Download Interpersonal Communication Portfolio

Interpersonal Communication Portfolio
Professor Baldinger
4/24/2015
Alfredo Molestina
Chapter 1
A first look at interpersonal communication
Communication is a continuous, transactional process involving participants who occupy
different but overlapping environments and create a relationship by simultaneously sending and
receiving messages, many of which are distorted by physical and psychological noise.
There are four things that make you an effective communicator:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Competence is situational
Competence is relational
Competence can be learned
There is no ideal way to communicate
Some good points of competence in interpersonal communication are:
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Motivation
Open-mindness
Knowledge and skill
Tolerance for ambiguity
Reasons of why we communicate:
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Identity needs
Social needs
Practical needs
Physical needs
Cultural Analysis
Ecuador
The Ecuadorian is known as they prefer to deal with those they trust, they take time to build a
relationships and it usually takes several visits to accomplish a simple task. To avoid any cross
cultural miscommunication, the Ecuadorian always make sure you have all the paper work
material in both, English and Spanish, they don’t like to disagree. Personal relationships are
extremely important, as always men tend to bring the income to the house, while the women
usually assume the caregiver role.
Chapter #2
Communication and Identity: Creating and Presenting the Self
Self-concept: the relatively stable set of perceptions you hold of yourself.
Self-schema: a generalization about self, derived from past experience that organizes and guides
your understanding of the information you learn about yourself.
Two or three adjectives that best describe:
 Moods or feelings: amused, content, moody.
 Appearance: Light skin, curly hair, dark green eyes.
 Strong beliefs: Catholic, and live every day as it was the last one.
 Talents: Soccer, hard-worker.
 Personality traits: Introversion, loyalty, emotional maturity.
Characteristics of self-concept:
 Subjective:
– Myth of perfection
– Social expectations
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Based on culture:
Individualistic
Emphasis in individual goal’s
“I” identity
Say what you are thinking
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Collectivist:
Emphasis on in-group’s goal’s
“We” identity
Avoid confrontations in in-group
In the self-concept the collectivist is based on my culture, people tend to emphasis on in-group,
people mention “we” as an identity. Is very important to fit or be part of group. Ecuadorians try
to don’t have confrontation with members of the same group.
Low Self-Esteem
Likely to disagree with others
Except to be reject by others
Performs poorly while being watched
High Self-Esteem
Likely to think well of others
Expect to be accepted by others
Performs well, while being watched
Cultural Analysis
In Ecuador, there is a Turkish culture. Is not a big amount of people but they are very rich
people, most of them are owners of the biggest companies in Ecuador. They tend to be very
exclusive with people they hang out; normally they hang out with other Turkish. They are
people with lots of power in my country; very recognize people but not really friendly.
Chapter 3
Perception
Is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
The perception process is divided in interpretation, negotiation, selection and organization.
Interpretation
Attitudes
Expectation
Knowledge
Relational satisfaction
Negotiation
Stories people tell to influence another’s
perspective
Shared narratives don’t have to be accurate to
be powerful
Narratives may clash
Narratives may enhance relationships
Selection
Novel
Size
Different color
Brightest
Organization
Stereotyping
Punctuation
Social roles
Appearance
Common tendencies in perception
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We judge ourselves more charitably than others.
We pay more attention to others’ negative characteristics.
We are influenced by the obvious.
We cling to first impressions.
The pillow method.
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Position 1. - I am right, you are wrong.
Position 2. - I am wrong, you are right.
Position 3. - Both right, both wrong.
Position 4. - It is not important.
Position 5. - There is truth in all perspectives.
Chapter 4
Emotions: Thinking, feeling, and communicating
What exactly is an emotion?
"An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a
subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response."
(Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007)
Types of emotions:
 Primary
 Anticipation
 Joy
 Acceptance
 Fear
 Sadness
 Anger
 Surprise
 Secondary
 Anticipation and joy: Optimist
 Joy and acceptance: Love
 Acceptance and fear: Submission
 Fear and surprise: Awe
 Surprise and sadness: Disappointment
 Disgust and anger: Contempt
 Anger and anticipation: Aggressiveness
Influences on emotional expression:
 Personality
 Culture: Happiness sadness, surprise, anger disgust, fear.
 Gender: Women are more likely than men to express feelings of fear, sadness,
loneliness, and embarrassment. Men instead reveals strengths and positive emotions.
