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Chapter 1

Summary

In this chapter you learned the following:

1. Communication is essential because

· Understanding communication can improve the way people view themselves and the way others view them.

· People learn more about human relationships as they study communication and learn important life skills.

· Studying communication can help people feel confident in voicing and advocating their opinions and can create space to give voice to others.

· An understanding of communication can help people succeed professionally.

2. Communication is the process of using messages to exchange meaning.

3. The components of communication are people, messages, channels, feedback, codes, encoding and decoding, noise, and situation.

4. Among the principles of communication are that

· Communication begins with the self and involves others.

· Communication has both a content and a relational dimension.

· Communication involves choices.

· An increased quantity of communication does not necessarily increase the quality of communication.

· Communication is pervasive, irreversible, and digitally mediated.

5. Communication occurs in intrapersonal, interpersonal, public, mass, and digitally mediated contexts. The number of people involved, the degree of formality or intimacy, the opportunities for feedback, the need for prestructur-ing messages, and the degree of stability of the roles of speaker and listener all vary with the communication context.

6. Communication competence is the ability to effectively exchange meaning through a common system of symbols or behavior. Within the communication discipline, the National Communication Association (NCA) has created a set of ethics guidelines. Social scientists learn about social phenomena in the disciplines of communication, sociology, psychology, criminal justice, and other fields by applying the scientific method.

Chapter 2

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

7. Perception is our use of our senses to gather information about the environment or the situation we are in.

8. Differences occur in perception for many reasons, including identity factors, past experiences, and our present feelings ad circumstances.

9. Through selection, we neglect some stimuli in our environment and focus on others. Organization in perception is the grouping of stimuli into meaningful units or wholes. Interpretation is the way we assign meaning to stimuli.

10. Some ways in which we organize stimuli are figure and ground, closure, proximity, and similarity. Figure and ground refers to our focusing on some parts of an experience (figure) and distancing ourselves from others (ground). Closure is the tendency to fill in missing information. Proximity encourages us to perceive objects close in space or time as meaningfully related, and similarity is the basis on which we group elements that resemble each other in size, color, or shape.

11. Perceptual errors that affect communication include stereotyping and reliance on first impressions.

12. The way you see yourself affects how and to whom you communicate, regardless of the medium.

13. Impression management is a way for you to influence how others perceive you, usually as an idealized version of yourself.

Chapter 3

Summary

In this chapter you learned the following:

14. Language is a collection of symbols, letters, and words with arbitrary meanings that are governed by rules and are used to communicate. It is arbitrary, organizes and classifies reality, is abstract, and shapes perceptions.

15. People sometimes use language poorly, which can present a barrier to communication. Examples include

· Grammatical errors

· Slang

· Clichés

· Euphemisms

· Profanity

· Jargon

· Regionalisms

· Gender-biased, racist, heterosexist, and ageist language

16. You can change and improve your use of language by

· Being more descriptive

· Being more concrete

· Differentiating between observations and inferences

Chapter 4

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

17. Nonverbal communication is defined as the process of using messages other than words to create meaning with others.

18. Verbal and nonverbal codes work in conjunction with each other in six ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate.

19. People often have difficulty interpreting nonverbal codes because

· They use the same code to communicate a variety of meanings.

· They use a variety of codes to communicate the same meaning.

20. Nonverbal codes consist of nonword symbols, such as the following:

· Bodily movements and facial expression include posture, gestures, and other bodily movements and facial expressions, known as kinesics.

· Bodily appearance includes how physically attractive one is.

· Proxemics is the study of the human use of space and distance.

· Temporal communication, or chronemics, is the way people organize and use time and the messages that are created because of their organization and use of that time.

· Tactile communication is the use of touch in communication.

· Paralinguistic features include the nonword sounds and nonword characteristics of language, such as pitch, volume, rate, and quality.

· Objectics, or object language, is the study of the human use of clothing and artifacts as nonverbal codes.

