Week 4 Question 3: Nonverbal Communication

Reading chapter five, I learned that most of the concepts were related to diversity in groups. However, when I got the section of nonverbal communication I was very interested. The reason why I was so interested in this is because, although nonverbal communication is important and very prevalent in our everyday communication, this topic is not often discussed. Nonverbal communication “is often subtle and multidimensional and may take the form of body or facial gestures, tone of voice, turn taking, use of time, or habits of dress or hairstyle.” (Harris/Sherblom 92)

I liked how they emphasized the fact that we need to keep in mind that each culture attaches different standards of appropriateness to nonverbal expressions. This concept did not become to clear to me until about a few years ago. I had a Nigerian friend that did a good job on his speech in class. He told me that my thumbs up, was the equivalent of the middle finger to the Nigerian culture. I felt bad but he told me not to because he knew that was not what I was referring to. So in short, I believe we should all learn nonverbals, be aware of them, and use them effectively in our communication experiences.

Week 4 Question 2: White Men Privilege

When reading the segment of Hierarchies of Power, I learned about the “white men of privilege” concept. “Clearly, the overriding assumption of social, economic, and political power in this country has long resided with upper-class and upper-middle-class white European males of wealth and privilege.” (Harris/Sherblom 96) As this concept is not a news flash for me, I do agree with this concept. For several centuries now, white men are assumed to have power and wealth in this country. In many cases, white men will be picked over a person of color or a woman, just because of this concept. Although this country is supposedly straying away from racism and inequality, this concept has been embedded in our minds since we were younger. I do not think it will ever be any different.

As far as social power, when we turn on our televisions white men dominate the shows. If we find television shows with primarily people of color, they are on special channels such as BET. In the “family commercials” we already expect to see a white family with the father in a successful position. In the economic power, all we have to do is think of the highest paying jobs and look at the statistics for what ethnic and genders obtain these jobs. I guarantee at least 8 out of 10 of these are white men. As for the political power, it has been clear throughout our history that white men have dominated in this category (although we now have our first African-American president)

Week 4 Question 1: Stereotypes

This chapter emphasized diversity very well. When most people think about stereotyping, they relate is to race or gender. However, “beyond gender, race, and ethnic heritage, diversity also relates to differences in social and economic class, access to education, physical attractiveness and ability, and sexual orientation.” (Harris/Sherblom 88) The more diverse the individual, the easier the person to be subjected to several stereotypes. I personally do not like being labeled whatsoever. Many people cannot tell what exactly my ethnic background is because I am of “mixed decent”, but I absolutely like it that way. The more people are able to identify you to a certain group, the easier it is for them to make assumptions of you.

Although I do not like to be labeled as I already mentioned, sometimes there is no escaping certain groups that you evidently belong to. I have been stereotyped because I am a female, because of my physical attractiveness, because of my economic class, and above all because of my ethnic heritage. When I read chapter 5 I realized that I was able to relate to almost every single concept identified in this chapter. My experiences with stereotyping do not differ significantly. I think everyone can admit to stereotyping, as well as being stereotyped. It may seem funny when in a joking manner, however the reality of it is that it is an unfair, inaccurate way to identify an individual or a group as a whole. I think we should strive to reject the partaking and accepting of stereotypes, and instead let people prove themselves to you by their own actions.

Week 3 Question 3: Cohesiveness

As I read through chapter three, the concept cohesiveness stood out to me. It “is the extent to which members are loyal and committed to the group” (Griffin, 2005, p. 629) “creating a force that binds group members together” (Keton & Springstone, 1990, p. 234). Although there is usually a set structure on how the group is to get work done, interaction and communication within the group determines the strength of cohesiveness. This is not to say that everyone has to be friends or even get along in order for there to be cohesiveness. As long as each member of the group is willing to participate and contribute, there will be no problem.

A few semesters ago I was assigned to a group project where two of the members did not get along. At first they would not even speak to each other which negatively affected the cohesiveness of our group. We did not feel like they were loyal and committed to our group. Once I stressed the importance of the assignment and how it was going to impact our grades, they put their problems to the side and willingly put effort and input into our assignment.

