Why is interpersonal

communication important to human

life?

Let’s find out…

Interpersonal Communication

Dive into the magical and natural

process of relationships development.

Why do we need to communicate?

We communicate everyday in every way, sometimes

without even knowing…

THEORIES

¨The study of interpersonal communication looks at a variety of elements that

contribute to the interpersonal communication experience…¨

First Edition available online on ISSUU

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July 3th, 2015

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Why do we need to communicate?

Happy holidays from our family to

yours!

As humans we interact with each other

on a daily basis, and as a happy

consequence relationships start to

show development and growth. It is in

the human nature to share feelings,

emotions, thoughts, ideas, etc, and we

always do it like a basic instinct, without

even knowing it. We need to

communicate in order to make a

connection with someone else, the

other end in the process of

communication, we want to share stuff,

we want to know more about

something or about that someone, we

want to be heard.. And this can’t

happen if we don’t communicate. It is

an important process that allows us to

connect with people in such levels that

it almost feels like it is meant to be.

Interpersonal

Communication

Let’s talk about…

Happy holidays from

our family to yours!

Interpersonal communication is a

process where a sender and a

receiver exchange information

between each other. It starts with

a sender who transmits the

information or a message through

a channel until it reaches to the

receiver who translates the

information and then it becomes

the sender with a follow up

information or answer. Obviously,

Communication is effective when

there is a feedback between the

people involved in the process.

It is also important to point out that

Interpersonal Communication

happens between two or more

people, and it order to be

successful the message has to be

understood between the people

involved. Also, there are lots of

ways people use to communicate

nowadays, Internet is and always

will be an important factor that

affects the communication, it

could be for good or bad, it is

changing the way we

communicate, but at the end of

the day we still communicate.

TONGUE TWISTER!!:

Peter Piper picked a peck of

pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter

Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of

pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled

peppers Peter Piper picked?

Uncertainty reduction theory

Uncertainty is unpleasant and therefore

motivational; people communicate to

reduce it. Uncertainty reduction follows

a pattern of developmental stages

(entry, personal, exit). During the entry

stage information about another’s sex,

age, economic or social status, and

other demographic information is

obtained. Much of the interaction in

this entry phase is controlled by

communication rules and norms. When

communicators begin to share

attitudes, beliefs, values, and more

personal data, the personal stage begins.

During this phase, the communicators feel

less constrained by rules and norms and tend

to communicate more freely with each

other. The third stage is the exit phase. During

this phase, the communicators decide on

future interaction plans. According to the

theory we reduce uncertainty in three ways:

1. Passive strategies: observing the person.

2. Active strategies: asking others about the

person or looking up info.

3. Interactive strategies: asking questions,

self-disclosure.

Welcome to theories

As humans we interact

with each other on a

daily basis and

relationships are

developed, some you

may refer to as

acquaintances this is a

very complex process

that we go through every

day of our lives,

repeating it over and

over, encountering

people that we may end

up either knowing or not

until the day we die.

There are also people

that you go so as far as

to love them, which for

me is the highest level of

human communication

and involvement.

Using the word love is the

highest honor that I can

give someone because it

puts him/her at the same

level as the woman that

gave me life, my mother.

Exploring theories of

interpersonal

communication.

Written by: Carlos López

Personal Thought…

“When I first started with this research. I

was thinking “I will find a bunch of

difficult theories” However it was very

interesting to find a bunch of ways

and ideas to develop the process of

communication.

It’s very important to remark that

interpersonal communication is an

interactional process between two

people (a dyad), either face-to-face

or through mediated forms.

And for our knowledge it’s very

proactive to know how we had an

idea about the configuration of

reality.”

the partners and between members

of the partnership and others"

(Huston & Burgess, 1979, p. 4). Social

exchange theory argues the major

force in interpersonal relationships is

the satisfaction of both people’s

self-interest.

This is a humanistic theory because

it has intuitive credibility, it makes

sense and is relative to actual

communication practice. It has a

systematic approach and is timely.

There are multiple truths. It also has

heuristic value because it is easily

applicable to situations.

Social Exchange Theory

Symbolic Interaction Theory

3. Thought: The

third core principle of

symbolic interactionism

is thought. The thought

implies the

interpretations that we

have assigned to the

symbols. The basis of

thought is language. It is

a process of mentally

conversing about the

meanings, names and

symbols. The thought

includes the

imagination. Which

have the power to

provide an idea even

about an unknown thing

based on known

knowledge.

