Comm 1 - Final

Primary Group
Peer Groups

Formal Decision Making Process
Problem Solving/Discussion
Education/Therapy

Group produces more than the individual can

Group produces less than the individual can

As more people are added to a group, performance goes down.

Performance and group size are inversely proportional, negative correlation, negative linear relationship

individual perceived to be slacking

person perceived to be helping

comm. About the goal of the group, task at hand.

Level of task communication is proportional to productivity, positive correlation, and positive linear relationship.

comm. About the relationships in the group

comm. about the logistics of the group

--Similarity – shared properties.
--Attraction – whether they like each other or not.
--Participation – people need to contribute(quality vs. quantity)
--Group Identity – “we are a group,” “groupiness”

Level of cohesion follows a curvilinear relationship with productivity

1. Telling - what are the motivations for this task?
2. Selling - solving problems that arise
3. Participation - relational dealing w/ conflict
4. Delegation - hands off

Task complexity & productivity have an extremely unpredictable relationship.

greetings

[from book]
oirent themselves to the problem and each other
uncertainty results in primary tension (it is the tension)

between individuals

[from book:]
secondary tension - conflict or tension found int he second or conflict phase of decision-making process
members are relaxed and more likely to conflict in opposing views

group identity is formed

[from book:]
trust
assurance of best efort
compromise, concur, discuss, alternatives
pos. attitude or feeling about their group

attitudes are reinforced

[from book:]
consensus is reached
decision solidifies
sense of accomplishment
BUT, oh noes! groupthink!

• Define [and delineate] the problem
adjust focus and set limits for discussion of solutions.

• Analyze the problem
[analysis paralysis - too much analysis prevents group progress]

• Alternative Solutions
brainstorm

• Evaluate proposed solutions
[establish evaluation criteria
solutions must fulfill these criteria


• Choose the best solution.

takes charge and has a high level of intellect and expertise, make all decisions, dictates strategies and work tasks

takes input from group members and synthesizes it

complete freedom for group in decision making

theory that asserts a leader's style determines her success

See "Authoritarian," "Democratic" & Laissez-faire

roles that are directly related to the accomplishment of group goals

Initiator-contributor - proposes new ideas or approaches
Information seeker & giver - asks for information - gives evidence
Opinion seeker & giver - asks for opinions - offers beliefs or opnions
Elaborator - explains ideas
Coordinator - shows relationships among ideas presented
Orienter - summarizes what has been discussed & keeps group focused
Evaluator-critic - judges evidence & conclusions
Energizer - motivates productivity
Procedural technician - performs logistical tasks
Recorder - records

roles that help establish a group's social atmosphere

Encourager - offers praise & acceptance
Harmonizer - mediates disagreement
Compromiser - resolves conflicts by finding an acceptable solution
Gatekeeper - encourages less talkative members to participate
Expediter - tries to limit lengthy contributions
Standard Setter - sets standards
Group Observer - keeps record & evaluates
Follower - goes along with everyone, audience

roles that focus more on the individual's own interests and needs than on those of the group


Aggressor - attacks
Blocker - negative & stubborn
Recognition seeker - attention-whore
Self-confessor - uses group as an audience to report non-group-related personal feelings
Joker - jokes
Dominator - manipulates group
Help seeker - unwarranted sympathy grabber
Special-interest pleader - serves individual need, rather than group

distortion of message from subordinate to superior

Selectivity (see downward)
Condensing of information: simplified.
Standardized – messages fit a certain form
Idealized – information is made to sound better as it is communicated upwards
synthesized – messages from other parts combine

information is simplified, made concise

message fit a specific form

information is made to sound better

messages from other parts combine

distortion of message from superior to subordinate


o Selective exposure - expose yourself to some messages, not to others
o Selective attention – focus on different parts of a message
o Selective perception – the interpretations we make, “codewords,”
o Selective retention – certain things are remembered
o Selective action – certain things are acted on, others not

expose yourself to some messages, not to others

focus on different parts of a message

the interpretations we make, “codewords,”

certain things are remembered

certain things are acted on, others not

Manager – asks “how can we do this best?

• To manage – develop plans, budgets, etc.
• Comm. is to organize, control and accomplish tasks,


Leader - “Why should we do this at all?”