Week 3 Question 2: Functions of Group Norms

The functions of norms in groups include: establishing accepted rules of behavior, “having a map of group behavior and processes”, providing common goals for those in the groups. (Harris/Sherblom 46) When I was in junior high school, I had a close group of friends. We hung out at school and outside of school. We became so close that we had several inside jokes that only we understood, and even came up with our own language. It sounds funny now that I think of it but during that time, it made us all feel that much closer I believe. Many people thought it was stupid the way we talked (or really just abbreviated and changed words) but we did not care. However those same people that ridiculed us for our language violated that norm. Our language was only for our close group of friends, making it a norm. When we heard others using it we felt as though it was our own anymore. It was not a huge deal but I just remember seeing that our exclusive norms were no longer so exclusive. Ultimately our select group tended to just seem like all the other kids on campus. I believe that when norms are established or used by others, you feel less private and/or unique. This however is not always a bad thing, it just happened to sort of be that way for my junior high friends and me.

Week 3 Question 1: Group Norms

Yes there are group norms at SJSU. There are probably several different ones but I will name the few that stand out to me the most. Because I am a student, I will only talk about the student group norms. One of the norms is that we all are expected to go to class. As college students no one can legally force us to go to class, however as paying students we assume everyone who is enrolled will attend class. Another norm involves our communication. The way we talk with family and friends is much different from how we talk to our professors. “Most students address their professors more formally than they do their family members.” (Harris/Sherblom 47)

I do not really spend time with a certain group of friends, as I tend to hang out with many different people. However in my family, we have our values and morals which is what makes us the people we are. We already know what type of behavior and actions to expect from each other since we were all brought up believing and living by the same thing.

It is easy to identify these norms in my family because I lived with them for eight-teen years. With the SJSU norms, I learned quickly as a freshman just by observing behaviors and actions from my colleagues and people around me. It was easy to adapt to these norms because they already seemed normal to me and nothing was out of the ordinary from my typical behaviors and actions.

Week 2 Question 3: Irreversibility

In chapter two I learned about several different concepts and how they effect small group communication. We talked about a few in this week’s discussion, but one that was not mentioned, that I find important is “irreversibility.” This concept basically means that once you say something, you cannot take it back. “What is said may contribute to the effectiveness or the deterioration of the group process.” (Harris/Sherblom 38) This is so true in all aspects your communication experiences in life. In small group communication specifically, if you speak positive and uplift the group, they will trust and think highly of you. However if you say something detrimental (whether you apologize or not) your group will potentially always remember what you said. Irreversibility is basically a term that warns us to think before we speak. We should not let our emotions impact our responses because one something is said there is really no way to start over. Therefore when is comes to irreversibility, we should remember to speak positively and in a way that we know we will not regret.

Week 2 Question 1: Interrelationships and Interdependence

Interdependence is, “the extent that members depend on one another and share in responsibility for the group process, the group gains the benefit of the shared ideas and interactions.” (Harris/Sherblom 32) Interrelationships are mutual associations or affiliations in a group. From my past small group experiences, I see how these two are very important to communication.

I remember a few semesters ago being assigned to a group project about a specific topic in the book. We were to present the chapter to the class and somehow use a visual aid to help the students grasp the chapter even more. This was our final assignment so our interdependence was high. Unfortunately though, one of our group members did not keep in contact with us and it forced us to pick up his slack in the presentation.

As far as interrelationships go, I can vividly think of another experience I had. I was moving into a 4 bedroom apartment where three of us were all friends, and the fourth person only knew me. Because that fourth person was sort of the odd one out, she could not chime in some of our conversations because she was somewhat out of the loop most of the time.

As far as the first example I gave, I was very disappointed in the guy that didn’t participate in our assignment because the interdependence within our group was very important. His grade suffered, so I think he got what he deserved. As for the last example, I regret not having all or no interrelationships, because that left room for miscommunication and the feeling of discomfort.

Week 2 Question 2: Entropy and Equifinality

Entropy has a negative impact on small groups, but can easily be adjusted in the right direction with a little order. Entropy is “disorganization, stagnation, and chaos.” (Harris/Sherblom 33) It is usually caused by an overload of too much energy of information. When groups sense digression from the intended purpose, they use negative feedback to keep themselves from further detriment. A way to avoid entropy in small groups is to establish order. That way there is a specific plan and way to reach whatever target the group is aiming for.

Equifinality on the other hand, affects small groups positively for the most part. “There is more than one way to skin a cat,” (Harris/Sherblom 34) was a great expression used to explain this concept. Basically equifinality means that there are different routes to the same destination. In equifinaliy there is room for suggestions and input from members of a group, to come up with a way (or ways) to reach their goal.