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?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30