Chapter 12: Dialogue as Dialectical Flux

Chapter 12: Dialogue as Dialectical Flux

The messiness of personal relationships is an intriguing diagram. The web which connects each concept creates an extremely tangled web, in which one tug triggers another reaction, and then another, and another. The connectedness, certainty, uncertainty, openness, separateness, conventionality, concealment, uniqueness, seclusion, inclusion, and revelation, all play off one another in the dialogue of a personal relationship. We sometimes can walk a fine line, when our communication triggers an unbalance of the ideas above. Whether talking about an uncertainty, or a certainty which is not wished for, each will have a different effect of the relationship, affecting satisfaction and a slew of other personal relationship aspects.

Chapter 11: Social presence theory

The social presence theory, with relation to communication, states the computer-mediated communication (CMC) deprives users of the sense that another actual person is involved in the interaction. The communication is found to be less involved, and impersonal. I find this very interesting. I believe that the CMC is dependent of the strength of the personal bond between the computers, and the origination of the bond. If the bond was formed through CMC, I can see this theory making sense, as you have little in-person communication. However, if you simply are sending a text message to a loved one, and you are familiar with their communicative styles, than I believe that communication is not affected by the social presence theory. You will see this person later, and know that your CMC does, and will have an impact upon yourself and the communicator.

reframing - chapter 13

Chapter 13 : Reframing: Changing the game by changing the rules

Reframing is an extremely powerful tool that can be used by communicators. We are often very stubborn in our thoughts and communications, and often take a “My way or the highway” attitude, that is not conducive do change. Reframing is all about taking those involved in the communication system, and showing them the negative actions of their process. I find the addiction model to be particularly interesting. The addiction model assumes that addictions are diseases to be cured rather than character disorders. However, I find that approach troublesome in that the burden is switched from person’s problem to the community’s problem. It does allow for the thought that addiction is temporary, changeable, and hopeful, however, we see most often that this is not the case. It is most often not a temporary problem, but lifelong, meaning the person who is addicted must constantly avoid triggers causing relapse.

week #4 - post #2

Uncertainty reduction theory –

The uncertainty reduction theory is made up of eight axioms, or self-evident truths, which require no additional proof. The first axiom is verbal communication; this is what starts the sharing of information. The second is nonverbal warmth; this is the assurance of understanding and welcomed communication. The third is information seeking; this is finding out the true self of the person involved in the communication. The fourth is self-disclosure; a sense of trust which builds a strong bond. The fifth is reciprocity; in which information similar to what was disclosed is expected to be returned to the original communicator. The sixth is similarity; A bond is drawn tighter with actions or preferences which are shared by both communicators. The seventh is liking; The more that is know about the other communicator, the more the person will be appreciated. The final axiom is shared networks in which communication with those surrounding the communicator leads to more familiarity and trust. I think these axioms are very true in communication. I can think back to most of more friendships, relationships, etc., and see a similar trend. The best example of such is disclosure.

Week #4 - Post #1 (Self-disclosure)

Self-disclosure is a interesting concept with relation to communication. In psychology, I learned of a concept called "painful self-disclosure" in which the elderly often reveal somewhat embarassing facts about themselves. This could include medical disabilites, or personality deficits. This often creates an akward relationship with the other communicator, as that person often has just met. The example of the onion, in which layers of personality and facts about the person, and literally what they are made of, is very true. I think back to all my communicative relationships, and I have always followed the depth and breadth of self-disclosure, including the 4 ideas brought forth by Altman and Taylor, including that peripheral items are exchanged more frequently, and sooner than private information, as the most true.

pragmatic perspective

From the pragmatic perspective, it does make sense to think of communication as patterned interaction, however there is one issue, which offers discrepant information. Communication obviously builds of itself, and the information presented by others. The pragmatic perspective is very scientific in its critical approach. This would give support for the view at which communication is considered patterned interaction, however, one major issue is that of chance. The pragmatic perspective recognizes that luck, and chance can always influence events. Similar to the issues regarding chance, communication is like a game, which inches, positions, etc., can be the difference between success and failure. And again, communication builds off itself. Communication, however, is an everlasting interaction, and a game is not.

Social Constructionism

Social constructions is a very interesting concept. What I find most intriguing with the idea of building words is the linguistic capabilities found in music and in street life. An entire vocabulary of words can be created, in this case, to disguise words from other authorities. From crimes to drugs, an entire language was created as code and slang. These words and ideas are not seen in other cultures specifically, but I am sure every underground group has created their own phrases to avoid authorities. These slangs help the street community in illegal activities, and identifying those who can possibly be posing as authorities. Thus, the success of the country may be diminished, because of the increased crime as a result.

symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a very important concept introduced in the book. It focuses on the idea that people are subjects to their environment, and thus we operate off our environment. It states that carry actions toward things that hold meaning for us, which again, the meaning is derived from our environmental and social meaning associated with the action or object. The final premise for the symbolic interactionism deals with the interpretation of the information process. It states that all the interactions are processed by the person, and knowledge is gained from every dealing the he or she undertakes. One issue with the theory is the heavy focus on qualitative data, as its base. Qualitative data is often subjective, such as respondent ratings, etc., and thus confounds may exist in the results.

Week Two post

Idea: According to Griffin, scholars who follow the objectivist position believe that theories need to be validated by testing them in a manner similar to the scientific method.

The objectivist position is very hard to take in real life application. There are few situations that can be described as “black and white,” and a source can easily be identified. Even though, the situation may look simple, it may have been the result of multiple other factors. The most important process of the scientific method is that of manipulation. One great example of this is the idea of a soul, in the debate over mind/body dualism. Descartes noted the soul to be located in the pineal gland, as it was located deep in the brain and is the only gland not duplicated. However, we are unable to manipulate to determine if the gland is truly the source. Thus an objectivist position would state the theory is not true because the lack of testing to validate the theory. However, this does not mean the soul does not exist in the pineal gland, yet the objectivist position dictates that is the position we must take.