Com 9
– Interpersonal Communication
Fall 2014
Riverside Community College – City Campus
Instructor: Dr. Michele Weber
Email: michele.weber@rcc.edu website: www.micheleweber.homestead.com
Meeting times: Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00am
Location: Quad 111
Office Hours: by appointment
Text:
Adler, R.B.; Rosenfeld, L.B. & Proctor, R.F. (2012) Interplay: The process of interpersonal communication. Oxford University Press. Twelfth Edition (you may purchase the 11 th edition online at half.com or Amazon.com for much cheaper)
Course Description:
This course will examine the dynamics interpersonal communication with in relationships. The focus of the course will be on learning and practicing skills which are needed to help improve the quality of interpersonal communication. This class is designed to help you improve your interpersonal skills. The class is very skills oriented and will emphasize learning though experiences.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. To introduce students to the basic concepts, theories and processes of Interpersonal
Communication
2. To increase the students understanding of communication skills
3. To teach students to apply communication skills to their own interpersonal skills
4. To allow students the opportunity to exercise these new communication skills within the classroom setting
5. To teach students to analyze different forms of interpersonal communication and formulate strategies for changing them.
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1) Demonstrate understanding of the Communication Process
1. Identify models of Communication
2. Evaluate the role of listening in the interpersonal communication process
3. Analyze the role of verbal and nonverbal communication in interpersonal communication
1. Evaluate the role of intrapersonal communication in two-person communication
 Asses the role of values in two person communication
 Appraise the significance of self-concept and self-esteem in interpersonal communication
 Analyze the role of perception in the creation and deterioration of relationships
 Critically assess the impact of emotion management in relationships
 Analyze theories of interpersonal communication as they operate in interpersonal relationships
1. Discuss the Role of self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships
2. Differentiate amongst relationship theories as they function in the development, maintenance, and termination of relationships
3. Analyze conflict in interpersonal relationships and recommend appropriate styles and methods of conflict resolution.

Policies and Procedures
 Because “active participation” is essential and is an integral part of your grade you will be required to come to class ready to discuss reading assignments and to participate in other class activities. These activities will include lecture and discussion, group work, presentations and other in class assignments.

Examinations must occur on the day assigned.
Make-ups will only be given in the case of excused absences, such as a verifiable illness.
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Attendance is mandatory. Each student is allowed one absence without participation points being deducted. If you miss a class you risk missing important information and assignments. I discourage tardiness, however if you are late for class, do not walk in while a presentation is being given.
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All assignments must be typed and proofread for errors. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and writing style are all important components of written assignments.
Follow standard APA and MLA guidelines.
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All assignments are due on the day assigned.
An excused absence is the only exception. Excused absences are defined as verifiable illness, funeral, wedding, jury duty, emergency, etc. Any other late assignments will receive a 20% deduction off the total. It is your responsibility to keep me informed.
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Please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices upon entry into the classroom.
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You are expected to provide original work. Any plagiarism will result in an automatic
“F” in this course. Plagiarism is the improper use, or failure to attribute, another person’s writing or ideas. Please give credit where credit is due to all the sources you use. Also, keep in mind that any cheating, or copying of another person’s exam, or paper will not be tolerated.

Please show courtesy and respect for others. This is especially true while someone is giving sharing their ideas. We may not always agree with someone else’s perspective or interpretation of information.
Note: To receive GE credit for this cour se, a semester grade of “C” or better must be earned.
Grade breakdown: Your grade is based on the number of points you accumulate out of the total possible
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Journal
Presentation
100 pts
100 pts
250 pts
100 pts
Presentation Outline
Application Paper
50 pts
100 pts
Self Concept Bag 50pts
Movie Analysis 50pts
Participation 150 pts
Total Points 950 pts

