Week 8:1 Research Methods

In reviewing the different research methods in Table 13.3 I find myself drawn to the unobtrusive methods. Being able to draw conclusions about behavior by observing traces left behind by repetitive actions is interesting to me. This does not seem to be a very successful way to conduct research because remnants may be analyzed incorrectly. When it comes to deception there are many different areas that can be studied and observed. These days the topic of divorce comes up repeatedly; whether on television, in movies, on the news, or just a conversation between friends. There seems to always be deception behind the cause of the divorce. I think my research question would have to be: "How can the deception of marriage infidelity be saved by counseling?" I think that this question is best answered through ethnography. A good place to observe behaviors of married couples experiencing counseling is group therapies held by churches, hospitals, or nonprofit organizations. You could act as a participant in order to not upset or change the true responses or reactions of the group members. By using ethnography research the behaviors of counseling patients, topics of conversation, and reactions of the participants can by observed to rate if counseling helps marriages of deception.

Week 8:3 Chapter 13 Selective Processing

I found the section in Chapter 13 regarding what receivers do with media messages to be very interesting. It is true that everyone reacts differently to messages. The individual's beliefs, values, and knowledge will affect how they interpret messages. Also individuals choose what to listen to or what message we want to retain mentally. If a message is irrelevant, or contains information and details which don't matter to us, then we will pass it by without applying any attention to it. As a graphic designer it is important to me to try and understand how people perceive messages. It is unproductive to create something that will be ignored. We want to be able to get the full attention of the audience or viewer. This is a challenge for advertisers and designers, since people are known to use selective processing. Selective processing includes selective exposure, selective attention, selective perception, and selective retention. With selective exposure we choose what to listen to or expose ourselves to visually. This happens when we pick a radio station because of the music it plays or a news station because of the topics they report on. Selective attention is when we only listen to part of the message. This seems to be a big problem for me since I tend to listen to the beginning of instructions, then fade out the rest. Selective perception has to do with how an individual interprets or assigns meaning to a message; and can be unique to that individual varying greatly from someone else listening to the same message. Selective retention is when we only remember a small portion of a message. In my opinion this has a lot to do with selective attention as well, since it is hard to retain a message only half way listened to. I end up frequently getting lost since I either don't pay enough attention to directions or I only retain the part that I emphasize in my mind. I have to remind myself sometimes to not let my mind wander when someone important is speaking to me, especially my boss. Selective processing can hinder a person if they select the wrong things to listen to, view or remember. While from a designers perspective, catching someone's attention and keeping it is what makes designing challenging, interesting, and fun.

Week 8:2 Ethnographers

Research can be done by either direct observation or indirect observation. Ethnographers can choose either way to conduct research but they may be faced with certain moral complications. In order to fit in and observe without being detected an ethnographer may have to behave in a manner not acceptable to their customs. If the research being conducted in an area that is truly against the ethnographer's morals then he may choose indirect observation. Also to observe a subject without affecting their behavior by observing from a distance can be more successful than direct observation. When using direct observation in ethnographic research the ethnographer has to decide whether they are going to try and blend in or openly be known as an outsider observing the group. When trying to fit into a group and not behave like an outsider there may be situations that cause moral dilemmas. When moral questions arise the ethnographer may resolve the situation by opening up that observation is the purpose of his presence or challenging the behavior as immoral or choose to participate for research purposes. Doubts about how to behave within a group is going to challenge the success of the research. Knowing what your personal limits are and having an idea of who you are, will help provide the guidance it takes to decide the proper behaviors and ways to approach ethnographic research experiments.

Week 7:2 Medium is the Message

In Chapter 11 we get a chance to learn about communication in mass medium. I have to agree with Marshall McLuhan in his belief "the medium is the message," especially since I am a graphic designer. If your choice of medium is not proper for the message it will not be able to reach the target group. As believed by McLuhan's theory, "each medium has its own internal logic and each affects how we experience the world." (Trenholm, 307). There are so many mediums to choose from these days, it is possible to create successful messages which reach broad spans of people. However, knowing who your target group is and the purpose of the message, can influence what is the right medium in your situation. I have to disagree partially when it comes to McLuhan's belief in television as a cool medium. I don't know if the use of the term cool to describe "that viewers fill in detail" even applies properly. It is confusing in my opinion. I think that televisioin is a very powerful medium that can influence how we think, what we think about, and even teach us characteristics and behaviors. Any thing we look at, view, or read is going to create cognitive reactions. But the channels we use and the mediums that are put to use will definately affect the message and how it is received.

