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Unit I
Introduction
 Each person is a unique organism who responds to
unique stimuli in his or her own unique environment
in a unique manner. This says to us that
communication at its very best, involves a compromise
of meaning between individuals.
Introduction cont’d.
 Language is symbolic and symbols have varied
meanings between and among individuals, hence,
communication barriers or pitfalls will occur where
symbols are misunderstood or misrepresented.
Polarization
 Polarization occurs when a person fails to distinguish
between a true dichotomy and an artificial one.
 A true dichotomy exists when there are in fact only two
alternatives, or two values, to describe a situation.
 Artificial dichotomies, however, imply the existence of
only two alternatives or values, when, in fact, there
may be several alternatives or gradations between
polarized values
Polarization cont’d.
 Polarization implies a limitation of choices: if you
regard your way of handling a problem as the “right”
way, then another person’s way of handling the
problem must be the “wrong” way.
 Polarization creates unnatural rifts between people
and may foster antagonism and irrational hostilities.
 Look at the following dialogue:
 Mother: Anyone who appears on the streets of a city
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like Kent with long hair, dirty clothes or bare feet
deserves to be shot.
Reporter: But you had three sons there.
Mother: If they didn’t do what the guards told them
they should have been mowed down.
Psychologist: Is long hair a justification for shooting
someone?
Mother: Yes. We have got to clean up this nation.
Psychologist: Would you permit one of your sons to be
shot simply because he went barefooted?
 Mother: yes
 Psychologist: Where do you get such ideas?
 Mother: I teach at the local high school.
 Psychologist: Do you mean that you are teaching your
students such things?
 Mother: Yes. I teach them the truth. That the lazy, the
dirty, the ones you see walking the streets and doing
nothing ought all to be shot!
Bypassing
 Communication fails because word meanings bypass
each other. At the root of the problem is the
assumption (consciously or unconsciously) that words
themselves have meaning. But the words are not the
things themselves; they are symbols of things. So my
use of the word ‘catty’ in a conversation may not
convey the image I had intended. You may have
learned the word under different conditions than I
had.
PERCEPTION.
Perception
 This is the process of imputing meaning to
experiences. Physiological, psychological, and
experiential factors all impinge on people’s
perceptions. No two people will perceive the same
stimuli in exactly the same way.
Check out this video!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u64HDXoKVM&f
eature=related
Selective Perception
 Receivers in the communication process selectively see
and hear based on their needs, motivations,
experience, background and other personal
characteristics. For e.g., the employment interviewer
who expects a female job applicant to put her family
ahead of her career is likely to see that in female
applicants, regardless of whether the applicants feel
that way or not.
Filtering
 This refers to the sender manipulating information so
that it will be seen more favourably by the receiver. For
example, when a manager tells his Boss what he feels
his boss wants to hear, he is filtering information.
Defensiveness
Defensiveness
 When people feel that they’re being threatened, they
tend to react in ways that reduce their ability to
achieve mutual understanding. Hence, when
individuals interpret another’s message as threatening,
they often respond in ways that retard effective
communication.
Inconsistent Cues
 Sending inconsistent cues between verbal and non-
verbal communications will confuse the receiver. If
one’s facial expression does not reflect one’s words, the
communication will contain noise and uncertainty.
The tone of voice and body language should be
consistent with the words, and actions should not
contradict words.
Organizational
Barriers
Status Differences
 Low power people may be reluctant to pass bad news
to senior staff, thus giving the wrong impression to
upper levels. High power people may not pay attention
or may feel that low-status people little to contribute.
Differences across departments
 These differences refer to the needs and goals which
interfere with communication. Each dept. perceives
problems in its own terms. The production
department is concerned with production efficiency
and may not fully understand the marketing
department’s need to get the product to the customer
in a hurry.
Internal Barriers
 Psychological noise refers to mental hindrances in the
communication process. For example, depression,
stress and other psychological influences.
External Barriers
 Those arising from the environment include:
 - Distractions
- Disturbances
- Diversions
- Discomfort