Looking out, Looking in:

Chapter one study questions

1.Communication fulfills our:
a. physical needs by allowing us to live without health problems.
b. Identity needs by allowing us to learn who we are.
c. Social needs by letting us create important relationships needed for life.
2. Five needs that can only be satisfied by communication are:
a. Physical-“sufficient air, water, food, and rest, and the ability to reproduce
as a species”
b. Safety-“protection from threats to our well-being”
c. Social-“need to feel pleasure, affection, companionship, escape, relaxation,
and control.”
d. Self esteem- “desire to believe that we are worthwhile, valuable people.”
e. Self-actualization- “desire to develop potential to the max, to become best
person possible.”
3. Define the following terms:
a. Sender-Person creating message
b. encodes- Puts thoughts into symbols, usually words.
c. channel – the medium through which a message passes
d. receiver- the person attending to the message
e. decodes- makes sense of the message
f. environments- fields of experience that affect how people understand
others’ behavior.
The channel, sender,receiver, differentiates linear from transactional.
4. What are the three types of noise?
a.external noise- outside of speech such as smoke, loud music, and people.
b. physiological noise- involves biological factors that interfere with accurate
reception (sick).
c. Psychological noise-interferences from w/in that interfere w/understanding
message accurately.
5. Define communication:
Communication is a “transactional process”. It is when two people from
different overlapping environments create a relationship through the use of
messages of which are often affected by “external, physiological, and psychological
noise”.
6.What are the five communication misconceptions?
a)
b) “More communication is not always better”
c) Assuming saying something is the same as communicating it
d) “Successful communication is not always shared understanding”
e) “No single person or event causes another’s reaction”
f) “Communication will not solve all problems”.

7.What is the qualitative definition of communication?

a) “any interaction btwn 2 people, usually face to face. A.K.A. a Dyad.
8. What is the difference between content and relational messages?
Content dimension messages contain the pure truth in all its rawness;
bluntness or straightforwardness with out much feeling toward another person.
Relational dimension is how you feel about someone; like, comfortable.
9. What are the characteristics of competent communicators?
 a. Have a wide range of d. empathetic
behaviors. e. Self-monitering
b. able to choose most appropriate f. Commited
behavior.
c. skill at performing behaviors
10. What elements of competent communicator did Daria muse’s essay highlight?
Her essay highlighted knowing when to use certain behaviors and how to use
them among certain people. It also highlighted keeping yourself “self-monitered”.