Influences on Individual Communication and Interpersonal Processes
INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATION & INTERPERSONAL PROCESSES • Perceptual processes • Attribution processes • Semantics • Cultural context • Communication skills Perceptual processes: Processes individuals use to acquire and make sense out of information from the environment Three stages of perception: • Selecting Filtering of stimuli so that only some information gets our attention • Organising Patterning of information to match familiar patterns • Interpreting Giving meaning to selected and organised information Distortions: • Stereotyping Tendency to attribute characteristics to an individual on the basis of an assessment of the group to which they belong • Halo effect Tendency to use a general impression based on one or a few characteristics of an individual • Projection Tendency of an individual to assume others share their thoughts, feelings and characteristics • Perceptual defence Tendency to block out or distort information one finds threatening Attribution process Theory attempting to explain how individuals make judgments or attributions about the cause of another’s, or their own, behaviour • Fundamental attribution error: Tendency to underestimate situational influences and to overestimate dispositional influences. • Self-serving bias: Attributing oneself as responsible for successes and others for failures. Semantics • Semantic net Network of words and word meanings a given individual has available for recall • Semantic blocks
Blockages or communication difficulties arising from word choices Cultural context Culture also influences communication and interpersonal processes. • High-context cultures Emphasis in communication is the establishment & strengthening of relationships • Low-context cultures Emphasis is on exchanging information Lowcontext cultures Germany Australia USA S. America France Saudi Arabia Asia China Highcontext cultures
Communication skills • Listening skills Active listening • Feedback Giving and receiving Positive and negative feedback
Blockages or communication difficulties arising from word choices Cultural context Culture also influences communication and interpersonal processes. • High-context cultures Emphasis in communication is the establishment & strengthening of relationships • Low-context cultures Emphasis is on exchanging information Lowcontext cultures Germany Australia USA S. America France Saudi Arabia Asia China Highcontext cultures
Communication skills • Listening skills Active listening • Feedback Giving and receiving Positive and negative feedback