04/07/2010 22:07:00

IHC: Summary exam

What is communication?

the exchange of messages sender message receiver sender message noise (=distraction) receiver too general: does not discriminate

Sender: encodes message Receiver: decodes message Message: a translated idea sent from sender to receiver Channel: a medium or transmission through which the message is sent Media-psychology: How mediated messages are processed Definition of Communication:

Communication is a process whereby people assign meanings to stimuli in order to make sense of the world (Trenholm, 2008:20) - People: senders/receivers - Assign meanings: intentional - Stimuli: symbolic & non-verbal - All channels implied: interpersonal & media (can be used for all channels)

Communication and Rhetoric: Rhetoric in Ancient Greece: - the study of communication started with classical rhetoric The art of speaking or writing effectively, using the principles and rules of composition drawn from classical traditions, typically tied to the art of persuasion. Aristotle was a rhetorician: founder of the Lyceum and teacher of Alex the Great. Plato: Aristotles teacher: founder of the Academy in Athens Rhetoric (and Trenholms) 4 questions: 1. Small scope: politics and science

2. Intentional: persuasion 3. Sender focused 4. Symbolic: the spoken word

Contemporary rhetorics (Aristotles heritage): - Logos: Persuading an audience through the wording and logic of the message character - Pathos: Persuading an audience through arousing emotions - Ethos Persuading an audience through personal

Emotions are complex in rhetoric: - For example: pathos in politics (e.g. crying during a speech) - Aristotle wants us to use pathos, but there is a limit as to how much emotion is acceptable

Is pathos related to ethos? Authenticity, credibility? What are the consequences of using pathos for communicating a message?

The Five Canons of Rhetoric (Cicero):

Invention: the speaker must begin by discovering what can be said about a given topic and by finding arguments that will allow others to understand it. Style: the speaker must select and arrange the wording of the message carefully. A speech can either instruct, please or persuade. Arrangement: the speaker must arrange ideas for maximum impact. A speech must be divided into introduction, body and conclusion. Memory: the speaker must find a way to keep the message firmly in the mind. Several mnemonic devices (memory aids) could help orators memorise speeches.

Delivery: the speaker must present the speech in a natural, varied and appropriate way. Voice should convey interest and emotion, and gestures should match the major ideas.

Sophists: a group of professional speech teachers whos main concern was to teach the tricks of persuasive speaking for use in the law courts or assemblies. Why bother studying communication? Human conflict is often the result of miscommunication A fundamental argument is Thinking through communication(title): we think due and through communication.

Communication through signs: According to Augustine, people communicate through signs. Sign: causes something else to come into the mind as a consequence of itself Natural signs: created by God (e.g. smoke to indicate fire)

Conventional signs: created by humans interpretation is more difficult (e.g. spoken or written word)

Empiricism: Scientific method that all arguments should be empirically grounded (=based on observation) Pose the epistemological question: What provides the basis of our knowledge Francis Bacon: analysed of perceptual bias identified four idols, that get in the way of clear thinking (only true protection is to be as scientific as possible): 1. Idols of the Tribe: fallacies in thinking due to human nature 2. Idols of the Cave: individual prejudices we carry due to our background/personalities 3. Idols of the Market Place: centre on imprecise use of language 4. Idols of the Theatre: fallacies when we accept ideas uncritically

John Locke: mistrusted normal uses of rhetoric/argued that truth could be obtained only through discourse that was solidly ground in an understanding of human rationality

Scientific method: a belief in controlled laboratory experimentation and careful, objective measurement. Source credibility: the extent to which a communicator is considered believable and competent Chapter 2 Definitions:

Are tools in science as much as in daily life: operational definition (e.g. IQ test) Are constructions of reality generally shared (always shared in science) Are contested/tested (e.g. by scientists) In addition to defining a subject, a historical analysis deepens our understanding of it For example: - What are the roots? - How was the subject put in practice earlier in history? - What has been universal over the years? - What is relative to a particular period?

Perspectives: A coherent set of assumptions about the way a process operates.

Psychological perspective: Communication as an instance of human information processing (cognitive system) Focusses on individuals mental set - true: the unfolding of the psychological process Mechanistic - true: laws approach tries to build model in mathematic terms Short on differentiality: people need to share a mental set - but people still can communicate if they have different mental sets (Trenholm)

Uses laws approach: describes cause-and-effect laws that connect communication variables by asking questions related to research methods.

