "who cares?"
appeal to loyalty
accounter asserts that loyalty to a group or a friend is more important than the rules that were violated
self-fulfillment message
accounter accepts responsibility for the act but claims that the act had value- growth, maturity, or self-fulfillment. ex. "LSD is ok to expand the mind"
condemnation of the condemner
involves that claim that because others break the same rules, the accounter shouldnt be personally reprimanded. ex. "everyone cheats on the tax forms"
sad tale
accounter claims that highlights of a dismal past can be used to explain current behaviors. ex. "justify life of crime because of bad past"
concession
the accounter simply confesses or admits to the act in question
5 elements of full apology
1) an expression of guilt, remorse, or embaressment 2) clarification that one recognizes what the appropriate conduct should have been and an acknowledgement that negative sanctions apply for having commited the failure event 3) rejection of the of the inappropriate conduct and disparagment of the "bad self" that misbehaved 4)acknowledgement of the appropriate conduct and a promise to behave accordingly in the future 5) penance, restitution, or an offer to compensate the victim or victims
refusal
accounter denies that the questionable act occured or denies responsibility
how can a person prove innocence
using logical argument, physical evidence etc.
function of an excuse
attempts to exonerate the accounter of being held responsible for an offense
function of a justification
makes the action seem less negative or even positive
function of a concession
accounter accepts responsibilty for the act and its consequences and promises, if appropriate forms of apology are used, not to engage in the act again and/or to make restitution
function of refusal
accounter asserts (or proves) innocence
accounts are communicated to satisfy particular goals
create or maintain a positive public image, repair relationships, cope with embaressment, control emotions, manage or avoid conflict, and avoid punishments
face
presentation of a civilized fron to another individual within the webs of interconnected relationships in a particular cultures...face is a claimed sense of self-respect in an interaction situation.
politeness theory
presumes two types of "face needs": positive face and negative face
positive face needs
the desire to be liked and respected by others. threats to the positive face occur when we are evaluated in ways we find undesirable- which fail to support the positive view of self we had hoped to groom with our self-presentational strategies
negative face needs
desire to be free from constraints and obligations-we are autonomous, independent, and not tied down to anyone. "you are a big girl now you can do what you like"
3 reasons we develop the ability to manage our own face as well as others' faces during everyday conversation
1) we are judged as more competent and have a better chance to fulfill our own goals by attending to the face needs of both ourselves and those with whom we interact 2)typically people want to have thier identity confirmed 3) effective facework will garnish mutual respect from one another, and conversations will progress in relatively smooth fashion
when are we more likely to be polite
when we are with others who are more powerful and who might control more rewards and resources, when the type of offense or goal at hand is relatively more serious or important, when we are with others who are socially distant (dont have to be polite to family members anymore)
facework
validating positive face and avoiding threats to negative face
disclaimers
by using this, the speaker admits that what is to follow may seem odd or unusual (a threat to the audience member's face), adn the speaker requests no to be judged negatively on the basis of what he or she says
Forms of disclaimers
hedging, credentialing, sin license, cognitive disclaimer, and appeal for suspended judgement
hedging
indicates uncertainty and receptivity to suggestions "i may be wrong, but..."
credentialing
presenting credentials indicates there are good reasons and appropriate qualifications for engaging in an action "i pay equal rent, so I am entitled to have my friends over"
sin license
the speaker requests permission for a rule violation that should not be taken as a change in public image or as a threat to others' face "i know you dont like to hear jokes about ____ but i heard a good one today"
cognitive disclaimer
prefacing devise is used to tell others that what follows is reasonable and that the speaker is in control of his or her faculties, despite appearance "i know this sounds crazy, but..."
appeal for suspended judgement
a speaker requests that judgment be withheld until what might at first appear to be an offensive act has been fully explained "hear me out before you get upset"
preferred accounts
when we ask for an account from someone, we prefer to hear an admission of guilt coupled with some form of apology
full apology
percieved as more polite, they are preferred by listeners, and they are more useful than other accounts in solving disputes
what can apologies do
help reduce both the punishments that the accounter might recieve and the anger that the victim might experience
4 common types of embarresing situations
faux pas, mistake, accidents, recipient situations
faux pas
acts that are intentionally performed but prove to be inappropriate when the correct interpretation of the situation becomes clear "wearing informal attire to a formal function"
mistakes
intentional acts that would be appropriate to the situation but are not because they were incorrectly or incompletely executed (attempting to pay with expired credit card)
accidents
unintentional acts that are inappropriate to the siutation ex. falling
recipient situations
failure events that aries for the embarressed person because of the behavior of others. an embarressed person is made to feel conspiscious by the unexpected positive or negative attention of others, or by the unexpected intrusion of anothe rperson into the embarressed person's personal or private acitivity ex. recieveing excessive praise in public, being critisized in class
tactics for coping with embaressment serve the purposes of...
avoid neg. evaluation by others and to reduce the actual feelings of being embaressed.
common sequences of tactics to cope with embaressment
apology, remediation; apology, escape, remediation; humor, apology; humor, excuse; and humor, escape, remediation
Attribution theory
theory of human cognition that is relevant to many aspects of interpersonal communication. deals with the fundemental issue of how we make attributions concerning why people behave the way they do
stable causes
recur consistently over predictably over time
unstable causes
ones that cannot be predicted
triangle model of responsibiliy
you can view types of excuses by looking how they operate to reduce our responsibility. there are 3 components underlying the perception that someone is responsible, prescription clarity, personal obligation and personal control
prescription clarity
component of responsibility that focuses on our ability to state cleary what our goals are and that we can describe accuratley the proceedures to achieve them
personal control
an individual seeking to be percieved as responsible for an outcome (obtains a job, a good grade etc.) is likely to communicate that she or he exerted personal control over events to cause or to help cause the event to occur
personal obligations
a person seeking to be perceived as responsible will claim that he or she know the prescriptions (what to do) and claim that he or she personally and intentionally engaged in the necessary steps to bring about the desired outcome
impression management
emphasize that we beed to take the values and beliefs of the audience into consideration when we offer accounts
Accounter's dilemma
the choice- using excuses means we can go through life denying personal responsibility for mistakes, but doing so means that we admit that we have little to no control over our immediate social and physical world