UNIT 5: THE INDIVIDUAL
COMMUNICATOR
UNIT OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
•
define perception and describe the three stages in
the perception process;
•
explain how selected factors influence perception;
•
define self-concept, self-awareness, self-esteem,
and self-disclosure;
•
explain theories relating to the self; and
•
discuss guidelines and strategies towards
developing and enhancing aspects of the self in
communication.
SUB-TOPICS
THE PERCEPTION PROCESS
• Factors that Influence an Individual’s Perception
• Critical Perception Strategies
• General Strategies for Reducing Uncertainty in
Perception
• Specific Strategies for Increasing Awareness in
Perception
ADDRESSING INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, MOTIVES,
AND DRIVES
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Drives
• McClelland’s Motive Clusters
IMAGES
OF THE SELF
•
•
•
•
Self-concept
Self-Awareness
Self-esteem
Self-disclosure
• ‘perception’ means making sense of our
environment to see how it relates to us.
• In speech communication, it refers to the
process of examining how and why
messages may differ in relation to one’s
communication needs.
The process of making sense of our
environment may be divided into three
main stages or sub-processes:
• Sensory input is received
• Input is organised
• Input is interpreted and/or evaluated
FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE PERCEPTION
•
Implicit personality theory
–
•
Self-fulfilling prophecy
–
•
prediction or belief that comes true because it was
acted as if it were true
Pygmalion effect
–
•
culture-specific system of rules that tells us which
characteristics go with other related characteristics
e.g. the halo effect
a widely known effect of the self-fulfilling prophecy
Perceptual accentuation
–
we see what we expect to see and what we want to
see
Factors (cont’d…)
• Primacy-recency
– the first impression is likely to be the most important
• Consistency
– strong tendency to maintain balance among
perceptions
• Stereotyping
– shortcut in perception leading to a fixed impression of
a group of people
• Attribution
– process of discovering why people behave in certain
ways
CRITICAL PERCEPTION
STRATEGIES
Communication is a complex process:
• people attempt to find out more about each
other both consciously and unconsciously
• each person involved learns more about the
other
• relationships becomes more and more
meaningful
• people learn to reduce uncertainty about each
other through the use of a variety of strategies
• passive, active, and interactive strategies
PERCEPTION
STRATEGIES
• Passive Strategies
– observing someone without that person being aware of it E.g. at a
birthday party.
• Active Strategies
– active seeking of information about other people without actually
interacting with them, including asking mutual friends and
acquaintances
– Some people also manipulate the environment in which the subject
performs e.g. student teaching situations, employment interviews,
theatrical auditions, etc.
• Interactive Strategies
– involve direct contact with people
– promote interaction between you and the people you are interested in,
and the asking of appropriate questions
– to maximise the reduction of uncertainty, people self-disclose and this
encourages further interaction.
Increasing Awareness in
Perception
• Look for a variety of cues
- the more perceptual cues pointing to the same
conclusions the better
• Formulate hypothesis
– think specific things about the people you are
interested in
– seek information that will confirm your ideas and
hunches
• Delay conclusions
– Examine a variety of cues before drawing conclusions
• Avoid mind reading
– a person's motives, values, and needs are not open
to outside inspection, so we can only make certain
assumptions
• Check your perceptions
– Check own perceptions as well as other people's
perceptions about you; the two basic forms of
perception checking are:
• Describe tentatively what you think is happening e.g. "You
sound upset with my plans for the evening…"
• Ask for confirmation e.g. "Would you rather watch TV?"
Addressing Individual Needs,
Motives, and Drives
• Motivational appeals:
• appeals to human needs, desires, and
wants…are the most powerful means of
persuasion you possess" (Devito, 1999:
397).