Social Constructionist perspective: Focused on group rather than individual - difficult because we use our own views to analyse situations Reality is built by groups groups create collective representations of reality Groups borrow cultural groups from the culture they live in Symbolic codes (language) Cognitive customs -how to process information + what we consider true/false Cultural traditions Roles and rules

Groups also lend their culture by using the tools Creates culture-group dialectic : ideas based on groups and people communicating - Consequence: social reality is constructed through communication

Acknowledges the constructed nature of social reality, but there is a danger of relativism: makes it impossible to discuss with the groups to change/modify their beliefs/reality

Concentrates on groups and cultures (macro andmeso level), but neglects (creative) individual (micro level) including individual communicative acts that can change the reality of groups

Uses rules approach: To accomplish their goals, people choose certain lines of action and follow certain rules laid down by their culture

Pragmatic perspective: Communication = playing game Rule based: turn-taking and acts Elements of pragmatic model: - Acts: individual moves in communication with a partner - Interact: a pattern of a two-act sequence in communication with a partner - Payoff: a result or reward due to the repetition of acts. Matter to take in account: gender Rather counter-intuitive/emotional (like soc. constr.) only focused on actions/acts Its radical empiricism neglects senders/receivers intention/emotions Enables objective account of communication

Cultural studies perspective: Dialectic between communication and culture (one influences the other cycle) Culture is a shared system of meaning like a network The network is embedded in the power structures of society society always includes power relations Focuses on media and popular culture Focuses on oppressed minority in society Frankfurter Schule: claims that entertainment media reproduced the power structure in society and wants people to accept the current political structure (e.g. propaganda)

Stuart Hall: cultural theorist believes that language use in a framework of power society Halls theory: reception theory including encoding and decoding audiences can have three different reactions to a media text (dominant, opposition and negotiated reading)

Lev Vygotskys psychological theory of cognitive development: Humans develop the thinking apparatus (cognitive system) they are equipped wit at birth through communicative interactions with other (competent) humans. This is through speaking and being spoken to by others

Also due to interacting and non-verbal communication (it needs to be stimulated through communication)

Model: an abstract representation of a process, a description of its structure or function Symbols: random and conventionalized representations that convey meaning Symbolic codes: Language the ways weve been taught to process information Cognitive customs: the beliefs, attitudes and values that make up our cultural traditions the sets of codes and rules that guide our actions

Speech acts: individual purposeful acts of communication Discursive acts/texts: acts of communication Subject position: a role or stance to take when responding to the text ICA: International Communication Association ECREA: European Communication Research and Education Association Chapter 3 Listening: The process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or non-verbal messages Multistep process of listening 1. Attending to the sensory stimuli that make up a message 2. Making the stimuli meaningful by using our own experiences for interpretation 3. Critically evaluating our interpretations 4. Responding to the message 5. Storing the message for future use

Hearing, on the other hand, is a process that occurs when soundwaves are translated into electrical impulses and then processed by the central nervous system

Listening, is a social cognitive process

Attention: The process of selectively focussing on certain events in the environment

Voluntary attention: occurs when we willingly focus on a stimulus, guided by personal plans and goals Involuntary attention: occurs when the intrinsic properties of a stimulus make that stimulus stand out, this type of attention lies outside our control (e.g. car driving past)

(Cognitive) Schemata : Mental guidelines derived from social understandings, past experiences and our knowledge about the world Person prototypes: idealised representations of a certain kind of person, used to identify or classify a person (e.g. nerd, politician, teacher etc.) ignore personal details and often lead to stereotypes

Personal Constructs: the characteristics we inhabitually notice in others, to make our perception easier and more efficient also can be inaccurate and unfair.

Scripts: representations of sequences of actions, which tell us what to do next in a situation during communication. They give us the confidence in conversations, but they can also create repetitive routines and mindlessness

Cognitive complexity: occurs when an individual has a large, rich and varied set of personal constructs makes the individual be willing to combine seemingly contradictory characteristics in creative ways, realising that people are not all good or all bad.

Mindful processing: when a person is in a state of alert and lively awareness about the world, creating new understandings rather than relying on the old (like in mindless/automatic processing) Loaded language: Emotionally charged language God terms: terms that are so positive that they go unchallenged Devil terms: terms that express negative values and repels the listener

Description: an actual observation of a state of affairs made with a minimum of distortion/bias Inference: (opposite of description) a personal interpretation of the meaning behind the behaviour being described. Evaluation: goes further than inference, namely adding a positive or negative judgement. Interpretation: a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something

Storage and retrieval: Storing messages in memory and then retrieving them at an appropriate time. False memory: information that is painful or unpleasant is pushed aside, while things that never happened can be remembered as though they were true (factor that interferes with storage and retrieve)

Human Information Processing (HIP): The process that embraces more than (selective) attention Executed by the cognitive system.\ Multi-Store Model: dominant model in process Forward processing: taking in information Backward processing: using earlier information (e.g. experiences, memories) Sensory memory: environmental stimuli, unlimited capacity and short duration Short-term memory/ Working memory: limited capacity, short duration Long-term memory: limitless capacity, endless duration Danger of Reification: considering a concept as real rather than abstract, or a fallible human construct

Chapter

4 Language:

A rule-governed symbol system that allows its users to generate meaning and, in the process, to define reality

Sign: the vehicle for this expression. Consists of: - Signified: the private idea located solely in the mind of a communicator - Signifier: the form in which the idea is expressed (e.g. symbols, gestures)

Symbol: arbitrary/inconsistent and conventional/accepted (social agreement)

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: If we think and remember linguistically, then it stands to reason that the nature of our language affects the nature of our thoughts Consists of two corollaries/consequences: 1. Linguistic determinism: language determines though

