Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication

Objective 1 The Process of Interpersonal Communication

statement about interpersonal communication is NOT true?
Interpersonal communication depends heavily on the senders social
identity.
Elements in the communication process include all of the following except
personal space.
In interpersonal communication, the person who originates a message is
called the sender.
In interpersonal communication, the information that is transmitted from one
person to another is called the message.
Noise refers to any stimulus that interferes with accurately expressing or
understanding a message.
When your friend calls you at home to make plans for the weekend, the
channel of communication is sound.
When your friend silently makes faces at you during a class lecture, the
channel of communication is primarily visual.
Bills use of the word broad in conversation when referring to women
offends Betty and makes it hard for her to follow his meaning. This type of
miscommunication is called noise.
The context of interpersonal communication includes physical environment/
the nature of the participants' relationship/ the mood of the participants.
Interpreter is NOT one of the key elements of the interpersonal
communication process.
Use a catchy tune as a ring tone was NOT listed as a basic guideline for
cell phone use in public.
The absence of nonverbal cues in computer-mediated communication means
you need to be especially careful with your intended meaning/ you should
choose words carefully/ you may need to describe your feelings.
When their friends keep their profiles private/ If they are female/ If they
have more esoteric tastes in music and movies are reasons people are more
likely to keep their online profiles private.
Numerous studies have shown that good communication is most likely to be
related to Satisfaction in relationships.
Poor communication ranks high as a cause of breakups with both gay and
straight couples.

Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication

Objective 2 Nonverbal Communication
In nonverbal communication, meaning is transmitted from one person to
another through means or symbols other than words.
Nonverbal communication is frequently used to express feelings or
emotions.
Nonverbal communication is most informative when it is accompanied by
verbal messages.
It uses universally accepted meanings is NOT an example of a
general principle of nonverbal communication.
The study of people's use of interpersonal space is called proxemics.
The size of an individual's personal space is related to Social status/
Personality/ Age
The anthropologist who described interpersonal distance zones was
Edward Hall.
According to Edward Hall, people who interact at distances of 12 feet
and beyond are considered to be in the public distance zone.
According to proxemics research, the personal-space zones of men
appear to be larger than those of women.
Facial expressions are most likely to convey messages dealing with
emotions.
Display rules are norms governing the appropriate display of emotions.
We are better at sending deceptive messages with our faces than with other
body parts.
The idea that men should show less facial expression than women is an
example of display rules.
Duration of eye contact is considered the most meaningful aspect of
eye contact.
Gender patterns in eye contact are most likely to be confounded by
Status.

 Try making eye contact with hostile motorists is poor advice for
avoiding "road rage".
The study of communication through body movement is called kinesics.
Jamal is leaning back with open arms as he talks to the other members of
his study group. He is most likely feeling relaxed with his peers.
In terms of postural cues, a forward lean is most likely to indicate Positive
attitude.
Statement about interpersonal touching of friends is NOT true
Men very often touch female friends on the hips.
Interpreting touch does NOT depend on attitude.
Paralanguage includes all vocal cues other than the content of the
verbal message itself.
Content of message is NOT considered an aspect of paralanguage.
Loud vocalization is most likely to convey Anger.
Anna is speaking rapidly to Steve as she asks him out to lunch. Her
paralanguage most likely conveys nervousness in this situation.
Martin speaks slowly as he gives his answers in an oral examination for a
masters degree in psychology. His paralanguage most likely conveys
uncertainty in this situation.
Conventions for conveying emotion in email communication include use of
emoticons./ use of capitalized letters to indicate emphasis/
interpretation of capitalized letters as shouting.
As an indicator of lying, lack of eye contact is not a reliable index of
deceptive intent.
Long pauses before speaking is NOT associated with lying.
Deception on the part of another person may be signaled by giving short
answers.
Neural activity in the brain is NOT monitored by a polygraph.
Emotion detector is the most accurate description of the polygraph
machine.
Polygraph results are objective in nature is NOT a problem in
interpreting the results of a polygraph test.
Age is NOT a variable of nonverbal sensitivity.
statement about gender differences in nonverbal communication is
accurate? Women are better encoders and decoders than men.
Dwayne seemed more aware when friends were fearful and offered

assistance more often than others. It is likely that Dwayne has a high
sensitivity to decoding facial expressions.
Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication
Objective 3 Toward More Effective Communication
Select an obscure topic is likely to be LEAST effective in initiating a
conversation with a stranger.
Steps for making effective small talk include introduce yourself/
comment on the surroundings/ keep the conversation ball rolling.
The voluntary act of verbally communicating your personal information to
another person is called self-disclosure.
Self-disclosure can aid adjustment by reducing stress.
Betty has low self-esteem. Her friend urged Betty to join Facebook to
help her form connections with others. What is most likely to happen?
Betty's self-disclosure will be too high in negativity and lead to
undesired reactions.
Aaron is just getting to know Debbie. He is more likely to disclose his
parents' divorce when he was 10.
Emotional of self-disclosure is most likely to lead to feelings of intimacy
between individuals.
Once relationships are well established, self-disclosure tends to taper off.
When relationships are in distress, self-disclosure patterns decrease in
breadth and depth.
Which of the following statements about self-disclosure is NOT true?

