Chapter 1 Communication: Essential Human Behavior 9looks to his manager, Alexis, for direc-
tion and advice about how to do his
job well. The unequal control distribu-
tion is appropriate and meets Manny’s
and Alexis’s expectations of their job
responsibilities. But as Manny becomes
more comfortable in the job, he will
likely take more control, and Alexis will
let him work more independently. This
redistribution of control is a natural
process.
How We Communicate
It’s 8:45 a.m. in New York City. A
woman walks up to a street vendor’s
cart, smiles and nods quickly at the
vendor, and says, “Regular.” The man
promptly prepares her a small coffee with milk and two sugars. He hands her
the coffee; she hands him some money, says “thanks,” and continues on her way.
With only two words spoken, an entire business transaction has been carried
out to the satisfaction of both parties. But what exactly occurred? The character-
istics of communication can explain.
Characteristics of Communication
Communication has six defining characteristics: the extent to which the message
is symbolic, the extent to which the code is shared, the degree to which the
message is culturally bound, the sender’s perceived intentionality, the presence of
a channel, and the degree to which the encoding and decoding of messages are
transactional. That’s quite a mouthful, so let’s look at each characteristic more
closely.
Communication Is Symbolic
Communication relies on the use of symbols—arbitrary constructions (usually
language or behaviors) that refer to objects: people, things, and ideas. The
stronger the connection is between symbol and object, the clearer the intended
meaning, and vice versa. For example, our customer greeted the street vendor
with a smile and a nod—behaviors clearly indicating the idea of “greeting.”
A symbol can take on a new meaning if at least two people agree that it will
have that meaning for them. A romantic couple might share a specific “look”
that communicates their mutual affection; three friends might have a gesture
that signifies an inside joke. Social groups, such as fraternities and sororities
or sports teams, might use a handshake, password, or article of clothing to set
themselves apart from others. We cover the use of such verbal and nonverbal
symbols more deeply in Chapters 3, 4, and 5.
FOR MOST LEARNING
environments to be success-
ful, teachers should have
more control than students
in the classroom. © David
Grossman/The Image WorksCONNECT
As we discuss in Chapter
3, the most arbitrary sym-
bolic behavior is language.
There is no particular rea-
son why the letters t-r-e-e
should represent a very
large plant form, but they
do. And in Chapter 4, you
learn that gestures serve a
similar purpose. Holding up
your thumb while clenching
your other fingers stands
for “good job” in U.S.
culture, though you likely
don’t need to have this fact
explained.