Constructivis m=

2. Linguistic relativity: people from different language communities perceive the world differently

Euphemisms: inoffensive words that are used instead of highly charged term. They allow us to avoid talking about painful or offensive situations, but they can also act as blinders. Metaphors: a linguistic usage that allows us to understand experience one thing in terms of another, they guide our thoughts and actions. A system of codes: the elements:

Discourse: connected sentences that form an identifiable structure to fulfil a communicative function Sentences: a construction of words that form an idea Morphemes: elements of words [lock-er] Phonemes: the significant (phonetic) sound distinctions in a given language [pin] [fin] forward and backward processing

Speech acts: the goal a speaker intends to accomplish through speech (to persuade, flatter, inform, gather information, to comfort, etc.) Conversational maxims: Rules within a conversation, where communicators must be willing to cooperate with one another by speaking in socially approved ways. Four conversational maxims: 1. Quantity maxim: communicators must make sure that their contributions contain enough, but not too much, information 2. Quality maxim: speakers must be truthful 3. Relevancy maxim: speakers must make sure their contributions are direct 4. Manner maxim: they should be direct and clear

Forms of language:

Dialects: when a subgroup speak a language using a different vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation from others who speak that language Pidgins: a simple language deliberately invented so that people new to an area can communicate to those who live in that area (e.g. long time no see) Creoles: a language that occurs when a pidgin becomes permanent Lingua Francas: when people from different language communities choose one language to use for trade and commerce (e.g. English in international business)

Jargon: the special or technical words used by members of professions (e.g. doctors) Argot: words whose meanings have been changed so that outsiders cannot understand them

Taboo: words that are unacceptable in polite society

The subsystems of language:

Phonology: the study of the sound system of a language phonemes Semantics: the study of the structure of the units of meaning in a language - morphemes Syntactics: the study of the sentence structure of a language sentences Pragmatics: the study of how we use language in social contexts discourse

Disclaimer: denial of any connection with or knowledge of (dont get me wrong/hear me out)

Context cultures:

Low-context cultures: cultures that find meaning in the words rather than in the shared context in which communication occurs. In such cultures, the speaker assumes that the listener doesnt know very much about the situation and must be told everything (Europe, USA, UK)

High-context cultures: cultures that dont find it necessary to spell out messages explicitly, and speakers dont bother to say what they believe listeners already know. They also believe that where and how something is said is as important as what is said (China, Japan)

Chapter 5

Nonverbal communication:

Any instance in which a stimulus other than words creates meaning in either a senders or a receivers mind. Characteristics: - May be unintentional - Consists of multiple codes - Is immediate, continuous and natural - Both universal and cultural

Nonverbal communication in comparison with (verbal) language: - Non-verbal communication: less emphasis on the system - Non-verbal communication: no reference to defining reality

Is also less precise in communicating meaning Is less structured Not less important for communication nonverbal communication is fundamental kind of communication (more embedded in our language system)

Conscious nonverbal communication: gestures Non-conscious nonverbal communication: foot tapping, etc. (often copied mimicry)

Nonverbal codes:

Mimicry:

Kinesic codes: gestures, facial display/eye behaviour, body movements Paralinguistiscs: sounds tied to words/vocal behaviour and touch Chronemics and proxemics: time (chronemics), territory and space (proxemics) Physical appearance: body type(endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph) , dress and object language

Adapting and/or imitating another human being for personal advantages A widespread kind of nonverbal communication Both conscious (the art of mime) and non-conscious (= automatic behaviour: people mimic others without awareness, intent or conscious control) People tend to mimic: - speech accents - rates of speech - posture

Evolutionary explanation: reason for mimicking= - group ties (bonding) are necessary for survival of the individual (and species) - other in the group communicate important survival information (danger, food, reproduction) - it is necessary to establish high quality relations with group members (mimic) - Survival of the fittest: the individuals who mimicked best, survived

Chapter 6

Mimicry is the social glue to gain social acceptance Mimicry causes rapport: relational meaning/high-quality relationships

Dyadic communication: two-person, face-to-face interaction. It is direct, personal, immediate, spontaneous and informal Looking-glass self: the appraisals of others during a conversation act as a kind if mirror, reflecting back on us.

Balancing interpersonal tensions:

Expressive-protective dialectic: finding a balance between the need to share personal information and the need to maintain privacy (self-disclosure: voluntary revealing of personal information)

Autonomy-togetherness dialectic: friends/couples decide how interdependent they want to be Novelty-predictability dialectic: finding ways to balance the familiar and the new

Role relations:

Spiral:

One-up role: the dominant part in a relationship One-down role: the submissive part in a relationship

One partners behaviour intensifies that of the other Progressive spirals: the partners behaviour lead to increasing levels of involvement and satisfaction Regressive spirals: the partners behaviour eventually damages the relationship Ducks Attraction Filter Model

Knapps Relational Development Model

Potential
1. Sociological/Incidental cues (frequency of interaction)

2. Preinteraction cues (physical beauty,

3. Interaction cues (social rewards, conversation) Chapter 7 Group: a special kind of entity

4. Cognitive cues (attitude similarity, shared values)

Friends/Romantic

a collection of individuals who, as a result of interacting with one another over time, become interdependent, developing shared patterns of behaviour and a collective identity.

