SCOM Final Exam Study Guide PDF

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Olivia Wermers

SCOM Final Exam Study Guide Fundamentals of Communication Chapter 1: Competent Communication 1. What are the most common myths about communication? a. Myth 1: Communication is a cure-all i. Relationships can’t always be fixed by better communication b. Myth 2: Communicating is just common sense i. Hindsight bias – “I-knew-that-already” tendency c. Myth 3: Communication quantity equals quality i. One of our cultures cherished ideas is hat more communication is better, but this 2. Explain the differences between the three models of communication: linear, interactive, and transactional. a. Linear Model: The Straight Arrow View i. Involves a sender who sends a message through a channel through which a message travels to a receiver in an atmosphere of noise. b. Interactive Model: The Ping-Pong View i. Includes feedback, indicates that communication is not a one-way but twoway process ii. Also includes fields of experience c. Transactional Model: The Sender-Receiver i. Assumes that people are connected through communication, they engage in a transaction ii. Recognized that each of us is a sender-receiver, not merely a sender or receiver, and recognizes that communication affects all parties involved 3. Define the basic communication elements contained in the communication models (channel, sender, receiver, message, encode, decode, context, fields of experience, noise, and feedback) a. Channel – Medium through which a message travels, such as oral or written b. Sender – Initiator/encoder c. Receiver – Decoder of message d. Message – Stimulus that produces meaning e. Encode – Put idea into spoken language f. Decode – Translates spoken ideas g. Context – Environment in which communication occurs – the who, what, when, where and why of communication h. Noise – Interference with effective transmission and reception of a message i. Feedback – A receiver’s verbal and nonverbal responses to a message j. Fields of Experience – Include cultural background, ethnicity, geographic location, extent of travel, and general personal experiences accumulated over the course of a lifetime

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4. **Explain the two aspects of every message: Content and relationship. a. Content dimension – refers to what is actually said and done b. Relationship dimension – how that message defines or redefines the association between individuals 5. **How do constructive versus destructive communication climates influence relationships a. Constructive communication climate i. Openness – willingness to communicate ii. Supportiveness – a confirmation of the worth/value of others and a willingness to help other succeed (we-oriented) b. Destructive communication climate: i. Closedness – unwillingness to communicate with others ii. Defensiveness – protective reaction to a perceived attack on our self esteem and self concept 6. Define communication competence and describe the skills needed to be an effective and appropriate communicator. a. Communication competence – engaging in communication with others that is perceived to be both effective and appropriate in a given context b. Effectiveness – achieving goals; litmus test of communication competence i. Degrees of effectiveness: deficiency  proficiency ii. We-oriented – We first not me first 7. Explain the role of rules in communication contexts. a. Explicit rules – directly expressed i. Ex. “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” b. Implicit rules – Indirectly stated i. When you are at a grocery store you know not to take a bite of something and put it back, without a sign telling you not to c. Rule violations – communication becomes inappropriate if it violates rules when such violations could be adverted without sacrificing a goal but choosing an alternative communication behavior. 8. List the characteristics of an ethical communicator. a. Respect: Treating others the way you would want to be treated b. Honesty: Avoid intentionally deceptive messages c. Fairness: Prejudice has no place in communications arena d. Choice: Communication should strive to allow people to make their own choices free of coercion e. Responsibility: We-oriented; competent communicators must concern themselves with more than what merely achieves personal goals

