COMM2110 CH3 Notes PDF

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Chapter 3 lecture and textbook notes for Fall 2018 COMM-2110 with Nicolle Johnson....

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1 COMM-2110 Interpersonal Communication Chapter 3 Notes

Table of Contents CHAPTER 3 COMMUNICATION AND THE SELF 3.1 Understanding the Self: Self-Concept Three Characteristics of a Self-Concept How a Self-Concept Develops Awareness and Management of Self-Concept 3.2 Valuing the Self: Self-Esteem Benefits and Drawbacks of Self-Esteem

2 2 2 3 4 4 5

Self-Esteem and Social Behavior Self-Esteem and How We See Ourselves And Others

5 5

Self-Esteem and Performance Culture, Sex, and Self-Esteem

6 6

Culture and Self-Esteem Sex and Self-Esteem The Self and Interpersonal Needs 3.3 Presenting the Self: Image Management Principles of Image Management Managing Face Needs

6 6 6 7 7 8

Face Threats 3.4 Communicating the Self: Self-Disclosure

8 8

Principles of Self-Disclosure Four Key Benefits of Self-Disclosure

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Risks of Self-Disclosure Challenges and Risks of Disclosing Online

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CHAPTER 3 COMMUNICATION AND THE SELF 3.1 Understanding the Self: Self-Concept Vocabulary ●

Autism: A developmental disorder that impairs a person’s capability for social interaction.

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Johari Window: A visual representation of the self as composed of four parts---open, hidden, blind, and unknown.

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Objective: Based on fact and not on someone’s opinion.

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Personality: The pattern of distinctive ways you tend to think and act across most situations.

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Reference Groups: The people we use to evaluate our characteristics. Our reference groups are often our peers.

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Reflected Appraisal: The process whereby our self-concept is influenced by how we think other people see us.

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Self-Concept (Identity): Composed of your stable ideas about who you are. Have three fundamental characteristics: They are multifaceted, partly subjective, and enduring but changeable.

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A situation in which a prediction causes people to act and communicate in a way that makes that prediction come true.

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Social Comparison: Observation of how we compare with others.

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Subjective Facts: Based on our impressions of ourselves rather than objective facts.

Notes ●

Interpersonal communication begins with you and your understanding of yourself.

Three Characteristics of a Self-Concept ●

Multifaceted: we define ourselves in many ways, such as by our name, physical or social categories, skills or interests, relationships to other people, and evaluations. What we call the self is actually a collection of smaller selves. ○

In 1955, American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham created the Johari window. According to the model, the open area consists of characteristics that are known both to the self and to others. In contrast, the hidden area consists of characteristics that you know about yourself but choose not to reveal to others, such as emotional insecurities or past traumas that you elect to keep hidden.

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The Johari window recognizes dimensions of an individual’s self-concept of which he or she may be unaware. Those characteristics make up the third part of the model, the blind area.

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The unknown area comprises aspects of your self-concept that are not known either to you or to others. For example, no one can know what kind of parent you will be until you actually become a parent.

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Your areas of the Johari window are also relevant to your image online. You choose to share particular information about yourself with others but you decide to keep some details private.

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Partly Subjective: Some of the details we know about ourselves are based on objective facts, such as hair color or where one lives. ○

Many aspects of our self-concept are subjective rather than objective. It’s often difficult for us to judge ourselves accurately or objectively.

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Enduring but Changeable : Self-concept develops slowly, over a lifetime. ○

Several studies have shown that once we develop a self-concept, we tend to seek out others who will confirm it by treating us as we see ourselves. When you associate with people who see you as you see yourself, your self-concept is continually reinforced, and it becomes even more resistant to change.

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Self-concepts change in response to developmental changes and significant life events. One study reported that between the ages of 14 and 23—a period when changes in self-concept are often the most pronounced—both men and women go through shifts in the level of confidence and self-esteem. Child psychologists Jack Block and Richard Robins found that approximately 80% of people experienced either an increase or a decrease in their self-esteem during this period.

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People can also undergo changes in their self-concept as a result of a significant life event, such as undergoing a religious conversion or battling a serious illness.

How a Self-Concept Develops ●

Personality and Biology: Our personality traits describe use in most circumstances.

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Culture and Gender Roles: The way we see ourselves is affected by the culture in which we grow up and the gender roles we enact. Gender also matters when it comes to the self-concept, but not all men are assertive and not all women are emotionally expressive. Rather, those observations are general tendencies that can significantly affect the self-concepts that women and men develop.

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Reflected Appraisal: Positive or negative messages help us from a mental picture of what others think of us. That mental picture often affects the image we have of ourselves. Reflected appraisal

4 can move aspects of our personality from the blind section of the Johari Window to the open section. ○

In the early 1900s, sociologist Charles Horton Cooley conceived of what he called the “looking-glass self” to explain how reflected appraisal works. In his model, each of us imagines how we appear to others. Next, we imagine how others evaluate their image of us. Finally, we develop our self-concept based on those evaluations.

