Download CMN 3 Exam 1 Questions and Answers: Communication Theory and Group Dynamics and more Exams Literature in PDF only on Docsity!
CMN 3 Exam 1 Questions and Answers
Already Graded A
What are the variables in communication (5), and what does each of them mean? ✔✔1. People (co-sender, co-receiver)
- Messages
- Channels (verbal and nonverbal)
- Context (same sentence can mean different things in different situations)
- Noise (physical and psychological)
What are the two key variables that are the center of defining communication? ✔✔1. Intentional sending and non-intentional sending
- Receiving (incidentally or consciously) and not receiving
What are the 4 possibilities of behavior in terms of receiving and not receiving? ✔✔1. Intentionally sent and received (sender-receiver model)
- Unintentionally sent and received (receiver model)
- Intentionally sent and not received
- Unintentionally sent and not received (this is NOT communication)
What has to happen between two people for the sender-receiver model to label the behavior as communication? ✔✔The message has to be intentionally sent and received
What is the definition of a small group? ✔✔ 3 - 7 people working together to achieve a common goal (the common goal is what makes a group a "group"
Assembly Effect ✔✔When the group's solution or product is superior to the individual work of even the best member
Synergy ✔✔The total amount of available group energy that can be applied to the task/common goal
Intrinsic Synergy ✔✔Energy for interpersonal challenges/conflict
Effective Synergy ✔✔Energy that is left over from the task (Two types→ task related or interpersonal)
What are task roles? ✔✔Roles that are focused on the common goal (ex.: initiator, information seeker/giver, opinion seeker/giver, clarifier, coordinator, orienter)
What are interpersonal roles? ✔✔Roles that are focused on the morale of the people you are working with (ex.: supporter, harmonizer, tension reliever, gate-keeper (encourages the quieter members to participate in the discussion))
In what ways should all group participants speak up and contribute to the group's discussions? (6) ✔✔1. Information: offering relevant info
- Point of view: offering relevant opinions
- Evaluation: offering personal opinions about selected ideas for consideration
- Process: both a participant and an observer of the group. Offers suggestions regarding the way the group, itself, is operating
- Understanding: expressing/showing that you are tracking, especially after a difficult discussion
- Agreement: becoming part of a consensus about a topic that has been discussed extensively
What are the four phases of group development? ✔✔1. Orientation/FORMING
- Conflict/STORMING
- Emergence/NORMING
- Performance/PERFORMING
Orientation/FORMING ✔✔Everyone is tentative and on their good behavior
Conflict/STORMING ✔✔People begin to lower their guard and openly disagree
Emergence/NORMING ✔✔Begin to establish a routines way of being together. Structuration is completed here
Performance/PERFORMING ✔✔Have achieved something together as a working group
What did McGregor say were the qualities of effective groups? ✔✔a. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable, and relaxed
b. There is a lot of discussion and basically everyone participates, but it remains pertinent to the task of the group
What are the four contradictions inherent in all group processes? ✔✔1. Quality decision vs. deadlines
- Task work vs. interpersonal work
- Individual vs. group work
- Agreement vs. disagreement
What is "performative competence" and what is "process competence?" Which comes first? What is involved with each one? ✔✔Performative competence: the surface level consisting of the part of the competence that can actually be seen- the actual performance of the day-to-day behaviors
Process competence: a deeper level, consisting of everything we have to know in order to perform
We use performative competence first to assess the situation and then we use process competence to learn more intimate details about people
What are the five things a competent communicator must know? (5) ✔✔1. Assign meaning to the world around them (what is going on)
- Set goals strategically (what do I want to make happen? How should I contribute?)
- Take on social roles appropriately (what is my relationship to others in the situation/ how do I maintain social responsibility?)
- Present a valued image of themselves (how do I want others to view me in this situation?)
- Generate intelligible messages
What is "communication apprehension?" How many Americans report experiencing it? ✔✔The fear of communicating with another person. 85 percent of Americans report feeling apprehensive when speaking publicly
Which communication contexts do people experience anxiety? ✔✔Fear of public speaking is pretty high
What is the difference between trait-like communication and situational communication? ✔✔Trait communication apprehension: those who experience apprehension in all contexts
Situational communication apprehension: those who experience it only in one or two contexts
What were the three treatments for speech anxiety? ✔✔1. Systematic desensitization: Focuses on identifying and reducing the physiological/bodily responses to fear
ii. Can be constructive to improve communication, foster learning, enhance relational understanding, or affect important change
What are the four traits of aggression? ✔✔1. Assertiveness: putting your rights forward without hampering others' rights; self-avocation ☺
- Argumentativeness: the willingness to discuss controversial topics and the ability to defend one's point of view in the face of strong opposition; positive correlation with leadership ☺
- Hostility: open display of anger for the purpose of venting and dominating ☹
- Verbal insults/flaming: speaking in attacking and insulting manner ☹
What does it mean to be rhetorically sensitive? ✔✔Moderateing between the two extremes by embodying a concern for self, concern for others, and a situational attitude
Noble Self ✔✔These communicators stick to their personal ideals and styles without variation and without adapting or adjusting to others
Rhetorical Reflector ✔✔Moderate themselves to others' wishes without following one's personal needs or principles
What is conversational style? ✔✔Conversational style influences the senders and receivers. It's how we frame our messages as senders influences how we interpret other senders' messages.
