Are there models to explain modern communication through technology?
Mediated Communication work(CMC) (APA-Psynet: Social psychological
aspects of computer-mediated communication) Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) is a generic term now commonly used for a variety of
systems that enable people to communicate with other people by means of
computers and networks. Well-known examples of such systems include
computer conferencing, electronic mail, discussion lists, and bulletin
boards.\cite{mason}
Why communication costs misunderstanding? When does
communication break
down?\cite{breakdown}
The characteristics of miscommunication often draws from stereotyping,
primacy, recency, perceptual sets, egocentrism, positivity, and
negativity are all powerful influences on communications. These can lead
to errors in perception. The more we are aware of these types of errors,
the more equipped we are to work around them in our communications.
Other factors included but not limited to: historical reasons, conflict
of interest, distractions of communication, Perceptual and Language
Differences, Emotion states, Information Overload, Time Pressures,
global world, culture precondition.
Stereotyping: Stereotypes are generalizations about
groups that are applied to the individuals who are members of that
group. Stereotypes are not inherently ”bad” – rather, they are
classification systems, and they can be very useful in encountering new
input. Where we have to be careful with stereotypes is in
overgeneralizing, because individuals don’t always possess all of the
characteristics of their perceived group memberships. The problem with
stereotypes comes when we treat individuals as extensions of the groups
to which they belong, and assign the group’s characteristics to the
individual, without giving the individual a chance to truly be an
individual, separate from the group’s characteristics.
Primacy and recency effects: First impressions are known
as the primacy effect . First impressions are important because
they set the tone for future interactions. Recency effects are
final impressions. These matter, because this is how people tend to
remember us. Both the first impressions and last impressions tend to be
more important than any impressions people form in between.
Perceptual set is the idea that we perceive only what we want
or expect to perceive. This limits our ability to accurately perceive
what is actually there. An example of this is the preconception we form
when we see a baby wrapped in blue. It then becomes difficult for us to
imagine that this child could be a girl. People tend to see what they
are used to seeing.
Egocentrism: The idea of egocentrism means the
inability to take another’s perspective. As you might imagine, this
interferes with our ability to accurately perceive others. While this is
common in children, most of us outgrow this – but not all. In
egocentrism, we assume that others should react to situations the way we
would.
Positivity and negativity biases: Both positivity and
negativity biases affect our ability to accurately perceive the
communications of others. Positivity bias means a tendency to
focus heavily on another’s positive attributes when forming a perception
of that person. A negativity bias means the reverse: a tendency
to focus heavily on another’s negative attributes when forming a
perception of that person. In a negativity bias, even one piece of
negative information can adversely affect your perception of that
person. These types of biases are particularly influential in the
communications of long-term relationships, such as marriage. Satisfied
couples tend to emphasize the positive attributes of their relationship,
while dissatisfied couples tend to emphasize the negative.
Attribution: In addition to noticing others’ behaviors,
we want to figure out the causes of these behaviors. Why did she behave
like that at the party yesterday? We want to know. In answering the
”why” question, we offer explanations for the behaviors we observe.
These explanations are known as attributions . Whatever we
attribute someone’s behavior to, we proceed with them in accordance with
the attribution. For example, let’s say we are hit by a car. When we
approach the other driver, we find that he had a heart attack, and
that’s why he hit us. How would you respond to this? On the other hand,
when we approach the other driver, we find that she is completely drunk.
Would your response to the drunk woman be different from your response
to the man who had a heart attack? Most people would probably say yes.
There are three main types of attribution errors we tend to make in
perceiving and interpreting behaviors and situations. The first is
self-serving bias . This means we attribute our successes to our
own internal characteristics, but our failures to external causes. For
example, if you get an ”A” on your exam, it’s because you’re smart and
you studied well; but if you get an ”F,” it’s because the exam wasn’t
fair. In other words, your success was your own, but your failure was
someone else’s fault. The next type of attribution error is called the
fundamental attribution error . Here, we attribute others’
behaviors to internal, rather than external, causes. For example, the
girl volunteers because she is kindhearted, and the cashier miscounted
our change because she doesn’t know how to count. The fundamental
attribution error is exceedingly strong, and research has found that it
applies even when we consciously know better. As competent
communicators, we need to keep in mind that most behaviors are in
response to external causes. The third type of common attribution error
is over-attribution. Here, we identify one or two obvious
characteristics of an individual and extrapolate those characteristics
to explain other things that person does. For example, if you know
someone who is the youngest of eight children, you might attribute that
person’s insistence on getting her own way all the time to her being the
baby of a large family. This might also be the reason you offer for her
always seeming to need to be the center of attention, and interrupting
others when they speak. Over-attribution can be problematic,
particularly within the context of marriage, when, for example, a woman
expressing her needs is dismissed as her simply being a woman. This can
also be problematic when interacting with individuals from marginalized
groups, such as migrants or homeless people, where an individual’s
behaviors can be attributed primarily to that person’s group membership.
Good “reading” and use of nonverbal communication enables
efficient communication and better understanding of the often hidden
motives of partner or partners in communication.