21. The types of bodily movement are posture, gestures, and facial expression.

22. Physical attraction affects how other people treat us, how socially successful we are, with whom we have a relationship, how credible we are, and how persuasive we are.

23. Personal space is affected by one's size and one's biological sex.

24. Objects are used in communication to indicate one's age, gender, status, role, socioeconomic class, group memberships, personality, and relationship to the opposite sex.

25. You can solve some of the difficulties in interpreting nonverbal codes if you

· Consider all the variables in each communication situation.

· Consider all the available verbal and nonverbal codes.

· Use descriptive feedback to minimize misunderstandings.

Chapter 5

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

26. Listening is an important skill because it is one of our most common communication activities, it helps us build and maintain relationships, and it is essential for success in most professional situations.

27. Listening is a process that includes different types of behaviors.

· Hearing is the physical act of receiving a sound. We hear all of the noises around us. Listening is the active process of receiving, paying attention to, assigning meaning to, and responding to sounds. Listening is an active process, whereas hearing is reflexive.

· Listening is generally divided into active, empathic, critical, and enjoyment listening. Active listening, which is listening with a purpose, includes both em-pathic and critical listening. Empathic listening occurs when you are attempting to understand another person. Critical listening requires evaluating a speaker's message for accuracy, meaningfulness, and usefulness. We also listen to things, such as music, for enjoyment purposes.

28. A variety of internal and external barriers prevent many of us from being effective listeners.

· One barrier is noise, which includes both physical and internal distractions.

· Physical distractions are any audible noises in the communication environment.

· Internal distractions can include mental, factual, or semantic distractions.

· Perceptions of others and your own behaviors can also become barriers to effective listening.

29. Developing your critical thinking, nonverbal, and verbal skills will help you become a more effective listener.

· Critical thinking involves the careful analysis of both the communication situation and the speaker's message. To analyze the message, you should evaluate the arguments and supporting material presented by the speaker and whether or not the speaker is credible.

· Being nonverbally responsive, using positive facial expressions, making direct eye contact, and providing positive vocal utterances are effective nonverbal strategies.

· Asking questions, inviting additional comments, using descriptive responses, and providing affirming statements are all examples of effective verbal strategies.

30. Effective listening in the workplace, classroom, and mediated environment requires you to adapt the nonverbal, verbal, and critical thinking skills discussed in the chapter.

31. Ethical listening means that you should recognize and monitor your own communication style, apply general ethical principles to your responses, and adapt your communication style to others.

Chapter 7

Summary

In this chapter you learned the following:

32. The study of intercultural communication is important because we are increasingly exposed to people of other cultures. We also are curious about and have an economic need to relate to others.

33. Non-dominant cultures communicate with the dominant culture in dealing with different goals. The three goals of non-dominant groups with the dominant culture are separation, accommodation, and assimilation.

34. Ethnocentrism, stereotyping, and prejudice result in communication problems in intercultural interactions.

35. You can strive to improve your own communication competence by

· Conducting a personal self-assessment

· Practicing supportive communication behaviors

· Developing sensitivity toward diversity

· Avoiding stereotypes

· Avoiding ethnocentrism

· Developing code sensitivity

· Seeking shared codes

· Using descriptive feedback

· Opening communication channels

· Managing conflicting beliefs and practices

· Practicing reflexivity

Chapter 6

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

36. Interpersonal communication is the process of using messages to generate meaning between at least two people in a situation that allows mutual opportunities for both speaking and listening.

37. Interpersonal relationships provide one context in which people communicate with each other. Interpersonal relationships are associations between at least two people who are interdependent, who use some consistent patterns of interaction, and who have interacted for a period of time. Interpersonal relationships are established for a variety of reasons.

38. Interpersonal relationships are important because they allow us to fulfill our needs for inclusion, affection, and control. Most interpersonal relationships are positive, but they also may have a dark side, which could include obsessions, jealousy, misunderstanding, gossip, conflict, codependency, and abuse.

