Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Comm 11 Fundamentals Of Interpersonal Communication Textbook, Teresa A. Fisher

Open Educational Resources

A survey of interpersonal communication.

Who We Are Together: Identity Negotiation In Different-Orientation Relationships, Justin Tackett

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

viii Abstract This qualitative study explored how partners in different-orientation (dif-orientation) relationships experienced and navigated identity across the five frames of the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI): personal, enacted, relational, communal, and material. Dif-orientation relationships, romantic partnerships where individuals identify with different sexual orientations, represent a form of intercultural communication involving partners from distinct sexual orientation communities who must negotiate different cultural frameworks regarding sexuality, relationships, and identity expression. Despite growing recognition of diverse relationship configurations, little research currently examines how partners in these relationships manage identity gaps, or misalignments between different frames of identity, and what communication strategies they …

“I Did Not Come Back The Same”: Implications Of A Study Abroad Basic Communication Course, Kristen L. Farris, Andrea Avila, Lauren Green, Michael Burns, Marian L. Houser

Basic Communication Course Annual

The goal of this case study was to explore students’ experiences in a study abroad program of the basic communication course. Thirty-six students enrolled in a study abroad program in the summer of 2023 participated in focus groups tasked to understand more about students’ challenges and learning outcomes. Results from our study suggest students’ significant takeaways from the study abroad experience were their personal growth through improved communication skills and cultural appreciation via expanded worldviews. The findings also suggest these students experienced challenges including language barriers and nonverbal behavioral differences as well as initial negative expectations of intercultural interactions. However, …

Fundamentals Of Communication, 3rd Ed., Teresa Fisher

Open Educational Resources

This textbook was designed to meet the student learning outcomes for an introductory course in interpersonal communication at an urban community college. This is the third edition. In addition to cleaning up the previous editions, the third edition includes a few new observations and comments as well as removes a couple unneeded discussions. Each chapter covers a different facet of human communication starting with some basics. Then the book moves into a closer look at interpersonal communication through the lenses of culture, the self, perception, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and listening. Finally, interpersonal relationships and conflict are explored. There's even …

Fundamentals Of Communication, 2nd Ed., Teresa Fisher

Open Educational Resources

This textbook explores human communication with a particular focus on interpersonal communication. Following a foundational chapter, subsequent chapters include examining the role of culture, identity, perception, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and listening on interpersonal communication. The textbook also includes chapters on interpersonal relationships and conflict. The final chapter provides guidance on oral presentations. The first edition was titled "Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication".

“Don’T Touch My Hair”: An Examination Of The Exercise Of Privilege And Power Through Interracial Hair-Centered Communication Interactions, Zakiya Collier

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

The black body, including skin color and hair texture, has served as markers of Otherness separating Black people from people of other racial groups. Because of this, the black body especially that of the female, is frequently subjected to the interrogation by non-black people. This study examines the effects of that interrogation as it relates to black women’s hair. Two critical questions are explored: 1) What role does white privilege play in the questioning and touching of Black hair? and 2) Do these questions signify the innocent quest of information for understanding and coexistence or are they assertions of power …

Fundamentals Of Interpersonal Communication, Teresa Fisher

Open Educational Resources

This textbook introduces students to fundamentals of interpersonal communication. It begins with a foundational chapter about communication including models of, definitions for, basic principles of, a focus on interpersonal communication, and the impact of social media on communication. It continues with chapters exploring various facets of interpersonal communication: intercultural communication, the self and communication, perception, verbal, nonverbal, and listening. The final two chapters look at interpersonal relationships and communication as well as conflict in interpersonal communication.

