COMM 103
Introduction
Materials
Objectives
Policies & Grading
Chapter Papers
Applications
Group Project
Exams

CONTACT

RESEARCH
Search
Writing
Speaking
Organizations
Resources

SUPPLEMENTS
Pragmatic Model
Competence
Cycle of Experience
Listening for Info.
Active Listening
Conflict

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

     Relationships are integral to our lives. It is through relationships with other people that we develop the sense of who we are, obtain what we need to survive, and gain much of our enjoyment in living. Relationships are created, maintained, changed, and ended largely through interpersonal, or one-to-one, communication. This course focuses on understanding and improving the process of interpersonal communication. Since many disciplines study parts of this process, you will sometimes learn things which you might think of as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and so on. However, you will find our course different from those in other disciplines for these reasons: We integrate information from the various relevant disciplines, and we develop practical implications for improving interpersonal communication. Class discussion, exercises, presentations, and role-play will allow you to explore these implications and increase your communication understanding and competence.

Each student will meet the following objectives:

1. Illustrate the transactional nature of interpersonal communication as it applies to realistic interpersonal relationships and settings and evaluate naturally occurring conversations with respect to cooperative rules.
2. Evaluate communication choices in naturally occurring settings with respect to levels of good faith, empathy, mutual goal satisfaction, and social propriety.
3. Identify and analyze mutual influences between such aspects as self-concept, social norms, gender, and culture in relation to interpersonal communication in various settings.
4. Analyze and disclose components of experience (observations, thoughts, feelings, motives, behavior) clearly and appropriately, and assess risks and benefits of self-disclosure in work, social, and intimate settings.
5. Demonstrate active involvement and empathy as a listener through such techniques as open-ended questions, paraphrase, and reflecting feelings.
6. Examine naturally occurring nonverbal communication and construct meanings based on theory and life experience.
7. Choose concrete and descriptive language for conveying information, praise, and constructive criticism.
8. Describe and analyze relationship stages and patterns that develop in relationships and formulate communication strategies for discussing and influencing them in work, social, and intimate settings.
9. Formulate and analyze issues and conflicts, including those characterized by differences in perception and/or goals, and develop communication strategies for constructive management of these issues and conflicts.

Course Withdrawal. Each student is ultimately responsible for submitting an official withdrawal to avoid failing a class.

Attendance. Attendance is necessary, since class activities are an integral part of the course. When it is necessary to miss class, you are responsible for obtaining information and materials you may have missed. It is not possible to make up many of the in-class activities (see below).

Assignments. I expect all assignments (exercises, papers, presentations) to be completed and submitted in class on the day assigned. Classroom activities (group work, the midterm exam, and the video presentation) may not be made up, except in emergency situations, limited to officially verified severe illness or death in the immediate family and jury duty. Each student may make up two chapter application papers. Other late written work will be graded using higher standards and must be submitted within the week following the due date. Note on e-mail submissions: While I highly encourage the use of electronic media to submit assignments when a student cannot be on campus, it does not reduce the responsibility to get assignments in on time. I will confirm receipt of e-mailed materials to the address from which they are sent. If such confirmation is not received, you can assume that your material has not been received and other methods must be taken to meet deadlines.

Student Conduct. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to a college class-room. Should plagiarism or other forms of cheating occur, the student will receive no credit (0 pts.) on the assignment. Further action may be taken within college guidelines. [For a complete description, see “Student Code of Conduct,”  in the General Catalog for the college.]

Americans with Disabilities Act. Mt. San Jacinto College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities upon request of the student (in a timely fashion) and upon verification of disability. [For further information, see the General Catalog.]

Grading. The grade is based on the number of points you accumulate out of 600 possible. The scale below guarantees a grade based on your point total.

Assorted Class Activities. The course entails informal group work. These activities may include discussions, exercises, worksheets, role plays, and other relevant assignments. Usually there will be a written component to the assignment compiled by a recorder and turned in with the signatures of all the participants. Group members will each receive two points per class for their participation. The assignments will not be graded, but the instructor reserves the right to lower the points for not taking the assignment seriously or leaving early.

     To prepare for class activities on each day that reading is assigned, you are asked to write a brief application of selected material. The length may be as short as a paragraph, but no longer than a typed page. Typing is encouraged but not required for these informal assignments. Your objective for each paper is to (1) clarify the selected material in your own words and (2) illustrate how it applies to your immediate experience. The paper should be well-focused, and your language specific and concise. Each paper is worth a maximum of ten points. It is due at class time, and will be considered late if submitted after midnight on the day the reading is due. Only two chapter applications may be submitted late for whatever reason. See course calendar in your syllabus for due dates.

Chapter 1. Describe how a recent conversation satisfied identity, social, and practical needs. More...

Chapter 2. Describe an experience which shows how a reference group was important in defining your self-concept. More...

Chapter 3. Illustrate an effect of first impressions using a recent personal example where the person turned out to be different from what you first thought. Tie in other relevant concepts from the chapter. More...

Chapter 6. Discuss one of more of your listening habits which reduce understanding of messages others send, using at least one specific illustration. More...

Chapter 10. Discuss the defense-provoking behavior which annoys you most, using a recent example and analyzing how you responded to the behavior. More...

Chapter 4. Discuss how your formal name and/or nicknames have affected your identity, using at least one specific experience. More...

Chapter 5. Describe and analyze a recent conversation, focusing on your position within the environment and the physical distance between you and the other person. More...

Chapter 7. Describe a recent experience in which you had multiple feelings. Use Use the list in the Self-Assessment (pp. 184-185) to express the emotions as specifically as possible. More...