Characteristics of a group: 1. Interaction: act so as to have a mutual effect 2. Interdependence: separate individuals have become a functioning whole: become interconnected and share common goals and a common fate

3. Shared behavioural standards: members experience a sense of identity and psychological closeness 4. Collective identity: a sense of membership/being part of a whole: we Triads: groups of three that are much more complex than dyads because: The number of communication channels increases dramatically with three people members have to choose who to talk to (=six channels) Three-person groups have to work hard to maintain cohesion (tendency to divide into subunits)

Why communicate in groups?

Groups can provide more input than do individuals = group synergy Groups provide support and commitment Groups can meet members Interpersonal needs:

Inclusion need: the need to establish identity by associating with others Control need: the need to prove ones worth and competence by making effective decisions Affection need: the need to develop close, caring relationships with others

Social loafing: occurs when members get lost in the crowd and dont fulfil their work potential often arises during additive tasks (the productivity of the group is determined by adding up the efforts of each member) Idiosyncrasy credit: a kind of symbolic currency earned through agreements (e.g. by meeting group expectations) Group dimensions:

Task dimension: dimension which is formed to solve a problem or reach a decision Productivity: the output of task dimension the expectation of groups to produce results

Maintenance/social dimension: dimension which is formed to devote some of their efforts to creating a positive group climate Group cohesiveness: output of maintenance dimension holding a group together

Hidden agenda: a personal goal of a member within a group that lies below the surface and that can get in the way of group performance Groupthink: when a group gets too confident and begins to make poor decisions Zero-history groups/ LGDs (leaderless group discussions): groups that emerge through no interference of researchers and minimum outside pressures everything that happens in this group evolves naturally Tuckmans model: 5 step model of group decision making

Group members try to identify nature of the task and relationship Group members feel freer to argue and contest for status Group members settle down + find ways to work with each other Group members focus on the task and get most work done Group members tie up loose ends and reflect on time together

Fishers Four Phase Model:

Orientation phase: group members begin the process of becoming interdependent Primary tension: tension cause by the natural uncertainty people experience before rules have been worked out

Conflict phase: group members increase in strong reactions both favourable and unfavourable. This is also the phase where individual roles in the group begin to emerge and stabilise. Secondary tension: tension caused as group members disagree over the best ways to accomplish the task and they struggle to find a suitable role in the group

Emergence phase: members who have opposed the leading solution begin to back down, replacing their disagreements with vague comments the eventual task outcome and social structure of group becomes apparent in this phase

Reinforcement phase: members bolster their decision through the expression of favourable comments and positive reinforcement.

Empathy: telling other group members that you understand their thoughts and feelings. Idea generation:

Brainstorming: a technique for overcoming the problem of rejecting potentially good ideas by evaluating them prematurely. Members are encouraged to generate as many ideas as they can, as quickly as possible.

Nominal group technique: individuals generate solution ideas on their own and then meet to clarify these ideas. After all ideas have been listed and explained, members individually rank their five favourite ideas. The results are then averaged, and the idea with the highest rank is chosen.

Role-playing: a way to involve audience members by placing them in small groups and giving them a scenario which they are asked to act out. This way, members can get in touch with their emotions and can practice new behaviours. Self-presentation:

Expression given off: making an impression on someone through posture, dress, gestures, etc. example of involuntary communication Expression given: people are well aware of the impact of their expressions strategic self-presentation job interviews, dates, etc. example of voluntary communication

Social Identity Theory: People categorise the social world in groups The interpersonal (group)context of communication has a profound influence on the individuals personal identity Founding theorist: Henri Tajfel (UK): Human beings are social animals Each individual is a member of multiple groups

We always self-categorise as a group member:

Group membership:

Ones own group: Ingroup Group that one is not part of: Outgroup(s)

Some groups are permanent (ethnicity, gender) Some are fleeting (band fan, tv programme fan, etc.) Some groups are more important than others:

Group salience/importance: depends on context

Creates social identity: group membership is a powerful factor of determining identity In-group favouritism: we maximise the differences within our own group (individuation) and minimise the differences of the groups we dont belong to (deindividuation)

Chapter 8 Characteristics of organisations:

Organisation: a system consisting of a large number of people working together in a structured way to accomplish multiple goals Interdependence: all the members within an organisation are connected to one another and share a common fate: what affects one part of the organisation affects every other part

Hierarchy: a system that is divided into orders and ranks status and power are not distributed equally Linkage to environment: organisations depend on their surroundings for resources and energy Dependence on communication:

Structurational approach: organisations believe that there is a mutual relationship between organisational structures and communication

Genres: types of communication that occur only in organisations. (business letters, meetings, interviews, etc.) each genre is governed by rules of discourse that define how it should/shouldnt be conveyed Channels of communication:

