Social Compression : Verbal And Nonverbal Communication

Human beings have evolved an incredible ability to form first impressions, rapidly and with a high degree of accuracy as a survival mechanism. Admittedly, it is still difficult to know whether to trust first impressions, given there are so many cautionary warnings. We are told how important it is to make a first impression when going on a first date, a job interview or to meet with a new client. We are also warned to never judge a book by its cover, indicating that our first impression could be flawed and suggesting that first impression are formed solely from appearance. Instead, I suggest that human beings are unconsciously skilled at making first impressions by rapidly assimilating information on visual, environmental and behavioral

To me interpersonal communication describes the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between two different people. Joseph DeVito states that “interpersonal communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable” due to these things effective communication is a necessary skill for us to function in our day to day lives (p. 20). Therefore, I have created a theory for interpersonal communication that goes as follows; To experience effective communication you must understand: your culture, the other person’s culture, and how to listen effectively. By knowing these three things you can consistently avoid misunderstandings and promote understanding in your interpersonal and intercultural relationships.

I decided to go to Panda Express at 5:30 pm for my observations, while there I was able to observe just how much people rely on nonverbal communications to get their point across. Although I witnessed several encounters of unique body language, there were also a few actions that reoccurred several times in several different people. For example, when a customer would approach the counter where employee served the food, the employee would raise her eyebrows and smile at the customer. The employee’s smile, however, did not reach her eyes suggesting that while it is her job to smile and be welcoming to the customer, she most likely did not want to be at work. Additionally, I noticed that when customers approached the counter about 90 percent of them had their arms crossed. The act of crossing ones arms usually means that a person is trying to put a barrier between them and a situation that they either don’t like, or are uncomfortable with. This may mean that the customers were displeased with having to wait in line to get their food, on the other hand it may be that they were simply comfortable folding their arms. Once they reached the front of the line, every customer pointed to the food they wanted along with verbally telling the employee. This made their communication more effective as it helped to overcome the barrier of sound because the restaurant was noisy.

impressions made on other people weather we are in contact with them or not (194). In the book,

Each of us builds a “picture” on how we feel and look at another person, which in turn outputs an opinion or stereotype. We will call this personal construct in this paper. Personal constructs are specific descriptions of others that people assigns personally from their own experience and knowledge. Similarly Trenholm (2014) defines personal constructs as “characteristics that we habitually notice in others” (p. 47). You know the old saying, “what you don’t know, won’t hurt you”? With personal constructs, if you don’t understand your own constructs it could hurt your ability to communicate with others by being unfair. For me to understand when I’m using personal construct constructively or negatively I must understand what kind of

Over this summer course I have learned a lot about communication. I learned how significant nonverbal and verbal communication is, along with listening. I never fully understood how big communication is in our daily lives. I now realize that it is a huge aspect of how we continue in our lives. This course has showed me different levels of communication.

For this discussion post, I observed a stranger for thirty seconds to one minute to take note of their general appearance features and do an analysis of the categories and personal characteristics that I perceived to be possessed by the person based on their appearance. I will describe the physical appearance characteristics that led to my first impression analysis and the personal cultural influences that I believe contribute to my analysis of the person’s characteristics. I will also think about my own appearance, describe fashion behaviors that I implement to give others information about me, identify general assumptions that I believe others make about me, and describe the assumptions and why I feel they are made. I will consider Jane

General nature of the other person takes into account both viewed and perceived characteristics of a person to include intellect, appearance, and attire, while apparent intentions is based on the perceived rather than true intentions of an individual (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015). Consequences of the interaction bases perceptions on previous interactions between the perceiver and the perceived individual (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015). An important factor to consider in any perception process is that perceptions about others can be correct or incorrect, and overcompensation can exist both positively and negatively. The correct or incorrect perceptions can be affected by implicit person theories, the halo effect, projecting, or the most commonly thought of issue of stereotyping (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015). Perception of individuals can play a part in whether an individual is viewed and evaluated fairly in the interview and hiring

If one is basing their value off of a comparison to someone they believe is socially or physically lower than them, arrogance and condescension may result. If one is basing their value off of a comparison to someone they believe is better than them, feelings of worthlessness and emptiness may occur. Within the process of social comparison, one may also begin to take into consideration how others see them. This is known as reflected appraisal and this not only can be destructive towards how one views themselves, but it can also overtake one’s mindset and become an obsessive habit of trying to please

Judging a person external appearances may mislead ones understanding of the opposite party. A person who has a pretty face and wears beautiful clothes may not be the same on the inside and the internal characters of a person cannot be judged by his or her external appearances. If one judges a person by external appearances, without knowing internal character, he may lose chances to make friends that has the same interests and hobbies. He cannot know at this point because wrong judgment towards the way of how he deals with something prevents him from knowing the another person’s interest and keeps him from interacting with that person. Everyone should give others a chance to show their personalities and at the same time evaluate them fairly

Festinger (1954) put forth a theory to the world regarding social comparison processes. Although many researchers discussed social comparison before him, he was the first to put all of their hypotheses together and discuss social comparison in general. He proposed three major hypotheses: (1) self-evaluation is a human’s drive, (2) humans like to evaluate themselves accurately, (3) and a smaller difference in abilities and opinions provides a larger tendency to compare with peers and family. Pertaining to Festinger’s first hypothesis, in order to compare oneself concisely, the evaluation of others must be accurate otherwise, it is fatal to compare according to Festinger (1954). In his second hypothesis, a human only judge behaviors in order

Nisbett and Timothy DeCamp Wilson (1977) in efforts to add supporting evidence to an ideal similar to the Halo Effect. They staged two interviews with participants where the interview in both was a man that had a distinct accent (Nisbett & Wilson,1977). The interviewer in one group was as charming as he could be in his “appearance and mannerisms and accent” (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). In the other, he was instructed to basically act more strict and harsh to the subjects. The resulting difference in ratings of the interviewer’s personality and other factors by the participants spoke to how people immediately judge someone based on how they presented themselves through multiple characteristics.

First impressions are always used in setting the tone when you first meet someone. Without the luxury of knowing the persons background, you initially judge someone by the way that person introduces themselves and how they come across to you. By coming across, I mean the way a person carries themselves. For example, if the person comes across as shy and introverted, you tend to think of that person as timid and somewhat weak. However, if that same person comes across as outgoing, confident (but not to confident) and easy to talk to, you look at that person as someone you can count on and possibly a leader. This type of evaluation (even though we all do it) is for the most part not always the right way to evaluate a person.

On the other hand if you see yourself as an individual who can communicate without a problem and you see that you can keep others interested in a given conversations, your reaction is more positive. Through this looking- glass self we develop a “self” concept. Depending on the observations we make concerning the reactions of others we develop feelings and ideas about ourselves. The reflection we see in the mirror is either negative or positive depending on the feedback we get back from those around us. Misjudgments of the reactions of others become part of our “self” concept also the misinterpretations of how others think of us.

First of all, judging someone can be based on appearances, body language, and intonations of voice. In first meeting, though, individuals don’t know anything about another person, they are just using what they see and observe to make conclusions about the other. Though this is the norm, it is inaccurate because