Midterm Flashcards
(105 cards)
1
Q
What is communication?
A
The relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response. An act of communication has three parts: creating the message, the message’s characteristics, and the interpretation of the message and the response
2
Q
Name at least two ways that people can get a message across
A
Speaking (Verbal Communication), which can happen in a variety of settings such as interpersonal, family/groups, organizations, public/mass communication.
Shared expressions like sounds (sighing) or facial expressions.
3
Q
What are two parts that messages have? Explain both.
A
Content Level - The level of communication that addresses the topic
Relationship Level - Level of communication that addresses how people think and feel about each other.
4
Q
How do the two levels of communication differ from each other?
A
The content level solely looks at what the message is about while the relationship level is focused on each person and their feelings and thoughts.
5
Q
Theories are what? What does that mean?
A
Theories are a set of systematic, informed hunches.
This means that theories are a set of observations and evidence that explains how things work, it is an educated guess based on evidence.
6
Q
True or False: Every message has a single meaning
A
False: Messages are polysemic, which means , they may have different meanings that can change over time.
7
Q
True or False: The meaning of messages is static over time.
A
False: Messages MAY become static over time due to differences in context, people, or words may have different meaning from when the message originated.
8
Q
True or False: Theories should be testable.
A
True: Theories should be testable, they can change over time, hence why it is important to continuously test to see if they are still applicable.
They also allow us to examine the similarities and differences between them.
9
Q
Define Epistemology
A
The study of the origin, nature, method, and limits of knowledge.
10
Q
What is epistemologies relevance in the field of communication.
A
It’s relevant because the interpretive scholars claim truth is socially constructed through communication and language.
11
Q
How do objective scholars (i.e., behavioral scientists) understand the concept of truth?
A
Objective scholars believe truth can be arrived at through unbiased observation.
12
Q
How do interpretive scholars understand the concept of truth
A
Interpretive scholars believe there are many truths and this depends on lived experiences and contextual elements.
13
Q
How do theoretical purposes (goals) differ between objective and interpretive scholars
A
Objective scholars / theories try to create generalizable explanations and explain the process that lead to certain conclusions.
Interpretive scholars / theories try to create a guide towards explanation and explain the motivations that lead people to come to certain conclusions.
14
Q
Objective theories must have predictive ability, what does that mean?
A
Predictive ability is being able to predict possible outcomes of human behavior using observation and evidence.
15
Q
Objective theories must be parsimonious, what does that mean?
A
Parsimonious refers to the idea of simplicity.
16
Q
What is the rule of parsimony (i.e., Occam’s razor)?
A
The idea when given two plausible explanations, the simplest should be accepted (Occam’s Razor).
17
Q
Objective theories must be falsifiable, what does that mean?
A
Falsification refers to the idea that hypothesis must be able to be proved wrong. (Karl Popper: do not look for confirmations; irrefutability is not a figure of a theory)
18
Q
Objective theories must be practical, what does this mean?
A
The theory is useful for everyday life. Theories that are helpful and influential allow people to use their insight and learn from their wisdom.
19
Q
Interpretive research must provide clarification of values, what does this mean?
A
The theorist who is doing the testing is defining their values and ideologies.
20
Q
Interpretive research must provide a new understanding of people, what does this mean?
A
Theorists are trying to find a new understanding of behavior by analyzing uniquely human activity and finding patterns.
21
Q
Interpretive research should have aesthetic appeal, what does this mean and what is the similar value to aesthetic appeal in objective theory?
A
Aesthetic appreciation refers to the attractiveness of a theory (not physically, but rather: is it simple? Does it make sense/explain the questions we have? Is it elegant? Is it catchy?)
While aesthetic appreciation is of value to interpretive theorists, the most similar value to objective theorists would be relative simplicity.
22
Q
Interpretive research should aim to reform society, what does this mean and why?
A
It should generate change and impact society. Because interpretive scholars believe many aspects of society are socially constructed, interpretive research can challenge what’s accepted by society, raise questions, and offer alternatives to currently accepted ideals
23
Q
Socio-Psychological Tradition
A
Uses systematic observations and controlled experiments to find quantitative variables that explain how people communicate and what causes certain reactions
24
Q
Cybernetic Tradition
A
Using systems and figuring out how information flows through those systems. Theorists don’t just look at technological systems, but also family systems and media systems such as social media.
