Understanding human communication / Ronald B. Adler, George Rodman, with Carrie Cropley.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Fundamentals Of Communication -- 1. Human Communication: What And Why -- 2. The Changing World Of Communication -- 3. The Self, Perception,and Perception -- Part II. Communication Elements -- 4. Language -- 5. Listening -- 6. Nonverbal Communication -- Part III. Interpersonal Communication -- 7. Understanding Interpersonal Relationships -- 8. Improving Interpersonal Relationships -- Part IV. Communication In Groups -- 9. Communicating In Groups -- Part V. Public Communication -- 11. Preparing Speeches -- 12. Organizination And Support -- 13. Informative Speaking -- 14. Persuasive Speaking -- --

PART I. FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION -- -- 1. HUMAN COMMUNICATION: WHAT AND WHY -- Communication Defined -- Communication Is a Process -- Communication Is Symbolic -- Types of Communication -- Intrapersonal Communication -- Dyadic/Interpersonal Communication -- Small Group Communication -- Public Communication -- Mass Communication -- Functions of Communication -- Physical Needs -- Identity Needs -- Social Needs -- Practical Needs -- Modeling Communication -- A Linear Model -- A Transactional Model -- Communication Competence: What Makes an Effective Communicator? -- Communication Competence Defined -- Characteristics of Competent Communicators -- Clarifying Misconceptions About Communication -- Communication Does Not Always Require Complete Understanding -- Communication Will Not Solve All Problems -- Communication Isn't Always a Good Thing -- Meanings Rest in People, Not Words -- Communication Is Not Simple -- More Communication Isn't Always Better -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: The Many Meanings of Communication -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: Social Media Meet Communication Needs -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Call Centers and Culture -- @WORK: When More Communication Isn't Better: Declaring E-mail Bankruptcy -- -- 2. THE CHANGING WORLD OF COMMUNICATION -- Understanding Change -- Changing Technologies -- Changing Discipline -- Changing Demographics -- Communicating in a Diverse World -- Intercultural and Intergroup Communication -- Cultural Values and Norms -- Developing Intercultural Communication Competence -- Social Media in a Changing World -- Mediated Versus Face-to-Face Communication -- Mediated Communication in Society -- Communicating Competently with Social Media -- @WORK: Can You Be Too Connected? -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: "Sexting" Surprise: Teens Face Child Porn Charges -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: The Etiquette of Internet "Stalking" -- -- 3. THE SELF, PERCEPTION, AND PERCEPTION -- Communication and the Self -- Self-Concept Defined -- Communication and Development of the Self -- Culture and the Self-Concept -- The Self-Concept and Communication with Others -- The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Communication -- Perceiving Others -- Steps in the Perception Process -- Narratives, Perception, and Communication -- Common Perceptual Tendencies -- Perception in Mediated Communication -- Perception and Culture -- Empathy, Perception, and Communication -- Communication and Identity Management -- Public and Private Selves -- Characteristics of Identity Management -- Why Manage Identities? -- Identity Management in Mediated Communication -- Identity Management and Honesty -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Managing Identity and Coming Out -- @WORK: Identity Management in the Workplace --

