Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
Unit Planner
CHAPTER 1: THE ESSENTIALS OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION
CONCEPTS OF THIS CHAPTER
· preliminaries to human communication
· communication models and concepts
· principles of communication
· culture and human communication
KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, students should be able to:
· define communication
· understand the nature and importance of effective communication skills
·
explain and give examples of the essential concepts and principles of communication
· explain the relationship of culture to human communication
SKILLS OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, students should:
·
use the essential elements and principles of human communication in daily interactions
·
act mindfully in considering the role of culture in all forms of human communication
INSTRUCTIONAL OUTLINE
I. Preliminaries to Human Communication
Human comnmunication consists of the sending and receiving of verbal and nonverbal
messages between two or more people. This chapter provides the foundation for the study of this
complex process.
•
Myths about Human Communication.
To begin studying communication, consider the
relationship between some common beliefs about communication and research and
theory about these beliefs.
–
Belief:
The more you communicate, the better your communication will be.
–
Research and theory finds that if you practice
bad
habits, you are more likely to grow
less effective as a communicator.
–
Belief:
When two people are in a close relationship, neither person should have to
explicitly communicate needs and wants.
–
Research and theory indicates that people are not mind readers and to assume
otherwise inhibits open and honest communication.
– Belief: Interpersonal or group conflict is a reliable sign that the relationship or group is in
trouble.
–
Research and theory suggests that interpersonal and group conflict is inevitable and
if approached effectively can be
beneficial
to the relationship or group.
– Belief: Like good communicators, leaders are born, not made.
–
Research and theory finds that leadership, like communication and listening, is a
learned skill.
– Belief: Fear of public speaking is detrimental and must be eliminated.
–
Research indicates that most speakers are nervous; learning to manage anxiety
effectively can enhance one’s performance.
•
Skills of Human Communication
– This text and course focus on communication skills
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
vital to successful personal, social, and work life. These skills include the following:
–
Self-presentation skills
– presenting one’s self to others as confident, credible,
likeable, and approachable is essential to effective human interaction
–
Relationship skills
– knowing how to initiate, maintain, repair, and even
occasionally dissolve relationships makes one a better friend, family member,
romantic partner, and coworker
–
Interviewing skills
– being able to interact to gather and to share information in a
variety of situations, including job interviews, enhances one’s personal and
professional life
–
Group interaction and leadership skills
– participating as an effective group
member in relationship and task groups adds to the strength and success of the group
–
Presentation skills
– speaking to small and large audiences to inform or to persuade
builds self-confidence and can serve a larger common good
•
Forms of Human Communication
— Learning these skills requires engaging in and
mastering a variety of communication forms:
–
Intrapersonal
– through communication with oneself, one learns about one’s self
and rehearses messages intended for others
–
Interpersonal
– through communication between two people, communicators learn
about themselves and the other, reveal themselves to the other, and build, maintain,
repair, and occasionally terminate relationships
–
Interviewing
– through communication that proceeds by question and answer,
communicators gather and share information, counsel or get counseling, obtain
employment and select others for employment
–
Small Group
– through communication within small groups (5 to 10 people),
communicators develop new ideas, solve problems, and share knowledge and
experiences
–
Public
– by communicating as a speaker to an audience, one learns how to connect
with an audience to inform and to persuade
–
Computer-mediated
– by studying and analyzing communication that occurs
through computer connections (e.g., e-mail, IM, chat rooms, newsgroups, blogs) one
learns the differences and similarities between CMC and face-to-face communication
as well as how to be a critical user of not only CMC but also other forms of
communication
–
Mass communication
(e.g., newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film) — media
literacy – the skills and competencies needed to become a wiser, more critical
consumer has become central to the study of human communication
•
Using these communication forms as a framework, this text:
o
explains the concepts and principles, the theory and research in human
communication
as foundational to what communication is and how it works
o
provides the skills of human communication that will increase one’s
competence and effectiveness in the real world
II.