• To lead – must have “vision”
--Long-range goals
--Comm. is to listen inspire and cultivate

• Some are widespread org. norms
---E.g. protestant work ethic
---“casual Fridays”
---Industry jargon / office speak
---Some norms are so specific to the organization
---Org culture is sustained through
-----Stories and myths told
-----Rituals and Ceremonies
-----Social “grapevine”

(distortion)

Leveling – bits of information get cut off

Sharpening – remaining information is made more important (embellished)

Assimilation – phrasing information in terms of your mental environment, possibly adding things that weren’t there

bits of information get cut off

remaining information is made more important (embellished)

phrasing information in terms of your mental environment, possibly adding things that weren’t there

factual statements, statistics, findings, testimonials, quotations, examples, analogies, metaphors

one-sided better if:
1. Audience agrees/leans toward you already
2. not much controversy
3. audience has Low familiarity with issue

Two sided better if:
1. audience has high familiarity
2. audience disagrees
3. controversial

-Vivid messages designed to arouse good feelings
-E.g., humor, joy, love, sentimentality, hope
-Humor is really different from sentimentality but both can be effective
-Effective if can “condition” a response (pair the good feelings with argument/product)

vampire creativity

Designed to arouse unpleasant feelings
• E.g., guilty/shame

The “Fear Appeal”
• E.g., safety, personal relationships

most effective when audience sees:
o threat is serious
o threat is likely to happen to them
o specific steps to ward off threat

Helps when you tell a story, helps people remember

-Social status (e.g., “snob” appeal)
-Being normal (e.g., plain folks, anti-snob)
-Consensus (e.g., bandwagon approach)

Consensus

Appeal to higher order human needs

e.g., family, patriotism, winning the big game, etc.

--Informative speaking (e.g., formal education, training seminars, company presentations)
--Motivational speaking (e.g., sermons, self-help)
--Persuasive speaking (e.g., political speeches, TV/radio “punditry”)

(e.g., formal education, training seminars, company presentations)

(e.g., sermons, self-help)

(e.g., political speeches, TV/radio “punditry”)

Trustworthiness - How honest or unbiased the source is perceived to be
Expertise - expert status
"sleeper effect" - impact of credibility fades over time

the more similar the speaker is to the audience, the more persuasive

speaker is likable, useful in her own right

attractive sources persuade

confidence

race, sex, age, income, etc.

lifestyle, interests, needs, etc.

factual

beliefs that P is the case

opinion-related, evaluative

attitudes that P is good

Complex relationship

general attitudes less likely to predict behavior, specific ones more likely

communicative, behavioral, and cognitive processes that influence individuals to join, identify with, become integrated into, and (occasionally) exit an organization

when an organization expects its employees to modify their emotions for work

appeal to reason
appeal to emotion
appeal to authority

ban on broadcast indecency
V-chip requirement
"raising eyebrows" at media industry
fairness doctrine

...is banned.

must give equal time to both points of view.

possibility of multiple issues

o Recording & time-shifting ability
(VCR, DVR/TIVO, pod-casting)

o HDTV, DVD, online file-sharing, etc.
Increased interactivity

ability to record things and watch them later

1. need for broad appeal - appeal to the lowest common denominator
2. very little risk taking - although sometimes it can boost ratings, self censorship common
3. Repeat what works - use the same formulas

consumers
advertisers

lowest common denominator
"dumb" TV

appealing to a specific target audience

...is minimal.

Don't want consumers or advertisers to get offended.
Consumer boycotts can be effective to this end.
Industry self-censorship

But can boost ratings! michael jackson, Ellen "comes out"

hypodermic needle
magic bullet

audience is active
selective attention & exposure

TV can have powerful effects but they are very subtle

behavior learned by watching role models
imitate rewarded/unpunished behavior
short term effect
mediating factors can increase or decrease imitation
fantastical violence less likely to be imitated

The media cultivate our views about reality.
Heavy viewing more beliefs in “scary world”
Not clear evidence that TV causes this!

Media messages bring to mind thoughts/emotions that we then act upon. (e.g., TV violence can prime anger)

Short term effect

Individualistic:
autonomy, independence, don't meddle in others business unless invited

collectivistic:
needs of others
relationships
interdependence (family, work, friends)
group harmony

US (most)
Great Britain
Canada
other Western cultures

Latin American (most),
some Asian countries
West Africa
Arab countries
(other eastern cultures)

Low context cultures:
Verbal directness important – say what you mean
Only minimal attention to context

High Context cultures:
Contextual cues critical for understanding
Nonverbals with indirectness

Arab
Chinese
Japanese

Swiss-German
German
Scandinavian


US (closer to middle)

LOWER
o US
o French
o English
o Italian
o Spanish
o Greek
HIGHER

Understatement:
-Low intensity
-Typically low context, individual cultures


Hyperbole:
High intensity
Typically high context, collectivist cultures

Every culture has its distances considered normal and appropriate

Americans have further interpersonal distance
Europeans have much closer interpersonal distance

european americans:
talking: indirect gaze
(direct gaze while talking is confrontational)
listening: look into eyes

african americans:
talking: look into eyes
(indirect gaze when talking is inattentive)
listening: indirect gaze

Westerners: VERY time conscious!

Easterns: Less so...