Formal channels of communication: occurs when information flows through a structured chain of command officially recognised by the organisation. Informal channels of communication: occurs when information takes a more personal and less structured path through the grapevine

Downward communication: e.g.: instructions, appraisals, announcements Serial transmission: transmission of a message in a one-way direction from one person to the next Effects of serial transmission:

Leveling: details are left out as the amount of the message is reduced Sharpening: certain high points are given special significance/elaboration Assimilation: memory of the message is affected by the senders frame of reference

Message filtering: messages change as they are passed on from person to person

Upward communication: e.g.: progress reports, reports of job-related problems, feedback about organisational policies Often neglected by organisation Gatekeeper: may affect upward communication someone who is in a position to pass on or discard information (e.g. receptionist) Ombudsman: improves upward communication listens to workers at lower levels of the organisation and passes their concerns directly to the top

Organisational rites:

Rites of Passage: celebrate new role identities (e.g. freshman orientation), and facilitates transformation into new role Rites of Degradation: strip away power/removes current employee from role, strengthens organisational boundaries and reaffirms value of role by punishing out-of-role behaviour

Rites of Enhancement: rewards organisational achievement to enhance status and value of organisation, and motivates individuals

Rites of Renewal: improve functioning of organisation, makes members believe something is being done to solve problems Rites of Conflict Reduction: reduce conflict and aggression, deflects attention away from problems to avoid conflicts Rites of Integration: creates common identity and commitment to organisation to loosen moral norms temporarily to reaffirm their moral rightness and channel aggression.

Organisational culture: consists of collectively held logics and legends about organisational life and the organisations identity. Informal structures:

Grapevine: informal channel which news or information is communicated through Network analysis: a method of mapping informal communication patterns by identifying who is connected to whom in the organisation

Stakeholders: groups that can affect or are affected by organisations. They are as much a part of the organisation as employees, and their values and needs must be taken into consideration. Coupling:

Tight coupling: subunits within an organisation that are closely connected and highly interdependent are easy to control and standardise, but a problem that affects one subunit can affect all parts

Loose coupling: when the relationship between subunits is relatively weak each subunit acts in an independent fashion, therefore an event that influences on unit may have only indirect effects on others (e.g. university faculties)

Structures in the minds of audience members:

Beliefs: opinions about what is/isnt the case differ in nature and importance

Core Beliefs: fundamental beliefs held for a long period of time Peripheral Beliefs: relatively inconsequential and less resistant beliefs about who is/isnt an authority

Attitudes: opinions that link an individual to a topic influence a person to respond to a topic in a particular way

Cognitive dimension: what an individual knows about a topic Affective dimension: what an individual feels in regard to a topic Behavioural dimension: what an individual intends to do in regard to a topic

Values: general and enduring opinions about what should/shouldnt be the case

Source characteristics that enhance Influence:

Internalization: influence based on convincing an audience to accept an argument as part of their belief system

Credibility: perception that the speaker can be believed through expertness + trustworthiness

Identification: influence based on creating a personal and positive relationship with audience member Attractiveness: perception that the speaker is likeable and is someone with whom audience members would be comfortable through familiarity, similarity, physical attractiveness + liking

Compliance: influence based on persuading audience members they have something to gain by agreeing/something to lose by disagreeing Power: Perception that the speaker controls a resource desired by the audience or has the ability to affect audience members lives directly through legitimacy, control of rewards + ability to act powerfully

Rhetorical situations:

Exigence: problem, speakers decide to speak due to the fact they feel something is wrong and hope that talking about it might help Audience: a group of people the speaker believes who can change the problem, either by altering their beliefs and attitudes or by taking direct action Constraints: factors that control and shape the nature of communication

The structure of Argument: Toulmin model:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Claim: the position or claim being argued for; the conclusion of the argument. Grounds: reasons or supporting evidence that bolster the claim. Warrant: the principle, provision or chain of reasoning that connects the grounds/reason to the claim. Backing: support, justification, reasons to back up the warrant. Rebuttal/Reservation: exceptions to the claim; description and rebuttal of counter-examples and counter-arguments. Qualification: specification of limits to claim, warrant and backing. The degree of conditionality asserted.

Authoritative argument: depends entirely on the authority of a source that are automatically trusted (e.g. doctors, ministers, etc.) Motivational argument: based on the emotional needs of the audience Substantive Argument: connects data and claim through logic and reasoning

Arguments from cause: speaker tries to establish argument why something happened, or what might happen when something occurs often (post hoc) fallacy occurs

Arguments from sign: seeks to predict one condition by pointing to another condition associated with it (e.g. smoke points to fire) Arguments from generalisation: seek to establish a general conclusion on the basis of data taken from a small sample of cases Arguments from analogy: seek to establish that two situations are alike leads to false analogy

Structuration theory: there is a constant interaction between (individual) human actions (agency) and structure (theory by Giddens)

Persuasive communication: Often used by organizations to communicate to an external audience (public communication) Used for strategic means for example, to sell products or services. Corporations try to change the audiences beliefs, attitudes and values yet values and (core) beliefs are resistant to change Corporate campaigns therefore target at attitude change changing cognitive and affective dimension

Chapter 11 Old media: traditional one-to-many forms of mediated communication (TV, radio, newspapers, books) New media: digital information and telecommunication systems (networked computing, mobile telephony) Mass communication: A form of communication through which institutional sources (the media) address large, diverse audiences whose members are physically separated from one another Contact is indirect; devices fir the transmission, storage and reception of information are inserted between sources and receiver A powerful and persuasive mode of communication In modern societies, the media are important social institutions that reflect and affect the values and behaviours of large segments of the population.