• speech communication:
– basically an exercise in persuasion
– to get people to listen to what we have to say
– to listen to what others have to say
Needs, Motives,
and Drives (Cont’d…)
• Motive is the power behind persuasion
• To become a better communicator, you must:
– be aware of and understand human motives and
related drives, desires, and wants
– develop your strengths and change undesirable
attitudes and behaviours
• Two systems of classification to group together
individual needs and motives ie. Maslow (1970)
and McClelland (1972)
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs and Drives
Maslow (1970):
(1970)
• a classic approach in the study of human
motives
• major impact on consumer studies in
marketing and sales and on the field of
communication studies
• Categories of needs and desires drive
people to think, act, and respond in certain
innate or 'built in' ways
Maslow’s
Hierarchy (Cont’d…)
•
•
•
Physiological Needs: food, water, air, sleep,
and sex (basic bodily requirements)
Safety: security, stability, protection from harm,
shelter, clothes, structure, orderliness,
predictability, freedom from fear and chaos
Love and Belonging: devotion and warmth,
affection with lovers, spouses, children,
parents and close friends, feeling a sense of
belonging to social groups, acceptance and
approval
Maslow’s
Hierarchy (Cont’d…)
• Esteem: self-esteem based on achievements
and accomplishments, mastery, competence,
confidence, freedom and independence,
recognition by others, prestige and status
• Self-actualisation: self-fulfilment, knowing and
understanding, realising individual potential and
actualising capabilities, being true to the
essential self and satisfying love for the
aesthetic
Maslow’s
Hierarchy (Cont’d…)
• Important points to observe about
Maslow's taxonomy:
– interrelates biological drives and social
motives
– a hierarchy of prepotency i.e. lower level
needs must be satisfied in whole or in party
before higher level desires can be addressed
or realised
McClelland’s
Motive Clusters
McClelland’s Motive Clusters (1972) – three
primary motives:
a) Affiliation Motives – desire to belong to a group
and to be liked and accepted
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
companionship
conformity
deference/dependence
sympathy/generosity
loyalty
tradition
reverence/worship
sexual attraction
McClelland’s
Motive Clusters (Cont’d…)
b) Achievement Motives – desire for success,
adventure, creativity, and personal enjoyment
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
acquisition/saving
success/display
pride
prestige
adventure/change
perseverance
creativity
curiosity
personal enjoyment
McClelland’s
Motive Clusters (Cont’d…)
c) Power Motives – desire to influence
others
– aggression
– authority/dominance
– defence
– fear
– autonomy/independence
McClelland’s
Motive Clusters (Cont’d…)
Important points to note about McClelland's Motive
Types:
• Some motives are innate while others are
acquired or learned from the environment in
which human beings develop
• Some motives would seem to contradict each
other e.g. fear versus adventure; generosity vs.
aggression, but we must understand that the
clusters are based on observations of human
behaviour which often contains elements of
contradictory impulses
Motivational Appeals…
an example
Developing and Using an Integrated Set of Motivational Appeals
•
General Purpose:To persuade and/or to actuate
•
Specific Purpose:To persuade fellow students at the Faculty
of Modern Languages and Communication UPM to pursue a
flexible M.A. in English Language programme
•
Central Claim:For many students, the M.A. (English
Language Studies) is the one of the best degrees at the
postgraduate level.
•
Using Motivational Appeals:
–
Appeal to creativity: The MA in English programme allows the
entrant with a BA or a Bed degree to build a programme suited
to your individual needs and desires
Motivational Appeals…
an example (Cont’d…)
– Appeal to adventure: Break away from the masses and do
something unique towards restructuring your life
– Appeal to curiosity: Explore subject areas and courses of
instruction as deeply as you wish
– Appeal to success: Get a feeling of achievement from
designing and completing your very own programme
– Appeal to acquisition/saving: get the degree and enjoy
excellent employment opportunities that come with
attractive salary packages and perks e.g. as lecturers in
higher learning institutions, corporate public relations
officers, personnel managers etc.
In-class Task
What kind of motivational appeals will you use to address
each of the following groups of people/audiences?
Work in groups to prepare a short speech.
1. A group of students protesting recent increases in the
university student intake and the resultant shortage of
facilities
2. Women at a seminar on equal employment
opportunities
3. A meeting of Malaysian primary and secondary school
teachers seeking better salaries for services rendered
4. A meeting of undergraduates from the Faculty of
Modern Languages and Communication concerned
about the employment prospects of graduates in
language studies