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Chapter 2: Perception of Self and Others 9. Explain the three elements of the perceptual process (selecting, organizing, and interpreting). a. Selecting: Forced Choices i. Perception is inherently subjective and selective b. Organizing: Creating Schemas i. Schemas – Mental frameworks that create meaningful patterns from stimuli ii. Must organize selected stimuli to create meaning iii. Schemas organize perceptual stimuli c. Interpreting: Making Sense of Stimuli i. Principally we make sense of our own behavior and our transactions with others by making attributions 1. Attributions – Assigning causes to behavior 10. What is a perceptual schema (prototype, stereotype, and script)? a. Prototypes: Best case i. Most representative or “best” example of something ii. Ex. “boss from hell”, “best friend”, “perfect date” b. Stereotypes: Generalizing about a group or category of people i. Organizes individuals into categories such as ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, age, gender, etc. ii. Can be positive or negative c. Scripts: Predictable behavior i. A script is a predictable sequence of events that indicates what we are expected to do in a given situation ii. Ex. Handed menu at restaurant you are expected to pick something off the menu, this is a restaurant script 11. Define self-concept and describe how it is formed (reflected appraisal, significant others, and society). a. Self-concept – Sum total of everything that encompasses the self referential term “me”. Your identity or self schemas. i. A central point of reference for your communication with others ii. It is a social construction, a product of interpersonal communication b. Reflected appraisal – messages you reference for your communication with others that assess your self-concept c. Significant others – Women disclose more than men; men typically disclose emotional revelations d. Society – Body image distortion; women have been socialized to equate body size with self worth 12. What are some of the influences on perception (gender, culture, past experiences, mood, and context) a. Society, social standards, dysmorphia, self esteem 13. What is self-disclosure? 3

a. Self-disclosure – the process of purposely revealing others personal information about yourself that is significant and that others would not know unless you told them; not an accident 14. How do depth and breadth of self-disclosure influence the building of relationships? a. Breadth – Range of subjects discussed b. Depth – How personal you become when discussing a particular subject i. The more breadth and depth, the closer the relationship 15. What are the rules for constructively and appropriately self-disclosing and responding to self-disclosure? a. Constructive Goals: i. Developing relationships: Intimacy with others 1. Self disclosure – Important gateway to intimacy, critical to the development of close personal relationships ii. Gaining self knowledge: Self awareness 1. Sharing information about yourself with others helps you gain perspective 2. If you disclose to another person that you lack self confidence, someone might help you see otherwise iii. Correcting misperceptions: Countering inaccuracies 1. Others may have misperceptions about you (ex. That you are unfriendly) and you can open them to a different perception of you (explain to them that you are just shy) iv. Eliciting reassurance: It’s okay 1. When we have doubts about body image, communication abilities, etc., disclosing these doubts often produces reassurance from others v. Creating impressions: The image you portray to others 1. Helps create favorable impression, everyone wants people to like them 16. Why is reciprocal sharing important? a. Reciprocity – two-way sharing i. Demonstrates that trust and risk taking are shared ii. If one person discloses and the other doesn’t you should be wary of future disclosures; could leave one person vulnerable while the other is protected 17. Explain what a self-serving bias is and how it influences our interactions (personal traits, situations) a. Self serving bias – the tendency to attribute our successful behavior to ourselves (personal traits) but assign external circumstances (situations) to our unsuccessful behavior i. Ex. Divorced parents usually blame their partners for the split, teachers may take credit for the success of their students but blame their students’ lack of effort, motivation, or ability for their failures ii. Emphasizes accomplishments, downplays shortcomings

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18. Explain how our perceptions of others can influence our communication with them (first impressions, primacy effect, negativity bias, attribution error, stereotyping, self-fulfilling prophecy) a. First Impressions: i. Can closely match impressions formed over lengthy periods of time ii. You cannot avoid virtually instantaneous impressions of others iii. Can be problematic on complex impressions: not likely to know from first impression if a person had good work ethic or conflict management skills b. Primary Effect: The power of initial information i. The tendency to be more influenced by initial information about a person than by information gathered later c. Negative Bias: Agile, funny, compassionate and FAT i. Influenced more heavily by negative than positive information d. Attribution Error: Underestimating situational causes i. Overemphasizing personal traits and underemphasizing situations and causes of other peoples’ behavior e. Stereotyping: Inaccurate impressions i. Stereotyping is natural and unavoidable ii. Prejudice – refers to negative feelings about members of a group iii. Discrimination – behavior that manifests these negative feelings f. Self-fulfilling Prophecy: i. Acting on an erroneous expectation that produces the expected behavior and confirms the original impression 19. Describe the three dimensions related to communicating “empathy.” a. Perspective taking: See as others see, do NOT have to accept it b. Emotional understanding: Participate in feelings of others c. Concern for others: You care what happens to them