Ethnolinguistic Convergence And Divergence Within Dyadic Communication, Anna E. Pitman

Honors College Research

This study investigated just one dependent variable within communication: ethnicity. Ethnicity often influences language. The study examined interethnic communication behaviors through the lens of the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), as influenced by one of its offshoots, Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (ELIT). Communication within CAT is given one of three labels—convergence, divergence, and maintenance. The study included four students at Harding University: two African American females, one Hispanic American female, and one Caucasian American female. The primary participant, an African American woman, had a recorded 20 minute conversation with each of the other three participants. Discussion questions provided were formulated to create …

The Captivity Of Opportunity: The Conversation Surrounding Church-Going Hispanic Immigrants, Nicolet Hopper Bell

Master's Theses

Immigration is a long-standing topic of discussion in the United States. Hispanic immigrants, or families of Hispanic immigrants, living in America face unique challenges. Through focus group interviews, participants from a predominantly Hispanic Protestant church narrated their experience of living in the United States. Guided grounded theory data analysis revealed three categories and 14 subcategories, or themes of conversation, surrounding this hot topic. Participants shed light on the distinctive challenges they faced, how these challenges affected them, and how they attempted to overcome these difficulties. By exploring these results through the lens of social stigma theory (Goffman, 2009) and intergroup …

Multiculturalism As Reported By The European Online Press: A Qualitative Study On The Manifestation Of Othering Discourses, Shomik Chakrabarti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study critically examined how issues of multiculturalism and Muslim immigration are discursively constructed within the English language European online press. Through the use of a frame analysis as well as a more focused discourse analysis, an examination was undertaken to uncover how “us” versus “them” perspectives were manifest within a public discourse. A total of 132 articles from The Daily Mail, Le Monde Diplomatique, Dutchnews.nl, Spiegel Online and The International Herald Tribune were selected using a systematic sampling method based on the results of a search query for multiculturalism at each news site. The analysis of the data corpus …

Exploring The Relationship Between Facebook, Face-To-Face And Intercultural Communication, Rebecca Schaefer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My Capstone Experience/Thesis project seeks to explore and examine the effects of Facebook on communication between American and international students. The use of social media as a means to communicate with others is increasing at an amazing rate. Facebook has become my generation’s favorite way to communicate with friends and family and “to Facebook” has unofficially become a verb that many college students will use. While social media, such as Facebook and Linked-In, may encourage American college students to communicate with international students beyond the classroom and campus, it seems that Facebook is on the way to becoming a substitute …

Language Contact Between Korean And English In Online Communication, Jiyoung L. Daniel

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Over the past decade, the use of the Internet has become an indispensable part of life in the new millennium. One of the most popular activities in the era of the Internet is online communication. Net-Lingo, which is a product of online communication, is a new language variety that differs from both writing and speech as traditionally understood (Crystal, 2001). Given that Net-Lingo is considered a language variety, I describe the salient linguistic characteristics of Korean Net-Lingo (KNL) and investigate the specific mechanisms that govern the observable linguistic characteristics. The globalization of the Internet is prompting different languages to come …

International Students' Experiences In Higher Education: A Case Study Examining Uncertainty Reduction Theory In Communication Classrooms, Susan Kuhn

Dissertations and Theses

This was an exploratory case study which focused on international students' experiences in higher education. In particular, this study investigated the efficacy of uncertainty reduction theory in communication classrooms. The research asked four exploratory questions: (a) What are the students’ perceptions of the teacher/student relationship? (b) Do international students experience uncertainty in communication classrooms? (c) If uncertainty is experienced, what is its source(s)? (d) If uncertainty is experienced, do students seek to reduce it, and if so, how?

A phenomenological perspective was utilized in this study as the organizing, theoretical framework. Relevant literature on uncertainty reduction theory was reviewed as …

Toward A Phenomenological-Based Perspective Of Acculturation With Application To Scottish Immigrants, Dorothy M. Sermol

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an attempt to construct a perspective of the acculturation of immigrants drawing on certain communication- based phenomenological assumptions. From these phenomenological assumptions a Framework of Acculturation is constructed as a guide through which to examine the acculturation process. The Framework of Acculturation is then applied to the particular group of Scottish immigrants who live in the Northwest of the United States.