25
Rhetorical Tradition
Communication is interpreted not just in what is said, but how it is communicated. This tradition is a practical way to communicate, commonly used by politicians and public speakers.
26
Semiotic Tradition
Meaning is shared through signs and symbols. Words are symbols that are culturally given because there is no natural association with them.
27
Socio-Cultural Tradition
Language greatly influences how reality is perceived. Different grammatical structures and words can create a different meaning based on the language, making communication different between cultures.
28
Critical Tradition
Communication is used as a source of power to maintain imbalances within society. These theorists critique society and focus on the injustices perpetrated by those in power.
29
Phenomenological Tradition
Focuses on people's personal experience and their interpretation of messages and events that happen. No one has the same life experience, so everyone things and interprets things differently.
30
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
How language structure may influence how a message is perceived which ties into socio-culture communication.
31
Which tradition measures levels of communication, closeness of relationships, and commitment to the relationship?
The Social Penetration theory helps to explain the development of relational closeness. Comparison levels indicate satisfaction while comparison level of alternatives indicates the level of satisfaction with that partner (would a different relationship lead to better outcomes than the initial relationship)
32
Which tradition is most objective?
The socio-psychological tradition is the most objective. This tradition emphasizes the importance of discovering set truths through careful, systematic observation. Scholars also look for cause-and-effect relationships that will predict how people communicate, making it an objective perspective.
33
Which tradition is most interpretive?
Phenomenological tradition is the most interpretive. This tradition emphasizes the importance of people's perception and their interpretation of their own experiences. An individual's story is most important, making it an interpretive perspective.
34
Scholars are bound by ethics and pragmatism, what do those words mean?
Ethics: Scholars have a moral obligation to consider what is right or wrong when testing theories
Pragmatism: An applied approach to knowledge, an understanding of an idea has practical actions associated with them.
35
What does 'meaning making' mean?
The process in which a message is perceived and interpreted may be influenced by schemas.
36
What is a symbol?
An arbitrary sign that has a learned meaning and value for people.
37
What is the relationship between a concept and a symbol, use an example.
The relationship between a concept and a symbol is that people assign meaning to objects, actions, and ideas. For example, people might associate the word “puppy” with adorable, playful, and loving.
38
Why do we say that symbols are co-created?
Groups of people come together to assign meaning to an item, hence creating a symbol.
39
Why do we say that symbol use perpetuates the status quo?
The world around us is defined by the symbols we create.
40
What is minding?
The inner dialogue people have in their minds.
41
How does minding make humans different from animals?
Animals are unable to communicate symbolically and think reflectively while humans can do both.
42
To explain the looking glass self, Mead says that we do not learn who we are through introspection. What does he mean by this? Make sure to explain the looking glass self in your answer.
The Looking Glass refers to the idea that we understand who we are based on how others see us. Introspection would refer to who we are when we are alone, but Mead suggests that our ability and how we relate to others defines the “self.”
43
Mead explains a relationship between the "I" and the "Me." What is the "I"? What is the "Me"?
The “I” is the subjective self and is the spontaneous, driving force that fosters all that is novel, unpredictable, and unorganized in the self. The “Me” is the objective self and the image of self seen when one takes the role of the other.
44
What is the relationship between the "I" and the "Me?"
The relationship between the two is how people perceive themselves. Since there can be no self-concept without talk, the “I” is what people are truly like, while the “Me” is how people are seen by those around them.
45
What is generalized other?
The generalized other is the composite person in our mind that we have an inner dialogue with.
46
What are roles?
Roles are behavior and characteristics people are assigned. Humans are able to take the role of the other. For example, when kids role-play jobs, talk to imaginary friends, or just pretending to be other people.
47
How does the generalized other lead to self-socialization?
The generalized other reflects what significant others in our life and broader society think and define what is acceptable, which then influences self-socialization to fit in with others in life based on the expectations of the generalized other.
48
What communication phenomenon does social penetration theory focus on and how does it use an onion to describe a person's personality structure?
The Social Penetration theory helps to explain the development of closeness in a relationship. It is compared to onion as a way to explain the several layers in which a relationship goes through in order to develop a close connection. These layers include levels of self disclosure (depth/breadth).