Functions of the Media:

Surveillance: the gathering and distribution of information Correlation: the analysis and evaluation of information Cultural transmission: the education and socialisation of receivers Prosocial learning: the media reinforces social ideals and passes on cultural understandings from one generation to the next Antisocial learning: the media strengthens socially destructive behaviour (violent films)

Entertainment: the presentation of escapist material that provides enjoyment and gratification

Media effects:

Powerful effects model: the idea that receivers are relatively passive; they accept media messages at face value and unconsciously allow media sources to tell the what to think

Limited effects model: the idea that audience members interpret messages according to their own pre-existing beliefs and values and use these messages in unique ways. Audiences are active processors who are quite capable of defending themselves against media influence

Magic bullet/ Hypodermic needle: the media can target unsuspecting audience members or inject them with a message. Receivers were seen as the passive victims of the all-powerful media focuses on how specific messages/genres directly affect audience

Obstinate audience: the idea that individuals are much more stubbornly resistant to media manipulation and are far from being passive victims, who are creative consumers who look for media messages according to their own needs and interpret messages in their own ways.

What media messages do to receivers:

Agenda-setting function: media gatekeepers select the issues they feel are most worthy of coverage and give those issues wide attention (e.g.: editor, producer, journalist)

Hegemonic message: media messages keep powerless groups from making their ideas known dominant ideology Critical theorists: argue that the media reflect and reproduce only those ideas, meaning and values that uphold the interests of the power elite and that they silence opposing views

Spiral of silence: people who think their ideas are popular tend to express them; those who see themselves in the minority remain silent. As a result, only one side of any given issue receives notice media also refuses to legitimate their ideas

Cultivation theory: looks at how long-term television viewing affects viewers beliefs about social reality look at slow build up of TVs influence Mainstreaming: effect of cultivation theory: television creates widely shared viewpoints that tend to support the status quo/current situation Mean world hypothesis: effect of cultivation theory: the view that the world is a much more dangerous place than it actually is (e.g. more crime on TV than in real world) Heavy viewers: those who watch a lot of TV therefore the ones that experience cultivation

The medium is the message Marshall McLuhan: he expresses the belief that the channel through which a message is transmitted is as important as the message itself, and that the channel often determines which messages will be transmitted and which will be ignored. Cool medium: television; viewers are demanded to fill in the details

What receivers do with media messages:

Selective exposure: peoples tendency to avoid certain messages and to seek out others Selective attention: we may listen to only parts of the message Selective perception: the process of assigning meaning to messages in selective ways Selective retention: remembering only a small portion of any message

Uses and gratifications: focuses on the need that motivate media consumers argues that receivers are active and goal directed; they know what they need and where to get it Polysemy: rather a message/text having only one hegemonic message, it may have multiple meanings media exposure is a process of negotiating between what lies in the text itself and what lies in the social and cultural context in which the text is experienced Characteristics of new media:

Digitization: messages are converted into computer-readable electrical signals (or bits) that can be quickly processed, efficiently stored, and cheaply transmitted

Interactivity: occurs when receivers have the opportunity to engage with senders (polls, e-mails, etc.) Wiki: a type of website that allows users to add, remove or edit and change all content very quickly and easily (Wikipedia)

Demassification: the fact that rather than being part of a single mass audience, people are now becoming members of separate, specialised audiences may be no longer exposed to information that could widen their knowledge, challenge their views or create common ground with people who think differently

Some current environments for Computer-Mediated Communication:

MUD: Multi-user Dungeon; interactive, text-based virtual reality environments Interactive video and voice: can be added to other environments, making online conversations more like face-to-face (ftf) interactions (MSN, Skype, etc.)

Convergence: the coming together of computing, telecommunications and media in a digital environment as well as the merging of Internet an traditional media companies (e.g.: TV channels have an online website) Addiction: people who are fanatic about media, in particular respect to new media (e.g.: gamer) Sexual media content:

Sex as metamorphosis: e.g. Britney before and after Sex as fantasy/fulfilment: e.g. Madonna Sex as power: power to (accomplish goals) & power over (e.g. over women)

Social desirability: creates a causal chain: users tend to copy behaviour from media or certain users are particularly interested in a specific content

Chapter 12 Culture: That part of the environment made by humans

Includes all the material objects and possessions that a social group invents or acquires and its customs and values ever changing (dynamic), yet also consistent with values and customs (static) works as a filter on the processing of information