Communication Models and Concepts
– human communication has been studied from a
variety of viewpoints:
•
the
linear
view held that the speaker spoke and the listener listened, communicating in a
straight line.
•
the
transactional
view, a more satisfying view than either the linear
model, holds that each person serves simultaneously as speaker and listener. The
transactional model also holds that the elements of communication are interdependent, a
change in any element of the process produces changes in the other elements.
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
Communication occurs when you send and receive messages and when you assign meaning
to
others’ signals. All human communication
– is distorted by noise
– occurs with a context
– has some effect
– involves some opportunity for feedback
·
Sources-Receivers
– each person involved in communication is both a source (speaker) and
receiver (listener), hence the hyphenated term. Source-receivers send messages by
encoding
their ideas into words, symbols, and nonverbal cues. Source-receivers also
decode
messages
by assigning meaning to the words, symbols, and nonverbal cues of others.
·
Messages
– vary in form and may be sent and received through any combination of sensory
organs. Messages are conveyed with words as well as nonverbal cues such as clothing, facial
expressions, and body posture. Some messages have specialized functions:
–
Feedforward
: messages that preface other messages, that usually reveal something about
the message (e.g., “I’m not sure this is correct, but. . .” or “Wait until you hear this one.”),
or can also include the table of contents of a book, the words in the subject line of an e–
mail, etc.
–
Feedback
: messages or information prompted by another message, such as laughing in
response to a joke or a computer-generated message indicating a password has been
entered incorrectly. We also give ourselves feedback from hearing our own messages.
–
Metamessages:
messages that refer to other messages; communication about the message
itself, such as saying, “I don’t think you understand what I am saying.”
–
Workplace Messages:
In workplaces, messages are often classified based on their
direction.
o
Upward communication:
messages sent from lower levels upward
o
Downward communication:
messages sent from higher levels to lower levels
o
Lateral communication:
messages between equals
o
Grapevine communication:
messages that do not follow any formal, hierarchical
lines
·
Communication Context
– Communication exists in a context, and that context to a large
extent determines the meaning of any verbal or nonverbal message. Context also influences
the
content and form of messages conveyed. Contexts have at least four aspects:
–
physical
: the tangible or concrete environment
–
cultural
: the lifestyles, beliefs, values, ways of behaving and communicating
–
social
psychological
: the status relationships among participants, the norms of the group
or organization, the formality-informality of the situation
–
temporal
: the position in which a message fits into a sequence of events
·
Channel
– the medium through which messages are sent; communication rarely takes place
over only one channel.
·
Noise
– anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of messages. Types of noise
include:
–
physical
: interference external to speakers and listeners, such as loud music, others’
conversations, machinery noises
–
physiological
: physical barriers within the speaker or listener, such as visual or hearing
impairments
–
psychological
: cognitive or mental interference, such as prejudices, preconceived notions,
and expectations
–
semantic
:
speaker and listener assigning different meanings to messages because of
varying comprehension of signals (e.g., different language competencies or unfamiliarity
with a specialized language)
9
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
–
all communication includes noise. The significance of noise may be better understood by
considering the signal–to-noise ratio of a given communicative act or channel. Most
effective communicators seek communication that contains significantly higher levels of
useful information (signal) as compared to useless information (noise).
·
Effects
– the consequence of communication; what occurs because of the communication
process. Effects can be cognitive (e.g., acquiring knowledge), affective (e.g., changing a
belief), or psychomotor (e.g., learning a skill)
III.
Principles of Communication –
several principles are essential to understanding human
communication:
·
Communication Is Purposeful
–
some motivation leads people to communicate.
Communication has five general purposes: to learn, to relate, to help, to influence, to play
·
Communication Involves Choices –
All communication involves choice points, deciding
with whom to communicate, what to say, what not to say, how you phrase something, etc.