Chapter 3: Culture and Gender 20. Define what culture is. a. Culture – a learned set of enduring values, beliefs, and practices that are shared by an identifiable, large group of people with a common history. i. Values – most deeply felt, generally shared view of what is deemed good, right, or worthwhile thinking or behavior ii. Belief – what a person thinks in true or probable 21. Explain how culture influences communication. a. Hundreds of commonplace differences between cultures b. Something polite in one culture can be taken as something offensive in another culture 22. Define ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, and multiculturalism. a. Ethnocentrism – the notion that one’s own culture is superior to any other b. Cultural Relativism – views cultures as merely different, not deficient c. Multiculturalism – social intellectual movement that promotes the value of diversity as a core principle and insists that all cultural groups be treated with respect and as equals

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23. Explain the major differences between low-context and high-context communication styles. a. Low-context communication style: (Individualist culture) i. Verbally precise, direct, and explicit ii. Self expression and speaking ability are highly valued b. High-context communication style: (Collectivist culture) i. Indirect verbal expression is used ii. You are expected to “read between the lines” iii. Significant information must be derived from contextual clues, such as the relationship, situation, setting, and time 24. Explain the major differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. a. Individualist culture: “me” consciousness i. Individualists see themselves loosely linked to each other and largely independent of group identification ii. Chiefly motivated by their own preferences, needs, and goal iii. Personal achievement and initiative are stressed b. Collectivist culture: “we” consciousness i. Individuals see themselves as closely linked to one or more groups ii. Commitment to valued groups (family, organization) is paramount iii. Individuals often downplay personal goals in favor of advancing the goals of the valued group 25. Explain the major differences between low-power distance and high power-distance cultures. a. Low-power distance (horizontal cultures): i. Values relatively equal power sharing and discourages attention to status difference and ranking in society ii. Challenging authorities and flattening organizational hierarchies to reduce status differences is encouraged b. High-power distance (vertical cultures): i. Relatively strong emphasis on maintaining power differences ii. Authorities are rarely challenged, most powerful are thought to have a legitimate right to exercise their power 26. Explain the major differences between feminine and masculine cultures. a. Feminine culture: i. exhibits stereotypic feminine traits such as affection, nurturance, sensitivity compassion, and emotional expressiveness ii. Gender roles are less rigid and more overlapping, equality between sexes is more typical, and individual achievement and competitiveness are deemphasized for both men and women. b. Masculine culture: i. Men typically communicate in ways that will enhance their esteem (speak often, control the floor, interrupt). ii. Women in masculine cultures typically communicate in ways that will enhance relationships (express support, listen well, encourage). 27. How does culture influence nonverbal communication? a.

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Chapter 4: Language 28. Explain the four elements common to all languages (structure, productivity, displacement, and self-reflexiveness). a. Structure: Saying by the rules i. The most essential element of any language and easily the most complicated ii. Without structure you have no language 1. Phonology – part of grammar that describes the patterns of sound in a language 2. Morphology – how morphemes are constructed meaningfully b. Productivity: Inventing words and expressing thoughts i. Capacity of language to transform a small number of phonemes into whatever words phrases, and sentences that you require to communicate your abundance of thoughts and feelings is called productivity c. Displacement: Beyond the here and now i. Your ability to use language to talk about objects, ideas, events, and relations that don’t just exist in the physical here and now is called displacement d. Self-Reflexiveness: The language of the language i. The ability to use language to talk about language ii. Ex. Using English to analyze and discuss English and languages in general 29. Explain the abstracting process (sense experience, description, inference, and judgment). a. Sense Experience: Approximating our physical world i. Sense experience of physical world, it is inherently selective and limited b. Description: Reporting the approximation i. Descriptions – verbal reports that sketch what we perceive from our senses ii. Your descriptions of the world are an approximation of the world as you perceive it, not an exact duplicate. c. Inference: Drawing Conclusions i. Inferences are conclusions about the unknown based on the known ii. They are guesses, educated or otherwise d. Judgment: Conclusions that assign value i. Judgments are subjective evaluations of objects, events, or ideas ii. We attach a subjective positive or negative value such as right or wrong, good or bad, and ugly or beautiful. 30. Explain the two versions of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and their relationship to culture. a. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: Two approaches i. Linguistic determinism – claims we are the prisoners of our native language, unable to think certain thoughts or perceive in certain way because of the grammatical structure and lexicon of our language. ii. Linguistic relativity – claims that the grammar and lexicon of our native language powerfully influence but do not imprison our thinking and perception.

