Final Post #3

A concept that I feel needs further discussion would be the different types of perspectives there are. The book states that a perspective is, “a coherent set of assumptions about the way a process operates” (25). There are three models to look at. The first model is psychological perspective which is an idea that focuses on “what is going on in the head” when we communicate. The second model is the social constructionist perspective, which is a “process whereby people, using tools provided by their culture, create collective representations of reality” (25). This emphasizes the relationship between communication and culture. Finally the last model is the pragmatic perspective, which shows that “communication consists of a system of interlocking, interdependent moves, which become patterned over time” (25). These three models are all very important to understand when it comes to communicating with others.

The most interesting of those three models is the pragmatic perspective. The reason is because, as the text states, “this perspective focuses on the games people play when they communicate” (25). I believe that we all play games with one another. The reason is because we are all trying to learn how different people communicate. We change our style of communication with certain people because we begin to understand how they like to interact with you. You being to understand how someone reacts to certain ways of communicating, making it easier for you to avoid it in the future.

I think it would be interesting to do an assignment on these models to see which way people like to communicate more.

Final Post #2

“Whenever curiosity about human behavior motivates us to observe others, we are engaging in our own private version of ethnography” (379). I found ethnography most interesting because all human beings are curious of other people’s lives. “Watching people and trying to figure out the rules that guide their actions are basic mechanisms for survival, without them, we wouldn’t be able to fit into our own culture” (379). When I read this sentence, I became interested in reading more about this topic.

Because we learn mostly from observations, ethnographers dive into other cultures and observe certain areas by becoming one of them. They let go of all of their personal beliefs and values and interact with these people undercover. Ethnographers feel that this is the best way to observe. I found this so interesting because it seems like a fun, but crazy thing to do. When you secretly become apart of something and nobody knows whom you truly are, then you would be able to get the best information and observations.

It is almost like going to a brand new school for a week and pretending you are something you are really not. When you pretend to be something else, then you learn from others a whole different way of living. Isn’t that a cool concept?

Final Post #1

Ethnography seemed most interesting to me because it is a concept that I have never thought of as a popular research method. It would be very interesting to go undercover and research something or someone in its natural environment. At the same time, you have to give up all of your “own values and assumptions on the data” (374), making this an even harder way to research. Like the text says, instead of a hypothesis you would see the answer emerge just from watching with your own eyes.

I believe studying deception using this method would not work very well, so I would probably chose survey research to find out more on deception. According to the dictionary, deception is the act of deceiving someone. It would be key to give the participants questionnaires on different ways someone might deceive another person and see how they would answer. I think that face-to-face interviews would be difficult, but then you might also be able to read the persons facial expressions to see if they are lying when answering the questions.

Deception is such a hard topic to research because it involves lying, so I’m not sure that even survey research would be the best way to research this. What do you think?

Chapter 11 Post #3

I do believe that Marshall’s idea is true. The reason I believe this is because the channel that the messages are received is very important. Receivers chose how they want to receive these messages, so that means that they will chose what they like the best whether it be TV, Internet or news print. How these messages are being said is what is going to keep the same audience coming back. Certain people hear information in different ways making is better for them to stick with one type of medium more than the other.

For me personally, I still love to read the newspaper daily. I also love to get my news on the Internet too. Both of these mediums are better for my style of learning. I know that other people like to watch TV when getting their news updates.

Marshall says that TV is a cool medium because “it demands that viewers fill in detail” (307). The television allows viewers to actually see what they are watching which helps them to make their own ideas and opinions. Viewers begin to feel like they can relate to the person on TV personally. Like our text says, viewers thought that John F. Kennedy was cool because viewers fell in love with his suave manner and his beautiful looks. Having him on TV helped views to see a side of him that they would have missed out on if they were reading about him in newspapers or listening to him speak on the radio.

Chapter 11 Post #2

Something that I found interesting in this chapter is the idea of interactivity (p323). Interactivity, according to our text, “occurs when receivers have the opportunity to engage with senders” (323). This is happening now more than ever before. We use many different electonic things to communicate with senders like email, text, chats and even online polls. This is so important because it is a fast answer and it is easy too. We are able to provide feedback so quick that the sender is able to fix the problems or make whatever it is even better. This idea is also important because it allows the audience to be even more involved than ever. Shows like Dancing With the Stars and American Idol allow the audience to feel as though they are apart of something really exciting and special making shows like these a big hit.

Our text also explains the idea of a “wiki” which allows Internet users to access information, update it, correct it or even add more info to it. This also makes another type of audience involved. The biggest example of this is “Wikipedia”. I love these type of websites because it allows you to get information fast and easy, however you never really know if information is true and correct, which could get you into trouble.

Chapter 11 Post #1

Have you made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace? If so, how are they different from f2f relationships? If you have not formed cyber relationships, why not?

I have never formed a friendship exclusively through cyberspace. Meaning, I have never met anyone online and have become friends with them. This has never interested me mainly because I have always been skeptical of the idea that this person is really who he or she is saying they are. I do not have the type of personality to do that. This idea makes me think of websites like match.com where you try and meet other singles online and begin relationships. I know that this is very popular and it sometimes is pretty successful, however it can also be a very scary thing as well. When it comes to the Internet you never know who is on the other end.

Face to face relationships are much different to Internet relationships because you are comforted with the fact that you know who you are talking to. This face-to-face relationship is much more intimate and real unlike Internet relationships which are almost imaginary. I am not saying that Internet relationships are wrong or that you should never try one, I am just saying that they are not for me!

I will say that I have deepened many relationships because of the bond that we share online either through video chat or instant messaging. It is better than talking on the phone sometimes or even better than talking in person. Over the Internet conversations can be more candid and fun, which is sometimes important to relationships.

Chapter 8 Post #3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I was interested in reading about the different types of rites there are. First off, a rite is, according to our text, “a publicly performed relative elaborate, dramatic, planned set of activities that consolidate various forms of cultural expressions into one event”. I never knew that there were so many rites in our society.

Some include rites of passage, rites of degradation, rites of enhancement, rites of renewal, rites of conflict reduction and rites of integration. I have participated in rites of passage when I was a freshman attending college and when I was learning my role as a basketball coach for young children. I have also participated in rites of integration many times in areas like Mardi Gras, work functions and other holidays.

It is very important to use these different types of rites because it acknowledges important people and events and it also reminds you of your accomplishments and achievements. It also strengthens cultures and communities because everybody gets together and celebrates while also remembering the important parts of their culture or community. These rites can also bring out the reasons why people are still participating in these events, which will help the communities and cultures to decide what is important to them and what is not.