These choice points can be explained using John Dewey’s steps in reflective thinking:
-Step 1: The problem
-Step 2: The criteria
-Step 3: The possible solutions
-Step 4: The analysis
-Step 5: The selection and execution
·
Communication Is Ambiguous
– virtually all messages may be interpreted in more than one
way; some level of uncertainty always exists concerning whether messages are received by
listeners exactly the same way they were intended by speakers. Because communication is
ambiguous, learning to metacommunicate (communicate about communication) may lessen
misunderstanding and reduce uncertainty among communicators.
–
Language ambiguity occurs by words that can be interpreted in different ways.
–
Relationship ambiguity involves the uncertainty that exists in all types of relationships.
·
Communication Involves Content and Relationship Dimensions
– communication exists
on at least two levels:
–
Content
dimension
refers to the literal meaning of the message or the behavioral
response expected
–
Relationship
dimension
refers to how communicators feel about the message, about each
other, and their degrees of status difference or intimacy
– Problems often result from failure to distinguish between the content and
relationship dimensions of communication.
·
Communication Has a Power Dimension
– power, or the ability to influence or control the
actions of others, exists only in relationship to others’ perception of one’s power.
People
influence others’ perception of their power through the way they communicate
and,
conversely, the way people communicate influence others’ perception of the power
they can
wield.
Research suggests people may convey at least six types of power:
–
legitimate power
: when people perceive another has having the right to influence the
behavior of others because of a social role (e.g., perceiving a supervisor has having the right to
ask her employees to stay late, a police officer has having the right to arrest drunk drivers,
or a
judge having the right to pass sentences on convicted criminals).
–
referent power
: power generated by others’ want to be like another person. People who are
perceived as having referent power are generally attractive, charismatic, confident, and seen
as
having prestige. Celebrities tend to trade in referent power.
-reward power
: power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s ability to provide
material and social benefits. Rich uncles may be perceived as having reward power as may
rich
friends and socially prominent acquaintances.
–
coercive power
: power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s ability to
10
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
administer punishment or remove rewards. Bullies generally rely on others to perceive them
as
having coercive power.
-expert power
: power generated by others’ perception of an individual’s special knowledge.
Doctors and lawyers are often perceived as having expert power as is the only person in the
office who knows how to replace the toner cartridge in the copy machine.
-information power
: also called persuasion power; when others’ perceive an individual as
being able to communicate logically and persuasively. Successful politicians tend to trade in
information power.
·
Communication Is Punctuated –
communication events are continuous transactions with no
clear-cut beginning or ending; individuals divide the communication sequence into stimuli
and
response (cause and effect) differently.
·
Communication Is Inevitable, Irreversible, and Unrepeatable –
we cannot help but
communicate; we cannot take back the messages we send; we cannot duplicate them
IV.
Culture and Human Communication
– Culture refers to the beliefs, ways of behaving, and
artifacts of a group that are transmitted through communication and learning rather than through
genes
·
Gender is considered a cultural variable largely because cultures teach boys and girls
different attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of relating to one another.
·
The Importance of Culture
–
–
Demographic changes—These changes bring the need to understand and adapt to new
ways of looking at communication.
–
Sensitivity to cultural differences—As the U.S. moves from an assimilationist perspective
(the idea that people should leave native customs behind) and toward valuing cultural
diversity, we have become increasingly sensitive to cultural differences.
–
Economic interdependence—More countries are more economically dependent on one
another, so understanding intercultural communication is more crucial than ever before.
–
Communication technology—has made intercultural interaction easy, practical, and
inevitable.
–
Culture-specific nature of communication—Communication competence is very
culturally specific.
