Foundations of Interpersonal Communication PDF

FOUNDATI ONS OF I NT ERP E RSONAL C OM M UNI C ATI ON History of Interpersonal Communication a) Early 20th Century 1900s: courses on public speaking, performance of literature, debate, and persuasion were taught in English or Theatre department under...

FOUNDATI ONS OF I NT ERP E RSONAL C OM M UNI C ATI ON History of Interpersonal Communication a) Early 20th Century 1900s: courses on public speaking, performance of literature, debate, and persuasion were taught in English or Theatre department under the title of “speech” 1914: Cornell School focuses on humanities perspective while Midwestern School focuses on speech as science b) 1920s to 1930s 1926: Piaget’s analysis of children interaction o Focused attention on role-playing, patterns of interaction and observational methods of research 1930s: Three Movements which provided a major impetus for the study of interpersonal communication Movement Researchers Description Human Relations Movement Harvard Graduate School of Business Social interaction and relationships in the work setting Administration Study on supervisor-employee interactions and the Elton Mayo and colleagues influence of peer interaction in productivity Supportive Communication: openness, showing concern for another’s needs (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939) General Semantics Movement Korzybski (1933) Practical utility and the significance of spoken language in everyday human interaction Concerned about misunderstandings that occur because of language Finding methods of enhancing clarity and reducing misunderstandings between individuals The map is not the territory We act based on our own perceived reality Symbolic Interactionism Mead (1934) Selves are formed through our interaction with significant others Meaning creation during social interaction → self- presentation and construction (identities) → defining situations of co-presence with others c) 1940s to 1950s Rawlins: Conception of interpersonal communication can be categorized into three major eras Era Topics Description Social Integration Interaction within groups What communication practices serve society, group, primarily and Persuasion and obedience to authority individuals secondarily? (early 40s to early 60s) Interpersonal influence Effective communicators were those who focused on social People communicate to persuade goals (Murray, 1940) Speakers were concerned with individual effectiveness were manipulative (Lee 1940; Schlauch, 1942) Individual Integration Persuasion and social influence in mass What communicative practices liberate individuals for personal media growth? (mid 50s after WWII) Models of information transmission The goal for communicators was to support one another in Relationships as systems the pursuit of self – self-actualization Situational Integration (1970s) Interpersonal persuasion What communicative practices promote the self while Nonverbal message transmission acknowledging social requirements? Interpersonal attraction Social Penetration Theory (Altman & Taylor, 1973) Self-disclosure Uncertainty Reduction (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) deception Interpersonal and Impersonal Communication (Miller & Steinberg, 1975) Expectancy Violation Theory (Burgoon, 1978) Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory (Pearce & Cronen, 1980) ADDITIONAL: Individual Integration era opened doors for psychiatry and psychology research in relation to interpersonal communication Jurgen Ruesch & 1950S: Influence of Interpersonal Communication in Mental Illness Gregory Bateson → Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry Sullivan 1950S: Adult schizophrenia → result of interpersonal communication problems in childhood and adolescence Fritz Heider 1958: Attribution Theory → Development of how people perceive one another The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations Ray Birdwhistell 1952 & 1959: Nonverbal communication in interpersonal communication & Edward Hall Leon Festinger 1957: Cognitive Dissonance Theory → When consistency is not present, dissonance occurs Ervin Goffman 1959: Impression Management Theory → The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life we “stage manage” the images we try to convey to those around us Thibaut & Kelley 1959: Social Exchange Theory → individuals attempt to maximize their rewards and minimize their costs in their relationship d) 1960s to 1980s The rise of civil rights movement and feminist movement during Vietnam war  o Emerging concerns for self-development and self-awareness gave rise to face-to-face communicative activities Goffman 1963: Behavior in Public Places → Metaphor of performance Herbert Blumer 1960S: Symbolic Interactionism → Interaction, meaning making, and the emergence of mutability of cultural values Jack Gibbs 1961: Supportive and Defensive Communication Climate Watzlawick, 1967: Interactional Theory/ Pragmatic Theory Beavin, & Jackson → We are always communicating; every message has both a content meaning and a relationship meaning Meaning depends on punctuation, and communication establishes and reflects power relationships e) Age of Renewal Renewal naturally entails the questioning of past assumptions, methods, and goals o the present era witnessed major transformations in the manner through which interpersonal communication is conceptualized and studied Past Development Social Approaches of Communication as originating within a sovereign Relationship replaces individual as the fundamental unit of social Interpersonal Communication individual life Communication is where relationships, meanings, identities, and realities are created, maintained, and altered Everyday Communication Big moments in relationships, unusual, dramatic, It is our routine, dayF-in and day-out interactions that most and