49
Explain the difference between breadth and depth in terms of self-disclosure.
Breadth is the range of areas in an individual’s life over which disclosure takes place. This means breadth refers to how much an individual discloses about their life
Depth is the degree of disclosure in a specific area of an individual’s life. This means depth is how deeply they share about a specific subject
50
Which layer represent breadth and which layers represent depth.
The layers that represent breadth are the outer layers, such as biographical data, dating, worldview, studies, taste, and preferences in clothes, food, and music.
The layers that represent depth are the inner layers, such as concept of self, deeply held fears and fantasies, and religious convictions.
51
Which type (breadth / depth; outer/ inner) do you learn more of when starting a relationship?
When starting a relationship, you learn more of the outer, or breadth, layers.
52
Describe the role of reciprocity in self-disclosure. Why is it problematic when there is unequal reciprocation?
When self-disclosure is reciprocated, it will lead to one person opening up when another person opens up as well.
Unequal reciprocation is when one person is opening up more than the other. This is problematic because it will leave both people feeling uneasy until the level of reciprocity is even.
53
Describe three components of social exchange theory and how is this theory relevant to social penetration theory?
The Social Exchange Theory contains relational satisfaction, relational stability, and relational outcome. This is relevant to the social penetration theory because factors such as relational satisfaction and stability influences the relationship outcome.
54
Explain why social exchange theory is described as "relationship economics" and how this helps explain the minimax principle of human behavior?
Social exchange theory is described as “relationship economics” because it involves both parties evaluating the perceived rewards and costs of interacting with one another.
This helps explain the minimax principle of human behavior because it states that people seek to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs.
55
What is the comparison level of analysis and why does it matter for social exchange theory?
The comparison level of analysis is the threshold above which an outcome seems attractive in relationships.
It matters in the social exchange theory because if the relationship does not meet the threshold, the person will not open up to the other person to increase their degree of intimacy.
56
What is the comparison level of alternatives (CL.alt) and How does CL.alt explain how a relationship will remain stable or become unstable?
CLalt refers to the idea of, “would an alternative relationship outweigh the positives in the current relationship?” and is determined by the number of other alternatives and quality of these alternatives.
The relationship remains stable if alternative options provide less satisfaction.
57
Please explain why the researcher (Petronio) who developed Communication Privacy Management Theory chooses to use the term “disclosure of private information” rather than “self-disclosure.”
Petronio uses the term “disclosure of private information” rather than “self-disclosure” because a lot of the private information we share with others isn’t about ourselves. Also, Petronio’s phrase puts an emphasis on what is being disclosed and how the confidant handles the information.
58
Why might choosing the term "disclosure of private information" rather than "self-disclosure" be important when it comes to negotiating a collective privacy boundary?
This choice is important when it comes to negotiating a collective privacy boundary because it is up to the confidant to decide what to do with the information they have received.
59
Please explain the following three of the five personal privacy rules: Culture, Gender, and Motivation. Give one example situation for each type of privacy rule.
Culture - Different cultures have different levels of openness and disclosure. Ex. The United States is very individualistic so they won’t disclose things as fast as South American cultures that have high levels of openness.
Gender - Both men and women feel more comfortable opening up to a woman than to a man. Ex. In regards to sexual abuse, a women will be more comfortable talking to her friend who is a girl over her friend who is a boy.
Motivation - Our motivation determines how willing we are to reveal some private information about ourselves. Ex. Someone may reveal a secret when they find out the other person reveals they also have the same secret, the motivation of reciprocity.
60
Please explain the following two of the five personal privacy rules: Context and Risk-benefit ratio with examples.
Personal Privacy rule “context” refers to the idea in which certain conditions that provoke feelings of safety for the discloser may encourage disclosure.
Risk-benefit ratio refers to the idea that secret keepers asses the potential outcome of revealing a secret (weighing the risks and benefits of revealing the secret)
61
Boundary Ownership
Refers to the rights and responsibilities that co-owners of private information have to control its spread.
62
Boundary Linkage
Refers to the alliance formed by co-owners of private information as to who else should be able to know.
63
Boundary Permeability
Refers to the extent to which a boundary permits private information to flow to third parties.
