COMM 305 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Last Lecture I. Applying Relational Dialectics to DisclosureII. Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT)III. Problems with URTIV. Uncertainty Management TheoryOutline of Current Lecture I. Uncertainty management Theory (cont.)II. Expectancy Violation TheoryCurrent Lecture- Uncertainty Management Theory (cont.)o Sources of uncertainty First source of uncertainty comes from the need to know information Life is uncertain, we can never be wholly certain.  Information can cause uncertainty when we have too much information or too little. (It is more often the case that you have too much information and that is the source of uncertainty.) Information can cause uncertainty when we have conflicting information  Self-other relationship uncertainty Can happen between conversations with others. o Appraisals and emotion Appraisals- Relevanceo We may ask is this uncertainty relevant to my goals? Do I care?- Congruencyo We ask is the uncertainty congruent (matching) or incongruent with my goals? (URT says it should be incongruent)- Coping skillso What recourses do I have to deal with the uncertainty? Is it something I can cope with? o EX: We’re trying to see if it’ll snow this weekend. If I plan to stay in, it doesn’t matter. The uncertainty of whether it’s going to snow doesn’t matter if you stay in anyways. But if you’re These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.planning on having a picnic, the weather and chance of snow is relevant and you’ll want to know what you can do about it. o Typically happens internally o How we appraise uncertainty determines how we will manage that uncertainty Emotion- The theory says uncertainty can evokes negative emotion. - Uncertainty can also be exciting. - We can also be indifferent to uncertainty, especially if we decide the uncertainty isn’t relevant to our goals. - Can be a mix of emotions too. o Danger versus opportunity appraisals, and communicative uncertainty management Danger Appraisals- involve uncertainty that are congruent to our goals (appraisals)- Relevant to our goals- Communicative Uncertainty Reduction - Tend to have more positive emotions associated with them- Ex: Dorothy’s uncertainty about her illness. Not knowing about her illness was incongruent with her goals. She wanted to know, she found out and she was happy. Opportunity Appraisals- involve uncertainty that are incongruent to our goals (appraisals)- Relevant to our goals- Typically wanting to avoiding information- Communicative maintenance or increasing of uncertainty- Tend to have more positive emotions associated with them- Ex: Rose’s uncertainty about her illness. Not knowing about her illness is congruent with her goals. She doesn’t want to know if she has HIV, so she avoids the information, which is congruent with her goals.Theories of Discourse and Interaction- Question: How do we know what things mean?- Both theories were developed to explain nonverbal communication. First to explain how we know what nonverbal communication is. As of today, the theories have been broadened to include verbal communication.- Expectancy Violation Theoryo Nonverbal behavior Verbal refers to linguistics, the words we say, then nonverbal is everything else. Types of nonverbals- Paralanguage- the nonverbal cues that accompany speecho Involves volume or loudness, speed or rate of speech, pitch or tone, intonation 9 the rising and falling of the tone)- Body motion- gestures, movements of the body, facial expressions, eye behavior (blinking, gazing), and posture- Appearance- can involve those aspects of a person’s appearance that they have no control over (skin color, gender, physique) and those we can (clothes, hair). - Use of Space (proxemics)- perception and use of space. o Think of interpersonal space, how close a person is when talkingto you.  But “how close” is too close is dependent on your culture, the intimacy with others.  And again, some situations are ok to have close proximity such as in a line, or on an elevator.o Ex: bathroom urinals (guys) Ideas to keep in mind- Nonverbal behaviors cannot be understood in isolation- When we try to read people like a book very well- Instead we see clusters of nonverbals.  Not all nonverbals are communication (ex: sitting in a chair and a man comes and sticks his fingers in your mouth. It seems weird, but not if it’s a dentist. A dentist isn’t trying to communicate anything to you by putting his fingers in your mouth.) All nonverbals are context dependent. (Ex: universal greeting for saying hello is the “eyebrow flash” it’s like the sup head nod. But some cultures that can be sexual.)o Expectancies An expectation or guess about commutation behavior Particular nonverbals  How we think nonverbals will be used in an encounter Involve preconceived notions about who the communicators are, what the relationship it, and what the context is. Come from a variety of sources (culture, past experiences) They involve a range (EX: if your looking at someone in the eye, we know that appropriate eye gaze becomes uncomfortable at a certain range and the range isaround 30 seconds, not exactly 30