Uncertainty Reduction Theory Of Health Communication

Communication in the healthcare field may be a little different for some people. Healthcare requires the communication to have a purpose, and that purpose is revolved around a person’s needs. A patient with good staff communication during

Steven A. Beebe, Susan J. Beebe, Mark V. Redmond ,Terri M. Geerinck . Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others, Pearson Education Canada; 5 edition (Feb. 15 2010)

Michael Argyle is a social psychologist who developed theories about interpersonal interaction and human communication. He carried out experimental theories of non-verbal and verbal communication to develop and test he’s theoretical ideas. He has a communication cycle which explains and predicts how communication can occur in a one to one situation.

The ‘Communication cycle’ is a frequently used theory of communication. It was originally established by Charles Berners in 1965. In 1967, a man named Michael Argyle claimed that human communication is essentially a two-way process that involves people sending, and responding to each other’s verbal and non-verbal messages. It was then improved in 1972 by Argyle’s. The model of the ‘communication cycle’ makes it apparent that to ensure effective communication, it has to be a two-way process. As well as transmitting messages to others in a precise way, health care professions must be able to react to both verbal and non-verbal feedback. Therefore, operational communication has to involve determination from both sides in the communication cycle.

Knapp, M. L., Vangelisti, A. L. (2005). Interpersonal Communication and HumanRelationships. (5th ed.) Boston: Pearson.

In this assignment, I am going to explain a number of these strategies aimed at improving the quality of communication in health and social care settings.

Communication, according to the Free Dictionary, is “the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing or behaviors”. It is vital in the development and maintenance of personal and professional relationships. It is important to understand communication also includes non-verbal as well as verbal acts. According to Rane (2010), 93% of communication is nonverbal and body language is an effective nonverbal communication tool. There are two essential components in communication, which are a sender and receiver of a message. In the personal and professional health care communication paper, I will discuss the definition of healthcare

Communication is simply the act of transferring and receiving information from one person to another. We communicate for a variety of reasons such as to share information, to comment, to give instructions and to share opinions. Effective communication involves a two way process in which each person tries to understand the view point of the other person. Moreover, communication is a cycle because when two people communicate they need to check that their ideas have been understood. Good communication involves the process of checking, understanding, using reflection and active listening. Effective communication is highly important for the health and social care sector. If professionals use effective communication then it could help them to focus on fulfilling the needs of service users. There are several theories of communication that can be applied to a health and social care environment.In this assignment we will explore two theories of communication in health and social care.

The theories I will focus on in this essay is Social Penetration Theory and Uncertainty Reduction Theory. The reason I choose both these theories focus on initial interactions with stingers and how relationships develop. The social penetration theory is an objective theory (A First Look at Communication, page 93) uses the example of peeling an onion. It shows the “multilayered structure of personality.” The theory explains that as you go from not knowing someone and over time developing a more personal relationship through stages of disclosure. The other theory I will highlight will be Uncertainty Reduction Theory which follows seven main assumptions on how we develop information about a new acquaintance in order to lower uncertainty and predict others behaviors. Overall I will outline the core beliefs of these two theories and tie them together as how they both help us develop relationships with new people. And explain how we interact in new social settings. Both these objective theories show similar links but in some ways are different.

In recent times, in the field of health communication, a shift in beliefs has become apparent. Many feel that the physician-centered approach is no longer the best way to manage the interaction between patients and doctors. A new collaborative approach has been adopted by many. This collaborative approach is more of a partnership between the patient and doctor. More communicating by the patient, and more listening by the doctor. When the doctor and patient speak to one another, they speak to each other as peers sharing ideas,

Communication plays a vital role in the healthcare setting, as the relationship with the healthcare professional sets the tone of the care experience and has a powerful impact on patient satisfaction. It is “the shared process in which messages are sent and received between two or more people which are made up of a sender, receiver, and message in a particular context” (cite, date). This essay highlights the importance of, and some common barriers to, effective communication in the healthcare setting. It involves many interpersonal skills such as effective observation, questioning and listening, giving feedback, recognizing and removing barriers.

“Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to open good communication with the patient, he or she may be of no help” (Asnani, MR. 2009). Effective communication plays a big role in healthcare and contributes to the quality of patient care and teamwork.

Communication is the leading factor in heath care errors (book). (Treas & Wilkinson Book p463) defines communication as “a dynamic, reciprocal process of sending and receiving messages. The messages may be verbal, non-verbal,

Uncertainty reduction theory could be applied to long-term relationships as well as initial encounter (Berger, 1979). Berger presented that uncertainty may happen on two different levels: behavioral and cognitive. He stated that reducing uncertainty in behavior increases the predicting ability of how a person will act when he/she is facing a situation. In the mean time, cognitive uncertainty affects the ability to explain the main rational reasons for that certain action.

In interpersonal communication there are many theories that are similar yet different in many ways. The theories can be combined to describe people and how those people interact and communicate with each other. Many of these theories help explain how people in society form impressions of others, how they maintain these impressions, why people interact with certain people in society, and how people will use these impressions that they have formed later on in life. These theories also help people to better understand themselves, to better understand interpersonal communication, and to better understand people in general. There are two theories in interpersonal communication that, despite their differences, can go hand in hand. The first is