·
The Dimensions of Culture
– cultures differ in regard to at least five different dimension
continuums:
–
Uncertainty avoidance—the degree to which a culture values predictability
–
Masculinity-femininity—the extent to which a culture embraces traditionally masculine
or feminine characteristics
– Power distance—the way power is distributed throughout the society
–
Individualism-collectivism—a culture’s emphasis on the importance of the individual or
the group
–
High and low context—the extent to which information is seen as embedded in the
context
–
Indulgence and restraint—the relative emphasis a culture places on the gratification of
desire or having fun
–
Long- and short-term orientation—the degree to which a culture teaches an orientation
that places a value on future or immediate rewards
·
The Aim of a Cultural Perspective
–
because culture permeates all forms of
communication, cultural understanding is needed to communicate effectively in the wide
variety of situations. A cultural perspective allows communicators to distinguish between
what is universal (true to all people) and what is relative (culturally based).
·
Ethnic Identity and Ethnocentrism –
Ethnic identity refers to one’s commitment to the
11
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
beliefs and philosophy of one’s own culture; ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to judge
others and their behavior through one’s own cultural filters and to give greater credence to
one’s own cultural norms and behaviors than to those of other cultures.
–
The ethnocentrism continuum
summarizes the interconnections between ethnocentrism
and communication in five degrees:
o
Equality
o
Sensitivity
o
Indifference
o
Avoidance
o
Disparagement
V.
Communication Competence
refers to your knowledge and understanding of how
communication works and your ability to use communication affectively.
•
The Competent Communicator Thinks Critically and Mindfully
– Create and recreate categories
– Be open to new information
– Beware of relying too heavily on first impressions
– Think before you act
•
The Competent Communicator Is Culturally Sensitive
—The principles of effective
communication vary from one culture to another.
•
The Competent Communicator is Ethical
—the study of good or bad
•
The Competent Communicator Is an Effective Listener
—You cannot be a competent
communicator if you are a poor listener.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Why are communication skills vital to being successful in all aspects of life?
2.
The text suggests that a variety of communication forms exist. Give examples of
communication that exemplify these forms.
People practice intrapersonal communication when they do things such as write in a private
diary, rehearse to themselves what they are going to say at an important meeting, or mull over
3.
Why is the statement “the more you communicate, the better your communication will be” false?
4.
Why is the transactional model of communication more satisfying than the linear model?
5. According to the text, what is the definition of communication?
6. Give examples of the types of noise described in the text.
Relate students’ answers to the definitions of the types of noise described in text: physical noise
7.
Why is the statement “the fear of public speaking is detrimental and must be eliminated” false?
8.
Give examples and discuss the four different aspects of the context in which we communicate.
9.
Explain what the content and relationship dimensions of language mean. Why must we
understand this principle of communication?
10.
Explain what it means to say communication is punctuated. Why must we understand this
principle of communication?
11.
Explain what is meant by the principle: “communication is inevitable, irreversible and
unrepeatable.” Give an example to illustrate your answer.
12.
List and explain three different types of power that we hold and discuss how these affect our
communication or relationships.
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
13. What is ethnocentrism and why should it be avoided?
14. What is ethnic identity? Give examples of your own ethnic identity.
15. What is the aim of a cultural perspective?
ACTIVITIES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
1.1 Giving Effective Feedback
Guidelines:
A useful way to conduct this exercise is first to randomly assign each student in the class
one
of the scenarios described below. Give students 5 to 10 minutes to write down the kind of feedback they think
would be appropriate (positive or negative? person-focused or message focused? immediate or
delayed?
supportive or critical?) and write down one or two sentences that specifically illustrate the
qualities of
feedback they wish to express. [If the course schedule does not allow for class time to do this
individual work,
it can be assigned as homework.]
After students have had time to consider the scenarios individually, divide the class into groups of five or six.
Students in each group should have attended to the same scenario. Give students 10 to 15 minutes to
discuss
their individual responses with their group members and decide on three or four feedback
messages
that are most appropriate given the scenario. Have each group report their feedback messages to the rest of
the class and why they think they are appropriate messages. Lead the class in a discussion
concerning any
differences in opinion regarding what would constitute appropriate feedback in each of
the scenarios and
why these differences may have occurred (e.g., different cultural expectations, different life experiences,
different interpretations of the scenarios, etc.)
