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Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Communication
Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide
After reading and thinking about this chapter, students should be able to meet the
following objectives.
Objectives
1. State reasons why the study of communication is essential.
2. Define communication.
Key terms: communication, process, meaning
3. Name the components of communication.
Key terms: source, receiver, message, channel, feedback, code, verbal codes, nonverbal
codes, encoding, decoding, noise
4. Explain some principles of communication.
Key term: dialogue
5. Explain how the contexts of communication differ from each other.
Key terms: context, intrapersonal communication, interpersonal communication, dyadic
communication, small-group communication, public communication, mass communication
6. Set goals for improving yourself as a communicator.
Key terms: communication competence, ethics, social scientific method
Activities
Activity 1.1 This Person Is Unique
Objectives
Students should be able to name all the members of the class and identify the unique
characteristics of at least half of the class.
Procedure
Divide the students into groups of four or five. Tell the students that their task is to become
acquainted. In their conversations, they should try to discover something that makes each
person unique. After about fifteen minutes, have each student introduce another, until
everyone has been introduced. Each introduction should tell as much about the other
individual as possible, especially what makes that person unique. You may want to take
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time during the introduction to ensure that a unique characteristic is indeed unique. For
example, a person may claim that being married makes another unique, but if others in the
class are also married, then the introducer should be challenged to find something else that is
unique about the person being introduced.
Class Discussion
After everyone has been introduced, test the students’ ability to remember the names of their
classmates. Point to each individual and have the class call out his or her name.
Applications
This activity’s primary value is for the students to become acquainted and thus establish
rapport. It also can be used as a foundation for a discussion of self-concept (chapter 2).
Activity 1.2 Forming Impressions
Objectives
Students should be able to identify at least one person in the class who shares some
characteristic with them, to determine what characteristics are unique to themselves, and to
discuss the effects of similarities and differences on communication.
Procedure
Have each student fold a piece of paper so that it is divided horizontally into three fairly even
sections; then have them fold the paper again so that it is divided vertically into three fairly
even sections. The folds should divide the paper into nine sections. Ask the students to write
down a characteristic about themselves in each of the nine sections. Students may write down
their religious affiliation, party affiliation, membership groups, dislikes, likes, subject major,
hobbies, class year, age, marital status, the general area of the country from which they come,
or the sports in which they participate. After they have written down these characteristics
about themselves, they should get up and move around the room and try to find at least one
other person who shares one of the characteristics. When they have found a person who
shares a characteristic, that person should sign the square in which the characteristic is
written. Students should attempt to have all nine of the squares signed by at least one person.
(They can have more than one person sign each square.) When a student has all nine squares
signed, he or she should sit down. After about one-third of the students sit down, discuss the
exercise.
Class Discussion
Consider what characteristics were selected by those persons who sat down; that is, had their
papers completely signed. Why were they able to identify common characteristics? Were
they focusing on the others in the classroom, making observations, and drawing inferences
about similar characteristics? Were the people who did not get all nine squares signed
surprised? Which of their characteristics did no one else have in common with them?
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Did they focus on themselves or on others when they wrote down their nine characteristics?
Why is it important that we focus on common experiences and characteristics when we are
communicating with others? Have the students identify particular characteristics that affect
communication directly.
Applications
This activity is a good introduction to the course because it allows students to become
informally introduced to each other, and it underlines the basic definition of communication,
which is to “make common.” Students begin to see the relationship between their
“commonness” and their ability to communicate with others.
Activity 1.3 The Big Picture
Objectives
Students should be able to observe and understand essential components in communication;
and witness illustrations of people, the message, the channel, feedback, code, encoding and
decoding, and noise.
Procedure
Divide the class into small groups of three to five students. Assign each group one or two
components for which students will be responsible. Allow ample time for the students to
familiarize themselves with the information. Show a current sitcom or drama taped from
television. As the show progresses, students should note any of the concepts/ideas that are
detailed in the chapter. At the conclusion of the show, students should be prepared to discuss
relevant information and how the show depicted this information.
Class Discussion
Students should comment on the term or concept that the show illustrated, and provide
specific dialogue that addresses the term or concept. The instructor should ensure the
accuracy of interpretation throughout the discussion.
Applications
While many types of shows are appropriate for this activity, sitcoms and dramas are short
enough to be viewed as part of one class period and also tend to have plots emphasizing
topics relevant to communication (e.g., miscommunication, ethical lapses, ambiguity, and
conflict). This activity serves as an overview of the components and provides students with a
visual representation of concepts. This activity can also be used as an end-of–term synthesis
assignment where students write essays analyzing a television show or movie.
Activity 1.4 First Impressions
Objectives
Students should be able to name at least four or five other persons in the class; to identify the
variables that affect their perceptions of others; and to discuss the effect of first impressions
on their communications with others.
Procedure
Divide the students into groups of four or five. This exercise works better if both sexes are
represented in each group. Give a copy of the first impressions worksheet to each student and
ask the students to complete the form according to the instructions that follow. The activity
can be repeated, if time permits, by dividing the class into different small groups.