PART II. COMMUNICATION ELEMENTS -- -- 4. LANGUAGE -- The Nature of Language -- Language Is Symbolic -- Meanings Are in People, Not Words -- Language Is Rule Governed -- The Power of Language -- Language Shapes Attitudes -- Language Reflects Attitudes -- Troublesome Language -- The Language of Misunderstandings -- Disruptive Language -- Evasive Language -- Gender and Language -- Content -- Reasons for Communicating -- Conversational Style -- Nongender Variables -- Culture and Language -- Verbal Communication Styles -- Language and Worldview -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: What the *@#$!? -- @WORK: What's in a Name? -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Lost in Translation -- -- 5. LISTENING -- Misconceptions About Listening -- Listening and Hearing Are Not the Same Thing -- Listening Is Not a Natural Process -- All Listeners Do Not Receive the Same Message -- Overcoming Challenges to Effective Listening -- Mindful Listening Requires Effort -- Faulty Listening Behaviors -- Reasons for Poor Listening -- Personal Listening Styles -- Content-Oriented -- People-Oriented -- Action-Oriented -- Time-Oriented -- Informational Listening -- Don't Argue or Judge Prematurely -- Separate the Message from the Speaker -- Search for Value -- Look for Key Ideas -- Ask Questions -- Paraphrase -- Take Notes -- Critical Listening -- Listen for Information Before Evaluating -- Evaluate the Speaker's Credibility -- Examine the Speaker's Evidence and Reasoning -- Examine Emotional Appeals -- Listening as Social Support -- Social Support and Mediated Communication -- Gender and Social Support -- Types of Supportive Responses -- When and How to Help -- @WORK: Multitasking: A Recipe for Inattention -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: What Good Is Free Speech if No One Listens? -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Council: Reviving the Art of Listening -- -- 6. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION -- Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication -- Nonverbal Behavior Has Communicative Value -- Nonverbal Communication Is Primarily Relational -- Nonverbal Communication Is Ambiguous -- Nonverbal Communication Is Different from Verbal Communication -- Nonverbal Skills Are Important -- Influences on Nonverbal Communication -- Culture -- Gender -- Functions of Nonverbal Communication -- Repeating -- Substituting -- Complementing -- Accenting -- Regulating -- Contradicting -- Deceiving -- Types of Nonverbal Communication -- Body Movements -- Voice -- Appearance -- Touch -- Space -- Environment -- Time -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Nonverbal Learning Disorder -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: Expressiveness in Online Communication -- @WORK: Touch and Career Success -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Doing Business Across Cultures --

PART III. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION -- -- 7. UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS -- Why We Form Relationships -- Appearance -- Similarity -- Complementarity -- Reciprocal Attraction -- Competence -- Disclosure -- Proximity -- Rewards -- Characteristics of Interpersonal Communication -- What Makes Communication Interpersonal? -- Interpersonal Communication in Mediated Relationships -- Content and Relational Messages -- Metacommunication -- Communication over the Relational Life Span -- A Developmental Perspective -- A Dialectical Perspective -- Intimacy in Interpersonal Relationships -- Dimensions of Intimacy -- Male and Female Intimacy Styles -- Cultural Influences on Intimacy -- Self-Disclosure in Interpersonal Relationships -- Models of Self-Disclosure -- Characteristics of Effective Self-Disclosure -- Guidelines for Appropriate Self-Disclosure -- Alternatives to Self-Disclosure -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: To End a Romance, Just Press "Send": Instant Messaging Altering the Way We Love -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: Is It Ever Right to Lie? -- @WORK: Social Capital: Personal Relationships and Career Advancement -- -- 8. IMPROVING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS -- Communication Climates in Interpersonal Relationships -- Confirming and Disconfirming Messages -- How Communication Climates Develop -- Creating Positive Communication Climates -- Managing Interpersonal Conflict -- The Nature of Conflict -- Styles of Expressing Conflict -- Characteristics of an Assertive Message -- Gender and Conflict Style -- Conflict in Mediated Communication -- Cultural Influences on Conflict -- Methods for Conflict Resolution -- Steps in Win-Win Problem Solving -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: Can You Hear Me Now? -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: A Comparison of Dialogue and Debate -- @WORK: Dealing with Sexual Harassment --

PART IV. COMMUNICATION IN GROUPS -- -- 9. COMMUNICATING IN GROUPS -- The Nature of Groups -- What Is a Group? -- Virtual and Face-to-Face Groups -- Goals of Groups and Their Members -- Individual Goals -- Group Goals -- Characteristics of Groups -- Rules and Norms -- Roles -- Patterns of Interaction -- Decision-Making Methods -- Cultural Influences on Group Communication -- Individualism Versus Collectivism -- Power Distance -- Uncertainty Avoidance -- Task Versus Social Orientation -- Short- Versus Long-Term Orientation -- Leadership and Power in Groups -- Power in Groups -- What Makes Leaders Effective? -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: The Power of Small Groups -- @WORK: What Makes a Group a Team? -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Baseball in Japan and the USA -- -- 10. SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GROUPS -- Problem Solving in Groups: When and Why -- Advantages of Group Problem Solving -- When to Use Groups for Problem Solving -- Group Problem-Solving Strategies and Formats -- Problem-Solving Formats -- Solving Problems in Virtual Groups -- Approaches and Stages in Problem Solving -- A Structured Problem-Solving Approach -- Developmental Stages in Problem-Solving Groups -- Maintaining Positive Relationships -- Basic Skills -- Building Cohesiveness -- Overcoming Dangers in Group Discussion -- Information Underload and Overload -- Unequal Participation -- Pressure to Conform -- INVITATION TO INSIGHT: Once Upon a September Day -- @WORK: Setting Up a Virtual Group --