Scenarios for Giving Effective Feedback
·
A colleague persists in talking explicitly about sex despite your previous and frequent objections
1.2 Applying Communication Principles
14
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
Guidelines:
Provide an overhead of the principles of communication discussed in the text or write the
principles on the board. Divide students into groups of three to five. Assign each group one of the
scenarios described below. Ask students to discuss how the principles of communication help to explain what
is happening in each of the scenarios. Remind them that more than one principle may apply to any of the
scenarios (and, in fact, more than one does apply to each!). Have each group report their use of the principles in
explaining their scenario to the rest of the class.
After all groups have had a chance to make their reports, ask each group to develop another scenario
relevant to their own lives that they can role-play for the class. After each role-play, each group should
lead
the rest of the class in a discussion of what principles help to explain what is happening in the
student-produced scenario.
Scenarios for Applying Communication Principles
·
Tanya and her grandmother can’t seem to agree on what Tanya should or should not do. Tanya,
for example, wants to go away for the weekend with her friends from college. But her
grandmother fears she will get in with a bad crowd and end up in trouble; therefore, she refuses to
let Tanya go.
·
In the heat of an argument, Harry says that he doesn’t ever want to see Peggy’s family again.
“They don’t like me and I don’t like them,” he says. Peggy reciprocates and says she feels the
same way about Harry’s family. Now, weeks later, a great deal of tension remains between Harry
and Peggy, especially when they find themselves with one or both families.
·
Grace and Mark are engaged and are currently senior executives at a large advertising agency.
Recently, Grace made a presentation that was not received positively by the other members of the
team. Grace feels that Mark – in not defending her proposal – created a negative attitude and
actually encouraged others to reject her ideas. Mark says he could not defend her proposal
because others in the room would have felt his defense was motivated by their relationship and
not by his positive evaluation of her proposal. Therefore, he felt it was better to say nothing.
·
Margo has just taken over as vice-president in charge of sales at a manufacturing company. She
is extremely organized and refuses to waste time on nonessentials. In her staff meeting she is
business only. Several top sales representatives have requested to be assigned to other VPs
because they feel she works them too hard and doesn’t care about them as people.
·
Pat and Chris have been together for 30 years. Recently, Pat decided to retire and now spends
most days watching television and playing video games. Chris still works as the director of
marketing at a large bank. Chris is growing tired of coming home every evening to see Pat sitting
on the couch. Chris thinks Pat should start doing some volunteer work and has placed brochures
around the house from various nonprofit organizations seeking volunteers. As of yet, Pat has not
mentioned the brochures to Chris and today when Chris got home not a word was exchanged
between them.
1.3 Understanding Cultural Beliefs
Guidelines:
Have students first write their answers individually to the topics indicated below. After
students have written their individual answers, have them work in dyads to determine how same or
different their beliefs are pertaining to the topics given. Dyads can then report to the rest of the class
which belief systems were similar, which were different and possible explanations. This exercise is
particularly revealing if there are class members who are from differing cultures and/or countries.
Topics for Understanding Cultural Beliefs
· The importance of friendship
· The importance of family
·
The meaning of and means of success (the qualities that make for success)
15
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
· Appropriate gender roles (what constitutes femininity/masculinity)
·
Intercultural interactions (friendships and romance with those of other religions, races, or
nationalities)
·
The meaning of life (major goal in life, this life versus an afterlife)
·
Time (the importance of being on time, the value of time, wasting time, adherence to the social
timetable of your peers – doing what they do at about the same age)
1.4 Models of Communication
Description:
Either alone or in groups, have students construct their own diagrammatic model of the
essential elements and processes involved in one of the following situations. Each model’s primary
function should be to describe what elements are involved and what processes operate in the specific
situation chosen. After students have had a chance to construct their models, have each student or group
of students draw their model on the board and explain it. Discussion can then easily be focused on the
definitions of terms, the transactional versus the linear points of view, the role of culture, and the
principles of communication.