7:3 Chapter 8: Information Flow

In reading Chapter 8 on Organizational Communication, I found the section on information flow to be the most interesting and useful. In the work place communication is very important. Knowing who to communicate with and how to communicate with them is essential to success in an organization. Information can flow downward from superiors to other lower level employees. Messages also flow upward from low levels to upper levels of management, or even horizontally among same level departments. The way communication is used can make a difference to the productivity of the employees. In downward communication if not enough information is given an employee feels a lack of direction and can end up not doing the right thing that the boss wants. Also if higher management has a problem to address and their approach is poor or aggressive an employee may get defensive and feel attacked. For example, at my job with the changes in the economy we continue to make adjustments at work to remain successful. The owner started to become more involved in the production of our company and began questioning certain accounts. Usually, well in the past, all departments operated independently. We all do our jobs without question. My manager takes care of balancing accounts and reporting to the owners. She doesn't really understand all of the things I do on a daily basis, and I know she doesn't really care to know, as long as I'm getting the work done. When the owner began questioning certain things in my account which she couldn't explain or didn't remember what postings were for, she had to address the issues with me. However, when I was approached she was already aggrevated over the owner's review of her and she did not share the entire situation with me. I felt attacked, as if I had been doing my job wrong or something even more serious. I was basically being accused of stealing money from the company when I had always done as directed. I immediately became defensive due to her poor downward communication. Once she took the time to listen and then review my account, it was found I was not doing anything wrong and everything was good. Due to this situation it did increase how we use information flow. Instead of being so independent in the work I do, I now use more upward flow to relay progress and problems that is related to my department. Sometimes organizations get relaxed on communicating or even they can provide too much information, but the only way to be successful is to have proper communication flows in downward, upward, and even horizontally among same level departments.

Week 7:1 cyberspace friendships

I personally am not one to build a friendship solely off online interactions. I definately have friends which I maintain our friendships through online interactions, but all have originated as face to face relationships. Online relationships have the nice advantage of being anonymous. I find that in cyberspace there is the opportunity to be anything you want to be. You don't have to reveal what you look like, where you live, or what you do in real life. Which is the reason I do not have friendships which exist exclusively in cyberspace. I like knowing who I am friends with. If I am going to open up to someone or share personal information, it will be with someone I know f2f. I am nervous to be open with an online contact if I have never met them in person, because I am unsure of what their true intentions are in communicating with me. In the age of social networks it is difficult to avoid new cyberspace relationships. Fortunately, all social networks allow you to filter who is allowed to contact you or see your information. I have in the past added people who I don't know to my Myspace or Facebook accounts only to delete them after realizing I am not interested in continuing communications. I have noticed that friendships which exist exclusively in cyberspace lack the feeling of really connecting with the other person. There is something about physical contact to me that makes the friendship or relationship with another person real. I like being able to look into another person's eyes and to read their body language. Face to face relationships have that connection which could never be possible in cyberspace.

Week 6:3 Poole's Multiple-Sequence Model

In Chapter 7 we learn about group communication. In studying how groups communicate and develop experts try to map the life of groups through phase models. In my personal experience of working in groups in many different types of classes and under different circumstances, I feel that researchers Marshall Scott Poole and Jonelle Roth are right in the fact the life of groups are messier than Fisher's model. In Poole's multiple-sequence model the phases of group development are divided into task, topic, and relation tracks which all occur simultaneously. Whether a group is formed to work on a research project for a science class or an art group to work on a huge mural project, identifying the task at hand is essentially going to lead to varying development of group duties. Groups which have multiple tasks to accomplish must approach their problem solving differently than groups with only one job or duty. Groups must be capable of developing on different tracks. Multitasking occurs when working in groups. It is only natural with multiple people working together for one goal, though tasks are divided they are also being dealt with simultaneously as members of the group are interacting and relaying information and ideas.

Week6:2 Filtering Theory

Attraction to another person is usually provoked by an interest in either physical or personality traits. I am attracted to someone with a good personality, who I can hold an interesting conversation with. Looks are not of the up most importance. As the old saying goes, You can't judge a book by its cover. Many times in the past when I felt interest in someone because of the way they looked, once I met them I found there was no connection and the attraction died. In Trenholm we learn of Steve Duck's theory on an attraction filtering theory, "Duck identifies four filters: sociological or incidental, preinteraction, interaction, and cognitive cues" (158). Duck's theory does make sense in many ways. Sociological and incidental cues can certainly influence who you may build relationships. If you frequently are in the presence of another person it is only natural to interact. Depending on preinteraction cues, you can observe how someone may act and if you find interest in them interaction is the next step. I have found in the past that preinteraction cues can be misleading. Though the first impression is very important, it can also be completely sabotaged due to setting or out of control circumstances. If your interaction cues lead to comfort in the presence of the other person, continued relationships should develop. I am about to celebrate three years married. I would have never thought when I first met my husband that we would now be married. I was first associated with him through a fast food job I had in high school. I ended up dating a friend of his for over four years. When that relationship ended I still remained friends with my husband. We then just began spending more time together. Eventually taking out of town trips with other friends, then just the two of us. A friendship when I wasn't looking for love or a romantic partner, has developed into one of the best relationships due to our cognitive cues. I share many beliefs with my husband and feel comfortable in communicating how I feel even if we don't entirely agree about something. Physical attraction can develop from more than looks. When judging someone on their physical attributes there may be an initial intense attraction, but once other personality traits, beliefs or values, come more transparent your attraction can dissolve and relationships can end. I find that Duck's theory can be good in applying attraction filters you can evaluate others in becoming potential friends or romantic partners, but your intuition about another is what really matters.

