exam ch9 Flashcards
(14 cards)
Where would you situate John Cage’s 4’33” performance: is this an example of textual silence or not? Why? And give me an example for the four different types of silence as discussed in class.
4 types of silence:
1.textual silence: you CHOOSE to read a text - scripted, tou follow a script where you (in)voluntarily are silence and focus on a text (library)
2. tematic silence (taboo): you don’t talk ab specific topics (sex)
3. situational silence: you are silent but do not consume text (can be sociocultural in like churches, hospitals, graveyards…) -unscripted (not a fixed script + can also be intentional or unintentional)
4. conversational silence: you choose to stay silent during a conversation
John cage’s performance is an example of textual silence: silence used intentionally in performance, writing, or media.
listening vs hearing
hearing as physical process and listening as psychological process
+mindful listening 8attention and empathy: focused and open mind)
silence can heal
emotional silence to process feelings
expressive pauses to find words
reflctive silence to allow people to process infos
both as listener and as communicator
silence can hurt
silent treatment. deliberately using silence as a mean of punishment or exert power
triggers distress, fosters antisocial behaviors and can manipulate interpersonal relations
severe form of ostracism because the target feels like their existence is meaningless
Q2. being silenced
not allowed to talk or have the feeling that you are not allowed to talk
-control, power, punishment & avoiding responsibility
to unsilence them it is hard, especially when they self silence due to their own fear of isolation or when they have negative reactions to their experiences
spiral of silence
people may erase their own beliefs is they perceive their opinion as in the minority
silence as a way to escape responsibilities (levittxtherapy)
interactional pauses: feeling pressured to talk ab smth u dont wanna talk about
disengaged silence: avoid further explanation or exit the conversation
to exit this silence: jokes, change of topic
thematic silence
a way to maintain social order and divert conflict - you avoid talking ab the sesitive and controversial topic
Q3. taboos existing
in the past related to magic (imagined consequences) - reflect contagion and sympathy cause people believed they could affet outcomes
to PROTECT SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION (adaptive function)
-solutions to adaptive problems
incest hypothesis:
EVOLUTIONARY PDSYCHOLOGY
adversion in accoppiarsi con famigliari associated w genetic risks)
FREUD
exists to avoid the unconscious desire to fuck your family members
- taboos to freud as socieal mechanisms that regulate unconscious desires (esp around sexual sphere) and maintain social order
BROWN
-taboos as social control in society: ritual avoidances to maintain order and structure in a community, by prohibiting actions that could endanger social stability
hence not a personal preference but a societal need
DOUGLAS (pigs)
they dont fit in the system to recognise animals, they seem out of place in each category, hence impre
-not necessarily purely practical concerns, but cultural systems of meaning
Q3(2). TABOOS PERSISTING
human universal desire for causation and explanation - we someties attribute unrelated actions (specific)
due to incorrect assumptions causse “better be safe than sorry”
Q4. WEIRD silence
- extroversion as prerequisite of success (+offices w meetings, brainstrorm… seem built to stress introverts)
- chado japanese tea ceremony during war to feel peace (tehy listen to each other and give each other their full attention)
Q5. awe and importance in study of interpersonal communication
awe is being silenced by beauty of something that is greater than us
can be also triggered by people within interpersonal interactions - less intence than by nature.
nature: beauty
interpersonal awe: excellent virtue of character
can increase prosocial behavior and interpersonal forgiveness (by using small self generated by awe as a mediator)
!can also generate fear, seems to be less common in weird countries tho!
Q6. how can spirals of slience be broken in social media
minorities - usually do not express their point of view due to spiral of silence - tend to be more open ab it on social media
simulation study: even by just having a few whistleblowers the spiral of silnce is significantly reduced
+a lot of people listen on social medias (lurking)