64
Emory tells his brother Tarek that he is going to skip school on Friday and take the bus to go to Cincinnati from Columbus with some friends. Tarek is Emory’s older brother and thinks that this could be a dangerous idea for a 13-year-old. Tarek tells his parents about Emory’s plan. What type of boundary turbulence was Tarek’s breach of information? List the other two types of boundary turbulence and give an example of each.
Tarek’s type of break was an intentional breach because he is revealing information that Emory would not want her parents to know but it was revealed for her safety.
A fuzzy boundary is when there is no recognized mutual boundary between the two parties which can result in the informant using their own privacy boundary which might not be the same as the revealer. An example is when someone brings in a friend for a doctor's appointment, and the doctor reveals medical information that they did not want the friend to know about, but this boundary was not discussed beforehand.
Another boundary is a mistake when the informant accidently reveals a secret of another person. An example is when a doctor reveals information to someone over the phone, and someone else overhears the information, revealing the secret accidently.
65
True or False: In a situation where an adopted child enters a family at the age of 4, you could observe the parents’ interaction with the child on the first day of the adoption and know which Family Communication Pattern the family fits into.
False, family communication patterns may vary based on factors such as structure, history and culture.
66
if Luisa sits with her dad while he watches the local news report on an election, sees his reaction to a story, and then reacts the same way to the story when it is brought up at school, this would be a ___________ orientation.
Conformity Orientation.
Another example: A parent says no to their child when they ask to go to a party and when they ask why not, they simply say “Because I said so.” Parental authority is being emphasized here, making it a high conformity orientation example.
67
If instead, Luisa sits with her dad while he watches the local news report, sees his reaction to a story, asks why he is reacting like he does to the story, and then her dad explains his reaction and asks her what she thinks about the story, this would be a ____________ orientation.
Conversation Orientation
Another example: A parent says no to their child when they ask to go to a party and when they ask why not, they say “Because it’s an unsafe environment and there will not be chaperones there. Why do you think you should be allowed to go?” Open discussion is being emphasized here, making it a high conversation orientation example
68
Compare the differences and similarities between a protective family and a consensual family
A protective family is low in conversation orientation and high in conformity orientation, a consensual family is high in conversation and conformity orientation.
They both are high in conformity so they both have established rules in what is expected.
The difference is the protective family is not open to disagreement and having a conversation where point of views are discussed. A consensual family will have a discussion about each other's perspectives and at least hear them out, but a protective family only believes in the familial hierarchy and the authority of the parents.
69
Compare the differences and similarities between a laissez-faire family and a pluralistic family.
A laissez-faire family has low conversation and low conformity. Pluralistic families are similar in the sense that they contain low conformity but different in that there is higher conversation.
A laissez-faire family is not very involved in communicating with each other or making decisions together while a pluralistic family encourages conversation with each other, has clear expectations, and makes decisions together.
70
Which two types of family patterns risked causing mental health concerns for children going into college?
Protective and laissez-faire families.
These types risk causing mental health concerns because in protective families, the children feel their parents are too involved, while children in laissez-faire families feel their parents don’t care.
71
____________________, described as patterns, explains why people continue to experience the effects of their childhood family communication patterns into adulthood. Provide the three situations, as stated in our book and lecture, where research has found that adults are still affected by their childhood family communication patterns.
Family communication.
The workplace - children learn about authority and expectations as they grow up from their family and parents. In a workplace, the way they were taught to interact with authority as children will be reflected in their relationship with their boss. Usually it depends on whether they are willing to keep concerns about the workplace to themselves, likely in high conformity childhoods, or to voice them which low conformity childhoods will be more likely to do.
Political engagement - Children raised in consensual families are more likely to seek political information, share that information, and participate in the political process. Children in laissez-faire families are least likely to do this.
Future family generations - Different generations tend to use the same family communication patterns they were raised in, but it is possible for a generation to change their communication style when they know they don’t want to raise their children the way they were raised personally.
72
What is the central finding of the media multiplexity theory?
The Media Multiplexity Theory refers to the idea that the stronger the relational tie we have with someone, the more media we use to communicate with them.
73
What is a strong tie?
A strong tie is a relationship involving a large investment of time and emotional energy.
74
What is a weak tie?
A weak tie is a relationship involving a small investment of time and emotional energy.
75
What is the key strength of weak ties (and, inversely, the key weakness of strong ties)? What are bridging ties? How are they related to the strength of weak ties?
