II. Terms

In your essays for this course it is very important to use the terminology of communication science. Therefore, take time to learn the terms and their meanings in each chapter. In the face-to-face version of this course, various interactive techniques will be used to test your knowledge of the major terms. In the online version of the class you will review the terms independently. Make sure you use the terms referred to below in your essays.

Active strategies of UR Actor-observer effect Algebraic impression Empathic concern Empathy External attributions Fundamental attribution error Gender Gestalt Halo and Horns effect Implicit personality theory Impression formation In-group Interactive strategies of UR Internal attributions Negativity effect Organizing

Out-group Passive strategies of UR Perception Personal constructs Perspective taking Polyanna effect Prototypes Punctuation Recalling Remembering Scripts Selection Salience Self-serving bias Stereotypes Stereotyping Uncertainty reduction

III. Names

It is very important to remember the names of scholars who contributed to communication theory. Your essays will sound more professional if you make reference to the people mentioned in this brochure. In the face-to-face version of this course, and in the audio lectures that accompany the online version of this course the names of these scholars will be routinely used to refer to various concepts. Study the names of communication scholars and try to remember their contribution to the science.

Asch, Solomon Berger, Charles Bruner, Jerome Calabrese, Richard DeVito, Joseph Kelly, Harold

Lippman, Walter Osgood, Charles Emerton Thorndike, Edward Titchener, Edward Bradford Von Ehrenfels, Christian

IV. Recap Questions

Use the recap questions to see if you remember the main concepts discussed in the chapter. In the face-to-face version of this course recap questions will be asked at various points as we make connection between different concepts. In the online version of this course use the recap questions to check if you remember all the concepts discussed in the chapter.

1. What is perception?

2. Why do we select certain stimuli?

3. How can we organize what we have selected?

4. How do we interpret what we have organized?

5. What are the two additional processes of perception Michael mentions?

6. What attributions do we make regarding people’s behavior?

7. Describe invalid attributions.

8. What are the three strategies to avoid uncertainty?

9. How does culture influence perception?

10. How does our gender influence perception?

11. How does our personality influence perception?

12. How do we form impressions?

13. What are the four major perception effects?

14. Describe the notion of algebraic impression.

15. What is stereotyping and how does it influence perception?

16. Define empathy and its component parts.

17. What are the five mechanisms of perception checking?

18. What do you do to practice responsible perception?

V. Self-Reflection Items

There are a total of eight self-reflection items (SRIs) in each chapter. For the online and face-to-face versions of the class alike, choose THREE items to discuss.

1. Communication Diary: Choose one of SRI to discuss privately with your teacher. Answer all the questions in the SRI. Refer to at least THREE concepts in the chapter in THREE good paragraphs, then summarize in the fourth paragraph. (20 points).

2. Communication Board Posting: Choose one of the SRIs to discuss openly with your fellow students. Follow the same rules as for CD1 but in the end ask ONE question of your fellow class-mates, a word of advice. (20 points).

3. Communication Board Comment: Write one good paragraph in response to the question posed by your classmate in pairs as assigned by the teacher (10 points).

1. Think of a recent interpersonal encounter. What attracted your attention most about your conversational partner’s communication? Was it the person’s stimulating behavior? Important information he or she presented? Or perhaps something that surprised you?

2. Recall a conflict in which you and a friend disagreed about “who started it.” How did you punctuate the encounter? How did your friend punctuate it? If you both punctuated differently, how did those differences contribute to the conflict? If you could revisit the situation, what might you say or do differently to resolve the dispute?

3. In what types of interpersonal encounters do you use passive strategies to reduce your uncertainty? Active strategies? Interactive?

Judging from your experiences, which of the three types of strategies is most effective? Why? In your view, are passive and active strategies ethical? Why or why not?

4. Consider people you view as ingroupers and those you view as outgroupers. How does your communication with each type differ? Have you ever perceived someone initially as an outgrouper, only to decide later that he or she is an ingrouper? If so, what does this suggest about the limitations of categorizing people in this way?

5. Recall an encounter in which you perceived gender differences in communication. What differences did you perceive? How did your perception shape your communication? Reconsidering the encounter, do you now believe there was an actual communication difference? If so, what factors other than gender might have caused it?

6. What personality traits of yours do you like? When you see these traits in others, how does that impact your communication toward them? How do you perceive people who possess traits you don’t like in yourself? How do these perceptions affect your relationships with others?

7. Think of someone for whom you have a negative Gestalt. How did the negativity effect shape your impression? Now call to mind personal flaws or embarrassing events from your past. If someone learned of this information and formed a negative Gestalt of you, would his or her impression be accurate?

8. Think of an instance in which information posted by someone online (photos, profiles, blogs) caused you to perceive them stereotypically. How did this affect your overall impression of him or her? Your communication with the person? What stereotypes might others form of you, based on your online postings?