Problematic... we must try to interpret others' messages based on their own styles not on our own
What are the various conversational signals? ✔✔Signals: vocal tone, vocal pace, vocal volume, vocal intonation
What are the various conversational devices? ✔✔Devices: expressive reactions (degree of reaction we give to our partners), asking questions (openly engage in question-asking or not), complaining (openly complain or not), matching (we match others regarding conversational practices like self disclosure, compliments, jokes, etc.)
What is "immediacy?" ✔✔An effective communication style with the open expression of liking and acceptance of another person
What are the outcomes of an immediate style? ✔✔Advantages: increased mutual liking/affiliation, more approachable, increased solidarity, decreased anxiety, decreased status differences, increased perceptions of communication competence
Drawbacks: flirtatious, can be bothersome for communication/social avoidance
viii. Being sensitive and honoring time constraints
Vehicle of Meaning ✔✔Signs and symbols are meaning vehicles
i. Signs: unintentional vehicles of meaning; naturally occurring
ii. Symbols: used to intentionally transfer meaning from one source to another
Denotative Meaning ✔✔What the objective agreed-upon meaning of a word is; the dictionary definition
Connotative Meaning ✔✔The psychological, idiosyncratic meaning and individual experiences with the word
Why are signs and symbols considered to be "meaning vehicles?" ✔✔Language is an agreed upon shared code used to transfer meaning from one person to another
What is the difference between a sign and a symbol? ✔✔Signs are unintentional and symbols are intentional
Is nonverbal or verbal communication more sign-based? ✔✔Non-verbal communication is more sign based
What are the premises of the "cooperation principle?" (4) ✔✔1. Communication partners need to help each other in order to have an effective conversation
- The cooperation principle is the assumption that sender's guarantee relevance and receivers assume relevance
- We go into a conversation expecting the other person to make a good effort to produce meaningful messages
- When meanings are ambiguous this puts extra stress on the receiver to understand what it means
What are the four conversational maxims and what does each of them mean? ✔✔1. Quantity maxim: one's utterances should be as informative as is required; no more no less; we flout this maxim when we are overly verbose or curt
- Quality maxim: one's utterances should be accurate and truthful. We violate this when we lie, deceive, exaggerate, embellish, distort, and omit "known truths"
- Relevance maxim: one's contributions should be on topic or should notify the listener that she/he is changing the current topic
What were the four functions of nonverbal communication discussed in lecture? What does each of them involve? ✔✔1. Expressing emotions
- Managing impressions (senders) and form impressions (receivers)... involves facework
- Defies and manages relationships: we wouldn't just tell someone he/she is attractive but we would flirt first
- Structure interactions: looks at settings, environment is considered a nonverbal
What is face-work? ✔✔When first impressions happen really quickly
What research findings were discussed regarding facial expressions? ✔✔Greatest encoding (what senders do) and decoding (what receivers do) potential of all nonverbal sources
What research findings were discussed regarding eye behavior? ✔✔Eye contact (credible, trustworthy, and competent), eye gaze (form of intimacy), staring (threatening situations and when someone interests us), pupil dilation (deception, attraction)
What research findings were discussed regarding posture? ✔✔(Good posture = confident, credible, strong)
What research findings were discussed regarding gestures? ✔✔Emblems, illustrators, adaptors
What research findings were discussed regarding vocalics? ✔✔Every sound that comes from the voice, sneezing, snorting, laughing, crying; second to facial expressions
What research findings were discussed regarding proxemics? ✔✔Physical distance between people; move closer when the topic is more personal and we know the person better
What research findings were discussed regarding haptics/touch? ✔✔??
What research findings were discussed regarding chronemics? ✔✔Study of time as communication; you show superiority when you use up someone's time, when you like someone you spend a lot of time with him/her and events like NYE
What were the three different types of gestures discussed in class? ✔✔1. Emblems: translate into a precise verbal meaning (ASL is a language of emblems, emblems are actually not nonverbal)
- Illustrators: depict a visual image of what is being said (when you tell a story you give descriptions)
- Adaptors: release/relieve physical or physiological tension, self, others, object
What are the variables that are required to be present in order for a communication exchange to be considered to be "interpersonal" (as opposed to non-interpersonal)? ✔✔Interpersonal: communication from one individual to another, communication which is face to face, both the form and content of the communication reflect the personal characteristics of the individuals as well as their social roles and responsibilities
What is the difference between a sign being considered "informative" and a sign being considered "communicative?" ✔✔Informative: not intentional, someone's measles communicate that they are sick
Communicative: deliberate, intentional production of words or nonverbal behavior
What does the author say about "shared" and "the creation and exchange" of meaning? ✔✔We must look very carefully at the meaning that people attach to particular events before we can really understand the communication that is taking place
Ex: you ask your neighbor if he/she had a good time last night
How does Stewart (an author cited in the chapter) differentiate "interpersonal" and "non- interpersonal" communication? ✔✔That interpersonal communication happens between persons
only; interpersonal communication should have a high degree of trust, a place where each person is prepared to discuss openly their feelings and personal history, genuine and mutual liking between participants
Non-interpersonal communication: communicate what they have to
What were the three "forms" of communication listed in the chapter? ✔✔Individual to individual, individual to mass audience, group to mass audience
What did the author say about "time" and interpersonal communication? ✔✔Interpersonal communication is cumulative over time. Take into consideration the history of the relationship of communication
What were the three examples of situations in which many people find difficult? ✔✔Situations which demand assertive behavior, such as complaining to a neighbor about noise
Situations of great intimacy such as sexual encounters
Situations involving some kind of public performance such as giving a speech