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Social Comparison : We notice how we compare with the people around us. Some people influence our self-concept more than others. A key element in social comparison is the individuals or groups with whom we compare ourselves.

Awareness and Management of Self-Concept ●

Self-monitoring is an individual’s awareness of how he or she looks and sounds and how that person’s behavior is affecting others. High self-monitors tend to be better at making whatever kind of impression they want to make, because they are aware of their behaviors and of others’ responses to them. However, because high self-monitors are constantly aware of themselves and others, they may have a hard time relaxing and living in the moment. Also, the fact that they can adjust their behaviors to create a certain impression can make it difficult to tell what they are genuinely thinking or feeling.

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Low self-monitors spend less time and energy thinking about their appearance and behavior, so they are more relaxed than high self-monitors. They are often more straightforward communicators, and may even be seen as more genuine and trustworthy. However, they may frequently appear unsophisticated or socially awkward. They are more likely to make a poor first impression, both in person and online.

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Some medical conditions can inhibit self-monitoring ability, including autism.

3.2 Valuing the Self: Self-Esteem Vocabulary ●

Emotional Intelligence: Ability to recognize and manage emotions.

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Interpersonal Needs Theory: A theory proposed by social psychologist Will Schutz that self-esteem interacts with three important interpersonal needs to affect our communication with others: the need for control, the need for inclusion, and the need for affection.

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Self-Esteem: Your subjective evaluation of your value and worth as a person.

5 Benefits and Drawbacks of Self-Esteem ●

High self-esteem is often believed to boost academic performance and shield people from stress, whereas low self-esteem is frequently blamed as the underlying cause of juvenile delinquency and antisocial behavior.

Self-Esteem and Social Behavior ●

Maintaining a positive image of ourselves has its advantages when it comes to behavior. Compared with people with lower self-esteem, those with higher self-esteem are generally more outgoing and more willing to communicate. They are more willing to try something after failing, more comfortable initiating relationships, and are more likely to believe that their partners’ expressions of love and support are genuine. They do not necessarily have more friends than people with lower self-esteem, however. Moreover, when their self-worth is threatened, they are less likable than people with low self-esteem.

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Adolescents with higher self-esteem are more prone to be sexually active and to engage in risky sexual behaviors than teens with lower self-esteem. One explanation for those conclusions is that high self-esteem gives some adolescents confidence in their ability to win a fight, attract a sexual partner, or escape the problems of risky sexual behaviors, making them more prone to engage in those types of interactions.

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Some research indicates that problems associated with low self-esteem—which include social anxiety, loneliness, and depression—can lead people to use the Internet as a way to escape those troubles. Excessive reliance on the Internet as a substitute for interpersonal relationships can be problematic. Internet use can even become addictive for those who turn to it as a means of escaping their social difficulties.

Self-Esteem and How We See Ourselves And Others ●

Research indicates that people who have high self-esteem are happier with their lives than people with low self-esteem are. There is a stronger relationship between happiness and self-esteem in countries with individualist cultures than in others with collectivistic cultures. People with high self-esteem have a lower risk of depression, and an enhanced emotional intelligence.

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People who have a poor image of themselves tend to be more judgmental of others than people with higher self-esteem, are more likely to speak poorly of others and express racial prejudices, and often respond to put-downs by being excessively critical of others. Low self-esteem in childhood is a predictor of having thoughts of suicide and of making suicide attempts in adolescence or young adulthood.

6 Self-Esteem and Performance ●

Many people have argued that high self-esteem gives students the confidence to work hard in school and achieve academic success, and that low self-esteem is often the root cause of poor grades.

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Those beliefs have led parents and educators to implement policies to boost students’ self-stem. One common approach has been to reduce or eliminate opportunities for competition among students, particularly competition based on academic achievement. Some schools have eliminated grades, or even stopped participating in the National Spelling Bee because only one child in each grade can win in any given year.

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Efforts to protect students’ self-esteem have had little effect. Self-esteem has very little association with their academic performance. At least one study has shown that attempting to boost a student's self-esteem can backfire and cause the students to perform more poorly. That may be because inflating students’ self-esteem causes the students to have such a degree of confidence in their natural abilities that they study less than they otherwise should.

Culture, Sex, and Self-Esteem Culture and Self-Esteem ●

Researchers believe that socially marginalized groups—a category that can also include sexual minorities and people with disabilities—use three general strategies to maintain their self-esteem: First, they value the things at which they excel. Second, they tend to attribute their problems to prejudices in society rather than to their own behaviors or decisions. Third, they compare themselves with others in their own group.

Sex and Self-Esteem ●

Sex does not by itself appear to affect self-esteem. Among ethnic minorities, self-esteem is higher for U.S. females than for U.S. males.

