INTRAPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION

C O M 83 0

E V O N N E MW A N G A L E

OUTLINE• INTRODUCTION• ASPECTS• LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION• MERITS• DEMERITS

INTRODUCTIONDEFINITION• Intrapersonal communication can be described as Communication

that takes place within a single person

PURPOSE• Clarifying ideas • Analyzing a situation • in order to reflect upon or appreciate something

ASPECTS OF INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION• Self-concept• Perception • Expectation

SELF-CONCEPT• Determines how a person sees him/herself • Is affected by: • Beliefs - basic personal orientation toward what is true or false, good or bad• Values - deep-seated orientations and ideals, generally based on and

consistent with beliefs, about right and wrong ideas and actions. • Attitudes - learned predisposition toward or against a topic. Are often

emotional.• Other things that can affect self-concept are body image, personal

attributes, talents, social role, even birth order. • Dimensions of self-concept: • Actual self – how I actually see myself• Ideal self – how I would like to see myself• Social self – how others actually see me• Ideal social self – how I would like others to see me.

PERCEPTION Whereas self-concept focuses internally, perception looks outward. Also is rooted in beliefs, values and attitudes. It is the process you use to assign meaning to data about yourself or the

world around you. Includes:

Sensory perception – physical process of taking in data through the senses.

Selective perception – mental process of choosing which data or stimuli to focus on.

Personal perception – your own understanding of reality. This becomes the basis of your judgments and decision making.

Two people can have different perceptions of the same event, idea.

EXPECTATIONS• Future-oriented messages dealing with long-term roles• Sometimes called life scripts. • These sometimes are projections of learned relationships within the

family or society.

LEVELS OF INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONInternal discourse• Involves thinking, concentration and analysis. Psychologists include

both daydreaming in this category. Prayer, contemplation and meditation also are part of this category.

Solo vocal communication • Includes speaking aloud to oneself. This may be done to clarify

thinking, to rehearse a message intended for others, or simply to let off steam.

Solo written communication • Solo written communication deals with writing not intended for

others. Example: An entry in a diary or personal journal.

MERITS1. Self-awareness - allows the person to be aware of every aspect of their own

personality and can easily communicate his wants and needs to others.2. Self-confidence - A self-aware state makes one secure and increases confidence.3. Self-management - The fact that one is conscious of the indwelling strengths

and shortcomings, it equips him to manage his daily affairs efficiently using his strengths to the maximum which in turn compensates for his weaknesses.

4. Self-motivation and focus- The absolute knowledge of what one wants out of life will enable the person to strive to achieve those aims and goal while continuously motivating themselves.

5. Independence - Self-awareness allows the person to be independent.6. Adaptability - The person is highly adaptable to his surroundings as the

knowledge of his own qualities allows him to confidently and calmly take decisions and change his approach accordingly in response to situational stimuli.

DEMERITS1. Introverted - Since the person prefers working alone, he is perceived as shy

or anti-social by others.2. Wrong assumptions and decisions - Since there is absence of feedback,

that is, the conversation is in a one- way flow, it could lead to the development of misconceptions and faulty assumptions.

3. Categorical thinking - There is a possibility of an individual categorizing and viewing certain individuals or events with a biased opinion causing one's thought pattern to be one-tracked and lopsided.

4. Over-thinking – Over analysis of situations and prolonged thinking about them will lead to the imagination of unrealistic and unnecessary scenarios, and in extreme cases, may even lead to self-doubt.

5. Arrogance - Due to an independent nature and specific approach towards an issue, one may be incorrectly perceived as being arrogant. This is further reinforced by one's tendency to pay attention to every minute detail.

REFERENCES AND STUDIES ReferencesVocate, D. R. (1994). Intrapersonal communication: Different voices,

different minds. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-intrapersonal-communication.html

Studies Scott, R. L. (2006). Communication As An Intentional, Social System.

Human Communication Research Human Comm Res, 3(3), 258-268.  

GROUP COMMUNICATI

ON

OUTLINE• Introduction • Characteristics• Types of groups• Leadership styles• Patterns of group development• Advantages and disadvantages• References and studies

INTRODUCTION AND CHARACTERISTICSDefinition• (Fujishin, 2013) Made up of three or more people, who share

commonality (task, goal, similarities), have interaction with each other, influence one another.

