Communication Theory Quiz

Fundamental Aspects of IPC

• Source-receiver model: a source encodes a message, transmits it through a channel, and the receiver decodes it.
• Transactional model: ongoing, dynamic process where all participants simultaneously send and receive messages, creating mutual meaning. This is based on interdependence and reciprocity.

Language

• Language is ambiguous.
• Sexual overperception bias.

Contextual Influences

• Influence of context: set induction, physical environment, temporal factors, social psychological factors (interpersonal relationship, communication history), culture, and type of situation.
• Influence of behavior: interdependence, nonverbal behavior, (non)verbal dominance, questioning, reflecting, reinforcement, listening, response styles (assertiveness vs. aggression).
• Influence of medium: constraints and affordances, media richness, and social presence (determines possible behaviors).

Nonverbal Communication

• Purposes: replace, complement, modify verbal communication; regulate conversations; convey emotions and interpersonal attitudes; display personal and social identity; and contextualize interactions.
• Nonconscious mimicry: imitation of facial expressions, linguistic style matching, and emotional/mood contagion. (The Chameleon Effect).
• Communication Accommodation Theory; people adjust their behaviors while interacting for complementarity/mimicry.

Skilled Interpersonal Interaction Elements

• Person-situation context: how individuals are and the situation in which the interaction occurs.
• Self-concept: an individual's view of themselves.
• Self-efficacy: beliefs individuals hold about their capabilities.
• Attitudes (ABC): affective (feelings), behavioral (predisposition), and cognitive (knowledge).
• Goals: an end state the body has not yet attained (focused toward attaining in the future) and the body is committed to.

Stone Ch1: Three Conversations

• What happened?: Our own truth, other's intentions, model of guilt (distinguish between blame and contribution).
• Feelings: difficult conversations are about emotions (people try to avoid emotions, unspoken feelings can be revealed, learn what/where your emotions are, express them carefully, recognize other's emotions).
• Identity: own identity at stake, part of difficult conversations, trying to maintain balance.

Nonverbal Communication and Deception

• Deception: conscious attempt to make others believe something false.
• Deception cues: physical stress, more emotions, increased cognitive effort, attempts to control own behavior. More cues indicate deception.

Mediated Interpersonal Communication I

• Media affordances and constraints: copresence, visibility, audibility, synchronicity, and simultaneity.
• Theories about mediated IPC: Social presence, Media Richness, and Media Synchronicity.
• Criticism on technologically deterministic approaches: CMC is a container term; fixed effects on interactions and relationships; lack of attention to human determinism (interpersonal differences, adaptive capacity, social context).

Human Deterministic Approaches

• Social Information Processing Theory: relationships can form in online environments, people adapt to overcome limitations of the medium.
• Hyperpersonal model: CMC is hyperpersonal, offering opportunities to ‘fill in gaps’ and idealize self-presentation.

Mediated Interpersonal Communication II

• Criticism on technologically deterministic approaches: CMC is a broader term; fixed effects on interactions and relationships; lacks attention to human determinism (personal differences, adaptive capacity, social context).

Touch and Smell Without Copresence

• Touch and smell in the absence of physical presence.

Social Behavior in Virtual Reality

• Immersive: experience of being present in the mediated environment.
• Proxemics and eye contact, virtual prejudice.
• Effects of nodding, negative effects of social ostracism, unique affordances of virtual experiences (like avatars and environment).

Mutual Understanding

• Use of heuristics, linguistic copresence, community membership, and miscommunication.
• Grounding process: a joint activity where common ground evolves over time.
• Presentation phase, acceptance phase, and stages of reference communication tasks.
• Conversation norms.

Questioning and Reflecting

• Goals of questioning: obtaining information, initiating interactions, arousing interest, encouragement, and assessments of knowledge, opinions, and feelings.
• Open questions: leave more room for respondent's answer.
• Closed questions: constraint the answers to brief or specific responses.
• Funnel sequences: transition from open to closed questions.
• Inverted funnel sequences: move from closed to open questions.
• Tunnel sequences: all questions are of the same type.
• Erratic sequences: mix of open and closed questions.
• Leading questions: biased questions, aiming at a particular response.
• Probing questions: follow-up questions to encourage more detailed answers.

Assertiveness

• Assertion: standing up for personal rights, expressing thoughts/feelings/beliefs directly and honestly, while respecting others' rights.
• Noncoercive and friendly assertiveness.
• Factors in assertion: knowledge, rights recognition, present dissatisfaction, positive beliefs.
• Assertive response styles: direct and indirect, controlling (passive aggressiveness).

Speech Act Theory

• Locutionary act: actual utterance of words.
• Illocutionary act: the force (action) of the utterance.
• Perlocutionary act: the effect of the utterance on a listener.

Persuasion and Influence

• Purposes of persuasion: adoption, continuance, improvement, deterrence, discontinuance, and reduction.
• Immediate (unsuccessful) effects, and delayed (sleeper) effects of persuasion.
• Boomerang effect: no or opposite effect as intended.
• Rhethoric: all available persuasive methods (ethos, logos, pathos).
• Personal proofs: credibility, relationship, attractiveness, humor.
• Logical Proofs: message delivery, case studies, side, request size, reciprocation.
• Emotional proofs: threat/fear, moral appeals, scarcity, self-prophecy.

Negotiation

• Negotiation: process where two or more parties exchange goods or services and agree upon an exchange rate.
• Zero-sum tasks: where if one party gains, the other party loses.
• Unilateral concession: one-sided compromise.
• Individual gain: increase one's own gains.
• Competition: obtaining a bigger share compared to others.
• Integrative bargaining: striving for the best possible deal for both sides.