The Self and Interpersonal Needs ●

Three Needs of Will Schutz’s Interpersonal Needs Theory: ○

Need for Control: Our motivation to maintain some degree of influence in our relationships. As infants, we relied almost completely on our caregivers to make decisions for us. As we grew up, we needed to play a more decisive role in determining the course of our relationships. We are often less satisfied in relationships when we feel we have no control.

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Need for Inclusion: Our need to belong, to be included in the activities of others, and to have positive human contact. Some of us have a stronger need for inclusion than others, but even people whom we would describe as loners need some interaction with others. Studies have

7 shown that people can experience mental and physical distress when their need for inclusion is not met. For individuals with a high need for inclusion, the opportunities to form and maintain interpersonal relationships contribute to their self-esteem. ○

Need for Affection: Our need to have people in our lives who love and appreciate us and who communicate their affection to us. We also need to give love and intimacy to others. Some researchers believe that people are born with the capacity for affection, and studies have shown that the more affection people give and receive, the healthier and happier they are.

3.3 Presenting the Self: Image Management Vocabulary ●

Autonomy face: Our need to avoid being imposed upon by others.

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Competence Face: Our need to have others respect us and to acknowledge our abilities and intelligence.

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Face: Our desired public image. Term coined by Erving Goffman.

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Face Needs: Important components of our desired public image.

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Face-Threatening Act: Any behavior that threatens one or more face needs.

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Facework: The behaviors we use to project our desired image to others.

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Fellowship Face: The need to have others like and accept us.

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Image: The way one wishes to be seen or perceived by others.

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Image Management: The process of projecting one’s desired public image.

Principles of Image Management ●

When your goal is to make a positive first impression, you’ve probably heard that it’s best to “just be yourself.” Yet, there are many times when the way you act reflects a specific image you wish to project, and you adjust your behavior accordingly.

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Three fundamental principles of image management: ○

Image management is collaborative: To some extent, managing image is an individual process. If others accept the image you portray, they’ll tend to behave in ways that encourage that image. If others don’t accept the image of yourself that you portray, they may see you as less credible or as untrustworthy.

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We manage multiple identities: We show different parts of ourselves to different people in our lives. The challenge of managing multiple identities is especially pronounced for people with “invisible” medical conditions, which are illnesses or disorders that are not necessarily apparent to others. Image management is similarly challenging for many sexual minorities. A person’s

8 sexual orientation is not always evident in the way he or she looks, sounds, or communicates. That gives LGBTQ+ people the ability to choose whom to reveal their sexual orientation. Many find this to be a consequential decision, so to avoid prejudice, sexual minorities may choose to “stay in the closet” and keep their sexual orientation a secret, even from their closest friends and relatives. ○

Image Management is Complex: We may have competing goals in our interactions with others.

Managing Face Needs ●

Each of us has a desired public image—a certain way that we want others to see and think of us—and we work to maintain that image.

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Researchers might say that celebrities often attempt to “save face” by taking action to avoid embarrassment and maintain dignity in a situation that threatens it.

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Researchers believe that our face is made up of three face needs: ○

Fellowship Face: The part of our identity that motivates us to make friends, join clubs or social groups, and behave pleasantly around others.

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Autonomy Face: Motivates us to be in control of our time and resources and to avoid having other people make decisions for us. Moderate level of control is usually the most satisfying.

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Competence Face: Drives us to seek careers and hobbies that we’re good at and to avoid situations in which we will embarrass ourselves.

Face Threats ●

Face-threatening acts often lead people to behave in ways that help restore their face.

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Face threats are common experiences with many marginalized populations. Threats to autonomy face may arise among marginalized people who have to rely on others to meet their material needs or who feel that don’t have a voice in decisions that affect them. Elderly people frequently experience losses of autonomy as a result of various physical and cognitive limitations associated with aging.

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Being marginalized also lead many people to feel disrespected and shamed. Such feelings can threaten both their fellowship face and their competence face.

3.4 Communicating the Self: Self-Disclosure Vocabulary ●

Breadth: The range of topics you discuss with various people.

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Depth: Measures how personal or intimate your disclosures are. The depth of our self-disclosures is largely a function of how carefully we feel we must guard the information in the disclosures.

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Gossip: The sharing of an individual’s person information with a third party without the individual’s consent.

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Norm of Reciprocity: A social expectation that resources and favors provided to one person in a relationship should be reciprocated by that person. Coined by sociologist Alvin Gouldner.

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Self-Disclosure: The act of intentionally giving others information about ourselves that we believe to be true but that we think they don’t already have.

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Social Penetration Theory: Developed by social psychologists Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. A theory that predicts that as relationships develop, communication increases in breadth and depth.

Principles of Self-Disclosure ●

Self-Disclosure is Intentional and Truthful: For an act of communication to qualify as self-disclosure, it must meet two conditions: (1) We must deliberately share information about ourselves, and (2) we must believe that information is true.

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