The Competent Communicator © 2014 South University

2 The Competent Communicator

Scenario 1 The school fire alarm starts blaring. The teacher firmly commands the students to leave their chairs and file out of the door quietly and quickly. Which communication model best represents the given scenario? Options

• The action communication model • The interaction communication model • The transactional communication model

Correct Option: The action communication model Expert Feedback: The action communication model is unidirectional and does not include feedback. As you can see from the example, the fire alarm ringing calls for command and action. It does not call for a discussion with feedback. Scenario 2 Mary is in a hurry to get home from work but needs to stop at the grocery store to pick up milk. However, Mary is frustrated because the only checkout line open has a woman in front of her with a cart filled with groceries. Mary asks the woman in front of her if she could go first, and the woman replies that she is welcome to go ahead of her. Which communication model best represents the given scenario? Options

• The action communication model • The interaction communication model • The transactional communication model

Correct Option: The interaction communication model Expert Feedback: The interaction communication model includes feedback with message sending and receiving. This is a simpler view of communication because sent messages are not evaluated simultaneously with how the messages are received. The influence of the source, with Mary having only one item to check out, gives

Page 2 of 3 Interpersonal Communication

©2014 South University

3 The Competent Communicator

the conversation its context; but since the relationship between Mary and the other woman is impersonal, there is little need to evaluate how the messages are received. Scenario 3 Abraham and Tanya are having an argument about who most often does the household chores. Tanya retorts to Abraham that he acts like she is his mother as she is constantly picking up after him. After she says this, she feels bad since Abraham works many hours a week; so she anxiously monitors Abraham’s nonverbal responses before she speaks again. Abraham, on the other hand, knows that there is some truth to what Tanya is saying, but he is tired and stressed from his day at work. He also knows that if he speaks back harshly, they could end up fighting all night. He tries to hold back before speaking to see if Tanya is going to soften her accusation. Which communication model best represents the given scenario? Options

• The action communication model • The interaction communication model • The transactional communication model

Correct Option: The transactional communication model Expert Feedback: This is an example of the transactional communication model as each person in the discussion is simultaneously responding to the other, and they are evaluating each other’s responses. This more sophisticated model of communication effectively models communication between people who have a relationship with each other. In this systems-theory-based model, rather than being isolated in the communication process, the elements of communication (source, message, context, noise, channel, and receiver) are all interconnected; so a change in one element will affect the other elements. For example, if Tanya would have argued with Abraham during a phone call, the communication would have been altered.

Page 3 of 3 Interpersonal Communication

©2014 South University

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Influences on Perception

How we react and how we communicate depend on our perceptions. Rather than being black or white

or an absolute, perception can vary depending on the perceiver. For example, what we perceive is

hinged on how and what we focus on or what we select for our attention. In other words, a person

perceives and remembers things differently on the basis of his or her orientation: biography, personality, cultural in�uences, fears, hopes, dreams, beliefs, values, gender, age, family background,

and peer in�uences. We tend to look for things that we want to see.

Our selective perceptions and interpretations are in�uenced by several practices that have the

potential to cause miscommunication. So why do people perceive situations differently? We all select

what we want to pay attention to in order to make sense of our world. We all have selective

perceptions, selective attentions, and selective exposure (Beebe et al., 2017):

Selective perception is the tendency to see according to our own orientations.

Selective attention is the tendency to focus on one thing versus another.

Selective exposure is limiting our exposure to include some stimuli and disregard other stimuli.

Let's look at an example about how what we select colors our perception and, therefore, affects how

we communicate.

Selective Perception

Shanti is a senior in high school and is on the hunt for a college or a university. She is interested in the environment but is not very good in higher math and is afraid of a program that requires a lot of math

courses.

Shanti has selected three colleges to visit on the basis of her interests, web researches, as well as peer

and counselor's suggestions about programs focused on the environment, which are not heavily math

oriented.

The �rst college she has selected is only 50 miles from home, and therefore, she can easily go back home when she wants. This is the �rst time that Shanti has been away from her family, and she is

nervous about going away. Even though this college is not strong in environmental programs, Shanti

has still selected this college as an option. Her perception of the college, when she and her parents

visited, was focused mainly on how close the college is to home rather than on the college's academic

offerings.

