Communication Essay, Research Paper

Question 1

Option A

Communication between two people sometimes is misinterpreted. One aspect of communication that makes it easy to distort the message being sent to a person is the use of nonverbal codes. ?Nonverbal codes are codes of communication consisting of symbols that are not words including nonword vocalizations.?(P/N 73) The two categories I choose for this test are kinesics and paralinguistic features.

Kinesics is the posture, movement, gestures, and facial expressions that are used to send a message. (P/N 73) One example of this is ?giving the finger? to another person, which is showing only your middle finger to someone. This is socially accepted within the group of friends that I run around with, because it is saying, ?forget you I don?t want to hear it?, but nothing more is thought of it. It is used in a joking manner, if you are being serious then it is not the right situation to use it. If it is misinterpreted, or used in a serious manner, then it will most likely offend the person that it was directed to. At the same time you only want to ?give the finger? to someone who you are friends with on a personal level. These rules are just a set standard, which are learned through observations.

Paralinguistic features are the nonword sounds and nonword characteristics of language. (P/N 79) An example of this is when someone yawns. This is when someone is tired; the body does not function as well. Their circulation is not as good and the body is trying to get more air to the brain. It is socially accepted because it is something that can not be controlled. However, it is also considered rude to do when someone is talking to you because the impression that you are not listening is given to the speaker. In return, if done frequently enough the impression that you do not like the person can be given. This rule is learned from observation.

It is important to be aware of the implicit rules for cultural/co-cultural nonverbal codes because if not known then you can easily offend people. The example of ?giving the finger? to someone might mean something else in another country. It might mean nothing at all; in that case, people would not understand you. On the other hand, it also might mean something terrible mean, and then you would offend them. It is important to understand these rules so the signals that you are intending to send will not be misunderstood.

Question 2

Option B

The Sapir-Whorf Hypotheses states that you can only feel what you can explain in words. If you do not have the words to explain a feeling then you can not feel that feeling to the full extent. Someone who can explain it in words will have a more enriching experience. I personally disagree with this statement. I have to say that when you fall in love no one can explain it completely, but it does not take away from their experience because they can not explain it.

My personal example of this would have to be of a church retreat that I went to four years in a row. It was the most wonderful thing that happened to me. The worshiping and the love that I felt with the people there is just indescribable. I do not feel that just because I could learn how to describe it that it would make my experience any better. The only thing it would allow me to express the feeling.

This theory is not important to studying communication. Since what is actually stated is not true what good does it do. I feel that people who have a bigger vocabulary might be able to describe the situation better, which in turn means better communication. However, this is not what the hypothesis is stating.

Question 3

In a relationship, there are stages that it will go through. While going through these stages, not every relationship will hit every stage, and in the relationship, some stages will occur more than others will. The three most important stages are intensifying, bonding, and differentiating.

Intensifying is the stage where the two people where notice that they have a relationship and try to take it to a higher level. If a relationship does not have this then nothing important will be shared. Many things might happen or be missing if this stage does not occur often. In a time of need it will be hard for the two to support each other and the relationship will get boring, are just two repercussions. With my close friend we have come to realize that if we share our experiences that first we will know where each other are coming from and will be able to communicate better with them. Second, have a closeness that sets us apart from others.

The bonding stage is where the two people in the relationship know that they what to be together and keep a relationship going. This stage is important because if it was not there then eventually one if not both of the people would feel separate from the other person and the relationship will weaken. With my best friend, we understand that we both want to keep this relationship going. This in turns strengthens us and keeps us working when times get rough.

Differentiating is the stage where each person in the relationship notices that they are a different person and tries to stay unique. This is important because if the two people stay too much like each other then they will not be able to bring in outside opinions and growth in the relationship. Within my relationship I try to take on some traits that my friend has, but at the same time stay myself. If I take on too much of the person then I loose myself and the relationship will eventually go sour because it is not me that am in it.

Together these three stage keep the relationship balanced enough so that it can keep on growing. With them, you work at staying friends by bonding but at the same time keep your unique style. I think it is important to look at relationship in stages because you can recognize what parts are good and which ones are bad. After knowing then you can take them to another relationship. From this, you can grow to be a better friend because you know what is needed and what is not.

Question 4

Option B

I believe the dominant culture is the middle class working person. Be it either male or female. The type of person that does not have the money to go crazy and buy everything they want, but enough to purchase the things they want the most. At the same time, they are the types of people that get up and have a regular 9-5 job. The usual type of education is college degree, but nothing more than that.

I believe that right now I am not entirely in this dominant culture. My parents are, and they are bringing me into it. When I am on my own, I believe that I will completely fit in this dominant culture, because I will have the education, a college degree. I will have the privilege of being able to get a descent job and then having the knowledge to understand topics of this world today. I believe that in order to get a descent job a college education is important. At the same time to understand most of the topic of the world, the college education will make me a well-rounded person with the knowledge needed. Because of my participation in this dominant culture, it does affect my communication with others. It gives me the ability to talk on a higher level. I believe people who do not have the education will not have the knowledge to communicate on a high level. However, more so will not be experiencing it in the everyday world of a job. They will have a simpler job that does not challenge their mind. An example of this is of a person who collects garbage. Though the person is not stupid, he is exposed to the challenges that a typical job does. His job is routine so it is all he knows. He gets up every morning and does the same thing everyday. A college is normally needed to get a job that does not consist of routine, which is part of the dominant culture.