Characteristics• Interdependence – Each group member depends on the other group

members in one way or another. • Mutual influence • Adaptation/flexibility – to fit the changes of a changing environment.

• Equifinality – The ability of a group to accomplish a task in many

ways and from many starting points.

TYPES OF GROUPS• Social groups - units such as families, friends living as roommates,

and voluntary recreational groups such as soccer teams.• Families - also form primary groups, which are defined as those in

which people share living and financial arrangements.• Work groups - These are built by people who are drawn together

by a common task, such as students working together on a project or company

• Decision-making groups - brought together for the purpose of dealing with a question or policy.

• Problem - solving groups - focus on resolving a problem.

LEADERSHIP STYLES• High control (authoritarian leaders) • Moderate control (democratic leaders) • Low control (laissez-faire leaders) • Abdacratic control, involves the total collapse of leadership over

uncontrolled group dynamics.

PATTERN OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT 1. Orientation phase - participants get to know each other and learn

what is expected of them as a group.2. Conflict phase – group members deal with sources of conflict3. The norm emergence phase - centers on compromise, the

convergence of ideas, generation of alternative solutions, and eventually consensus. Brainstorming is used in this phase to generate as many ideas as possible.

4. The closure phase - completes the process by concluding the group’s work. The groups mission is accomplished.

THEORIES OF SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATIONSymbolic Convergence Theory Symbolic Convergence Theory studies the sensemaking function of

communication.  Fantasy themes are stories or narratives that assist group members in

interpreting group interactions as well as the environment.  As group members come to share a number of fantasies, they begin

to develop a rhetorical vision of themselves and the group. It focuses on group identity and the development of a group

consciousness.  This theory is descriptive rather than predictive.  Symbolic Convergence Theory is useful for examining the similarities

and differences among groups in terms of in rhetorical visions and fantasy.

Structuration Theory Structuration Theory differentiates between systems, such as small

groups, and structures, the practices, rules, norms, and other resources the system uses to function and sustain itself. 

Structuration refers to the processes group members employ as they work together. 

Structures both produce a system (in this case, a group) and are outcomes of a system. 

ADVANTAGES OF GROUPS1. Sense of belonging2. Knowledge and Information - Since group members have different

specialties, they tend to provide more information and knowledge. Also, the information tends to be more comprehensive in nature and the groups can generate a greater number of alternatives. There is often truth to the axiom that “two heads are better than one.”

3. Implementation of decisions – Implementation of the decision is more effective since the people who are going to implement the decision, either participated in the group themselves or had their representatives in it. This also increases the commitment of the people to see the implementation to success.

4. The group decision making is more democratic in nature, while individual decision making is perceived to be more autocratic in nature. The democratic processes are more easily acceptable and are consistent with the democratic ideals of our society.

DISADVANTAGES OF GROUPS1. Time consuming - in terms of assembling the right group and usually a

group takes more time in reaching a consensus since there are too many opinions to be taken into consideration. The time problem increases with the group size.

2. Varying interests - Many times, the participants in group decision making have their own interests to protect. These self- centered interests lead to personality conflicts that may create interpersonal obstacles which may diminish the efficiency of the process as well as the quality of the decision.

3. Focus effect - This means that the group may focus on one or few suggested alternatives and spend all the time in evaluating these and may never come up with other ideas, thus limiting the choices.

4. Risk - The groups may shift either towards more risk taking or towards less risk taking and either of the shifts may be undesirable. Generally speaking, problems suitable for group decision making involve some degree of risk or uncertainty. But to take excessive risk is as bad as taking no risk at all.

REFERENCES AND STUDIESReferences Brown, R., & Gaertner, S. (eds.). 2001). Intergroup processes. Oxford,

UK: Blackwell.Gaertner (eds). Intergroup processes. Oxford, UK: Blackwell..Tubbs, S. (1992). A systems approach to small group interaction. New

York: McGraw-Hill.Fujishin, R. (2013). Creating effective groups: The art of small group

communication. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.