The key weakness of strong ties is they’re redundant when it comes to accessing information and resources. Meanwhile, the key strength of weak ties is their ability to access new information and resources.
Bridging ties are weak tie relationships that enable information and resources to pass between groups of people. They allow weak ties to use their strength of knowing new information and resources to pass to strong ties.
76
Summarize the five propositions of media multiplexity theory
#1 - The higher the number of mediums in media, the stronger the relationship is with that person. The more platforms used, the more they are communicating.
#2 - It doesn’t matter what platform the communication is happening on, the topic of conversation will be similar, it only depends on the tie strength. But with more social media platforms, this may not be as true. Certain social media platforms are usually used for weaker ties and others are given only when the tie strengthens.
#3 - One does not cause the other. Tie strength and media use both cause each other to strengthen or weaken. Weak ties don’t have a lot of channels to communicate on, strong ties do.
#4 - Because weak ties only have one or two media connections, when people no longer communicate on one of them, their relationship is greatly affected. If that happened with strong ties, it wouldn’t affect their relationship as much because they still have a greater amount of mediums to communicate on.
#5 - There is a hierarchy of media use expectations in groups. In groups, it is established they probably have only one or two channels of communication. But relationships within that group that are stronger have more channels of communication to be able to sustain their relationship better.
77
True or False: Organizational Communication Theories embrace Classical Management Theory
False: Organizational Communication Refers to a companies internal and external communication (common goals, culture and climate, strategies) and reject classical management theory.
78
What does "webs of significance" mean in the context of organizational communication?
That in order for an outsider to understand the culture of a workplace, they must discover the common interpretations that hold the web together. This includes the shared meanings, shared understandings, and shared sensemakings.
79
Culture has to do with Shared Meaning, Shared Understanding, and Shared Sensemaking. How are these terms related to Symbolic Interactionism’s “Construction of Social Reality”?
These terms are related to the construction of social reality because how they are defined determines the reality that is created within the organization and how those in the organization want their reality to be
80
Explain how ethnography differs from one-hour long, individual interviews and explain the difference between thick and thin descriptions in ethnography.
81
amie tells her friend Pallavi that the organization she works at is like a zoo. Jamie’s description of her work as a “zoo” is a type of __________. Why does Jamie use this type of speech to explain to Pallavi the culture of her organization?
Metaphor
They help clarify what is unknown or confusing by equating it with an image that is familiar. In this case, Pallavi understands how chaotic and wild a zoo is, so Jamie uses that image to help Pallavi understand the culture of her organization.
82
Name the three types of stories that are common in a workplace and give examples (1-2 sentences) for each type of story.
Corporate stories - carry the ideology of management and reinforce company policy. For example, the CEO of a company explains that he would do jobs that was below his pay grade like picking up the trash.
Personal stories - stories that employees tell about themselves related to their place within work. For example, an employee explaining how they deserve a raise because of how well they do the job.
Collegial stories - anecdotes about others in the workplace. For example, one coworker explaining how despite the other coworker believing how they should get a promotion, they believe that person should not because they lack basic social awareness.
83
True or False: Rituals make it easier for new management to come into a workplace and change the culture.
False: Rituals are practices that are repeated and hold deeper meaning and significance. A workplace that holds rituals would be difficult for new management to make changes to due to the preexisting beliefs that workplace may hold.
84
What does Social Judgement Theory focus on?
The perception and evaluation of an idea by comparing it with current attitudes.
85
Explain the authors’ choice to use “latitude” to describe peoples’ attitudes rather than conceptualizing an attitude as a single point on a scale.
The authors’ choice to use “latitude” to describe peoples’ attitudes is intentional, as latitudes represent a zone, not just a single point on a scale.
85
Latitude of Acceptance
Ideas that someone believes in reasonable and approves
86
Latitude of Rejection
Ideas that someone sees as unreasonable and objects them
87
Latitude of Noncommitment
Ideas that someone sees as neither reasonable or objectionable
88
What is ego-involvement?
How involved with an idea we are
89
How does low ego-involvement affect the latitudes? What does it mean to have high ego-involvement? How does this affect the latitudes?
An individual with low ego-involvement would have less attachment and attitudes towards an idea while someone with high ego-involvement would have strong attachment and attitudes towards an idea.