Dig

a li

ttle

de

ep

er

in in

terp

ers

on

al c

om

mu

nic

atio

n.

The Communication Theory of

Social Exchange is a theory based

on the exchange of rewards and

costs to quantify the values of

outcomes from different situations

for an individual. People strive to

minimize costs and maximize

rewards and then base the likeliness

of developing a relationship with

someone on the perceived possible

outcomes. When these outcomes

are perceived to be greater, we

disclose more and develop a closer

relationship with that person.

The social exchange theory uses

Thibaut and Kelley’s (1959) 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

This theory says how humans develop a complex set

of symbols that gives meaning to the world in their

perspective. The meanings are molded from the

interactions with the society. And these interactions

are subjectively interpreted by them to suit the

meaning in accordance with the existing symbols. It

can be said that if we need to understand the

behavioral patterns of the society we need to

understand the existing symbols. The Interactions

which molded the symbols also create a social

structure. The symbolic interactionism also articulates

that the individuals build a sense of self identity

through these interactions with the society.

Blummer suggests that there are three core principles

of this theory.

1. Meaning : It suggests that people act and

behave towards the other people and things

based upon the meaning that they have

given to them. The principle of meaning is

central to the theory of symbolic

interactionism.

2. Language : The second core principle which

makes the symbols and interactions

comprehensible to the mind. And which

helps in formulating assumptions

“Symbolic Interactionism is

the way we learn to interpret

and give meaning to the

world through our

interactions with others.”

- Scott Plunkett.

Written by: Carlos López

When hearing a

contradictive message we

have a tendency to

believe the non-verbal hints

we receive.

RELA

TION

SHIP

S =

INTE

RACT

IONS

Written by: Gabriela Flores

Relational Dialectics Theory

Its a concept introduced in 1988 by professors Leslie Baxter and Barbera

M. Matgomery; it focuses on the contradiction in relationships. A

relationship is a union of two different individuals that compromise in many

ways. They experience internal tension while being in that relationship and over the time that pressure could break the bond, or make it stronger. It leads then to consider what could be the best solution; a break up or being

open with each other and solve the problem. We have some common

dialects in a relationship, like openness and closeness; which is

when both partners expect an open communication in order to keep

healthy the relationship. But on the contrary, the individual desires

privacy.

Another is connectedness and separateness. People need to be bonded physically and mentally for a relationship to continue. But on the other hand, too much connectedness can blur a person’s individuality. The relational dialectics can be applied in studying interpersonal relationships. The changes on the behavior of the partners can be comprehended applying the contradictions that balances the relationship. If they want to maintain a relationship, it is important to understand the core concepts of relational dialects.

93% of communication is

no-verbal

RELATIONSHIPS =

INTERACTIONS

Written by: Gabriela Flores

Coordinated Management

of Meaning Theory

This theory doesn't focuses on the individual

thoughts of the communicators, nor on

the characteristics of the society in which they live. Instead, it focuses on the interaction between the communicators and the members of the society. It is this interaction that

generates the meaning of the messages that are

sent and received. CMM is not a single theory. It is rather a unified collection of interrelated definitions

and explanations.

Taken together, the six elements of the CMM model (content-speech

act-episode-relationship-self concept-cultural pattern) define a

hierarchy of situations and actions that describes the "communicational

dance." When we interact with others, we do so in the context of a

relationship, and each contact occurs as a particular event or

episode. Our face-to-face communication consists primarily as speech acts which frame the actual words or the content of our speech.

BE SOCIAL! E

OC

IAL!

Written by: Berliomar Rodríguez

Social Penetration

Theory The social penetration is a type of affective

relationship in which the individuals spend more than a superficial communication to a more intimate

(privacy in this case exceeds the physical aspect).

According to Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor, relations vary greatly in their social penetration (is not the same a relationship employee-head that wife-husband); note that all relations are still some kind of particular path, organized in some way, and with a predictable development.

The process of social penetration account with four systematic steps:

Stage of Orientation: reveal certain parts (small) of ourselves to the other.

Affective exploratory stage: emergence of an individual's personality. Expands the private to the public.

Effective stage: spontaneous communication and use of personal drawings, which pose a greater commitment to the other. This phase includes details that make a unique relationship.

Stable phase: efficient communication; establishment of a personal system of communication. There is total honesty, spontaneity and confidence; very few relationships reach this stage. There are few errors or misunderstandings and establishing a system of communication itself.

Penetration stage (optional): there is imbalance in the relationship and reaches its

extinction.