Japanese and Chinese are less open about their status than U.S.
males.
In the beginning stages of a relationship with a person of the same sex,
women typically disclose more than men.
Research findings on gender and self-disclosure indicate that in an
other-gender relationship, self-disclosure is relatively equal for men
and for women.
Assuming a body posture with arms and legs crossed is NOT likely to
promote effective listening.
Active listening consists of both paying careful attention and mindful
processing.
To be an effective listener, you need to pay attention to nonverbal

signals.

Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication

Objective 4 Communication Problems
Anxiety caused by having to talk with others is called communication
apprehension.
Communication avoidance responses to communication apprehension is the
most common.
Attribution is NOT considered a possible response to communication
apprehension.
The root of communication apprehension is thought to be the interpretation
of ones own physiological reactions.
Researchers suggest that avoidance and withdrawal tactics are effective
strategies for coping with communication apprehension, but only in the
short term.
Cognitive restructuring is NOT considered one of the common barriers to
effective communication.
Perhaps the most basic barrier to effective communication is defensiveness.
Engaging in selective attention is an example of Motivational distortion
barriers to effective communication.
Thomas likes to talk about himself a great deal. It is often quite hard to move
the topic of conversation away from his interests, achievements, and
activities. The barrier to effective communication with Tom is his selfpreoccupation.
Eric listens intently to his girlfriend, Wanda, who has noticed that he also
tends to attack many of her ideas, rarely accepting her opinion. Eric is likely
to be ambushing her/ putting up a communication barrier/ avoiding a

Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication

Objective 5 Interpersonal Conflict
Interpersonal conflict exists whenever two or more people disagree.
Interpersonal conflict can lead to a variety of good outcomes.
Individualistic cultures tend to encourage direct confrontations as a conflict
management strategy.
Constructive confrontation may bring problems out in the open/ stop areas
of discontent in a relationship/ lead to new insights.
Avoiding styles of managing conflict is characterized by low concern for self
and others.
Lauren hates it when Eric leaves the cap off the toothpaste, but she's never
told him this, because she doesn't want to "make a scene." Besides, she
hopes he'll get better on his own. Lauren's behavior exemplifies Avoidance
styles of managing conflict.
Accommodation style of dealing with conflict does a person have low
concern for self and high concern for others.
Carmen hates it when Manuel leaves the cap off the toothpaste. She
confronted him with her feelings about it, but when he argued that it was a
trivial matter, she gave in quickly, not wanting Manuel to be angry with her.
Carmen's behavior exemplifies Accommodation styles of managing
conflict.
Competing style of managing conflict involves high concern for self and low
concern for others.
When disagreements arise over chores and other household obligations,
Jane and her two roommates hold an evening meeting to discuss fair
ways to manage the issue. These students are exhibiting a collaborative
strategy for handling conflicts.
Collaboration styles of managing conflict involves high concern for self and
others.
The most effective approach to conflict management is collaborating.
Principles to keep in mind in a conflict situation include define the conflict as
a mutual problem.

 Otis, the union president, has explained to the CEO that he is flexible and
willing to modify his position. He is using a key principle in dealing
constructively with conflict.
Youre the boss. You have a relatively minor conflict with a subordinate. An
effective way to manage this situation is to try to set the difference in
status aside.
In order to deal constructively with an interpersonal conflict, one should limit
complaints to the present situation.
Use general statements about the other person's personality is NOT
good advice for promoting constructive conflict resolution.

Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication

Application Developing an Assertive Communication Style
Assertiveness is acting in your own best interests by expressing your
thoughts and feelings directly and honestly.
Assertive people sacrifice their own rights is NOT true regarding
interpersonal communication.
Submissive communication involves giving in to others at one's own
expense and aggressive communication involves getting what one wants at
the expense of others' rights or feelings.
Adopting an aggressive attitude is NOT a step in assertiveness
communication training.
One of the ways to practice assertive communication is to role-play.
Rules for assertive scripts contain each of the following steps except
observe.
Robert wants to change his assertive script. He has decided to talk
about rewards and punishments with his partner who is helping Robert
change his behavior. Robert is focusing on the rules of consequences.