Chapter 1 - Lecture notes 2 PDF

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This is for Professor Kris Cabral's COM 100 class, which I got a 97 in.
These are really detailed notes from chapter 1....

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Chapter 1 Notes - Introduction to Human Communication I.

II.

The importance of studying human communication A. How does study of communication differ from study of other humans? 1. Focuses on exchange of messages to create meaning 2. Ability to speak effectively and persuasively is valuable B. Why study communication? 1. Good communication can help you attain your goals. 2. To meet people and develop professional and personal relationships 3. Establish who you are to others a) Establish your self identity and how others perceive it C. Too much talk can lead to problems - girls talking more about their problems with their friends are likely to become more anxious and depressed D. Careers in communication include: advertising, education, broadcasting, journalism, PR, theater, business, education, political role, health, internal relations, law, social and human services What is Human Communication? A. Human communication is a transactional process in which people generate meaning through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages in specific contexts, influenced by individual and societal forces and embedded in culture. B. Components of human communication 1. Message creation a) Messages - the building blocks of communication events b) Encoding - taking ideas and converting them into messages c) Decoding - receiving a message and interpreting its meaning d) Symbol - something that represents something else and conveys meaning. 2. Meaning creating a) Goal of communication is to create meaning. We bring ideas, beliefs, and values to our meanings. b) Content meaning (denotative and connotative) - the concrete meaning of the message and the meanings suggested by or associated with the message and the emotions triggered by it. c) Relationship meaning - what a message conveys about the relationship between the parties 3. Setting - the physical surroundings of a communication event 4. Participants - two or more people interacting during communication 5. Channel - the means through which a message is transmitted a) Face to face, letters, phone call, texts, email 6. Noise - any stimulus that can interfere with, or degrade, the quality of a message. 7. Feedback - the response to a message C. A model of communication: Human communication in society

III.

1. Human communication in society model - a transactional model of communication that depicts communication as occurring when two or more people create meaning as they respond to each other and their environment. 2. Communication is transactional a) Each communicator is a sender and receiver at the same time b) Meaning is created as people communicate together c) Communication is an ongoing process d) Previous communication events and relationships influence the meaning of communication 3. Communication is influenced by individual forces a) Field of experience - the education, life events, and cultural background that a communicator possesses. 4. Influenced by societal forces a) Race, age, class, disabilities, sexual orientation 5. Influenced by culture a) Culture - learned patterns of perceptions, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people. 6. Influenced by context a) The setting, who is around Communication ethics A. They sustain professional success B. Maintain relationships C. Defining communication ethics 1. Ethics - standards of what is right and wrong, good and bad, moral and immoral 2. Communication ethics - the standards of right and wrong that one applies to messages that are sent and received 3. Truthfulness a) Others expect messages to be truthful b) Untruthfulness has consequences 4. Sharing or withholding information a) What should be shared and what should be withheld? b) A message can be considered private when other parties have no right to expect access to it. 5. Benefit and harm of messages a) When considering the ethics, consider what the benefit and harm is of the messages. D. Developing communication ethics 1. Absolutism versus relativism a) Absolutism - pertaining to the belief that there is a singly correct moral standard that holds for everyone, everywhere, every time/

b) Relativism - pertaining to the belief that moral behaviors varies among individuals, groups, and cultures, as well as across situations 2. Ethics of language use a) The names used to call others b) Racial and ethnic slurs c) Negative words 3. Ethical responsibilities of receivers a) Listen mindfully b) Reasoned skepticism - the balance of open-mindedness and critical attitude needed when evaluating others’ messages c) Healthy feedback - the honest and ethical responses receivers provide to the messages of others E. Communication ethics in practice 1. Not always easy and clear cut....