Transcript Communication Climate

PowerPoint Presentation to accompany
Looking Out, Looking In, Tenth Edition
Chapter 9: Improving Communication
Climates
Presentation prepared by
Dr. Michael Pearson, Gretchen Gill, and Tim
Scanlon of West Chester University
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CHAPTER 9
Improving
Communication Climates
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Improving
Communication Climates
• Communication Climate:
The Key to Positive Relationships
• Defensiveness: Causes and Remedies
• Responding Non-defensively
to Criticism
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Communication Climate:
The Key To Positive Relationships
Communication Climate - the emotional tone
of a relationship
Confirming Communication - messages that
convey valuing
Disconfirming Communication – messages that
show a lack of regard
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Communication Climate:
The Key To Positive Relationships
Confirming and Disconfirming Communication
Types of Confirming Messages:
• Recognition
• Acknowledgement
• Endorsement
Types of Disconfirming Messages:
• Interrupting
• Verbal Abuse
• Irrelevant
• Complaining
• Impervious Response • Tangential
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• Impersonal
• Ambiguous
• Incongruous
Communication Climate:
The Key To Positive Relationships
How Communication Climates Develop
• Spiral - a reciprocating communication pattern in
which each person’s message reinforces the other’s
• Escalatory Conflict Spiral - the most visible way that
disconfirming messages reinforce one another; can
lead to a full-fledged battle
• De-escalatory Conflict Spiral – less obvious; when
parties slowly lessen their dependence on one another,
withdraw, and become less invested in the relationship
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
• Defensiveness – process of protecting our presenting
self, our face.
• Face-Threatening Acts - messages that seem to challenge
the image we want to project
Types of Defensive Reactions
• Cognitive Dissonance - an inconsistency between two
conflicting pieces of information, attitudes, or behavior
• Defense Mechanisms - psychological devices that resolve
dissonance by maintaining a positive presenting image
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Types of Defensive Reactions
Attacking the Critic
• Verbal Aggression - assaulting the critic directly
• Sarcasm - less direct form of aggression
Distorting Critical Information
• Rationalization - logical but untrue explanations of
behavior that is unacceptable to the self
• Compensation - emphasizing a strength in one area to
cover up a weakness in another
• Regression – claiming you can’t do something
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Types of Defensive Reactions
Avoiding Dissonant Information
• Physical Avoidance
• Repression – mentally blocking out dissonant information
• Apathy - acknowledging unpleasant information but
pretending you don’t care
• Displacement - when one vents hostile feelings against
people or objects that are seen as less threatening than
the people who originally threatened
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Preventing Defensiveness in Others
• Gibb categories - six types of defense-arousing
communication and six contrasting behaviors that reduce
the level of threat and defensiveness by conveying facehonoring relational messages of respect
Evaluation vs. Description
• Evaluation - defensive behavior; “you” language
• Descriptive - focuses on the speaker’s thoughts and
feelings instead of judging the other person
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Preventing Defensiveness in Others
Control vs. Problem Orientation
• Controlling - sender seems to impose a solution on
the receiver
• Problem Orientation - finding a solution that satisfies
all parties
Neutrality vs. Empathy
• Neutrality - disconfirming and indifferent
attitude; lack of concern
• Empathy - putting oneself in another’s place
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Preventing Defensiveness in Others
Superiority vs. Equality
• Superiority - “I’m better than you” belief
• Equality - see others as having the same worth as
human beings
Certainty vs. Provisionalism
• Certainty - regarding own opinions as absolutes
• Provisionalism - willing to acknowledge others’
opinions and change stand if it seems reasonable
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Responding Non-defensively to Criticism
Seek More Information
• Ask for specifics
• Guess about specifics
• Paraphrase the speaker’s ideas
• Ask what the critic wants
• Ask about the consequences of your behavior
• Ask what else is wrong
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Defensiveness:
Causes and Remedies
Responding Non-defensively to Criticism
Agree With The Critic
• Agree with the facts
• Agree with the critic’s perception*
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