1. The Self in Interpersonal Communication
In this topic we learn about what is Identity? In social psychology, Identity is defined as all the answers to the question “Who am I?” & “Who are you?”. Identity is a person’s perception of self within a particular social, geographical, cultural and political context. Moreover, in this topic we will discover 7 identity characteristic, which is :
1. Multifaceted
- Every each one of us have this multifaceted, it's like we're having many different parts or side of us. For example, a woman, a woman can be a mother, a wife, a friend, a boss, a teacher and so on.
2. Social and Personal
- Social : Identities shared with a larger group such as "We" in statement.
- Personal : Unique qualities of ourselves such as "I" in statement.
3. Salience and Strength
- Salience : The degree to which an identity is prominent or stand out to us in a given situation.
- Strength : The degree of importance of a particular identity.
4. Fluid and Stable
- Social identities take shape according to whom we are talking with and what we are talking about.
5. Avowed and Ascribed
- Avowed : The process of telling others what identity(ies) you wish to present or how you see yourself.
- Ascribed : The process of assigning in another person what you think his or her identity should be.
6. Passing and Outing
- Pass : Which means that person hide his/her identity or to be in group.
- Out : To express one true identity.
7. Performance and Expression
- In this type of characteristic, the person who are involve they are more likely into character which is out of their comfort zone or different than their actual identity, every performer will do that you can see this type of character in dancing, ritual, customs and many more.
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Other than that, in this topic we will also lean about fundamental aspect or self :
1. Self-Concept
The concept of one's overall identity is referred to as one's self-concept. Your responses to my question "Tell me who you are" would reveal information about your self-perception and self-concept. Each individual has an overall self-concept that could be summed up in a succinct list of the major traits they value. However, context also has an impact on how each individual views themselves, so our opinions of ourselves change depending on the circumstances. In some circumstances, our unique qualities—like our talents, personalities, and other defining traits—will serve as the best summary of who we are. You might describe yourself as relaxed, conventional, humorous, open-minded, or driven. You might also describe yourself as a leader or a thrill seeker. In other circumstances, our self-concept may be based on belonging to a particular group or culture. You might identify as a track team member, a Southerner, or a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, for instance.
Our interactions with others and their responses to us also shape how we view ourselves. The idea of the looking glass explains how we form our self-concept based on how we think other people perceive us and how we see ourselves reflected in their responses to us. This self-concept-building reflective process is based on what others have actually said about us, like "You're a good listener," and on what others have done, like asking for our advice. These emotions are brought on by these thoughts and contribute to our sense of self. You might think, "I'm glad people can count on me to listen to their problems," as an example.
We also shape our self-concept by evaluating ourselves against others. According to the social comparison theory, we evaluate and describe ourselves in terms of how we stack up against others. Superiority/inferiority and similarity/difference are the two dimensions on which social comparisons are based. We assess traits like attractiveness, intelligence, athletic prowess, and other qualities in terms of superiority and inferiority. For instance, you might believe that you are smarter than your brother or less athletic than your best friend, and these opinions become part of your self-concept. Although this process of comparing and evaluating isn't always bad, it can have unfavorable effects if our reference group isn't the right one. Reference groups are the social comparison groups we use, and they frequently change depending on what we are evaluating. Many people pick irrational reference groups to make social comparisons with when it comes to athletic prowess. If a man decides to start an exercise program to get in better shape, he might become discouraged by his inability to keep up with the aerobics instructor or his running partner and feel inferior, which could have a negative impact on his self-concept. People who have recently begun a fitness program and have shown progress could be used as a reference group to help people maintain a more accurate and hopefully optimistic self-concept.
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2. Self-Awareness
There are more or less obvious aspects of the self. Although some aspects of who we are are obvious to others, there are other aspects that we may try to hide or even be unaware of. The self is flexible. Although the self-concept has many facets, only the one that is active or operational at a given time. The working self-concept refers to the information that currently shapes a person's perception of themselves.
- Open Self : Information about you that you are aware of and that you share with other people.
- Blind Self : Information about you that other people are aware of, bout you don't realize about yourself.
- Hidden Self : Information about you that you are aware of, but that you keep secret from other people.
- Unknown Self : Information about you that neither you nor other people are aware of.
3, Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is defined as our assessments and judgments of our self-concept. Self-esteem is a more detailed assessment of the self, whereas self-concept is a general description of the self. I could learn more about your self-esteem if I repeated the command, "Tell me who you are," and then asked you to rate (classify as good/bad, positive/negative, desirable/undesirable) each characteristic you listed. Self-esteem has both general and specific components, just like self-concept. Generally speaking, some people are more likely to have a positive self-perception than others are, and vice versa. In more detail, our sense of self-worth varies over the course of our lives and in various situations.
Our communication and behaviors are influenced by how we view ourselves, but not all judgments—positive or negative—carry equal weight. Negative feedback on a quality that isn't very crucial to our sense of self won't probably make us feel less confident. I'm not very good at drawing, for instance. Even though I find drawing to be a beautiful art form, I don't think being able to draw well makes up a significant portion of my self-concept. My self-esteem wouldn't be significantly affected if someone gave me feedback on my drawing skills. However, I do believe that I am a good teacher, and I have spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time and energy on developing my teaching abilities and knowledge. My self-esteem would undoubtedly suffer if someone criticized my teaching expertise and/or skills. This does not imply that we cannot be judged based on something that is significant to us. Despite the fact that I place a lot of importance on teaching, I am frequently graded on it. My students evaluate me at the end of each semester, and my dean, department chair, and coworkers evaluate me at the end of each year. The majority of that feedback comes in the form of constructive criticism, which can still be challenging to hear, but when we accept it with the intention of improving ourselves, it can be helpful and even improve our sense of self and self-worth. In fact, individuals with higher self-esteem are more likely to work harder in professional settings despite receiving negative feedback, are less negatively impacted by work stress, are better able to handle conflict at work, and are better able to work independently and solve problems. Our sense of self is not solely influenced by our sense of self-worth; it is also influenced by how others perceive our competence.
4. Self-Disclosure
Self-disclosure is a communication technique whereby one person shares details about themselves with another. A person's thoughts, feelings, aspirations, goals, failures, successes, fears, and dreams, as well as their likes, dislikes, and favorites, can all be included in the information, which can be either descriptive or evaluative. According to the social penetration theory, self-disclosure has two dimensions: breadth and depth. In order to create a fully intimate relationship, both are essential. The breadth of disclosure is the variety of subjects that two people talk about. The depth of that disclosure is determined by how private or personal the information is. Due to its more approachable characteristics, breadth is easier to develop first in a relationship. It consists of the outer layers of personality and daily lives, such as occupations and preferences. More challenging to access, depth includes unpleasant memories and more peculiar traits that we might be reluctant to reveal to others. One shares the most details about who they are and covers the most ground with their spouses and loved ones. The foundation of intimacy, which cannot exist without it, is self-disclosure. Self-disclosure that is appropriate and reciprocal is expected. Self-disclosure can be evaluated by weighing the costs and benefits, which is further supported by the social exchange theory. The majority of self-disclosure happens early in the development of a relationship, but more personal disclosure happens later.
2. EMOTIONAL MESSAGES IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Have you ever laughed loudly and snorted during a movie only to discover that no one else was joining you? Have you ever felt uneasy when someone sobs in front of others or in a public setting? Emotions are obviously personal because they frequently reflect to those around us what we are internally feeling, whether or not we want it to. Emotions are also interpersonal in the sense that when another person expresses emotion, we typically have a response, which may be support if the other person is a close friend or awkwardness if they are a stranger. Any interpersonal relationship revolves around emotions, so it's crucial to understand what motivates and shapes them in order to better comprehend our own feelings as well as those of others and react to them appropriately.
Emotions are cognitively processed physiological, behavioral, and/or communicative responses to stimuli that are experienced as emotional. This definition covers a number of significant emotional dimensions. First, emotions are frequently felt internally as physiological changes like a faster heartbeat, a tightening of the stomach, or a chill. Unless we exhibit some change in behavior that alerts others to our internal state or we verbally or nonverbally communicate our internal state, these physiological reactions may not be perceptible to other people and are therefore intrapersonal. When we avoid eye contact or fidget while we are talking, it may be because we are angry with them. Other times, it may be because we are nervous. When we express our emotions, we draw attention to ourselves and give other people information that may help them decide how to respond. For instance, we are likely to recognize the need to offer support when someone we care about exhibits behaviors linked to sadness. Although some people are undoubtedly better at reading emotions than others, we all learn through socialization how to read and display emotions. With more knowledge and effort, we can all improve our communication skills, as with most other aspects of life.