 Social conventions: Discourages the direct expression of most emotions.
 Fear of self-disclosure: Emotional honesty makes people uncomfortable.
Guidelines for expressing emotions:
 Recognize your feelings
 Recognize the difference between feeling, talking, and acting.
 Expand your emotional vocabulary
o Avoid emotional counterfeits
 Express verbally
 Use single words
 Describe what is happening to you
 Avoid minimizing your feelings
 Share mixed feelings
 Pick the best spot and moment to express your feelings
Cultural Analysis
In Ecuador men tend to have a reserved attitude while we are talking about express feelings,
men are most likely to keep their thoughts for them and don’t express verbally what they are
feeling. Women are the ones that usually start the talks or questions about what is happening.
Chapter 6
Nonverbal Communication
Non-verbal communications is the process of communication through sending and receiving
wordless (mostly visual) cues between people. They include facial expressions, the tone and
pitch of the voice, gestures displayed through body language (kinesics) and the physical
distance between the communicators (proxemics).
Nonverbal Communication serves as many functions:
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Repeating
When someone asks for directions, you often repeat your answer with gesture
Complementing
Expressions that match thoughts and emotions
Substituting
When someone ask “What’s up?” you may just shrug your shoulders
Accenting
Nonverbal Devices in oral messages: It was your idea!
Regulating: Influencing the flow of nonverbal communication
Contradicting: Sending mixed messages
Types of nonverbal:
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Body movement
Face and eyes
Voice
Appearance
Time
Touch
Physical space
Influences of nonverbal communication:
Gender
Some differences are physiological
Some differences are rooted in socialization
More similar than different
Culture
Cultures have different nonverbal languages
Subtle differences can damage relationships
Distance and eye contact varies around the
world
Cultural Analysis
Ecuadorians use their hands for many things, most Ecuadorians are known for making gestures
when they speak because it helps others to understand what they are saying. The women in
Ecuador stand tall and show a lot of confidence in themselves. If they don’t stand tall other will
think they are depressed. People are very direct while saying delicate things.
Chapter 7
1. What keeps you from being an effective listener? What can you do to overcome this
tendency?
The biggest problems I have always had while I am listening are the external noises and effort. I
am the kind of person that can easily find a distraction during a speech or when the teacher is
explaining something. Most of the times I try to be focus but it usually just last for five minutes
and then I start looking at my phone or start overthinking about whatever it comes to my mind
at the moment. I feel like the best solutions to these problems could be turning off my phone
before the speaker starts and also put more effort in getting engage in the topic.
2. Describe the style of listening you use most often when helping others. How
successful are these styles? What makes them successful or unsuccessful? What might
you do to increase your effectiveness as a helpful listener?
I think the style of listening that I use the most is analyzing. Is very important to analyze what
the speaker says instead of just receipt the whole information as a fact, is good to have your
point of view and interpret it the way you feel. It makes it very successful because you can have
your ideas but it could also be unsuccessful sometimes because there could be some
information that is a fact and we can’t change so if we also analyze that we might get it wrong
and make a mistake. I think what I can improve is pay more attention and try to understand
everything to have an idea of what could be or not a fact, also by paying attention you can ask
questions that will probably determine what you get of the speech, class, or whatever you are
listening to.
Chapter 8
Communication and Relational Dynamics
Intimacy is being close.
Why we form relationships?
Appearance
Is especially important in the early stages
Partners create “Positive illusions”, viewing
another as more attractive over time.
Similarity
We like people who is similar to us
Similarity is more important to relational
happiness than communication ability
Complementarily
Reciprocal Attraction
Differences strengthen relationships when We like people who like us – usually
they are complementary
Each partner’s characteristics satisfy the People who approve of us, bolster our selfother’s needs
steem
Competence
We like to be around talented people
Disclosure
Revealing information about yourself can help
to build liking
If a person is too talent it can be difficult to be Not all disclosure leads to liking
around them because they make us look bad
Self disclosure in relationships, the process of deliberately revealing information about oneself
that is significant and would not be normally known.
Degrees from self-disclosure:
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Cliches
Facts
Opinions
Feelings
Why we form relationships?
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Proximity
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We are likely to develop relationships with people we interact with
frequently
Allows us to get more information about other people and benefit
from relationship
Rewards
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Social Exchange Theory
• Relationships that give us rewards greater than or
equal to the costs of the relationship