39. Self-disclosure is fundamental to relationships.

40. Friendships are important, but they have changed over time largely due to social media.

41. Cross-cultural relationships are increasingly common.

42. Most relationships go through definable stages of development, maintenance, and deterioration.

43. Interpersonal communication includes affectionate and supportive communication, influence behaviors, and behaviors that allow people to develop unique relationships.

Chapter 8

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

44. Small-group communication is the interaction of a small group of people working together to achieve a common goal. Small groups can be classified as task-related, relationship-related, assigned, or emergent. Many groups can blur boundaries among these types of groups.

· Task groups are formed to accomplish something, such as solving a problem.

· Relationship groups are formed to meet our needs for inclusion and affection.

· Assigned groups occur because individuals are appointed to the group by someone else.

· Emergent groups occur naturally as individuals meet and decide to become interdependent.

45. Groups form unique cultures as members interact with one another.

· From the first time group members talk, they start to develop norms for how the group will interact. As those norms develop, individual group members begin to take on certain roles in the group.

· Strong group cultures can lead to greater cohesive-ness, which can more strongly tie group members together. Groups must take care that cohesiveness does not lead to groupthink.

· Diversity among group members can influence, both positively and negatively, the culture of a group.

46. Leadership is the process of using communication to influence the behaviors and attitudes of people to meet group goals. Various theories discuss how leadership affects small-group communication.

· The most effective leaders are able to adapt their leadership skills to the needs of the group. All members of the group can share leadership responsibilities.

· Leaders must learn to manage various tensions within a group, such as the tension between task and relational goals.

47. Group decision making has four steps:

· Determining the discussion question

· Discussing criteria for evaluating potential solutions

· Brainstorming possible solutions

· Evaluating possible solutions

48. Small-group communication can utilize technology to help facilitate communication and decision making.

· Group decision support systems use special software to facilitate brainstorming and decision making. Group members are able to anonymously present ideas to other members and are able to anonymously rate and vote for specific alternatives.

· A variety of free web services and tools can be used to facilitate group communication and group work.

49. To effectively communicate in small groups, you must use clear language and make concise comments that are related to the comments of other group members. You should try to keep your comments limited to one issue at a time.

50. Ethical behaviors in group contexts include allowing others to speak without fear, being honest and truthful, carefully evaluating alternatives, acting with integrity, and managing conflict ethically.

Chapter 9

Summary

In this chapter, you learned the following:

51. Workplace communication takes place within the context of an organization.

· Organizations are generally classified as having one of four primary functions in society: economic production, political participation, integration, and pattern maintenance.

· Communication within organizations follows networks. These networks provide for formal communication flow, including upward communication, downward communication, and horizontal communication. Networks also allow informal, or “grapevine,” communication.

52. To prepare for your job market, you create a personal brand to represent who you are and what you stand for as a potential employee.

· A cover letter should persuasively establish your qualifications in relation to the job description.

· The résumé should be concise and stylistically reflect your personality in a professional way.

· Your résumé should highlight your work qualifications and experiences.

· Certain professions may require a professional portfolio to illustrate your mastery of key skills.

53. Effective strategies for preparing for a job interview include gathering information about the organization, answering questions appropriately, asking questions, and conducting postinterview negotiations.

54. Workplace communication competence involves using verbal and nonverbal communication effectively in a variety of organizational settings.

· Specific behaviors that contribute to your communication competence include immediacy, supportive communication, strategic ambiguity, interaction management, cross-cultural skills, conflict management, and customer service skills.

· Cross-cultural understanding requires that you act with sensitivity toward those who are different, including those who do not speak your language well.

· Conflict management approaches include avoidance, competition, compromise, accommodation, and collaboration. Each approach may have utility in specific situations; however, the collaborative approach works best in most situations.

· Customer service interaction skills include using compliance-gaining strategies with customers while engaging in emotional labor.

55. Page 218Unethical workplace communication includes aggressive communication and sexual harassment.

· Workplace aggression occurs when individuals intentionally or unintentionally use verbal or nonverbal aggressive behaviors toward others.

· Sexual harassment is the abuse of power involving either quid pro quo harassment or a hostile work environment.