1

2

3

4

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PATTERNS ORSIMILARITIES?

Relational Patterns of

Interaction Theory

Written by: Berliomar Rodríguez

Interactions of a person with the other can be thought as in certain patterns. There is always

some template that you can define any communication. Some patterns of interaction are:

Symmetric Relations: When the individuals involved in the communication respond in a similar way, are mirror images of each other.

Complementary Relationships: The participants in the communication are totally different in the

way in which they react. Like if a person is stupid and the other always argues that are

complementary to each other.

65% of what we learn about another

person when communicating is by

observing non-verbal body language.

ID

EN

TIT

Y IN A

CT

IO

N

Identity Management Theory

This theory explains the basis of the theories of

identity management Erving Goffman, which were

developed by the authors William R. Cupach and

Tadasu Todd Imahori. They described as intercultural

communication refers to how people interact with

others of theirs same environment and origin differ,

and intercultural respect to the communication of a

group of people who differ from their origin, whether

with respect religion, ethnicity, education or social

background. Also speaks of what is identity, which

nothing but personality possessed by each individual

and can also be the view that people have of

themselves either individually or in a social setting.

Written by: Gabriela Acosta

7% of communication is what

you say (words), 38% is how

you say it, and 55% is body

movement.

NOT A PRIVATE THEORY

Communication Privacy Management Theory It was first developed by Sandra Petronio in 1991,

but it truly came together as a theory in 2002

when she published her book, giving it its title.

This theory talks about the limits and barriers we

place on our privacy, how much information about

ourselves we disclose to people and how much

information we keep private. This allows us to

know step by step people and inquire more about

their privacy, people choose to say or not, the

information we choose to disclose or keep private

can bring about both risks and rewards.

The rule based management

system allows for management on

the individual and collective levels

and is a complex arrangement

consisting of three processes:

privacy rule characteristics,

boundary coordination, and

boundary turbulence.

Written by: Gabriela Acosta

LeT’s TheORiZE…

This theory suggests that people tend to look for new situations when they feel discomfort about it. Let’s see what that means: People have thoughts, attitudes or opinions about

something, so when they receive new information or when they are in the middle of a situation they use those thoughts, attitudes

or opinions in order to process it, so when the outcome doesn’t feel right to them that’s

when the dissonance or the discomfort happens.

So basically, people avoid situations that would

potentially cause discomfort. For example: Someone

would think that maintaining a healthy life is important,

but they don’t usually go to the gym, work out or even

eat healthy; there’s a contradiction there, between

what they think and their actions. The theory was

developed in the 1950s by Leon Festinger.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory…

Attribution Theory Attribution theory is all about how individuals make

assumptions towards seen behavior in their surroundings. This theory assumes that we make

judgments before an action or a behavior happens, so it means, we make conclusions beforehand. For

example: If we make a joke in front of people and they don’t laugh, you start to think if you aren’t funny

enough, there is something wrong with them or they decide not to laugh to make you feel bad. The

attribution doesn’t also apply to internal thoughts, there is also external factors that can be attributed to

an existent situation, in that example could be that maybe they didn’t hear you well, they didn’t

understand the joke, or that is was a bad joke or offensive to someone in the group.

Written by: Javier Benitez

When hearing a contradictive message

we have a tendency to believe the non-

verbal hints we receive.

…oUr beHAVIors

Expectancy Violations

Theory We have now reached to the theory that

confuses everyone, and not because the

theory is hard to explain but because it is

all about non-verbal communication and

that sometimes confuses people when they

try to read sign and body language.

This theory states that individuals expect the non-verbal behavior to be based on the

social rules, past experiences and situational aspects of that behavior, so

when that non-verbal communication follows the pattern people could judge

them to be positive or not, same thing for the other way around, when the pattern of

non-verbal communication isn’t right.

On a personal note, all of these theories are important to have a better understanding of how interpersonal communication works. We now know that it isn’t just about talking to another person or a group of people, it is more than that, there are factors and situations that affect or are involved in the process

of communication than just sharing information back and forth. We can conclude that there are too many things going on inside our heads before the communication starts, even though, we are still sending signals without even knowing it. Interpersonal communication goes to show that without it, there

wouldn’t be something to talk about.-

I communicate

Written by: Javier Benitez

This Magazine was brought to you by:

Acosta, Gabriela.

Benítez, Javier.

Flores, Gabriela.

López, Carlos.

Rodríguez, Berliomar.