31. Explain how connotative meaning differs from denotative meaning. 7

a. Connotative – personal meaning; it is the volatile, individual, subjective, meaning of a word. b. Denotative – shared meaning; objective, agreed on definition that is found in the dictionary. i. EXAMPLE: Rottweiler – the denotative definition is “a large breed of dog characterized by a short tail and short, black hair with tan markings.” And the connotative definition may vary on your experience with them such as “cute” or “vicious” 32. What is the difference between a fact and an inference? a. Fact – proven to be true b. Inference – guess; thought to be true by a person 33. How might the use of slang, jargon, and euphemisms influence the understanding of a communication message? a. Slang – the highly informal words not in standard usage that are employed by a group with common interest b. Jargon – a kind of verbal shorthand, ex. Doctors use this c. Euphemisms – a form of linguistic Novocain whereby word choices numb us to or camouflage unpleasant or defensive realities, ex. Using “pass” instead of “dead”

Chapter 5: Nonverbal Communication 34. Explain how nonverbal channels of communication differ from verbal channels a. Nonverbal communication - sharing meaning with others nonlinguistically. i. Nonverbal is multichannel, whereas verbal is single-channeled. 35. Explain how nonverbal communication functions in relationship with verbal communication (repetition, substitution, regulation, contradiction, accentuation). a. Repetition – Same message, different channel i. Ex. When we say “yes” and nod our heads ii. Nonverbal cue that repeats the verbal message b. Accentuation – Intensifying verbal message i. Adds emphasis; ex. Pounding your fist on the table as you express your anger nonverbally repeats message but also accents the depth of your emotion c. Substitution – No words necessary i. Nonverbal cues that substitute for a verbal message ii. Ex. A yawn is a substitute for “I’m bored” or “I’m tired” d. Regulation – Conversation traffic cop i. Conversation is regulated by nonverbal cues ii. Ex. Turn taking in convo. is signaled by long pauses at the end of sentences and eye contact in the direction of the person expected to speak next e. Contradiction – Mixed messages i. Inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal messages ii. Ex. Saying yes but shaking your head no 36. Explain the major types of nonverbal communication (kinesics, paralanguage, territoriality, proxemics, and haptics). a. Kinesics – Facial communications and gestures b. Paralanguage – Vocal cues; laughing, yelling, moaning, crying, pitch, tone, rate, uhhum, uh, ooooh c. Territoriality – a predisposition to defend a fixed geographic area d. Proxemics – The influence that distance and territory have on our communication

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e. Haptics – The study of touch

Chapter 6: Listening to Others 37. Define listening by its basic elements (comprehending, retaining, and responding). a. Comprehending – shared meaning between or among parties in a transaction b. Retaining – memory; info we retain while listening c. Responding – providing feedback; listening is a transactional process 38. Define the three types of listening (informational, critical and empathic). a. Informational – Attempts to comprehend the message of a speaker, your goal is to understand what the speaker said. b. Critical - The process of evaluating the merits of claims as they are heard. c. Empathetic – Requires us to take the perspective of the other person, to listen for what that person needs and wants. 39. Explain the problems that can interfere with competent informational listening (conversational narcissism, competitive interrupting, glazing over, pseudo-listening, and ambushing). a. conversational narcissism – the tendency of listeners to turn the topics of ordinary conversations to themselves without showing sustained interest in others’ topics b. competitive interrupting – occurs when we dominate the conversation by seizing the floor from others who are speaking; creates a batt...