PART V. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION -- -- 11. PREPARING SPEECHES -- Getting Started -- Choosing Your Topic?? -- Defining Your Purpose -- Writing a Purpose Statement -- Stating Your Thesis -- Analyzing the Speaking Situation -- The Listener: Audience Analysis -- The Occasion -- Gathering Information -- Web Research -- Library Research? -- Interviewing? -- Survey Research? -- Managing Communication Apprehension? -- Facilitative and Debilitative Communication Apprehension? -- Sources of Debilitative Communication Apprehension -- Overcoming Debilitative Communication Apprehension ?? -- Choosing a Type of Delivery? -- Extemporaneous? -- Impromptu? -- Manuscript? -- Memorized? -- Practicing the Speech -- Guidelines for Delivery? -- Visual Aspects of Delivery -- Auditory Aspects of Delivery -- @WORK: Sample Analysis of a Speaking Situation -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: A Compendium of American Dialects -- -- 12. ORGANIZINATION AND SUPPORT -- Structuring Your Speech -- Your Working Outline -- Your Formal Outline -- Your Speaking Notes -- Principles of Outlining -- Standard Symbols -- Standard Format -- The Rule of Division -- The Rule of Parallel Wording -- Organizing Your Outline into a Logical Pattern -- Time Patterns -- Space Patterns -- Topic Patterns -- Problem-Solution Patterns -- Cause-Effect Patterns -- Using Transitions -- Beginning and Ending the Speech -- The Introduction -- The Conclusion -- Supporting Material -- Functions of Supporting Material -- Types of Supporting Material -- Style of Support: Narration and Citation -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: Nontraditional Patterns of Organization -- @WORK: Organizing Business Presentations -- UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: Plagiarism in a Digital Age -- -- 13. INFORMATIVE SPEAKING -- Types of Informative Speaking -- By Content -- By Purpose -- Informative Versus Persuasive Topics -- An Informative Topic Tends to Be Noncontroversial -- The Informative Speaker Does Not Intend to Change Audience Attitudes -- Techniques of Informative Speaking -- Create Information Hunger -- Make it Easy to Listen -- Use Clear, Simple Language -- Use a Clear Organization and Structure -- Use Supporting Material Effectively -- Emphasize Important Points -- Generate Audience Involvement -- Using Visual Aids -- Types of Visual Aids -- Media for the Presentation of Visual Aids -- Rules for Using Visual Aids -- Using Power Point -- UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY: How Culture Affects Information -- @WORK: The Pros and Cons of PowerPoint -- -- 14. PERSUASIVE SPEAKING -- Characteristics of Persuasion -- Persuasion Is Not Coercive -- Persuasion Is Usually Incremental -- Persuasion Is Interactive -- Persuasion Can Be Ethical -- Categorizing Types of Persuasion -- By Types of Proposition -- By Desired Outcome -- By Directness of Approach -- Creating the Persuasive Message -- Set a Clear, Persuasive Purpose -- Structure the Message Carefully -- Use Solid Evidence -- Avoid Fallacies -- Adapting to the Audience -- Establish Common Ground -- Organize According to the Expected Response -- Neutralize Potential Hostility -- Building Credibility as a Speaker -- Competence -- Character -- Charisma.

"For over three decades, this has been the best-selling text for the introduction to human communication course. Understanding Human Communication is written with one goal in mind: to provide students with the insights and skills to succeed in our changing world. Ronald B. Adler, George Rodman, and new author Carrie Cropley Hutchinson place communication theory within the context of everyday skills and draw from the latest media, culture, and scholarship, creating a distinctive pedagogy that gives students the tools they need to master--and enjoy--this intriguing and relevant subject. "--Publisher's website.

Machine converted from AACR2 source record.