extraordinary decisively shape identities and the quality and durability of relationships Dialectics Ceaseless interplay between (unified) contrary or opposing tendency Integration – separation Stability – change Expression - nonexpression Neglected Relationships and Focus on existing types of relationships and Inherent challenges and negative experiences associated with Relational Processes particular issues in relationships interpersonal communication Interpersonal communication as the source of embarrassment, anger, grief, and rejection CONCLUSION: Interpersonal communication as an area of study is not static; revaluations at different points in time inform not only which behaviors are studied but also the questions posed as well as how responses and/or behaviors are interpreted. f) Developments in the Study of Interpersonal Communication Redefining Relationship Boundaries Redefining Research Boundaries Redefining Subdisciplinary Boundaries Unclear definitional boundaries of Messy ebullience of relationships – their stages, 1) Relational Activities: relational goals are the family, friends, and work processes, tensions, norms, and dialectics as an accomplished Traditional scripts for roles and opportunity for embracing performativity 2) Relational Knowledge: source of relational communication may no longer MESSINESS: incompleteness, change, fluidity, knowledge be adequate expanding contexts, and the need to resist 3) Relational Alternatives: parasocial relationship and traditional binary thinking artifact intelligence 4) Relational Conversations: provides topics of conversation in social and personal relationships N AT U R E O F I N T E R P E R S O N A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N Interpersonal Communication for De Vito (2013) → the verbal and nonverbal interaction between two (or more) interdependent people Involves Interdependent Takes place between people who are in some way CONNECTED and INTERDEPENDENT Individuals What one person does have an impact on the other person, and the actions of one person have consequences for the other person Inherently Relational Takes place within a relationship at it impacts and defines relationships The way you communicate is determined in great part by the kind of relationship that exists between you and the other person and also influence the kind of relationship you develop Exists on a Continuum Ranges from relatively impersonal to highly personal IMPERSONAL COMMUNICATION INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Social role information Personal information Social rules Personal rules Social Messages Personal messages Involves Verbal and Vary greatly depending on the other factors involved in the interaction Nonverbal Messages The words you use as well as your facial expressions, eye contact, and body posture send interpersonal messages and receive through all your senses Takes Place in Varied Takes place face-to-face or some kind of computer network Forms SYNCHRONOUS: communicate real time ASYNCHRONOUS: do not take place real time Involves Choices The interpersonal messages that you communicate are the result of choices you make Can be under conscious control or paramount in our minds CHOICE POINTS: moments when you have to make a choice as to who you communicate with, what you say and don’t say, how you phrase it, etc. Interpersonal Communication for Verdeber & MacGeorge (2016) → the complex process through which people produce, interpret, and coordinate messages to create shared meanings, achieve social goals, manage personal identities and carry out relationships Transactional We give and receive messages, feedback and information, get our goals met and help others fulfill their goals Both parties get something, even if there are differences in what each person receives Irreversible Once an interpersonal exchange has taken place, we can never ignore it, take it back, or pretend it did not occur We might be able to repair any damage we have done, but the message has been communicated  Situated It occurs within a specific communication setting that affects how the messages are produced, interpreted, and coordinated Doesn’t occur in the abstract, but always in a specific, concrete situation Reveals Relationship Relationship Framing Theory (McLaren & Solomon, 2015) Qualities DOMINANCE: the degree to which one person attempts to control the behavior of another Symmetrical Message: matches dominance and submission implied in your partner’s previous message Complementary Message: opposite to the dominance or submission implied in your partner’s message AFFILIATION: appreciation or esteem one person has for another What they say, how the say it, and what they are doing with their eyes, face, and body as they speak Continuous Whenever we are in and aware of the presence of other people, there is a potential for unintended messages to be perceived and interpreted Whether you intend or not, someone can interpret your behavior as a message Perceptions of the Self Particularized Other Generalized Other Specific people who are important in our lives The general, overall, society DIRECT DEFINITION: tells us explicitly how others see us by → Culture, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and labelling us and our behaviors socio-economic class REFLECTED APPRAISAL: the views of ourselves that we seen in them influence how we perceive ourselves Social Comparison: assessing ourselves in relation to others to form judgements Self-fulfilling Prophecies: internalize others’ expectations or judgement about us and behave in that way IDENTITY SCRIPTS: define our roles, how we play them, and the basic elements in the plot of our lives we unconsciously learn our scripts as early as 5 years old ATTACHMENT STYLES: patterns of caregiving that teach us who we and others are and how to approach relationships