Week 6:1 Rigid Role Relations

In learning about rigid role relations in Chapter 6 on Interpersonal Communications, I started to think of my own relationships and how the patterns apply. Out of a rigid complementarity, competitive symmetry, and submissive symmetry, I think the competitive symmetry would be the most difficult to change. Competition is natural in some people and it is very unlikely you will be able to adjust a personality of that sort. If someone is determined they are right, it doesn't matter what argument you may bring up they will win. Now put two of those personalities together and a competitive symmetry will exist. Sometimes these relationships result in support and motivation, but usually they end in a fight and/or hurt feelings.
I feel the pattern of rigid complementarity is the most damaging to a relationship. When one person always belittles or insults the other, resentment builds to hate or other strong emotions. To feel insignificant to a dominant partner can be very damaging the partnership. Submissive partners will eventually loose interest in trying to impress the dominant partner. It is also possible the dominant partner will get tired of pushing around the submissive partner if they aren't getting the response they want. Abusive relationships can come in verbal and physical forms, and submissive partners are usually the loser in the relationship in the long run. Extended rigid complementarity can strain relationships as partners should share the roles they play in order to feel equally important.
I think submissive symmetry could be the most damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved, since submissive individuals are usually looking for approval. They want their associates to feel comfortable around them by not being demanding or bringing conflict into the relationship. When two submissive individuals are caught in submissive symmetry self-doubt and irritation can arise. As each person tries not to be pushy, they can in turn be thinking very negative thoughts about the behavior they are trapped by. Why do I have to decide? What if I choose the wrong thing? Am I making them mad? I have been stuck in one of those arguments of where to eat with a friend. I usually take the submissive role since she is a dominant personality, but this particular time she didn't want to decide. While we finally did come to a decision, I felt our conversation and comfort level completely change from our submissive symmetry. Relationships form because partners feel comfortable around each other, as time goes on patterns can form which can be negative to the relationship or the self-esteem of the individuals involved. It is important to have open communication and equal treatment in a relationship in order for it to survive long term.

Week 4:3 Anxiety and Withdrawal

In Chapter 12 with the discussion of Intercultural Communication, the barrier created by anxiety and withdrawal is something I found interesting. Since we are creatures of habit and we develop behavior through learning accepted behaviors of our culture. When we are exposed to other cultures we can be victims of anxiety which creates barrier to how much we experience of another culture. If we are too fearful or have too much tension to allow extended social interaction in another culture, we may actually experience illness that is related to "culture shock." I know someone who recently visited Paris and Europe, after the initial excitement of new experiences, she started to deeply miss America and common luxuries we have in the states. Before you know it, she was extremely ill and ended up spending a couple of days in bed trying to regroup. The new culture experience was too much for her to completely grasp when all of our native culture was inaccessible for sometime.

Week 4:2 Rationality, Perfectibility, and Mutability

Humans are affected by their culture. It is argued by Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, and Nemi Jain that most Americans hold three basic beliefs about human nature. Humans are rational, perfectible, and influenced by social environment and culture. It is hard to say if most people are in fact rational, since decisions made through emotion can be very unrational. Road rage is a perfect example. I hope that most people do take time for rational evaluation and analysis of situations to make the best decisions. The rationality premise is especially important in our judiciary system, since an individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We have jurors determine the fate of a criminal in a court of law. Their belief is in the good of people, to use rationality.
The Perfectibility Premise is the idea humans can change, and achieve goodness even after committing sin. This premise seems to stand strong in religion. That with forgiveness, dedication, and a strong heart, any person is capable of being good. Especially when surrounded by a community of moral support and spiritual guidance. I believe the mutability premise which assumes behavior is shaped through environment, since your physical and psychological perception is impacted by your surroundings. An individual that is a student, surrounded with education and inspiration, will be a better rounded person than someone who just works a minimum wage dead end job. Without inspiration and goals your psychological and emotional circumstances may dwindle and leave you feeling down.

Week 4:1 "Creatures of our Culture"

In Chapter 12 we are exploring Intercultural communication and the impact of our culture on our communication. I do not believe I could argue with anthropologist Ruth Benedict. We are certainly "creatures of our culture," since we learn behaviors, practices, and skills as we grow up from our culture. Each culture will have its own customs which are reflected in beliefs and habits. Communication between individuals and in social settings also varies in different cultures. In order to break away from learned cultural habits, you must expose yourself to other cultures and behaviors.
If all we surround ourselves with is one culture, we will be deprived from learning about other people and other places in the world. The point in life is to not only know the familiar, but to also see as much cool stuff as possible. Now sometimes opportunities to be exposed to other places in the world are not always transparent, but every day you go outside there are other cultures all around. America is for all people. California has so many different types of cultures in one state it is impossible to not be exposed in one way or another. By learning about other cultures you can communicate better with others, and feel more confident in your behavior around someone of another culture.