Selective Attention

The second college that Shanti has selected is much further away but is the college that her best friend

has also selected. When Shanti and her parents visited the second college, Shanti focused on how

much fun it would be to go to this college with her friend. The idea of having her friend as a roommate

and not having to deal with someone that she does not know is very appealing to her. Shanti's parents

recognized Shanti's fears and made it a point to pull her attention to other aspects of the university as

well. They remarked about the old dorms, high tuition, and other aspects that Shanti didn't see.

Selective Exposure

The third college that Shanti and her parents visited is very strong in environmental programs.

However, this is a religion-based university and very strict about religious exposure in the classroom.

Even though Shanti does not belong to the religion supported by the university, she decided to visit the college anyway because of the academic programs. When Shanti and her parents arrived, they were

given a tour by a college ambassador. The ambassador was a senior and explained to Shanti about

campus life, along with the rules and restrictions. After hearing about how regulated campus life is,

Shanti had grave reservations as she had much wider interests and beliefs. Shanti's parents agreed

that going to a college is much more than academics and that she needs to have a wide variety of

experiences and exposure to different ideas and types of people.

Although the above examples of selective perception, selective attention, and selective exposure are

given as isolated phenomena, all three processes can be connected in reality. In other words, if we do

not selectively perceive or focus on a particular situation, person, idea, or attitude, then we will not

bring it to our attention. For example, selective exposure works in concert with selective perception

and selective attention. If we restrict what we are exposed to, then we are ensuring that we will not

perceive and attend to what we restrict.

Additional Materials

Interpersonal Perceptions

Situation 1

Mariel is walking in the park when she notices a man sitting on the park bench in tattered clothes with a shopping cart filled with bags nearby. Mariel assumes that the man is homeless and that he will accost her for money. In reality, the man had just come home from the market after work and was dirty from his construction job.

View a PDF transcript of Interpersonal Perception

(media/transcripts/Week1/SU_COM2006_W1_G2_L3.pdf?

_&d2lSessionVal=vlG2w4GLnr9erI10ZCLnbwrV8&ou=91172)

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Be A Competent Communicator

Now, let's look at an example of how you can use your understanding of the principles of interpersonal

communication to be a more competent communicator.

Lynda and her roommate, Sarah, usually get along quite well. While Lynda's side of the dorm room is

very neat and tidy, Sarah's side is often quite messy. Lynda is often irritated because of Sarah's habit of throwing clothes on the �oor and not cleaning up after having her food, leaving everything in a mess.

Lynda is at a loss about how to handle this situation as she does not want to upset their relationship.

Lynda's knowledge of the principles of interpersonal communication has helped her understand that

she needs to carefully strategize about how to best approach Sarah. Since communication is

irreversible, Lynda knows that it is best not to talk to Sarah when she is feeling irritated, especially

when she �rst comes into the room and sees more trash strewn about. Instead of talking about the problem in the room, Lynda decides to ask Sarah to have coffee with her. This strategy, Lynda thinks,

will help her keep Sarah's irritation in check.

Lynda also understands that communication is complicated and that dealing with Sarah's habit of being

messy may be linked to other issues. Sarah may have been reprimanded in the past by her parents

about the way she kept her room, and now that she is �nally on her own, Sarah's messiness may be

linked to a new sense of personal freedom. In light of how messages can easily become misconstrued,

Lynda knows that she needs to carefully handle the situation and be assertive without being accusing so that she does not put Sarah on the defensive. Lynda's assertive approach is to explain to Sarah how

the messiness affects her rather than to confront Sarah with accusations.

Also, Lynda understands that communication is rule governed. In other words, she is aware of the fact

that one of the important communication rules is to respect Sarah's privacy by not making her

messiness public knowledge and embarrassing her in the process. Therefore, the rule prevents Lynda

from discussing Sarah's problems with others. With this in mind, Lynda �nds a quiet corner of the coffee shop so that their talk will not be overheard. Also, since Lynda wants Sarah to feel comfortable

and know that Lynda genuinely cares for Sarah, she makes an effort to gently look into Sarah's eyes

while she is explaining about how she feels.