Grade Scale
855 – 950 A
760 – 854
665 – 759
B
C
570 – 664 D
Below 570 F
Assignments:
Examinations: There will be two exams for this class: midterm and final. Exams will be objective true / false, multiple choice. You will need a Scantron 882. Each exam will cover reading, in class activities and lecture.
Journal: Journals are a means to provide self-reflection. Journal writing will serve two purposes. The first purpose will be to respond to communication skills. The second will be to respond to various topics. There will be 10 journal entries with each entry being worth 25 points. The journals will be collected twice throughout the semester for grading. It is very important that you stay current with your journal writings. Late journal entries will be penalized.
Presentation: You and a partner will be responsible for delivering a 10 to 15 minute presentation. Your presentation will need to cover a communication principle in depth. Be creative on this one and make the presentation fun, interesting and meaningful to the class.
Your presentation will then be graded on the quality of information presented as well as the style of the presentation. You will be responsible for turning in an outline on the day of the presentation. You will also be required to turn in an evaluation of your partner to me after your presentation is complete.
Application Paper: This will be a research paper which will cover a topic which we have discussed in class. I will hand out a list of topics you can use; however you can choose something else, just run it by me first. This paper should provide insight and application into the area of communication. The relevancy of the paper should be how we can apply these principles or concepts to every day life. The paper will be a 5-7 page double spaced paper, with a minimum of seven sources in your bibliography. Citations should follow standard
MLA or APA format.
Participation: This class is very experiential. You must be present to experience the in class assignments. You must understand that due to our accelerated schedule, attendance is an important part of this class. If you miss class you risk missing important assignments or skills which the class is working on. Simply attending class however will not be enough to receive full participation points. Class participation points will be made up of attendance, active involvement in class, homework assignments, and in class assignments.

Date
Tue Aug 26
Thurs Aug 28
Tue Sept 2
Thurs Sept 4
Tue Sept 9
Thurs Sept 11
Tue Sept 16
Thurs Sept 18
Tue Sept 23
Thurs Sept 25
Tue Sept 30
Thurs Oct 2
Tue Oct 7
Thurs Oct 9
Tue Oct 14
Thurs Oct 16
Tue Oct 21
Class Schedule
Activity
Introduction to course
Introductions to each other
Assignment
Chapter #1
The Communication Process
Intro to Interpersonal Relationships Journal Entry #1
Activities on Comm Process Chapter #2
Culture and Interpersonal Comm
Culture Activities
Movie Culture
Chapter #3
Movie Culture Part II
Assign Self Concept bag
Self – concept Journal Entry #2
Self Concept bag is due and presented Chapter #4
Journal entry #3
Perception
Perception
Perception
Language
Exercises on Language
Non Verbal Communication
Non verbal documentary
Chapter #5
Journal Entry#4
Chapter #6
Journal Entry #5
Midterm Exam
Listening
*Assign Application Paper
Journals 1-5 are due
Chapter #7
Journal Entry #6

Thurs Oct 23
Tues Oct 28
Thurs Oct 30
Tues Nov 4
Thurs Nov 6
More on Listening
Emotions
Dynamics of Relationships
Intimacy and Distance in Relationships
Chapter #8
Journal Entry #7
Chapter #9
Chapter #10
More on Relationships / Assign Group Project Chapter #11
Journal Entry #8
Tues Nov 11
Thurs Nov 13
Tues Nov 18
Communication Climates
Conflict
Chapter #12
Journal Entry #9
Journal Entry #10
Movie Relationships, Climates and Conflict
Application Paper is Due
Thurs Nov 20 Group Meeting Day
Tues Nov 25 Group Meeting Day
Thanksgiving Break and Holiday No classes
Tues Dec 2 Group Presentations
Thurs Dec 4 Group Presentations
Final Exams are according the final exam schedule listed in the schedule of classes, and will be announced. They are the second week of December 2014.

Journal Entry Assignments
Instructions:
Use some type of notebook or blue book for your entries. All of your journal entries can be hand written, however they should be free of spelling and grammatical errors and easy to read. It is recommended that you keep up with all of your journal entries as we go through each section. This is important for two reasons: First, you will have the ideas or concepts we discussed in class fresh in your mind, therefore making it easier to respond. Second, I will be collecting the journals twice during the semester for grading.
Entry #1: Interpersonal Communication (personal assessment)
Think about communication competence and your communication skills. In a couple of paragraphs “What do you consider your two or three most significant strengths in the area of communication? Share some examples why you consider these to be strengths. Identify one or two significant weaknesses.
Why do you consider these to be problem areas?
Now come up with three to five goals (related to interpersonal communication) which you would like to set for yourself this semester. What is one specific thing that you could do now in order to reach one of these goals?
Entry #2: Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Evaluate two incidents in which self-fulfilling prophecies you have imposed on yourself have affected communication. Describe how each one of these predictions shaped your behavior. Describe how you might have behaved differently if you had made a different prediction.
Now describe two incidents in which you imposed self-fulfilling prophecies on others. What effect did your prediction have on the se people’s actions?
Entry #3: Perception Checking
In at least two situations this week in which you think perception checking will be appropriate, try using this skill with others. The skill of perception checking consists of:
2. A description of the behavior your noted
3. Two possible interpretations of that behavior
4. A request for feedback as to the correct interpretation of the behavior.

