In the late 70’s, interpersonal communication has become a significant field of study. Research in interpersonal communication has exploded towards the current state the scholarship and research is today. One of such theories is the social penetration theory developed by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. Social penetration theory entails when individual’s disclose information about themselves and the recipient of the information can either act in kind in disclosing information or not. Increasing disclosure of information increases intimacy in the relationship (Eichhorn et al., 2008; Guerrero et al., 2011; Knapp & Daly, 2002; Littlejohn & Foss, 2008). By getting to know a person, one is penetrating through the many layers of information based on breadth, the kind of information, and depth, the details of the information (Eichhorn et al., 2008; Guerrero et al., 2011; Knapp & Daly, 2002; Littlejohn & Foss, 2008). Altman and Taylor’s theory was based on earlier research from the socio-psychological tradition, demonstrating how theories are developed and evolve into a new area of research.
Another theory born from the 1970’s was known as the uncertainty reduction theory developed by Charles Berger. Uncertainty reduction theory involves how individuals observe their social environment to know more about themselves and others whom may be around. The theory provides a framework of how we as people gather knowledge about others. Individuals have a hard time dealing with the anxiety of uncertainty, propelling to gather information in order to bring down the level of anxiety where it can be tolerated (Eichhorn et al., 2008; Guerrero et al., 2011; Knapp & Daly, 2002; Littlejohn & Foss, 2008). Primarily, uncertainty reduction theory loo...
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General Motors became a “centralized organization, so decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers, and little authority is delegated to lower levels” (Ferrell et al., 2015, p. 199). Centralized organizations have little upward communication and top-level manager may not be aware of problems and unethical activities. According to Ferrell et al., (2015), it has been noted that “centralized organization may exert influence on their employees because they have a central core of policies and codes of ethical conduct” (p. 201). Conversely, to survive at GM employees praised the CEO intelligence and carried out their orders by keeping a low profile, and never made waves. GM rewarded employees who followed the old traditional ways and those that challenged their thinking lost promotion opportunities or their jobs. However, General Motors experienced conflict between corporate management responsibility and social responsibility. Consequently, General Motors “attempted to implement a new mentality upon its management in a short period of time” (Goussak, Webber, & Ser, 2012, p. 49) by changing the company’s environment, but
Interpersonal communication is communication that occurs between two people within the context of their relationship and as that evolves, helps them to define their relationship (p.22). With interpersonal communication as a backbone for meeting our daily needs, whether we communicate verbally or non-verbally when we are in the presences of others then communication is taking place. The elements of interpersonal communication are broken down into the communicators, the message, noise, feedback, context, and channel (p.9). The models such as interaction and transactional show that interpersonal communication works as a two-way street between the sender and receiver. When both the sender and receiver are receiving messages and feedback that defines a relationship where both needs are being met. Floyd discusses that interpersonal communication many aspects of our lives, from our physical needs and other every day needs to our experiences with relationships, spirituality, and identity (p.4). When we overcome the challenges with communication we can meet our needs and build relationships. To meet our needs, we must be willing to
Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor’s Social Penetration Theory provides for a deeper analysis on how relational closeness develops. A multi-layered onion model is used to depict the personality structure of an individual. Each layer constitutes perspectives and beliefs about oneself, other individuals, and the world (Griffin 114). Self-disclosure, the process by which we “peel back the layers,” is a gradual process that is motivated by what we perceive as the outcome of an interaction. The depth, level of intimacy, and breadth, the extent of self-disclosed areas, are essential to forming an intimate relationship. Communication privacy management, explaining the ways individuals manage the tension between privacy and disclosure, contributes to the overall outcome of relational closeness. The Social Penetration process can be applied to the concept of ‘work spouses’ to explain the high level of intimacy one would deem equivalent to a married spouse.
example: when you talk to someone that is hard of hearing and you ask them to do
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It is very clear to me that we live in a very dynamic world that changes constantly. The rate at which we communicate what is essential at the moment seems to progress and speed up as technology gets a progressive upgrade. In reality we are what we are thanks to technology, and because of this technology communication seems to evolve with our own evolution as human beings. I start of with technology because by reading the chapter I really fell in love with what the true concept of interpersonal communication is and how its versatility is adjustable to the modern day. It is funny how we involuntarily participate on a daily basis in this interpersonal interactions with one another and make it extremely effective again to the point that it is subconsciously done. There several aspects of my life that evolve this natural human instinct and I feel it relates the most to technology.