Finally, knowing that communication has both content and relationship helps Lynda �gure out what she is going to talk about and how she is going to talk to Sarah. In other words, Lynda understands that competent communicators know that effective communication requires you to say the correct words to convey your intended meaning (content) in the appropriate way that communicates your intent

without offending others (relationship). Strategizing the content of the message, Lynda decides that

the most irritating part of Sarah's messiness is her leaving old food and dirty dishes lying around, which

causes the room to stink and can attract critters. So Lynda decides not to tackle the whole issue in their

�rst talk but to focus on the fact that the garbage in the room needs to be cleared. Since she knows

that Sarah can be very sensitive when criticized but also has a great sense of humor, Lynda decides to

buy a garbage can with a lid for the room. Lynda decorates the can with a bunch of zany stickers and some pictures of Sarah's favorite stars.

On the day of the talk, Lynda wraps the garbage can with brightly colored paper and bows and arrives

at the coffee shop early so that she can surprise Sarah. The present lightens the tone of the

conversation and helps Lynda and Sarah start out on a positive note. Since Lynda really values Sarah as

a friend and a roommate, she is very careful to talk in a friendly tone and look into Sarah's eyes and smile. They both laughed about the zany can and start to talk about the issue.

The result of the talk is that Sarah now understands how Lynda feels and has agreed to make real

effort to clean up her side of the room. Lynda is very glad that she took the time to strategize and form

a plan on the basis of her understanding of the principles of interpersonal communication. The result

of her efforts is that now Lynda and Sarah are even closer friends and have a better understanding of

how to accommodate each other’s needs.

Additional Materials

The Competent Communicator

Scenario 1

Which communication model best represents the given scenario?

The school fire alarm starts blaring. The teacher firmly commands the students to leave their chairs and file out of the door quietly and quickly.

Select the correct option.

The action communication model

The interaction communication model

The transactional communication model

View a PDF Transcript of The Competent Communicator

(media/transcripts/Week1/SU_COM2006_W1_G1_L1.pdf?

_&d2lSessionVal=vlG2w4GLnr9erI10ZCLnbwrV8&ou=91172)



Interpersonal Perceptions Situation 1 Mariel is walking in the park when she notices a man sitting on the park bench in tattered clothes with a shopping cart filled with bags nearby. Mariel assumes that the man is homeless and that he will accost her for money. In reality, the man had just come home from the market after work and was dirty from his construction job. Situation 2 Jean and Susan have become fast friends. Jean, however, has just been jilted by her childhood friend and is anxious that Susan may eventually reject her. Susan reminds Jean of her childhood friend because they both have easygoing personalities. This causes Jean to limit her personal disclosure to Susan. Susan, not understanding Jean’s reticence, decides that Jean is not really interested in a friendship. Questions:

• What influences your interpersonal perceptions? • How would you increase your accuracy in interpersonal perception?

Expert Feedback In the first situation, using the Impression Formation Theory, Mariel could check her impressions about the man on the bench because she understands that people form impressions of others on the basis of physical appearance, behaviors, and prior experiences. Also, using the Predicted Outcome Value Theory, Mariel knows that she needs to be careful about making predictions from her perceptions when she has very little information about the other person. In the second situation, Jean’s reaction to Susan’s offer of friendship can be explained by the Implicit Personality Theory. The Implicit Personality Theory poses that we use a set of assumptions to form conclusions about someone’s personality traits. In this example, Jean was rejected by her easygoing childhood friend. This experience caused Jean to assume that Susan, who has the same easygoing temperament, could be untrustworthy. Recognizing how our past experiences influence our present perception is important.

Page 1 of 1 Interpersonal Communication

©2014 South University

Understanding the Self

Understanding yourself involves exploring many different facets of yourself, including your self-

concept, which is how you think of yourself. Who we think we are, what our level of self-esteem is, and

how we value ourselves also greatly in�uence how we communicate with others. Since most of us

don't live in isolation, how we develop and continue to grow as people is through our relationships and feedback from others.

You have many selves—your material self, your social self, and your spiritual self (Beebe et al., 2017).

Your material self is how your self-concept is affected by your material possessions, where and how

you live, and how you feel about your body. Your material self is born from social comparisons and

cultural and family expectations and is often impacted by the media.

