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Universals of Interpersonal

This chapter introduces key concepts of interpersonal communication. It defines interpersonal communication as occurring between two or more connected individuals, and discusses its essential elements: source-receiver, encoding-decoding, competence, messages, channels, noise, and context. The chapter also outlines several axioms or principles of interpersonal communication, including that it is a transactional process, ambiguous, can be symmetrical or complementary, refers to both content and relationships, occurs through a series of punctuated events, and is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable.

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Nurul Shafalina
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86 views2 pages

Universals of Interpersonal

This chapter introduces key concepts of interpersonal communication. It defines interpersonal communication as occurring between two or more connected individuals, and discusses its essential elements: source-receiver, encoding-decoding, competence, messages, channels, noise, and context. The chapter also outlines several axioms or principles of interpersonal communication, including that it is a transactional process, ambiguous, can be symmetrical or complementary, refers to both content and relationships, occurs through a series of punctuated events, and is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable.

Uploaded by

Nurul Shafalina
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Universals of Interpersonal...

Reviewing
This chapter introduced interpersonal communication, its elements, and some of its axioms or basic
principles.

Nature of Interpersonal Communication


What is interpersonal communication? At what point does communication become interpersonal?

 Interpersonal communication is communication between two or more connected individuals that


involves dyadic primacy (the two-person unit is of central importance), dyadic coalitions (two-
person groups form even in larger groups), and dyadic consciousness (the two persons think of
themselves as a pair).
 Interpersonal communication can take place and interpersonal relationships can develop from
face-to-face interactions as well as those you have on the Internet.
 Interpersonal communication serves a variety of purposes. It enables you to learn, relate,
influence, play, and help.

Elements of Interpersonal Communication


What are the essential elements of interpersonal communication?

 Source-receiver is the person who sends and receives interpersonal messages simultaneously.
 Encoding-decoding refers to the act of putting meaning into verbal and nonverbal messages and
deriving meaning from the messages you receive from others.
 Competence is the knowledge of and ability to use effectively your own communication system.
 Messages are the signals that serve as stimuli for a receiver; metamessages are messages that
refer to other messages.
o Feedback messages are messages that are sent back by the receiver to the source in
response to other messages.
o Feedforward messages are messages that preface other messages and ask that the
listener approach future messages in a certain way.
o Messages can quickly overload the channels, making meaningful interaction impossible.
 Channels are the media through which messages pass and which act as a bridge between
source and receiver, for example, the vocal-auditory channel used in speaking or the cutaneous-
tactile channel used in touch.
 Noise is the inevitable physical, physiological, psychological, and semantic interference that
distorts a message.
 Context is the physical, social-psychological, temporal, and cultural environment in which
communication takes place.
 Ethics is the moral dimension of communication, the study of what makes behavior moral or good
as opposed to immoral and bad.

Axioms of Interpersonal Communication


What general principles help explain what interpersonal communication is and how it works?

 Interpersonal communication is grounded in theory and research.


o The theories of interpersonal communication are the organized generalizations about
interpersonal communication and the evidence bearing on them.
o Through theory and research you learn how interpersonal communication works and from
this, you can derive principles for achieving more effective interpersonal interaction.
 Interpersonal communication is a transactional process.
o Interpersonal communication is a process, an ongoing event, in which the elements are
interdependent; communication is constantly occurring and changing.
o Don't expect clear-cut beginnings or endings or sameness from one time to another.
 Interpersonal communication is ambiguous.
o All messages are potentially ambiguous; different people will derive different meanings
from the "same" message.
o There is ambiguity in all relationships.
 Interpersonal relationships may be symmetrical or complementary.
o Interpersonal interactions may stimulate similar or different behavior patterns, and
relationships may be described as basically symmetrical or complementary.
o Develop an awareness of symmetrical and complementary relationships. Avoid clinging
rigidly to behavioral patterns that are no longer useful and mirroring another's destructive
behaviors.
 Interpersonal communication refers to content and relationship.
o All communications refer both to content and to the relationships between the
participants.
o Be aware of and respond to relationship messages as well as content messages.
 Interpersonal communication is a series of punctuated events.
o Everyone separates communication sequences into stimuli and responses on the basis
of his or her own perspective.
o View punctuation as arbitrary, and adopt the other's point of view to increase empathy
and understanding.
 Interpersonal communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable.
o When in an interactional situation, you cannot not communicate; you cannot
uncommunicate; you cannot repeat exactly a specific message.
o Seek to control as many aspects of your behavior as possible. In listening, seek out
nonobvious messages. Beware of messages you may later wish to take back, for
example, conflict and commitment messages.

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