In your journal, describe the situation(s), discuss why you thought perception checking was appropriate in the situations, and reflect on how perception checking influenced the quality of your communication.
Entry #4: Language
6. Identify and provide specific examples of times in your interpersonal relationships when choice of language led to either positive or negative results. For each situation, cite the person involved, the place of the occurrence, the situation and the language use.
7. After this identify the type of language problem (equivocal language, relative words, euphemisms, static evaluation, etc…) and explain the results of each incident.
8. How did language play a pivotal role in these experiences? (be sure to illustrate a different type of language problem for each)
Entry #5: Nonverbal
Provide personal examples (10 total) of how you have used each of the types of nonverbal communication as discussed in the textbook. The elements that should be included are: face and eyes, kinesics, touch, paralanguage, proxemics, territory, chronemics, physical attractiveness, clothing, and environment. These examples should reflect specific incidents, not just generalities.
Next, based on the examples you have provided as well as comments made by others about your nonverbal communication, how do you rate yourself in regards to frequency (how often you use nonverbal cues), awareness (are you aware of yourself and others nonverbal behavior)? Be specific and provide examples.
Entry #6 Listening
1. The text book discusses different types of ineffective listening. Which two are you most likely to participate? Share examples of each. What would you do differently in each situation?
2. If you could pick a “model” of a good listener what who would it be?
Why? What makes this person an effective listener??
Entry #7: Emotions
1. Relate four incidents in which you experience communication related debilitative emotions. These can be either mild or extreme (ex. Getting ready for a job interview, presentation, etc.)
2. For each incident record the self talk that led to the emotion experienced
(ex. “I’m not ready for this test” or “I’m going to blow this interview.”

3. Identify the fallacy that relates to the self talk recorded (ex. Catastrophic expectations, over generalization, helplessness, etc…)
4. Provide conclusions for each incident.
Entry #8: Relationships
Consider on of your most important relationships. Begin by identifying the individual and briefly describing the relationship. Then, use the principles in the chapters to analyze this relationship.
1. Consider the variables of why we form relationships (attraction, similarity, complementarily, proximity, etc.) How did these variables function in the beginning of your relationship? How do the variables function now that you have a more established relationship?
2. Discuss your relationship in term s of Knapp’s stages of Coming Together /
Apart. How did you move from one stage to another? Where are you now?
What tells you this?
3. How do the dialectical tensions function in this relationship? Give at least two specific examples and describe how you managed the tension?
4. What role does self-disclosure play in this relationship? Why do you selfdisclose (ch 10) What benefits have you found in self-disclosure in this relationship? How important is honesty in this relationship? Do you ever use
“alternatives” to self-disclosure (white lies, equivocation, hinting?) What are the results of such behavior? Give specific examples.
5. How would you describe the “social penetration” of this relationship?
6. What is your satisfaction in the relationship? What could / should be changed? What is your prediction for the future?
Entry #9 responding non-defensively
When we perceive that others are attacking our self-concept we tend to respond defensively. Responding defensively often lowers the quality of communication. During this next week when you find yourself feeling defensive, stop and consciously decide to respond non defensively. In your journal respond to the following:
1. First, describe two situations in which you tried to respond non defensively and what you did to be non defensive.
2. Analyze the influence of the use of this skill on the quality of communication which occurred.

Entry #10 Conflict
4. During the next week, consciously try to use the skills for managing conflict constructively in at least one conflict situation you are involved in.
Describe the situation, how you tried to manage it constructively, and the influence your skill had on the quality of the communication. Remember to use one of the conflict management skills discussed in class.