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CHAPTER 2 Communication and Identity: Creating and Presenting the Self Communication and the Self LO1 Describe the relationship among self-concept, self-esteem, and communication. -

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Characteristics that define you; moods, feelings, appearance, social traits, beliefs, social roles, physical/mental condition, intellectual capacity, talents. Two terms basic to the relationship between the self and communication: Self-Concept and Self-Esteem: o Self-Concept: The relatively stable set of perceptions individuals hold about themselves. o Self-Esteem: The part of the self-concept that involves evaluations of self-worth. aka self-worth. o Example: an individual’s self-concept might include being quiet, argumentative, or self-controlled. Their self-esteem would be determined by the value they place on these qualities. Biological Roots of the Self-Concept: how did you become the communicator you are today? Born that way or environment? o Biology and the Self: Personality is usually stable throughout your life and can grow more pronounced over time. Part of genetic make-up.  Personality: Characteristic ways that you think and behave across a variety of situations.  Personality is flexible, dynamic, and shaped by experiences. Socialization and the Self-Concept: People play a major role in our selfconcept. o Reflected Appraisal: The theory that a person’s self-concept matches the way the person believes others regard him or her. o Begins early in life, little children. o Ego Boosters and Ego Busters o Significant Others: A person whose opinion is important enough to affect one’s self-concept strongly.  Especially strong in adolescence.  After 30, most people are not influenced by significant others and their self-concept does not change radically, at least not without conscious effort. o Social Comparison: Evaluation of oneself in terms of or by comparison to others.  Feelings of superiority or inferiority.  Distorted self-images can lead to behavioural disorders

If we are similar to or different from others. Reference Groups: Groups against which we compare ourselves, thereby influencing our self-concept and selfesteem.  It is important to recognize the significance that we attach, and the interpretation we give these characteristics, depends largely on the opinions of others. Characteristics of the Self-Concept: o The self-concept is subjective:  Our own personal view, so it can be distorted.  Not all distortion is positive, e.g. temporary cases of the “uglies.”  Due to the brains negative bias, we are more likely to hold a negative view of ourselves than a positive one. Therefore, work on “self-compassion” and “radical selfacceptance.”  Another reason for distorted evaluation is obsolete information: we cling to past failures even though they don’t predict failure in the future. Also, past successes don’t guarantee future success.  Another reason is distorted feedback: overly critical parents, cruel friends, uncaring teachers.  Another is Perfection: From the time we learn a language, we are exposed to models who appear to be perfect. Naively believing other people are perfect contributes greatly to a negative self-concept.  Lastly, social expectations: in general, Canadians consider those who talk about their strengths to be bragging, confusing this with the people who boast about achievements. This leads us to focus on shortcomings rather than accomplishments. o The self-concept resists change: tendency to cling to an existing self-concept by seeking out and attending to information that conforms to our existing self-concept.  Cognitive Conservatism: The tendency to seek and attend to information that conforms to an existing self-concept.  Example: a student who did well in earlier years but now failed to study might be unwilling to admit that the label “good scholar: no longer applies.  

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Communication, self-concept, and self-esteem are interrelated in that self-concept is formed from the comments and evaluations that others make about you (reflected appraisal) and also from the comparisons you make between yourself and others (social comparison). Further, diversity, culture, and gender affect your identity, once you have a sense of your basic characteristics, they, in turn, influence your self-esteem. Evaluating your qualities positively results in high self-esteem while negative evaluations result in low self-esteem. Self-esteem, regardless of its level, affects how

you communicate with others. Fortunately, we have the power to change how we feel about ourselves.

Changing Your Self-Concept LO2 Understand how to change your self-concept. -

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How To Change Your Self-Concept: o Have a realistic perception of yourself: periodic session of recognizing your strengths can put both your critics and your weaknesses into perspective. o Have realistic expectations o Have the will to change o Have the skill to change Influences on Identity: How we view ourselves in influenced by the following o Diversity o Culture: Western cultures are individualistic and Asian cultures are collectivistic. People gain identity through group associations.  In collective societies, there is a higher degree of communication apprehension (speaking out). Avoid calling attention to yourself. o Gender: The social, psychological, and behavioural expectations that are placed on us by society about what it means to be a particular sex. This binary approach is often based on stereotypes and can be very restricting (male or female).  Gender Identity refers to a person’s individual, personal perception of one’s sex. Instead of identifying as male or female, gender identity can be more fluid, less stable.

