10 Part 1 Basic Communication ProcessesCommunication Requires a Shared Code
A code is a set of symbols that are joined to create a meaningful
message. For communication to take place, the participants must
share the code to encode and decode messages. Encoding is the
process of mentally constructing a message—putting it into a
symbol that can be sent to someone. Decoding is the process
of interpreting and assigning meaning to a message that gets
received. If the relational partners are using the same
code, they are more likely to encode and decode mes-
sages accurately and arrive at the shared meaning
they want to communicate.
Speaking a common language is the most
obvious example of sharing a communication
code, though it is certainly not the only one.
Baseball teams, for example, develop elaborate
codes for various pitches and plays, which
players communicate through hand gestures
and body movements (removing a baseball
cap, holding up three fingers and shaking
them twice). Similarly, consider the emoti-
cons, texting, and chat room shorthand we all
use when communicating through mediated
channels—especially when we’re in a hurry.Communication Is Linked to Culture
If you’ve ever traveled abroad, or even through the different neighborhoods of a
large city, you know that communication is linked to culture. Culture refers to
the shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group of people. A group’s culture
includes the language (or languages) and other symbols used by group members
as well as the norms and rules about appropriate behavior.
Most people are members of several co-cultures simultaneously. Co-cultures are
smaller groups of people within a larger culture that are distinguished by features
such as race, religion, age, generation, political affiliation, gender, sexual orienta-
tion, economic status, educational level, occupation, and a host of other factors.
Consider Angela, who identifies with a number of co-cultures: she is an
American, an African American, a woman, a Midwesterner, a married lawyer
with two children, a person with an income over $100,000 a year, a Democrat,
and a Baptist. Each of these co-cultures carries different meanings for Angela
and affects her communication—including the language she speaks, how she
presents herself to others, how she evaluates her effectiveness, and how she
interprets others’ behavior (Chen & Starosta, 1996; Zarrinabadi, 2012).
Cultural identities can even form around interests and hobbies. For example,
a music critic at Pitchfork.com might distinguish among rock, soul, and hip-hop
and might even break those styles down further, using terms like old-school, free-
style, classic, punk, techno, and R&B. For someone less involved or less interested
in the music scene, such distinctions might seem unimportant—it’s all just popu-
lar music. We uncover the cultural complexities of communication in Chapter 5.A SUBTLE TAP on the
nose, a slight raise of a base-
ball cap: these are some of
the signals baseball players
use to indicate pitches or
plays to their teammates. Brian
Bahr/Allsport/Getty Images
CONNECT
As you learn in Chapter 5,
culture can dictate
communication norms,
such as defining personal
space. In Mediterranean
cultures, for instance, men
stand close together and
frequently touch during
conversation. But in North
American cultures, the
appropriate conversational
distance is generally about
three feet, and men seldom
touch each other during
social interaction, except
when they shake hands in
greeting.