First Impressions Worksheet
We often base very distinct impressions about another person’s personality, status,
interests, and demographic characteristics on our initial perceptions of the other person’s
appearance and behavior. For this exercise, you are to record your impressions of the other
members of your group by filling in the information about each member of the group,
including yourself. The eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh items are scales. On the first of
these, liberal–conservative for example, a rating of 1 would mean that you perceive the
person as very liberal; a rating of 5, very conservative; and a rating of 3, average. As you
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First Impressions Worksheet
Self Others
Name (initials only)
Age
Class year: (a) freshman or sophomore;
(b) junior or senior; (c) graduate student
Major subjects
Marital status: (a) single; (b) married;
(c) separated, divorced, or widowed
Home town: (a) city; (b) town; (c) farm
Residence: (a) dormitory house;
(b) sorority or fraternity house;
(c) off campus
Liberal 1 2 3 4 5 Conservative
Outgoing 1 2 3 4 5 Shy
Partier 1 2 3 4 5 Studier
Athletic 1 2 3 4 5 Not athletic
What kind of animal is this person?
Where would this person go for fun?
What kind of music would this
person like?
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Activity 1.5 Models of Communication
Objectives
Students should be able to identify several types and models of communication; to discuss
the relationships among these models of communication; and to list some of the similarities
and differences among intrapersonal, interpersonal, and public communication.
Procedure
Assign all of the students the task of creating a model of communication. Provide some
examples to get them started. At the next meeting, divide the students into groups of four or
five and instruct them to pool their ideas and to develop one model for their group. Have
each group present its model of communication to the class.
Class Discussion
Have the class identify the similarities and differences among the models. Discussion should
focus on the variables in the models: their nature, their specificity, and the relationship
among them. In addition to discussing the models, the students should discuss the process by
which they prepared and presented the models. The students should describe the differences
and similarities of working on the models alone (intrapersonal communication), in their
group (interpersonal communication), and in presenting the models to the class (public
communication). They should focus their attention on the confidence they have in their ideas,
the amount of information that was generated, their methods of decision making, and the way
in which they created messages within each context.
Applications
This activity is a good introduction to the rest of the course because it focuses attention on
the communication process, on the variables that affect communication, and on the major
contexts of communication the students will be examining during the course.
Activity 1.6 Ethical Dilemmas
Objectives
Students should be able to discuss the creation of ethical principles that guide communication
behavior and should be able to apply those principles to realistic communication situations.
Procedures
Divide the class into small groups of five or six students. Each group should be given the
“Communication Ethics Worksheet” that follows here to use as a basis for their discussion.
Allow groups approximately 15 minutes to discuss and respond to items on the worksheet.
Class Discussion
Following group discussions, each group should discuss their reactions to at least one of the
scenarios listed on the worksheet. Following discussion of all scenarios, the instructor should
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turn to question 1 on the worksheet and lead a class discussion on the formation of
communication ethics. Following the class discussion, the instructor should relate students’
comments and responses to the NCA credo on ethics.
Applications
This activity requires students to interrogate their own ethical principles in relation to social
principles. The activity is designed to stress that ethical communication and effective
communication are not necessarily tied together.
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Communication Ethics Worksheet
You and your fellow group members should carefully read each question below and then
discuss each question in turn. One member of the group should record a summary of the group’s
conclusions in response to each question, and one or more of the group members should be
prepared to discuss answers with the class.
1. How do individuals learn communication ethics? Are there agreed-upon ethical principles
that guide communication behaviors for the general public? If so, what are they? Are
communication ethics created by each individual, or are those ethics socially created?
2. With any ethical dilemma there are multiple ways to respond, and rarely is there one correct
way. Below are five ethical dilemmas, involving communication, that might be faced by
college students. After reading each situation, your group should discuss whether an ethical
violation has occurred and identify an appropriate course of action.
You are meeting someone for a date and immediately decide that you are very attracted
to the person and want to continue seeing him/her. During the course of the conversation,
your date is charming, intelligent, and fun. After dinner the two of you are preparing to
leave and are ready to leave money for the tip. When you mention this, your date
comments that the “waiter was such a loser that this is probably the only job he can get,
so let’s tip well.” You are very bothered by this comment. How should you respond?
You and your roommate are both working on papers that are due in an anthropology
class. Your roommate notices that you are having a lot of trouble with your paper and
suggests that you visit a website where you can purchase papers to use as your own. How
should you respond?
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During a banquet at the end of the semester, the theater and speech department holds their
annual awards celebration. Students in the theater program are mad that the speech
students were given more time in the awards ceremony than had been the case in past
years. To vent their anger, they showed a video taken at a cast party where several
students were walking around with no clothing on. You are in attendance at the banquet,
but not with the theater program. How should you respond?
You and a friend are in the library one evening. Just before leaving the library, you find
your friend in the book stacks writing racially derogatory graffiti on one of the walls with
a marker. How should you respond?
You have a great but low-paying job. To explore your options, you interview for another
job in town and are offered the job right after the interview. The new job provides you
with a substantial pay increase. You tell the new company that you will accept their offer.
When you contact your current employer to give notice, he offers you a raise that would
pay you even more than the job offer from the other company. How should you respond?