CommunicationEssential to Human Behavior
What IS communication?Definition
Communication is the process by which individuals use symbols and behaviors to exchange information O’Hair and Wiemann
(2009)
OutcomesCreate shared meaningCreate understandingDevelop relationships
Why do we communicate?To express affiliationTo achieve goalsTo influence other
How we communicate…Communication is symbolicCommunication requires a shared code
Encoding and decoding
Communication is linked to cultureCommunication need not be intentional
Interpersonal vs IntrapersonalCommunication occurs through various channelsCommunication is a transactional process
Models of CommunicationThe Linear Model
Models of CommunicationThe Interaction Model
Models of CommunicationThe Competent Communication Model
PerceptionA cognitive process
through which we interpret our experiences and come to our own unique understandings
To gather, organize, and evaluate the information we receive we use schemas
Schemas: organizing perceptions
Schemas are…Mental structures that
put together related bits of information
Help you understand how things work and how they should proceed
Evolve and change over time
Types of schemas…
PrototypeStereotypeScript
Challenges to perceptionSelective perceptionUndue influenceAttributions
Changing perceptionsUnderstand ourselvesUnderstand how we manage our own circles or
influence and identities; this changes over timeWords crystalize perceptionsCheck with othersDistinguish between facts and inferenceMonitor the self-serving bias
Communication and cultureCulture is defined as a
person’s beliefs and attitudes about their world. Their spirituality, their sense of status and hierarchy, their use of time and physical space, and their relationships to one another. Samovar & Porter, 2003)
Culture relates to: Values Beliefs Organizations Gender Physical ability or
disability Location…all shape our
communicative behaviors.
Individualism-Collectivism Dimension
IndividualisticPersonal goals and
achievements are more important than collective
CollectiveCollective goals take
priority over individual goals
Effective and appropriate intercultural communicationListen effectivelyThink before speaking or actingBe empathicDo the right thing
End