Chapter 1
Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
The Study of Interpersonal Communication
• Acknowledge our past
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• Understanding the present– Intrapersonal – Interpersonal – Small group – Organizational– Mass– Public
• Message exchange – both verbal and nonverbal
• Creation of meaning – the understanding communicators take from the message
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Defining Interpersonal Communication
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Models of Communication
• Mechanistic Thinking and the Linear Model
• Feedback and Interactional Model
• Shared Meaning and the Transactional Model
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Linear Model
• Sender • Message• Receiver • Channel
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Sender Message Receiver
• Noise– Physical noise– Physiological noise– Psychological noise– Semantic noise
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Linear Model
• Context– Physical – Cultural – Social-emotional – Historical
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Sender Message Receiver
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Feedback and the Interaction Model
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Sender Receiver
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Feedback and the Interaction Model
• Feedback – responses to people, their messages, or both
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Shared Meaning and the Transactional Model
• Field of experience - refers to a person’s culture, past experiences, personal history and how these elements influence the communication process
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Interpersonal Communication Continuum
• Communication that exists on a continuum from impersonal to interpersonal– Relational history– Relational rules– Relational uniqueness
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The Value of Interpersonal Communication
• Increases job success• Improves relationships with
family and friends• Improves academic performance• Self-actualization – becoming the
best you can be
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Principles of Interpersonal Communication
• It is unavoidable• It is irreversible• It is symbolic• It is rule-
governed• It is learned
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Principles of Interpersonal Communication
• It has both content and relationship levels– Content level is the information in
the message– Relational level determines how we
interpret the message
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Myths about Interpersonal Communication
• It solves all problems• It is always a good thing
– Dark side– Bright side
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Myths about Interpersonal Communication
• It is common sense• It is synonymous with
interpersonal relationships• It is always face-to-face
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Interpersonal Communication Ethics
• Ethics is a perceived wrongness or rightness of a behavior
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Five Ethical Systems of Communication
• Categorical imperative - individuals follow moral absolutes (Immanuel Kant)
• Utilitarianism –ethics is bringing the greatest good to the largest number of people (John Stuart Mill)
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Five Ethical Systems of Communication
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• The golden mean - a person’s moral virtues stand between two vices with the average or the mean being the foundation for a rational society (Aristotle)
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Five Ethical Systems of Communication
• Ethic of Care –means being concerned with and focused on the connection between communicators (Carol Gilligan)
– Female decision making
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Five Ethical Systems of Communication
• Significant Choice –communication is ethical to the extent that communicators can exercise free choice (Thomas Nilsen)
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Interpersonal Communication Ethics
• Understanding ethics and our own values
• Choices for changing times: competency and civility
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