Communication in a Changing
World, 2006 Edition
C H A P T E R
2
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McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bethami A. Dobkin
Roger C. Pace

Constructing the Self through
Communication
•
Developing the Self through
Communication
•
Communication and Identity
•
Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
•
Communicating Responsibly: Maintaining an Authentic Self
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Developing the Self through
Communication
• The Emergence of a Self Concept
– We begin the journey of discovering who we are when we develop self-awareness , the consciousness of our existence and an understanding of our selves
– The impressions that you form about yourself constitute your self-concept , a relatively consistent image or set of perceptions that you have about your self
– How you see yourself affects how and what you communicate to others
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Developing the Self through
Communication
• Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us
– As we interact with others, we begin to evaluate ourselves based on our view of how others are responding to us
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Developing the Self through
Communication
• The Power of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
– Communication with others helps define out self-concept through the self-fulfilling prophecy , the tendency to live up to the expectations created for us
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Communication and Identity
• Our self-concept is also informed by our identity
–
Identity refers to the conception of oneself as a member of a group or category
– We draw from identity categories to guide our decisions about what to say and how to respond to others
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Communication and Identity
Figure 2-2. Identity Wheel
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Communication and Identity
• Gender and Identity
– Sex and Gender
• Physical characteristics guide our assumptions about gender, which refers to the conception we have about what it means to be female or male, feminine or masculine, in our society
• We develop a gender identity based on our conception of ourselves as a male or female
– Gender and Communication
• From birth, people around us choose how to talk to us based on our gender
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Communication and Identity
"Of my two ‘handicaps,’ being female put more obstacles in my path than being black"
—Shirley Chisolm, first black woman elected to Congress
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Communication and Identity
• Social Identity
– Social identity theory (Abrams and Hogg
1990) states that your identification with social groups is important for our self-concept
– Your social identity, like your gender identity, makes up part of your self-concept that is both influenced by and helps to guide your interactions with others
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Communication and Identity
• Cultural Identity
– Our culture is another source of influence on our identity, self-concept, and communication patterns
– Our self-concept, identities and cultural values all influence how we interact with others
– Our culture and identity enable us to see some things while not noticing others
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Communication and Identity
Figure 2-3. Types of Identity
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Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
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Figure 2-4. Self Awareness Concept Map
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Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
Figure 2-5.
The Johari Window
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Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
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• Adopting Roles
– Another way to explore assumptions about yourself and learn new skills is through taking different roles in your conversations with others
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Role taking is the ability to understand the motives, interests, and actions of other people and to adopt those actions (e.g., Griffin 2000)
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Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
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• Interacting with Media
– The growth and changes in our self-awareness is influenced by the media, which permeate society
– One way that we understand our self is by comparing ourselves to others in a process called social comparison (Festinger 1954)
• Sometimes people who compare themselves to media images feel inadequate about their appearance, and this leads to lower self-esteem , the value you attach to your self-concept
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Enhancing Self-Awareness through
Interaction with Others
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• Taking Charge of Self-Esteem
– Our ability to think about and evaluate ourselves enables us to further develop and refine our selfconcept
– The following strategies can help you take charge of your self-esteem:
• Recognize that you are a complex person
• Accept who you are as a starting point for change and set realistic person goals
• Create supportive communication contexts
• Be strategic about which parts of yourself to reveal to others
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Summary
• Our self-concept develops through interaction with others, making communication central in the development of the self
• Our self-concept is defined partly by our gender, social, and cultural identities
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Summary
• The Johari Window depicts different parts of the self and the ways the self is revealed
• Maintaining an authentic self requires consistency between your presentation of self and your self-concept
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