Communication Relationships Final Exam Study Guide CHAPTER 5 Abstract Language words with general meanings that refer to broad categories of object events or behavior words stand for objects people and ideas Concrete Language words that refer to specific events and behaviors or tangible objects that are available to the senses Concrete language people pay more attention more expert trustworthy seen as less biased Arbitrary there is no inherent reason for using particular word to represent a particular object or idea there is no fixed connection between words and what they represent which means people can interpret different meanings for the same word Example of visualizing a dog Spair Whorf Hypothesis the assumption that the way people think depends on the structure of their language if there is no word in your language to represent some object or idea then you would not be able to understand or comprehend that idea ex Indonesian word jayus joke so poor and unfunny you have to laugh since there is no American equivalent to this word we don t understand this situation Linguistic Relativity assumption that different languages reflect and create cultural differences in conceptions of reality ex Chinese symbols perceived more similarities between objects from the same category evaluated them within a category in the same way Totalizing resolving or neglecting details nuances or complexity ex Trying to describe a dream some aspects are easier to put into words parts that defy language will recede from memory while parts you can put in words become solid Reification reacting to words as though they are an accurate and complete representation of reality we respond to labels as though they are themselves real ex Interviews with women coping with infertility doctor told her she was unfertile and immediately began discussing options on how to treat it Harness the Power of language Use concrete language to be more expert trustworthy and unbiased bring thongs for the public shower he really means flip flops Ask for clarification if a word is ambiguous use words that are precise and unambiguous in order ex Professor tells students to Look beyond Labels entire truth they just summarize a part of it people are more complex then labels don t overreact to them labels don t represent the Rules of language Syntactic Rules guidelines for structuring words and phrases within a message words have different meanings depending on where they are placed in the sentence Denotative Meaning Connotative Meaning literal public or conventional definition for the world ex Cancer category of disease word ex Know someone that died from cancer that word now has a special meaning and evokes strong feelings implicit emotional or evaluative tone of a Semantic Rules govern the way you use denotative and connotative meanings ex Confusing to say reading bikes instead of reading books or riding bikes guidelines for using words in phrases based on meaning Speech Acts actions that are performed using language when we use words to express a compliment ask a question or make a request we are acting upon our environment Pragmatic Rules guidelines for performing actions using language helps us figure out which speech acts can be performed in specific circumstances ex Not anyone can inaugurate the president must be the supreme court help us identify messages that are appropriate or inappropriate in a particular situation ex Before you ask for help from someone you need to consider your relationship with that person help interpret the meaning of a message and figure out what speech acts people are performing help us eliminate some of the possible meanings of messages to improve our ability to figure out what people really mean Making Conversation Cooperative Principle assumption that people who are talking to each other are working together to advance the conversation Grice theorized that there are basic rules called maxims that we assume Maxims people are following as they cooperate in a conversation assumptions that you can rely on dictate rules for good behavior in conversations identify Maxim of quantity conversational rule that communicators should provide sufficient information to advance the conversation ex I m back lets you assume your friend is giving you all the information he or she thinks you need Maxim of quality conversational rule that communicators should make truthful contributions to conversation we can understand far fetched utterances because we can start with the expectation that the speaker means to convey something truthful ex I haven t slept for 10 days obviously they haven t been awake for 240 hours but its not hard to find a true interpretation that makes sense helps us detect when someone isn t being truthful Maxim of Relevance conversational rule that communicators should make contributions to conversation that are pertinent to the topic Maxim of Manner conversational rule that communicators should strike to be clear organized and to the point avoid being vague wordy or disorganized ex don t jump around in sequence of events like giving directions Reducing Miscommunication Diagnose topic shifts Attend to connotative meanings different words evoke positive or negative feelings and some words evoke stronger emotions than others choose words that create the reaction you seek conversation try and find out why your partner responded in that way if it was blatant topic shift your partner knows you noticed if not you give your partner a chance to clarify Set the stage for conversation conversations ask questions to find out what areas you need to elaborate on rather then being confused with a topic change in a set the stage in order to avoid disorderly Factors that affect language use Gender Girls are more likely to express agreement acknowledge what another person has said soften their speech to avoid asserting dominance Boys tend to be more coercive force threat controlling demanding and confrontational than girls Women make more hesitant or qualified claims use hedges qualifiers or tag questions use more emotional terms and passive verb forms describe feelings longer more detailed less concrete verb forms Men are more factual and to the point short declarative judgmental sentences depersonalize conversations more often claim disagreement Power and Intimacy Politeness theory perspective on language use that highlights how relationship qualities affect communication how we perform speech acts that might