Chapter 8. Compare the direct request with another of the compliance-gaining strategies, using a recent experience. More...

Chapter 9. Discuss the potential benefits for a recent important self-disclosure you made or might contemplate making (see pp. 246-250). More...

Chapter 11. Describe and analyze a recent dysfunctional conflict that you have had, using selected symptoms in this chapter (see pp. 298-301). More...

Chapter 12. Discuss your values related to achievement and nurturing, using a specific example. More...

The following assignments ask you to apply the material learned in the course to situations in your interpersonal experience. The papers should be concise and thoughtful with specific details selected from your experience. Follow the guidelines for each assignment carefully. I want papers to be typed, double-spaced, and stapled in the top left corner (not bound in any other way). For additional confidentiality, you may use a cover sheet. Handwritten papers are discouraged, but may be negotiated with the instructor. To receive credit these papers must be received within the week after they are due.

AA1-Communication Competence.

     Select a moment from a recent dialogue you have had. Describe the events which led up to this moment and your intent. List a range of statements which you might have made at this moment (even if you weren’t aware of all your choices). Quote what you actually said. Describe what followed and compare it with what might have happened after other choices. Draw a series of conclusions about analyzing communication in this way. For example, what is the effect of realizing that you have choices, what value do you find in discovering new ways to handle past situations, and what is needed to apply these insights to new situations? [Note that this assignment develops out of the Communication Choices Worksheet we discussed in class. If you would like further exercises like this, click here.]

AA2-Active Listening

Find a number of opportunities to practice active listening, especially open-ended questioning and reflecting feelings. Write a paper describing one of these experiences: (1) Summarize the events and dialogue which led up to your active listening feedback. (2) Quote as well as you can the actual wording you used. (3) Summarize what happened after you actively listened. Draw a series of conclusions about questioning and reflecting feelings based on all your relevant experiences and reading. They should focus on the following: (1) The effects of active listening on the interaction and those involved, including yourself. (2) Insights about why these effects might occur in this situation and in others. (3) The value of the skills to you, including how much you have used them in the past and intend to use them in the future. (4) The things you would consider before using active listening. (You might discuss how, when, and with whom you would or would not do it.)

AA3-Managing Communication Climate

Use climate management techniques in a number of situations where you felt defensive. Select one of the experiences in which you asserted your motives, redefined attacks, and humanized contact. Write a paper describing and analyzing the skills, following the form of AA2 above. If you did not use all the skills in any one experience, give examples of how you could have applied them to your selected dialog. [Note that this assignment is related to the Climate Management Exercise we worked on in class. If you would like to review it, click here.]

AA4-Analysis of Nonverbal Cues

Select an interesting photographs of people you know (friends, family, coworkers) involved in interaction. If you cannot find any, have some candid photos taken for you. Analyze the nonverbal cues based on what you know about the people and situations involved. [Link to additional information.] The paper should include important background information, descriptions of the observable cues in the photo, and conclusions about what the cues mean in relation to the material we have studied on nonverbal communication. Your conclusions should be tentative. Determine whether your analysis is consistent with what others think. Attach a photocopy to the assignment.

AA5-Analysis of a Relationship

Choose a present or past relationship which reached a stage of deterioration. Write a paper analyzing the relationship in the following way: Describe the stages of the relationship, directly comparing them with those outlined in the text (pp. 206-212). Analyze why you formed this relationship, referring to the relevant theories in the text (pp. 201-205). Draw tentative conclusions about why the relationship deteriorated. [Link to a sample analysis of stages.]

AA6-Managing Conflicts

Choose an instance of conflict and prepare an assertive statement which confronts the situation. [See lecture notes from class or online.] Either confront the person directly or discuss the conflict with friends or members of the class. In your paper, describe the situation briefly, quote your assertive statement, and based on your actual confrontation or your discussion about the situation, draw conclusions about confronting people in this way. How often do you confront conflict assertively? How do the effects of assertiveness compare with the effects of other methods?

The class will be divided into groups of four to five students. Each group should select a motion picture which provides substantial interpersonal interaction. [Examples of relevant movies appear in “Film Clip” boxes throughout the text.] The group should be able to obtain one or more copies of the VHS video or DVD for analysis and presentation. Any combination of the topics studied in this course and supplemented with research may be used to analyze the communication in the movie. There are group and individual components to this assignment:

Group Presentation

The presentation should cover the following areas: (1) an introduction which summarizes the movie plot and outlines the parts of the presentation, (2) participation by each group member in delivering the research and analysis of the movie, (3) video clips from the movie which illustrate your analyses, and (4) a conclusion which summarizes the main points and applies the results to everyday life. The length of the presentation will depend on the size and number of groups, but you can anticipate using at least 30 minutes. The presentation itself is worth 40 pts. Each member who fully participates will receive equal points. The instructor reserves the right to lower the score of any member who does not contribute his or her share to the entire group effort. Creativity in presenting the analysis and involving the audience is highly encouraged.

Individual Research paper

Each member of the group will submit a typed paper covering his or her contributions to the analysis and including a bibliography of sources, following a consistent style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. The paper should be able to stand on its own: The introduction, body, and conclusion should contain background information needed to understand your analysis and descriptions of the relevant parts of the movie you are analyzing. The paper is worth 50 points and will be evaluated separately.

The midterm exam will cover previously assigned reading and additional class notes. It will be a mix of objective and short-answer questions. [Midterm chapter review] [Sample midterm questions]

Similar in form, the final exam will cover the reading and notes after the midterm. [Final chapter review] [Sample final questions]

Last revised: December 19, 2008 .