Let's look at an example of how our different selves impact our self-concepts. Roberto is studying interpersonal communication and learning about how his self-concept in�uences the way he

communicates with others. His �rst assignment is to do some self-exploration and describe his

material self, social self, and spiritual self.

Roberto, starting with a description of his material self, decides that he identi�es himself with his new

truck, a shiny red Ford F-150. Every Saturday morning, he washes his truck so that he can go cruising

with his friends that evening. He is proud of his truck, especially when he feels others are admiring it.

He is also conscious that his new truck has helped give him a better reputation as a guy who is more successful. Roberto used to own an old, used car and was very self-conscious about people seeing him

drive this car. He shares his friends' beliefs that what you drive is important. His old, battered car made

Roberto feel like a loser. Now that he owns his new truck, Roberto believes people are admiring him

and, therefore, feels like a winner. Roberto is more con�dent now, especially when dating new girls.

The second part of Roberto's assignment is to describe his social self. He �nds this part harder than the

previous one. Since Roberto is the middle child and has four older sisters and three younger brothers, he grew up feeling that his opinions and ideas did not matter. His siblings almost always took center

stage; and at family parties, it was hard to get into the conversation. As a consequence, Roberto was

usually quiet in group situations and was often labeled as being shy by his family and relatives. On the

other hand, when Roberto was with his three best friends, he was more con�dent about sharing his

ideas and opinions, especially since his friends listened to him. The sum of Roberto's experience

impacted his estimation of his social self, directing him to develop con�dence when speaking one-on- one with friends and with close peers but restraining him from participating in group conversations,

especially with those who tend to dominate the conversation. Although Roberto unconsciously dealt

with both aspects of his social self, now that he is going to college and needs to speak up in classroom

discussions, he needs to think about how to remedy his shyness in group situations.

Finally, Roberto needs to describe his spiritual self. His �rst thought is that he needs to describe

whether or not he goes to church. As a Hispanic American, he has been going to church with his family

ever since he was a young child. However, Roberto is confused about why this will in�uence his self- concept and how he communicates. After reading Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others (Beebe et al., 2017), Roberto understands that his spiritual self is about his beliefs and values. Because

Roberto was raised Catholic and continued to practice his religion, he re�ected on how Catholicism

has affected his beliefs and values. Roberto realizes that his Catholicism is a strong core in his life.

When he was a youth, Roberto felt like religion was imposed on him. Now that he is older, Roberto

realizes that he believes in the values that he was taught as a young boy and tries to live accordingly. He strongly believes that you should treat others the same way you would like them to treat you, and

this belief has in�uenced his sense of integrity. Therefore, Roberto is conscious about how he acts and

communicates with others.

Even though at �rst Roberto was reluctant to elaborate on this assignment, he found that exploring his

ideas of who he thinks he is was a good experience. Now, he can see how the different aspects of his

material self, social self, and spiritual self have developed and how these have impacted his relationships.

SUO Discussion Rubric (80 Points) - Version 1.2 Course: COM2006-Interpersonal Communication SU01

Response No Submission 0 points

Emerging (F-D: 1- 27) 27 points

Satisfactory (C: 28- 31) 31 points

Proficient (B: 32- 35) 35 points

Exemplary (A: 36- 40) 40 points

Criterion Score

Quality of

Initial Posting

/ 40No initial posting

exists to evaluate.

The information

provided is

inaccurate, not

focused on the

assignment’s topic,

and/or does not

answer the

question(s) fully.

Response

demonstrates

incomplete

understanding of the

topic and/or

inadequate

preparation.

The information

provided is accurate,

giving a basic

understanding of the

topic(s) covered. A

basic understanding

is when you are able

to describe the

terms and concepts

covered. Despite

this basic

understanding,

initial posting may

not include

complete

development of all

aspects of the

assignment.

The information

provided is accurate,

displaying a good

understanding of the

topic(s) covered. A

good understanding

is when you are able

to explain the terms

and topics covered.

Initial posting

demonstrates

sincere reflection

and addresses most

aspects of the

assignment,

although all

concepts may not be

fully developed.

