PYC 1.Interpersonal Communication p. 135-138

Psychology in Society

Interpersonal relationships: interpersonal communication communication 1. Interpersonal communication communication (p. 135-138) 

Inherently we are social beings

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Most of our activities involve some or other interaction with other individuals/ or group

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Ability to communicate is essential

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Most say they are good communicators

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Closer inspection shows the process of communication as very complex

Bas Basic elem elemen ents ts of comm commuunica nicattion ion Basically communication is about the process of sending a message and receiving feedbac

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Social situations  have more comprehensive considerations:

1! who who comm commun unic icat ates es "! in what what cont contex extt #! in wha what ma manne nner $! acco accord rdin ingg to what what rul rules es 

%e can identify 6 basic elements to all forms of communication:

Sender

A signal

An encoder

Receiver

Channe l

A decoder

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&he sender and encoder  are bundled together in the person who communicates

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&he decoder and receiver are the person receiving the message

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Signals are verbal and non'verbal signs conveyed in the content of the message

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hannel consists of human senses that carry the verbal and non'verbal signs of

the message

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Bas Basic proc rocess ess of of com commu munnica ication tion

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Communication re(uires rules

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)ecoder can not decode the message if he does not how the message was encoded

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&his maes the communication process difficult because encoding and decoding are influenced by our linguistic* cu ltural and personal aspects

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+xample of culture p. 1#, -ersonal style can also cause difficulty  we do not always convey our verbal and non'verbal messages in a way the receiver can understand u nderstand  this can lead to misunderstandings

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Communication re(uires clear transmission

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ometimes although every rule of communication was followed noise can interfere with our ability to decode the message

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0oise  term to describe the (uality fo transmission

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Clarity fo the message depends on the amount of noise present

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Communication taes place in various contexts

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Message can tae on a different meaning in different contexts 2both for the sender and receiver!

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+xample3 meaning of she is beating him depends on the context of say a game* game* or in a fight etc.

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Contexts do not only defy the meaning of the message but also determine the relevance and appropriateness of the message

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)yna )ynami mics cs of of inte interp rper erso sona nall comm commun unic icat atio ionn

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Communication is a dynamic process

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+ven when we are not intentionally communicating we are sending signals

1.#.1 It is impossible impossible not to communicate  communicate  

%e can communicate without words

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ometimes we send messages without intending to do so

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ometimes we send messages that are misunderstood

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&his has implications for our day to day life

1.#." Communication Communication is a pattern in an ongoing process  process  

4ur nowledge and how we thin about things determine how we understand and react to messages received

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&hus there are consistencies between what we say and how we r eact physically 2non'verbally!

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&here are patterns in our verbal and non'verbal messages

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ome may be a logical person and another more emotional in their approach

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&his will be conveyed throughout our conversations

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&his can compliment or be a source of conflict in our understanding and nowledge about a situation

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&his will be present in all our conversations

1.#.# Communication Communication happens on different levels  

5uman channel of communication consists of 6 senses

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&his means various modalities of a message can be conveyed simultaneously

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5elp us distinguish between what is said and how it is said

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!hat we say occurs on the in"ormative content level

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#o$ we say it occurs on the meta-communicative level

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In"ormative content  of a message is the meaning that the $ords or s%mbols have

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&eta-communicative content  is additional in"o  that 'uali"% the meanings of the $ords or s%mbols

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&his lie tone of voice* non'verbal cues etc.

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ample: you can tell me that you lie me 2informative content! content! and then smile

and touch my arm 2meta'communicative! 

In the example your informative an meta'communicative content is congruent

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If communication is not congruent when the informative and meta'communicative content do not support each other

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ample3 Can say I lie dogs but have an expression of disgust on my face