CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION STUDIES

1.1: Introduction to Communication Studies: Definition and Forms

Communication: The process of generating meaning by sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs that are influenced by multiple contexts

Group communication: Communication among three or more people interacting to achieve a shared goal; often task-focused, more intentional and formal than interpersonal communication

Interpersonal communication: Communication between people whose lives mutually influence one another; occurs in various contexts; builds, maintains and ends our relationships

Intrapersonal communication: Communication with oneself using internal vocalization or reflective thinking; triggered by an internal or external stimulus

Mass communication: Public communication transmitted to many people through print, electronic, or digital media

Public communication: Sender-focused form of communication in which one person is typically responsible for conveying information to an audience

Rhetoric: Speaking well and persuasively

Self-efficacy: An individual’s belief in his/her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments

Service learning: A teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities”

1.2: The Communication Process

Channel: Methods by which encoded messages are sent to receivers for decoding; most messages are sent through visual and/or auditory channels

Cultural context: Multiple cultural identities that influence our communication, such as race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class and ability

Decoding: The process of turning communication into thoughts

Encoding: The process of turning thoughts into communication

Environmental Noise: Any physical noise present in a communication encounter

Feedback: Messages sent in response to other messages

Interaction model of communication: A model that describes communication as a process in which participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending messages and receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts

Message: The verbal or nonverbal content being conveyed from send to receiver

Noise: Anything that interferes with a message being sent between participants in a communication encounter

Norms: Social conventions that we pick up on through observation, practice, and trial and error.

Participants: Senders and/or receivers of messages

Physical context: Environmental factors in a communication encounter, such as size, layout, temperature, and lighting; accounted for in the interactional model

Psychological context: Mental and emotional factors in a communication encounter, such as stress, anxiety and emotions; accounted for in the interactional model

Relational context: The previous interpersonal history and type of relationship we have with a person

Semantic noise: Noise that occurs in the encoding and decoding process when participants do not understand or have different meanings of a symbol

Social context: The stated rules or unstated norms that guide communication

Transactional model of communication: Describes communication as a process in which communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural contexts; suggests that we are simultaneously senders and receivers; posits that communication helps to construct our realities

Transmission model of communication: A model that describes communication as a linear, one-way process in which a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver; sometimes referred to as the injection model

1.3: Communication Principles

Capital: That which is of material, social, or cultural value, forming the foundation of social life and dictating one’s position within the social order

Civic engagement: Working to make a difference in our communities by improving the quality of life of community members; raising awareness about social, cultural, or political issues; or participating in a wide variety of political and nonpolitical processes

Communication ethics: The principle of communication that deals with the process of negotiating and reflecting on our actions and communication regarding what we believe to be right and wrong

Compliance-gaining communication: Communication aimed at getting people to do something or act in a particular way

Compliance-gaining tactics: Tactics that help you persuade others to do something or act in a particular way; includes offering rewards, threatening punishment, using expertise, liking, debt, altruism, and esteem

Doxa: That which goes without saying or is commonly accepted

Field: A distinct social environment with its own rules, knowledge, and forms of capital

Habitus: A sense of social propriety that allows for the successful navigation of social environments

Hegemony: The domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class which manipulates the culture of that society–its beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values, and so forth–so that the imposed, ruling-class worldview becomes the accepted cultural norm

Identity needs: The need to present ourselves to others and be thought of in particular and desired ways

Instrumental needs: Needs that help us get things done in our day-to-day lives and achieve short- and long-term goals

Integrative learning: A philosophy that encourages students to reflect on how the content they are learning connects to other classes they have taken or are taking, their professional goals, and their civic responsibilities

Phatic communication: Scripted and routine verbal interactions that are intended to establish social bonds rather than actually exchange meaning; for example, greeting someone, small talk

Physical needs: Needs that keep our bodies and minds functioning

Relational needs: Needs that help us maintain social bonds and interpersonal relationships

1.4: Communication Competence

Communication apprehension (CA): Fear or anxiety experienced by a person due to actual or imagined communication with another person or persons

Communication competence: The knowledge of effective and appropriate communication patterns and the ability to use and adapt that knowledge in various contexts

Conscious competence: Competent communication that occurs when you know you are communicating well in the moment

Conscious incompetence: Incompetent communication that occurs when you know what you should be doing and realize that you are not doing it well

Public speaking anxiety: A type of communication apprehension that produces physiological, cognitive and behavioral reactions in people when faced with a real or imagined presentation

Unconscious competence: Competent communication that occurs when you just communicate successfully without straining to be competent

Unconscious incompetence: Incompetent communication that occurs when you are unaware that you are communicating in an incompetent manner