Interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish several personal and relational goals. Communication includes utilizing communication skills within one's surroundings, including physical and psychological spaces. It is essential to see the visual/nonverbal and verbal cues regarding the physical spaces. In the psychological spaces, self-awareness and awareness of the emotions, cultures, and things that are not seen are also significant when communicating.
Interpersonal communication research addresses at least six categories of inquiry: 1) how humans adjust and adapt their verbal communication and nonverbal communication during face-to-face communication; 2) how messages are produced; 3) how uncertainty influences behavior and information-management strategies; 4) deceptive communication; 5) relational dialectics; and 6) social interactions that are mediated by technology.
There is considerable variety in how this area of study is conceptually and operationally defined. Researchers in interpersonal communication come from many different research paradigms and theoretical traditions, adding to the complexity of the field. Interpersonal communication is often defined as communication that takes place between people who are interdependent and have some knowledge of each other: for example, communication between a son and his father, an employer and an employee, two sisters, a teacher and a student, two lovers, two friends, and so on.
Although interpersonal communication is most often between pairs of individuals, it can also be extended to include small intimate groups such as the family. Interpersonal communication can take place in face-to-face settings, as well as through platforms such as social media. The study of interpersonal communication addresses a variety of elements and uses both quantitative/social scientific methods and qualitative methods.
There is growing interest in biological and physiological perspectives on interpersonal communication. Some of the concepts explored are personality, knowledge structures and social interaction, language, nonverbal signals, emotional experience and expression, supportive communication, social networks and the life of relationships, influence, conflict, computer-mediated communication, interpersonal skills, interpersonal communication in the workplace, intercultural perspectives on interpersonal communication, escalation and de-escalation of romantic or platonic relationships, family relationships, and communication across the life span. Factors such as one's self-concept and perception do have an impact on how humans choose to communicate. Factors such as gender and culture also affect interpersonal communication.
History
The detailed study of interpersonal communication dates back to the 1970s and was formalized based on aspects of communication that preceded it. Aspects of communication such as rhetoric, persuasion, and dialogue have become a part of interpersonal communication. As writing and language styles developed, humans found ways to transfer messages. Interpersonal communication was one such way. In a world where technologies were not available to communicate, humans used pictures and carvings, which later developed into words and expressions. Interpersonal communication is now seen in a more dyadic way; finding face-to-face interaction as a more distinct form. The dynamics of interpersonal communication began to shift at the break of the Industrial Revolution. The evolution of interpersonal communication is multifaceted and aligns with technological advancements, societal changes, and theories.Traditionally, interpersonal communication is grounded in face-to-face communication between people. As technology changed, the interpersonal communication style adapted from face-to-face interaction to a mediated component. The tools added over the years include the telegraph, telephone, and several media sites facilitating communication. Later in the article, the impacts of media on interpersonal communication are discussed. Interpersonal communication over the years has been aimed at forming relationships and ending relationships. The world has become more reliant on a mediated form of communication, which in turn has become a part of interpersonal communication as it has become an avenue in which most humans have decided to communicate. While this form is not traditional to interpersonal communication, it does fit the cities within the definition of interpersonal communication, which is the exchange between two or more people.
Foundation of interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication process principles
Human communication is a complex process with many components. And there are principles of communication that guide our understanding of communication.Communication is transactional
Communication is a transactional communication—that is, a dynamic process created by the participants through their interaction with each other. In short, communication is an interactive process in which both parties need to participate. A metaphor is dancing. It is more like a process in which you and your partner are constantly running in and working together. Two perfect dancers do not necessarily guarantee the absolute success of a dance, but the perfect cooperation of two not-so-excellent dancers can guarantee a successful dance.Communication can be intentional and unintentional
Some communication is intentional and deliberate, for example, before you ask your boss to give you a promotion or a raise, you will do a lot of mental building and practice many times how to talk to your boss so that it will not cause embarrassment. But at the same time, communication can also be unintentional. For example, you are complaining about your unfortunate experience today in the corner of the school, but it happens that your friend overhears your complaint. Even if you do not want others to know about your experience from the bottom of your heart, but unintentionally, this also delivers message and forms communication.Communication Is Irreversible
The process of Interpersonal Communication is irreversible, you can wish you had not said something and you can apologise for something you said and later regret - but you can not take it back.Communication Is Unrepeatable
Unrepeatability arises from the fact that an act of communication can never be duplicated The reason is that the audience may be different, our mood at the time may be different, or our relationship may be in a different place. In person communication can be invigorating and is often memorable when people are engaged and in the moment.Theories
Uncertainty reduction theory
Uncertainty reduction theory, developed in 1975, comes from the socio-psychological perspective. It addresses the basic process of how we gain knowledge about other people. According to the theory, people have difficulty with uncertainty. You are not sure what is going to come next, so you are uncertain how you should prepare for the upcoming event. To help predict behavior, they are motivated to seek information about the people with whom they interact.The theory argues that strangers, upon meeting, go through specific steps and checkpoints in order to reduce uncertainty about each other and form an idea of whether they like or dislike each other. During communication, individuals are making plans to accomplish their goals. At highly uncertain moments, they will become more vigilant and rely more on data available in the situation. A reduction in certainty leads to a loss of confidence in the initial plan, such that the individual may make contingency plans. The theory also says that higher levels of uncertainty create distance between people and that non-verbal expressiveness tends to help reduce uncertainty.
Constructs include the level of uncertainty, the nature of the relationship and ways to reduce uncertainty. Underlying assumptions include the idea that an individual will cognitively process the existence of uncertainty and take steps to reduce it. The boundary conditions for this theory are that there must be some kind of trigger, usually based on the social situation, and internal cognitive process.
According to the theory, we reduce uncertainty in three ways:
- Passive strategies: observing the person.
- Active strategies: asking others about the person or looking up information
- Interactive strategies: asking questions, self-disclosure.
Social exchange theory
falls under the symbolic interaction perspective. The theory describes, explains, and predicts when and why people reveal certain information about themselves to others. The social exchange theory uses Thibaut and Kelley's theory of interdependence. This theory states that "relationships grow, develop, deteriorate, and dissolve as a consequence of an unfolding social-exchange process, which may be conceived as a bartering of rewards and costs both between the partners and between members of the partnership and others". Social exchange theory argues that the major force in interpersonal relationships is the satisfaction of both people's self-interest.According to the theory, human interaction is analogous to an economic transaction, in that an individual may seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs. Actions such as revealing information about oneself will occur when the cost-reward ratio is acceptable. As long as rewards continue to outweigh costs, a pair of individuals will become increasingly intimate by sharing more and more personal information. The constructs of this theory include disclosure, relational expectations, and perceived rewards or costs in the relationship. In the context of marriage, the rewards within the relationship include emotional security and sexual fulfillment. Based on this theory Levinger argued that marriages will fail when the rewards of the relationship lessen, the barriers against leaving the spouse are weak, and the alternatives outside of the relationship are appealing.