Primary emotions are inborn feelings that occur quickly and for a brief period of time, usually in response to an external stimulus, and are shared by people of all cultural backgrounds. Joy, distress, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust are the main feelings. A remote tribe in New Guinea, whose members had never interacted with Westerners, was able to recognize these fundamental emotions when shown pictures of US citizens displaying the corresponding facial expressions.
Secondary emotions lack a corresponding facial expression that would identify them to anyone, and they are not as inborn as primary emotions. Secondary emotions are not reflexive because they are processed by a different area of the brain that requires higher order thinking. Love, guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, envy, and jealousy are examples of secondary emotions (Evans, 2001). These feelings take longer to manifest, last longer, and are interpersonal in nature because they are frequently felt in relation to actual or fictitious other people. You might be afraid of the dark but feel guilty for saying something hurtful to your mother, or you might feel embarrassed at the idea of giving a poor presentation in front of an audience. We can become more effective communicators by becoming more aware of how we experience and express secondary emotions because they require more processing, are more susceptible to thought influence, and can be managed. Secondary emotions are still universal in the sense that they are felt by all cultures, despite the fact that there is more cultural variation in their meaning and expression. Though many scientists believe we wouldn't exist without emotions, it's difficult to imagine what our lives would be like without them.
3. FAMILY RELATIONSHIP
A family is a self-described group of people who live or have previously lived together in a shared residence. Families are typically bound by marriage and kinship, but this is not always the case. Organization, unity, and safety of the family depend greatly on communication. Children are more successful when they have a solid communication foundation. There are two types of communication in family which is Conversation Orientation dan Conformity Orientation.
Conversation Orientation - the degree to which family members are encouraged to participate in unrestrained interaction about a wide array of topics. Families with high conversation orientation believe that open and frequent communication is essential to an enjoyable and rewarding family life. They often interact often, freely and spontaneously with many limitations placed on time spend together and topics discussed. Interpersonal communication is seen by families with low conversation orientation as unnecessary and irrelevant for a happy, successful family life. Such families don't talk much to one another and stick to talking about the weather, their daily activities, current events, and other similar topics.
Conformity Orientation - the degree to which families believe that communication should emphasize similarity or diversity in attitudes, beliefs, and values. Families who use high conformity use their interactions to highlight and enforce uniformity of thought. Because children are expected to submit to parents and other elders, who are then expected to make family decisions, such families are occasionally seen as being more "traditional." Families with low levels of conformity communicate in ways that highlight diversity in attitudes, beliefs, and values and that promote originality, independence, and independence. Children participate in family decisions, and family members see the unit as a means of personal development rather than as a group that requires members to put aside their own interests for the good of the whole.
In this topic there will be 4 types of family pattern communication such as
1. Consensual : A consensual style of family communication seeks to achieve an equilibrium between communication and conformity. The five conflict modes identified by the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) are competing, collaborating, accommodating, avoiding, and compromising. All five conflict resolution techniques are used in consensual types of relationships, and these families typically experience less conflict overall. Both conversation and conformity are at high levels, so while there may be opposition to conformity, there is also freedom to engage in frank discussion. Teenagers in consenting families frequently show resistance to restraints. However, they are less likely to have ongoing arguments with the authority figure because of the high level of conversation. Family members can freely discuss their thoughts, feelings, and activities, but parents always have the final say in crucial matters. In these families, the parents frequently take the time to explain their choices, values, and beliefs to their children. As a result, the kids learn to value conversation and frequently adopt the family's set of values.
2. Pluralistic : High levels of conversation and low levels of conformity are essential components of a pluralistic type of family communication. There is a significant amount of dialogue openness with pluralistic types. Conflict resolution techniques like collaborating and compromising result from conversation. Every family member is valued equally in this type of family, and there is no single figurehead who has the final say.
3. Protective : Protective families are geared toward conformity and do not value free speech. Children are expected to obey their parents, and parents typically do not explain their choices to their offspring. In these families, it is more common to hear a parent say, "Because I said so", Due to the children's focus on adhering to family norms, conflict is typically low in these families. However, these families lack the necessary skills to deal with conflict if it does occur. Children from these families typically don't learn to believe in their own judgment.
4. Laissez-Faire : Only laissez-faire communication, which occurs in families, has low levels of both conversation and conformity. Laissez-faire, which translates as "allow to do," emphasizes direct communication. As everyone is free to do as they please, conflicts are typically rare in these families, but the children do not learn the value of conversation. With little assistance, they might doubt their decision-making skills.