---------------
Dinner invitation @ 7

o Scandinavians at 7
o Americans 10-15 mins later
o Latin Americans about 9ish
o Javanese wouldn’t turn up at all

Westerners: averse to silence

silence is considered incompetency or hostility


other cultures: talk after comfortable

others' good action: external internal
others' bad action: internal attribution

self's good action: internal attribution
self's bad action: external attribution

Ingroup good action: internal attribution
Ingroup bad action: external attribution

Outgroup good action: external attribution
Outgroup bad action: internal attribution

we see others' behavior and for us that confirms our steretypes about them, and we tend to see only the bad things

even if S has good contact with another culture's member S attributes 'goodness' to the individual, not the culture.

even when S has good contact S attributes 'goodness' to a certain kind of member from the culture

"well black people suck, but he's just a special kind of black person."

• Have intercultural knowledge
• Have lots of contact
• Accommodate a bit
• Speak same language

Problems:

what language?
wildly disparate knowledge differences
contact can reinforce group biases

less immediacy then face-to-face
much less nonverbal comm.

to compensate:

Creative use of keyboard/enriched text:
Typing in ALL CAPS, colors, etc.
Emoticons

-Studies show increased use of internet for social purposes.
(keeping in touch, maintaining relationships)
-No less intimacy than face-to-face (but takes longer)
-Online comm. Can even be “hyperpersonal”

“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”


say whatever you want

-Belonging… familiarity…
-Exchange of information & support (& criticism)
-Group roles emerge (e.g., “elders” (regs, regulars) contribute most)

Information-based society --> specialized knowledge/skills

-Increased need for collaboration
-The rise of the “virtual organization”
-Comm. Networks critical

"Narrowcasting” (vs. broadcasting)
-Can selectively target audiences (i.e., how massive it is varies)
-Customized marketing

technology helps more voices be heard

1. Orientation [& Primary Tension – greetings
2. Conflict [& Secondary Tension] – between individuals
3. Emergence – group identity is formed
4. Reinforcement – attitudes are reinforced.

an identity that is fragmented or lacks coherence due to the multiple identities we can have in CMC

"Who am I when I turn off all the machines?"

1. informative aspect
credibility - is the person your talking to a doctor?
prejudice - demographic information gets suppressed

2. new set of group norms
email rumors, hoaxes, and jokes
treatment of others is different online - easier to be aggressive than in face-to-face
spam

3. liberated speech
legal restrictions on speech are difficult to enforce
spoofing - misrepresenting yourself

projection of a false identity

MUD - multiuser domain (v.reality) in which participants can introduce changes into the system (D&D)

MOO - multiuser domain object-oriented
users cannot introduce changes into system

taking on a new identity for recreational purposes

inequity of access between haves and have-nots

understand (and even cut off) intergroup biases

understand social-historical, economic, political forces that shape one’s social identity

no single one is the best, it is situation specific

leadership is congenital

most scholars do NOT accept this theory

leadership behaviors can be learned

what a group needs at a time can be fulfilled by a set of behaviors any group member can contribute.

leader can change from time to time

a leadership style and theory that empowers the group members to work independently from the leader by encouraging group cohesion

role of leader is to empower

cp.: charismatic leadership

a leadership style in which extremely self-confident leaders inspire unusual dedication to *themselves* by relying upon their strong personalities and charm

note "themselves" the dedication is not to the case; leader dies, movement dies.

charismatic leaders create loyalty to themselves, whereas transformational leaders build relationships and create loyalty to the *organization*, not the leader

certain bodies of knowledge and cultural competencies needed to function effectively in society

(think about technological competency)

access to technological skills and resources

degree of psychological closeness or immediacy engendered by various media

the potential information-carrying capacity of a communication medium

"sleeper effect" - impact of credibility fades over time

tend to forget the source of information. But, if reminded of source later, credibility factor comes back!

Effective if can “condition” a response (pair the good feelings with argument/product)

Vampire Creativity - It may be a very good ad but the individual associates their judgment with the ad, rather than the product.

effective if audience sees:

1. threat is serious
2. threat is likely to happen to them
3. specific steps to ward off threat

Fantastical violence is less likely to be imitated. (learning)

It's not clear that soc. cultivation causes the "scary world" belief

soc. learning and cultivation both have short term effects

behavior that a person uses when engaged in conflict

pattern of conflict strategies an individual uses across contexts

1) low concern for self and other

2) parties tend to negatively focus on their relationships to each other

3) parties focus on their own needs and typically take a win-lose approach to conflict resolution

4) individuals are fighting for what they perceive to be their futures in the org. and become less interested in their own success and more invested in destroying those they perceive to be the enemy

1. Orientation
2. Conflict
3. Emergence
4. Reinforcement