Scenarios for Model Construction
·
Sitting silently on the bus trying to decide what you should say in your job interview
·
Using the phone to ask someone you’ve only communicated with on the Internet for a date
·
Participating in a small work group to decide how to reduce operating costs
·
Talking with someone who speaks a language you don’t know and who comes from a culture
very different from your own
· Delivering a lecture to a class of college students
· Performing in a movie
·
Calling people to try to get them to sign up with your telephone service
· Persuading an angry crowd to disband
· Writing a speech for a political candidate
· Watching television
1.5 Let’s Apply the Concepts
·
Description:
Either alone or in groups, students should consider their responses to one or more of the
following scenarios. Relate their responses to concepts indicated in the brackets.
·
Several relatives have developed chain e-mail lists and send you virtually everything they come upon
as they surf the Internet. You need to stop this e-mail overload. What do you say? To whom?
Through what channel? [Message Overload]
·
An e-mail that you wrote to your instructor in anger (but never intended to send) was sent. You want
to reduce the negative effects of such e-mail. What do you say? Through what channel? [Negative
Communication Effects]
·
You’ve dated someone three times and you’d like to invite your date to meet your parents but aren’t
sure how your date will perceive this information. What do you say? In what context? [Reducing
Message Ambiguity]
·
One of your friends frequently belittles you, though always in a playful way. But, it’s embarrassing
and you’re determined to stop the behavior but not lose the friendship. What do you say? Through
what
channel? [Content and Relationship Dimensions of Messages]
·
Without thinking, you make some culturally insensitive remarks and immediately notice lots of
nonverbal negative feedback. You want to explain that you’re really not the kind of person who
normally talks this way. What do you say? In what context? [Irreversibility]
·
Your friends are extremely ethnocentric, never acknowledging that other cultures have any value.
16
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Essentials of Human Communication, Eighth Edition
You want to show them that their ethnocentrism is getting in the way of learning and profiting from
the contributions of other cultures. What do you say? Through what channel? In what context?
[Ethnocentrism]
1.6 Let’s Get Acquainted TABOO Style
Description:
This get-acquainted activity works great for an introduction to communication class as it
serves three purposes:
•
It gets students interacting with each other, which will help reduce their communication anxiety as
they communicate during the class.
•
It reinforced the critical thinking skills that are required in a communication class.
•
It opens up the channels of communication and which leads to a great discussion of the concepts of
this chapter.
Timeframe: 30-50 minutes
This can be done on the first day of class after the initial welcome/syllabus discussion, or saved for a
separate day. Hand each student an index card/small piece of blank paper and ask them to anonymously
print something interesting or unique about themselves. They should not include any type of physical
description. When each student is finished, collect the papers, shuffle them up, and hand them back out in
random order. (If a student is handed their own, allow them to select a different one.) Each student
should now have a different student’s paper. Now, all students (and the instructor, if he or she wishes to
participate) have to get up and walk around the room, and ask questions to each other without
using any
of the actual words written on the card
to try and find the person’s whose card they have. When they
find the person, they interview them, and find out basic biographical information about that person.
When each person is found and interviewed, then the class takes turns introducing the person they
interviewed. The class gets to know each other, they used critical thinking skills in determining how to
ask questions, and the channels of the communication process have been opened.
AVAILABLE ASSETS ON MYCOMMUNICATIONLAB
“I’d Prefer to Be”
“Media Literacy Boxes”
“Comparing Human Communication”
“How to Give Feedforward”
“Ryan Asks for a Recommendation”
“Going Up”
“From Culture to Gender”
“Cultural Beliefs”
“That’s So Rude”
“Cultural Identifiers”
17