Cultural universals: interconnected activities that are common to all people who live together in social groups (e.g. athletics, calendar, family, numbers, rituals, greetings, hairstyles, etc.) Intercultural communication: communication wherein sender and receiver come from different cultures How culture affects communication:

Effort-optimism: the belief that hard work will pay off Individualism: the belief that the most important social unit is the person, who acts in his or her own interest. Collectivism: the belief that it is right to subordinate personal goals for the good of others shared identity is more important than personal identity

Stereotypes: generalised beliefs that provide conceptual biases from which we make sense out of what goes on around us, and whether they are accurate or fit the circumstances. Prejudice: a special kind of stereotype, namely a negative social attitude held by members of one group toward members of another group, an attitude that biases perception and provides a rationale for discrimination. Ethnocentrism: the belief that ones own culture is superior too all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by ones own criteria. In-group favouritism: own group is appreciated as superior Culture shock: the anxiety that results from losing all of ones familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse usually due to emigration Cultural distance: the extent to which two cultures differ affects ease of communication Acculturation: becoming part of a new culture Global village: The world as a single community of interdependent inhabitants who are interconnected by contemporary technology, such as television and the Internet Harry Triandis & Geert Hofstede: against oppositional comparison between countries Independent self: to be self-reliant, competitive, assertive and creative Interdependent self: having obligations, obedient and reciprocal Localizing: Adapting a product to meet the language, cultural and other requirements of a specific target market locale Intercultural knowledge: knowledge/familiarity about cultures and intercultural communication Intercultural practice: actually experiencing intercultural communication

Lecture 1 Discrimination: No general answer(not meant for everyone) Construction of reality: Generally shared (in science always) Contested Concepts: Emotions are complex in rhetoric Discourse analysis: For example crying during speeches(speech analysis) Definition of communication: Communication is a process whereby people assign stimuli in order to make sense out of the world. Cognitive system: Equipped system since birth in which humans develop thinking apparatus through speak and be spoken to, interacting and non-verbal

communication. To perceive and process the message. Lev Vygotsky: Psychological theory of cognitive development

Lecture 2 Social sciences: Objective measurement Humanities: Interpretation(trough human mind) Epistemological: What provides the basis of our knowledge? Sense data: What we know is based on what we see, hear, smell, taste and feel. Idols: Distortions which occur in clear thinking; Idol of tribe, Idol of cave, Idol of market and Idol of theatre. Empirical reality: Ideas and arguments based on observation; Physical reality, to be observed(rivers). Social reality, constructed by humans(democracy). Media psychology: How mediated messages are processed. (why do viewers cry in response to fictional content on a screen?) Dialectic: Collective representations are created by groups but these are embedded in a context of culture. Culture- group dialect. Relativism: Every group its own reality Critical Theory: Frankfurter Schule; media reproduce power structure of society. Entertainment media and popular culture are dumbing people down. High Culture: Symphony orchestra elite bitches culture Popular culture/low culture: Rock band working class culture Encoding: Media content(production) Decoding: Watching, understanding, making sense out of(reception). Stuart Hall: Oppositional reading and subject position theories. Communication science: All perspectives towards communication. Media studies: UK thing, cultural studies perspective. ICA: International Communication Association. ECREA: European Communication Research and Education Association.

Lecture 3

Human Information: When focusing, information is retrieved. By voluntary attention. The information is retrieve form the memory, human storage facility. Processing(HIP): Human information processing, the process embraces more than (selective) attention. Is executed by the cognitive system, the senses, memory and language system. Required for communication to unfold. Multi-Store Model: By Atkinson & Shiffrin. The model reduces complexity, models the forward/backward information slow stepwise. (See lecture slide 16 IHC 3) Forward and backward: Environmental stimuli Sensory memory(SM) Attention Short term memory(STM) Elaborative Rehearsal Long term memory(LTM) Retrieval. From STM LTM, meaningful chunking.

Elaborative Rehearsal; continuous repetition of information. Process the information actively. Reification: Make us believe that they are tangible and real rather than fallible human constructions. The map is not the territory and The word is not the thing. Interpretation: Processing in STM implies interpretation; general term, it includes automatic kind of interpretation. SM: No interpretation: all sensory stimuli are stored (and most lost). STM: Limited capacity, magical number 7. Short duration 10-15 secs. Maintenance rehearsal(repeating). Working memory. LTM: Limitless capacity, endless duration (a life time). Information is organized. Schemata, person prototypes, personal constructs and scripts. Mnemonics: Memory aids, colors and their sequence spectrum. Lecture 4

Empiricism: Role of language: linguistic categories(words, concepts, sentences, theories etc.) represent reality. Constructivism: Our language determines the way we see and think about reality; linguistic determinism. Our language is productive, it constructs our

reality; linguistic relativity. Linguistic categories: Possession, alienation, mental illness, psychosis and neurosis(1900). Determine feelings of individual, sad melancholic and

depressed. Narcissism(1970). Mimicry: Widespread kind of non-verbal communication. Conscious(the art of mime). Automatic behavior: Non-conscious mimicry is automatic behavior; people mimic others without awareness, intent or conscious control. The chameleon effect(Lakin et al., 2003) Speech accents, rates of speech and postures in classrooms. Evolutionary explanation: The adaptive value of non-verbal communication in human evolutionary history. Humans are social animals; group

ties(bonding) are necessary for survival of the individual (and species). Others in the group communicate important survival information(predators, food). It is necessary to establish quality relations with group members, therefore mimic others behaviors. Survival (in groups) was and is dependent on non-verbal and verbal communicative capacities.