The information

provided is accurate,

providing an in-

depth, well thought-

out understanding

of the topic(s)

covered. An in-

depth understanding

provides an analysis

of the information,

synthesizing what is

learned from the

course/assigned

readings.

Participation No Submission 0 points

Emerging (F-D: 1- 13) 13 points

Satisfactory (C: 14- 16) 16 points

Proficient (B: 17- 18) 18 points

Exemplary (A: 19- 20) 20 points

Criterion ScoreParticipation No Submission 0 points

Emerging (F-D: 1- 13) 13 points

Satisfactory (C: 14- 16) 16 points

Proficient (B: 17- 18) 18 points

Exemplary (A: 19- 20) 20 points

Criterion Score

Participation in

Discussion

/ 20No responses to

other classmates

were posted in this

discussion forum.

May include one or

more of the

following:

*Comments to only

one other student's

post.

*Comments are not

substantive, such as

just one line or

saying, “Good job”

or “I agree.

*Comments are off

topic.

Comments to two or

more classmates’

initial posts but only

on one day of the

week. Comments

are substantive,

meaning they reflect

and expand on what

the other student

wrote.

Comments to two or

more classmates’

initial posts on more

than one day.

Comments are

substantive,

meaning they reflect

and expand on what

the other student

wrote.

Comments to two or

more classmates’

initial posts and to

the instructor's

comment (if

applicable) on two

or more days.

Responses

demonstrate an

analysis of peers’

comments, building

on previous posts.

Comments extend

and deepen

meaningful

conversation and

may include a

follow-up question.

Writing No Submission 0 points

Emerging (F-D: 1- 13) 13 points

Satisfaction (C: 14- 16) 16 points

Proficient (B: 17- 18) 18 points

Exemplary (A: 19- 20) 20 points

Criterion Score

Writing

Mechanics

(Spelling,

Grammar,

/ 20No postings for

which to evaluate

language and

grammar exist.

Numerous issues in

any of the following:

grammar, mechanics,

spelling, use of

Some spelling,

grammatical, and/or

structural errors are

present. Some errors

Minor errors in

grammar, mechanics,

or spelling in the

initial posting are

Minor to no errors

exist in grammar,

mechanics, or

spelling in both the

Writing No Submission 0 points

Emerging (F-D: 1- 13) 13 points

Satisfaction (C: 14- 16) 16 points

Proficient (B: 17- 18) 18 points

Exemplary (A: 19- 20) 20 points

Criterion Score

Citation Style)

and

Information

Literacy

slang, and

incomplete or

missing citations and

references. If

required for the

assignment, did not

use course, text,

and/or outside

readings (where

relevant) to support

work.

in formatting

citations and

references are

present. If required

for the assignment,

utilizes sources to

support work for

initial post but not

comments to other

students. Sources

include course/text

readings but outside

sources (when

relevant) include

non-

academic/authoritati

ve, such as Wikis

and .com resources.

present. Minor

errors in formatting

citations and

references may

exist. If required for

the assignment,

utilizes sources to

support work for

both the initial post

and some of the

comments to other

students. Sources

include course and

text readings as well

as outside sources

(when relevant) that

are academic and

authoritative (e.g.,

journal articles,

other text books,

.gov Web sites,

professional

organization Web

sites, cases, statutes,

or administrative

rules).

initial post and

comments to others.

Formatting of

citations and

references is correct.

If required for the

assignment, utilizes

sources to support

work for both the

initial post and the

comments to other

students. Sources

include course and

text readings as well

as outside sources

(when relevant) that

are academic and

authoritative (e.g.,

journal articles,

other text books,

.gov Web sites,

professional

organization Web

sites, cases, statutes,

or administrative

rules).

Total / 80

Overall Score

No Submission 0 points

minimum

There was no

submission for

this assignment.

Emerging (F to D Range) 1 point minimum

Satisfactory progress has not

been met on the competencies

for this assignment.

Satisfactory (C Range) 56 points minimum

Satisfactory progress has been

achieved on the competencies

for this assignment.

Proficient (B Range) 64 points minimum

Proficiency has been

achieved on the

competencies for this

assignment.

Exemplary (A

Range) 72 points minimum

The competencies for

this assignment have

been mastered.