Family Relationships – Exam Two NotesChapter 6: Communication, Conflict, and Power in Our Relationships - Communication: an interactive process that uses symbols like words and gestures to both send andreceive messages 1. Communication is a transaction: all human behavior is a continuous exchange, and partners are simultaneously senders and receivers of messages 2. Communication is a process: it is dynamic and always changing, and culture, race, ethnicity, and sex are critical 3. Communication includes co-construction of meanings: each partner speaks a language and interprets meaning in a way acquired from his or her family of orientation4. Communication uses symbols: to construct meanings or definitions, we rely on symbols that can be verbal like words or nonverbal like gestures The Cultural Context of Communication - Race, Ethnicity and Communication o Many ethnicities use different words or phrases o Some African Americans speak a different variant of English that includes different words,syntax, acoustics and rules for subject-verb agreement o Speech patterns are associated with wages, Blacks with racially distinct speech had lower wages than those who did noto In many Latin American, Native American and Asian cultures it is viewed as disrespectful to make eye contact with adults while many Americans see eye contact as a way to show attentiveness - Social Class and Communicationo Upper classes will use more “proper” grammar than lower classes; working class speak less Standard American English and use words such as “like” and “but” frequently and lesspronouns o Talk differently with friends than with a person in a position of power; most of us are able to transition in and out of using SAE Cultural Differences - Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: the concept that languages shape our culture, and at the same time, our culture shapes our language o Ex: Native Alaskans have many words for “snow” as it is a large part of their culture, thosein southern Florida however do not interact with snow for the most part and therefore they do not feel the need to describe it in the same detail o Ex: Our generation uses words such as “texting” or even “cell phone” in our everyday life and language, these words were not used in the same frequency - Individual vs. Collectivist Cultures o Individual cultures emphasize personal achievement; people are responsible for themselves Ex: United States, Australiao Collectivist focus on benefitting the group Ex: China, Pakistan - High- vs. Low-context Cultures o High-context focuses on nonverbal indirect communication; are also collectivists; people may want to get to know one another well before engaging in any transactions Ex: Latin American, Japan o Low- communication is direct and explained explicitly Ex: United States, Germany - Masculine vs. Feminine Cultures o Stereotypical views toward masculine or feminineo Masculine values achievement, assertiveness and material success Ex: Japan, Austria, Mexicoo Feminine is traditionally more caring for others, emphasize modesty and overall quality of life Ex: Sweden, Norway - Centralized vs. Decentralized Power o Centralized: just a few people have power; a great distance between those who have powerand the masses who do not Ex: India, Philippines, Brazil o Decentralized: power is distributed among a large amount of people; power is more evenly distributed and average people have a chance to participate Ex: Denmark, New Zealand - High vs. Low Ambiguity o Cultures define clearly what is acceptable while others have more ambiguityo High- people are generally comfortable with unknown situations Ex: Hong Kong, Swedeno Low- members experience anxiety about the future; clear cut rules for behavior and communication Ex: Greece, Portugal - Short term vs. Long Term Orientation o Long term emphasizes the future and defers gratification; hard work will pay off Ex: Asian cultures o Short term- I want it now; spending rather than savings, emphasis on social status Ex: Nigeria, Pakistan, United StatesCommunication - Listening: a key concept in communication in any language - Listening is the process of giving thoughtful attention to what you hear- A good listener focuses on what the person is saying and is not distracted by thinking of their own response- Active listening: occurs when you are extremely attentive, with good eye contact and body language, and encouraging the other person to continue taking; involves asking good questions, listening nonjudgmentally, emphasizing and paraphrasing - Verbal communication: the spoken exchange of thoughts, feelings or other messages; includes the content of the words themselves as well as the tone and expression used - Barriers to understanding verbal communication:o Bypassing: when one word has more than one meaning Ex: when you say you “love” something or someone o Lack of precision: mistake one word or phrase for another o Overgeneralizing: tendency to make sweeping generalizations Ex: “You always do something” o Static evaluation: continued statements that do not allow for change Ex: “You have always been the wild one” o Polarization: speak in extremes or see the world in black and white o Biased language: using words that reflect biases about race, sex, religion ect. - Five stages of listening: 1. Receive: hearing, attending 2. Understanding: learning, deciphering 3. Remembering: recalling, retaining 4. Evaluating: judging, criticizing 5. Responding: answering, giving feedback - Nonverbal communication: ways to communicate without words; used to convey attitudes and express emotions although we may not be conscious of this o Hand gestures mean different things in different cultures o Even amount of space between the people communicating that is deemed comfortable changes in respect to context and culture - Written electronic communication o Informality is the new norm- less concerned about grammar and punctuation o Our writing influences our speech- we use abbreviations in speech patterns and have new words like “cookie” or “spam”o We have volume control over our messages- we decide when, where, and even if we will receive messages o We have more relationships with less depth- we communicate more but only briefly and know less about each person o We can live in the moment- we exchange information as it happens - Self-disclosure: telling your partner something private
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