Survival of the fittest: In retrospect, the individuals who mimicked best survived. Social glue: Mimicry in order go gain social acceptance. Social survival is a pressing issue for many. Rapport: Focuses on relational meaning; it is most appropriate for interpersonal topics and feels most natural in intimate contexts. Lecture 5

Expression given off: You always make an impression on others trough posture, dress, gestures.(Goffmans term) Expression given: In some interpersonal contexts people are well aware of the impact of their expressions. Social Identity Theory: People categorize the social world in groups. Humans beings are social animals. Each individual is member of multiple groups.

Founding theorist(Henri Tajfel). Self-categorize: Ones own group, the ingroup. The outgroup(s). Group salience: Some groups are more important than others: Depends on context, Roman-catholic/protestant-In the Netherlands- In Northern Ireland. Social comparison: Social categorization between groups, goes hand in hand with. Minimize/maximize differences; the difference between ingroup

members are maximized (we are all different), individuation. The differences between outgroup members are minimized ( They are all alike), deindividuation. The difference between the ingroup and outgroup is maximized (we have nothing in common with them). Results in the overestimation of positive aspects of ones ingroup In-group favouritism.

Social identity: Group membership is a powerful determinant of identity. Social identity + personal identity. Includes all kinds of self-presentation,

expression given + expression given off. In all interpersonal context. In real life as much as online.

Scientific reduction: Role playing experiment. Stanford Prison Experience: Let the students be the guards of the prison. Moral panic: Did not know how to handle, got stressed because unfamiliar with the issues which occurred. Lecture 6

Structuration Theory: (Giddens) Constant interaction between (individual) human actions (agency) and structure.

Persuasive communication: Corporations try to change the audiences beliefs, attitudes and values. Research has shown that values and (core) beliefs are resistant to change. Corporate campaigns therefore target at attitude change. Changing cognitive dimension, by giving information about the car. Changing the affective dimension, by pairing it with something pleasant. Changing behavioral dimension, by offering a present when customers come to the showroom.

Lecture 7

Popular culture: Media transmits entertainment, provide enjoyment allow their users to escape, narcotize. About popular people, celebs. Multitasking: all entertainment media at the same time. Watching television, chatting, calling bla bla. Propaganda: Use of campaign by political leaders with political reasons. Hitler & Stalin. War of the worlds: Broadcast in the US Oct 30 1938 by H.G. Wells. Media induces panic, called police, panicked etc. Radio play, they announced it

beforehand. Addiction: Must dos everyday. New media. MSN, aimless surfing, that gamer addicted as geeky. Sexual media content: Sexual suggestiveness/innuendo? Alluring clothing? Implicit sex? Sex as metamorphosis(Britney 1, 2) Sex as fantasy

fulfillment(Madonna) Sex as power(Pink= power to; Snoop dogg= power over). Music video: Adolescents who watch more videos more liberal attitudes; more sexual experiences at younger age. But most had rather conservative

opinions & attitudes. Powerful influence of peers (boys and porn movies). Violent media content: Violent content increases aggression. Effect is stronger with men than women. (Games)

Social desirability: Disadvantage of interviews and surveys. The causal chain, do users copy behavior from media. Or the other way around; certain users particularly interested in specific content(boys girls porn). Decoding: Decode media content actively; selective processing(HIP theory) Conducting oppositional readings. Using media for individual gratification, widely shared. Lecture 8

culture.

Global village: Local multi-cultural society. Communication context (e.g., interpersonal, organizational, media are culturally diverse. The process of

communication also becomes intercultural. Dynamics and statics: Change, womens suffrage(an articulation of cultural gender roles; voting). Occurred in one, many other countries to follow. Harry Triandis/Geert Hofstede: Individualism --- Collectivism, a dimensional differentiation. Not vs. each other. Individualistic culture & Collectivistic

reality.

Independent self: Individual goals over group goals. Stress values that benefit the individual. To be self-reliant, competitive, assertive and creative. Interdependent self: Individuals are members of a group. Group goals precede individual goals. Emphasis on ingroup(family, village). Harmony as central

value. Obligation, obedience, reciprocity. Culture as a filter: On processing of information. Radically; linguistic determinism. Generally; attention, interpretation(HIP). Think differently about

In-group favoritism: Own culture is appreciated as superior. Own cultural criteria used to judge all other cultures, neglecting local contexts.

Localizing: Ads for global products. Ads for condoms and condom use. Intercultural knowledge: Knowledge about cultures and intercultural communication helps to reduce possible misunderstanding. Intercultural practice: Knowledge hooked up with actually experiencing intercultural communication, by doing it.