Someone with low ego-involvement would have a broader range of latitudes regarding an idea while someone with high ego-involvement would have a narrower range of latitude regarding the idea. For example, someone who has low ego-involvement regarding cars may view a Corvette as just as good as a McLaren while someone with high ego-involvement would strongly disagree and may view the idea as “wrong”
90
Assimilation
Perceptual error whereby people judge messages that fall within their latitude of acceptance as less discrepant from their anchor than they really are. This would occur during the latitude of acceptance stage.
91
Contrast
Perceptual error whereby people judge messages that fall within their latitude of rejection as farther from their anchor than they really are. This would occur during the latitude of rejection stage.
92
What is a positive persuasive effect? How do you maximize positive persuasive effects?
A positive persuasive effect is a message that falled into the person's latitude of acceptance, so they will slightly adjust their position towards the speakers.
To maximize the positive persuasive effect, the speaker needs to create a message that is furthest from the listener’s position but still falls within the listener’s latitude of acceptance or noncommitment.
93
What is a negative persuasive effect?
A negative persuasive effect is when the message falls in the latitude of rejection and causes the boomerang effect where the listener to adjust their position away from what the speaker is advocating.
94
What is ELM?
Elaboration Likelihood Model, the idea that we are motivated to elaborate on ideas in which we have high ego-involvement with
95
What are the two ELM routes?
Central Route - Involves Message elaboration
(Example, Someone is presented with a complex argument that requires thought.)
Peripheral Route - Mental shortcuts to accept or reject a message based on cues.
(Example: A friend buying ice cream because they paid for yours last time, reciprocation.)
96
What are the ELM Cue's (Cialdini's)
Reciprocation - “You owe me” Ex. When someone sends you a birthday card, you send them back one when it is there birthday
Consistency - “We’re always done it that way” Ex. You are more convinced to go to college because for as long as you have been alive, people have always gone to college right after high school
Social proof - “Everybody’s doing it” Ex. When a group of people are jaywalking during a red light, you are more likely to also do it because if they are also doing it, you are more safe
Liking - “Love me, love my ideas” Ex. If someone you like is trying to convince you to spend money on food, you are more likely to do it solely because you want them to like you as well
Authority - “Just because I say so” Ex. The president is voted because they have gained credibility, so when they are convincing the public of something, they are credible enough to believed
Scarcity - “Quick, before they’re all gone” Ex. If there is a small amount of shirts, people will want to get them before they are all bought
97
What is motivation in the ELM?
The listener’s ability to process the information (personal relevance/need for cognition) and is relevant to ELM because motivation may influence whether the listener takes on a peripheral or central route towards the speaker’s message.
98
What is objective elaboration?
Bottom-up thinking where facts are scrutinized without bias; seeking truth wherever it might lead
99
What is biased elaboration?
Biased elaboration is top-down and includes comparing an argument to what you already know about the argument topic.
100
True or False: The two ELM routes are mutually exclusive
True: The ELM routes are mutually exclusive. The central route and peripheral routes represent poles on a cognitive processing continuum that show the degree of mental effort a person uses when evaluating a message
101
What is cognitive dissonance? What makes people do? How does it happen?
Cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state caused by inconsistency between a person’s two beliefs or a belief and an action.
It makes people want to change either their behavior or their belief to avoid the feeling.
It happens through mental mechanisms like selective exposure, postdecision dissonance, and minimal justification
102
How does selective exposure reduce dissonance?
Selective exposure is the idea that people do not seek out and actually avoid information that does not fit their understanding of the world. Friends and media act as buffers.
An example would be joining a student organization that closely aligns with your own values/beliefs rather than joining one that may go against your values/beliefs.
103
What is post decision dissonance?
Strong doubts experienced after making an important, close-call decision that is difficult to reverse.
An example of this is how someone feels after signing the contract to buy a new car. They will think about if they made the right decision, if they bought the car for a good price, and if they bought a good model.
104
How does the minimal justification principle influence dissonance
By giving the reward that will just be enough to elicit counter-attitudinal behavior, it will increase the level of dissonance that will motivate the person to change their behavior or action.
For example, instead of giving someone a huge reward for quitting smoking, you give them little incentives that will convince them enough to start but not enough to only have outward compliance, this forces them to internally want to stop smoking.