This theory has been subject to many articles and studies in the communication and social departments. Indeed, studying this theory can help us understanding human relations in interpersonal communication. Each of us has been one day confronted to uncertainty, whereas in initial encounters, or moving to a new a new place, or beginning a new work.
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The Social Penetration Theory (SPT) by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor (1973) provides a framework for describing the development of interpersonal relationships between individuals. During the development, SPT explains the way of two individuals communicate and how the relationship evolve from superficial to intimate and vice versa. Onion analogy is commonly used in explaining SPT in depth that people personalities are much like onions, made up of many layers. The theory of social penetration works when people gradually peel off one layer of their personality at a time until the core of the personality is reached. During the interpersonal development along two related dimensions which are breadth (number of topics used to discuss) and depth
“… the communication choices we make determine the personal, interpersonal, and relationship outcomes that follow.” (McCornack, S., 2016) Non-verbal communications happen to us daily with everything that we do. From the hand gestures that we make when talking to others, or even the way that we walk. We show different types of body language based off the environment that we put ourselves into. We can show completely different non-verbal communications in the way that we greet someone that we know, or with someone that we have never met before. This is like wise with the way that we say goodbye to that person. A good example of this would be the lobby of a hockey rink on a busy Monday night. It’s a good location for observing human interactions with greetings and goodbyes, because it’s the place where everyone must walk through to get to the ice arena. It’s also where parents like to wait for the children to get dressed in the locker rooms. Being in the “personal” or “social” (McCornack, S., 2016) space would not be necessary to observe clearly, their
“By using the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, originated by C.R.Berger and Calabrese in 1975, it claims that people have a need to reduce uncertainty about others by gaining information about them. Information gained can then b...
Interpersonal communication is one of the significant skills while communicating with other individuals. It normally covers an extensive area and includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. Body language and facial expression may affect the accurateness of the message transmission directly. Interpersonal communication skills normally ensure that the message is sent and received correctly without any alteration thus improving the communication efficiency. Learning diverse aspects of interpersonal communication has greatly aided me in better understanding of what it consists. I am capable of applying the knowledge gained from this course to my personal experiences. This paper reflects on my personal experience in learning interpersonal communication.
I would like to congratulate the both of you on your recent engagement. I am very excited that I was chosen to be a part of your special occasion. My husband and I have been married for 9 years and I can assure you that I am the best person for your situation being that I just finished taking a course on interpersonal communication. Communication is very important in any type of relationship. Marriage is built on having effective communication with your partner. This letter will explain the strategies for managing interpersonal conflicts, and how emotions and nonverbal communication can affect a relationship. I am excited to share with you some of the things I have learned. Communication while within a
Pragmatics, the language of conversation, is a large component of language that unfortunately, many individuals have difficulties with. Beginning at a young age, teachers and other adults can generally sense a problem with a child’s socialization s...
Pragmatics focuses on language use within a given social environment, analysing how people interpret the various meanings language conveys. Yet, miscommunication arises due to situational contexts and thus, pragmatists “focus on what is not explicitly stated”, instead emphasising “what is communicated by the manner and style of utterance” (Finch, 2000). Consider a sign saying “Garage sale.” Naturally, without further information, we understand that there is a sale within an individual’s garage, rather than actual garages being sold. The example highlights how pragmatics furthers the understanding of an interpretation that is found past the words. This deep-seated meaning is transparent not by the reason of the semantics of the words themselves, but due to the contextual knowledge that is widely known. Ultimately pragmatics is the study of the ambiguity of language, as it examines the multiple meanings each sentence may have, which may lead to confusion, conflict and ambiguity. Therefore a sound understanding of pragmatics, may lead to a reduction in conflicts betw...