You’re not stuck with your self-concept and changing it could help you feel better. But you’ll need the will to change (the self-concept resists change, so it’s going to require work), and you’ll need to have realistic expectations of yourself. You’ll also need to develop the skills to change, which you can learn by understanding how communication works by watching how competent communicators act. It’s worth the effort. Changing your self-concept can make you feel more positive about yourself, which will affect your communication with others and make them feel more positively about you.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Communication LO3 Explain how self-fulfilling prophecies shape the self-concept and influence communication. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A prediction or expectation of an event that makes the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise have been the case. 4 Stages: 1) You hold an expectation (for yourself or for others) 2) You behave in accordance with that expectation

3) The expectation comes to pass 4) This reinforces the original expectation Two types of self-fulfilling prophecies: - Self-Imposed Prophecies: Occurs when your own expectations influence your behaviour. o Example: having a face an audience and saying “I know I am going to blow it.” o Communicators who believe they are incompetent are less likely to pursue rewarding relationships and more likely to sabotage their existing relationships. - Other-Imposed Prophecies: Occurs when your actions may be governed by the expectations that others have of you. o You must do more than believe something about a person to shape his or her expectations; you must communicate that belief. Self-imposed and other-imposed self-fulfilling prophecies greatly influence self-concept and, hence, communication. It works like this: Once you have an expectation of yourself (“I’m not smart enough to get this job”), you behave accordingly (you act uninterested and timid during the interview), which makes that expectation come to pass (you don’t get the job). When the expected event occurs, it only influences yourself-concept but also reinforces the original notion (“I knew I couldn’t do it- I’m such a loser”).

Presenting the Self: Communication as Identity Management LO4 Compare and contrast the perceived self and the presenting self as they relate to identity management. Identity Management: The communication strategies people use to influence how others view them. - Public and Private Selves: o Perceived Self: The person you believe yourself to be in moments of honest self-examination. It may be identical to or different from the presenting and ideal selves. o Presenting Self: The image a person presents to others, it may be identical to or different from the perceived and ideal selves.  Generally, presenting self is an image we seek to create that is socially approved. - Characteristics of Identity Management: o We strive to construct multiple identities o Identity management is collaborative o Identity management can be deliberate or unconscious We typically show others a public self in order to enhance relationships, gain compliance, save face, or explore new areas of ourselves. We do this by creating multiple identities (e.g. student, worker, sibling, musician) and managing those

identities. Identity management can be deliberate or unconscious, but it must also be collaborative in that we need others to support us in it.

The Role of Identity Management LO5 Describe the role that identity management plays in both face-to-face and online relationships. -

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Why Manage Identities? Several reasons: o To start and manage relationships o To gain the compliance of others o To save others face: to support the way others want to be seen. o To explore new “selves” How Do We Manage Identities? o Face-to-face impression management: Manage identities in 3 ways  Manner: consists of a communicator’s words and nonverbal actions. E.g. some physicians are friendly while others are curt.  Nonverbal behaviours also play a role in creating impressions, E.g. a physician who greets you with a smile while another with a nod.  Appearance: the personal items that people use to shape an image.  Sometimes it is part of creating a professional image e.g. physicians white lab coat.  Setting: physical items used to influence how others view us. E.g. the car you drive. o Online impression management:  Some people think texting, emailing, blogging limit the potential for impression management because they lack nonverbal messages.  But this can be an advantage for communicators who want to manage the impressions they make.  Communicating online will also allow strangers to change their ge, history, personality, appearance, and other matters that would be impossible to hide in person. Identity Management and Honesty: a part of being a competent communicator is choosing the best face for the situation.

Communication at Work - Identity Management: o Manage your online identity as recruiters are on the watch. o Manage your face-to-face identity at work means that you behave and communicate in a manner that is appropriate to the context.

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Self-Esteem

In face-to-face communication, you manage your identity through your manner, nonverbal gestures, and appearance (e.g. clothing, hair style, body art). Even the car you drive or how your rom or office cubicle looks influences your identity. Identity management is even more prominent on the internet. Many people change their appearance, personality, age, or interests, and some take on entirely new personas. It is important to be aware of what your social networking sires convey about you....