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Chapter 3

Total Quality Com m unication

Sym bols and the Role of Pe rcep tion in TQC

Recall from earlier discussion that we applied a very specific definition of communication. Itcomprises three components that must be present for communication to occur. If any one ofthe components is missing, then communication does not occur. We define communication asthe...

Transmission of InformationTransmission of UnderstandingUse of Common Symbols

The Danger of the Common S ymbol

Most people readily see the role of the firstcomponent, transmission of information, asa part of the definition. Some peopleintuitively include the second component,the transmission of understanding, as apart of the definition. But, most people failto fully grasp the significance, or danger, inthe idea of a common set of symbols by which to transmit information and understanding.The concept of common areas to individual frames of reference was introduced in earlier

discussion. As discussed then, the symbols used to encode messages must be symbols that areselected from an area common to the frames of reference of the two communicators.Encoding a message using symbols outside the frame of reference of a receiver prevents thetransmission of understanding at the least and usually prevents the transmission ofinformation at all. While the statement "using common symbols" sounds simple, it is reallyfar more complex. It's like an iceberg, 90 percent of the problems can't be seen.

W hat Is a Symbol?

A symbol can be anything that carries an agreed upon meaning among two or morepeople. Anything! We usually think of communication symbols in terms of language.

But other symbols carry meaning and understanding as well.

Symbols may be verbal

Oral symbols used in oral (spoken) languageWritten symbols used in written language

or non verbal

Paralanguage...inflection, emphasis, or other additions to language that enhance or altermeanings

munication Policy and Strategy http://129.113.160.149/comm2002/textbook/Chapt

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Kinesics...movements of the body that add meaning, change meaning, or carry meaningof their own.Proxemics...space and time and the messages they impart.

Symbols and M eaning--The Symbolic Interactionists

As a foundation to understand the effect of symbols, an understanding of howsymbols are used is necessary. The fundamental concept describing the role of

symbols in human culture and society can be traced to the philosophical movement called"symbolic interactionists." This is a philosophy founded by Herbert Blumer based on writingsof George Mead. While the paradigm of symbolic interactionists is complex, we can simplifyone segment of the paradigm to illustrate its effect on human psychological characteristics.Among other things, the symbolic interactionists said that symbols originally framed todescribe events or reality eventually define reality.[2]

This suggests that we create symbols [words, signs, etc.] to describe or representsomething we experience in our environments. After continued use over extendedperiods of time, the symbol begins to define meaning for us. Instead of merely

describing some phenomenon, it defines the reality of the phenomenon for us. Forexample, watch the reaction of a room full of people when a wasp flies in a window.The symbol of the wasp and its sting defines the reality of the situation and people reactaccordingly, usually with panic. In fact, a wasp sting is a serious medical threat to only a fewpeople who are highly allergic to the venom. For the rest of "normal people," a wasp sting isonly a minor nuisance. This effect of symbols defining reality becomes pervasive in our livesand eventually is the source of the individual's perception of reality.

Symbols and M eaning--The General S eman ticists

Another philosophy that provides some insight into the role of symbols in

communication comes from the general semanticists. General Semantics is thename applied to a specific philosophical approach to language and word symbols. It is not thesame thing as semantics, which is the study of root origins of words. General Semantics tracesits ancestor to a self-educated Polish count named Alfred Korzybski.

Korzybski was born in Poland during the 1800s and was a student of many different areas ofinterest. One interest was the social implications of asylums or bedlams that were in widespread use in Europe around the turn of the century. These are institutions where peoplejudged to be mentally deficient were committed. Little or no therapy was incorporated, sothese institutions were more of a holding tank for the mentally ill until the natural course ofdeath relieved them of their malady.

Korzybski saw the existence of these institutions as a terrible part of society and sought waysto aid the inmates. He came to the conclusion that the basic reason for mental illness was theinability of people to cope with the difference between their expectations, defined by thesymbols in their lives (typically words in a language) and the reality they experienced. Wewould call the difference between these two "cognitive dissonance." Korzybski suggested thatreducing this difference between expectations and reality would eliminate mental illness byremoving the need to cope psychologically with the differences.

Well, some academics and scientists exposed to Korzybski's philosophy came to a similar


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conclusion--Korzybski was nuts! But, they found that some of the foundations of hisphilosophy had some merit in understanding the role symbols take in communication.Unfortunately, Korzybski wanted an all or nothing acceptance of his ideas as a discipline, sohe eventually faded into oblivion except for a number of people who actively support hisbeliefs. However, the legacy of Korzybski includes the ideas gleaned by academics andscientists that led to an approach called General Semantics as it is professed today.[3]

Among the ideas resulting from the General Semanticists that are significant to us are...

Symbols range from very descriptive to very abstract.The more abstract the symbol, the less it communicates in transmitting exactmeaning.Words can be arrayed in an order of abstractness from very concrete, simple words tovery abstract words.

As an example, we see an object at the frontof a classroom. We all experience the objectby seeing it and, perhaps, touching it. We

give it a label, "desk." This symbol is a veryconcrete symbol. When we encounter thesymbol in the future, we all will recall avisual image that is similar in appearance.The images may vary a little depending onyour experience with other realitiesassociated with the term "desk." If we moveup on a ladder of abstractness, and call thereality "school furniture," we lose detail about the reality we are talking about. If we movehigher in abstractness, to "University of Texas property," then we lose even more detail. And,if we move to the highest abstract, State of Texas asset," then we have very little similar image

created for each of us. One major problem in business communication is the tendency forpeople to write and speak at this high order of abstractness making symbol interpretationvery difficult. It's probably why there is so much misunderstanding among businesscommunicators.

The bottom line is that if you want to achieve communication, encode your messages withconcrete words. Remember your goal is to convey information and understanding, not toimpress people with your vocabulary. Think about this, which sentence do you believeconveys information more effectively and efficiently...

Observe M s. Jane Pau ley motivating her bipedal extremities from

point A to po int B as rapidly as possible.

Or

See Jane run

Nonverbal Com m unication

Nonverbal cues are symbols with meaning interpretations also. In general, nonverbal symbolsperform five functions in communication.


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Five functions of nonverbal communication

Accenting-calling attention to the message source using some device (hitting the tablefor example)

1.

Complimenting-using nonverbal cues to enhance the meaning of verbal symbols2.Substituting-a nonverbal symbol replaces a verbal symbol3.Contradicting-the nonverbal symbol sends a message different from the verbal symbols4.Regulating-the nonverbal symbol is used to regulate or, even, terminate the verbalcommunication process. [Fisher, 1992]

5.

Three Basic Types of Non verbal Comm unication

Nonverbal symbols can be arranged among three general categories:

Paralanguage--nonverbal enhancements to language symbols1.Kinesics--nonverbal symbols of body movement2.Proxemics--nonverbal symbols of distance, space, and time3.

Paralanguage

The inflection, tempo, emphasis, or insertions to add meaning to oral language. Paralanguageincludes any device that can be used to modify the meaning interpretation of a verbal symbol.These devices include inflection or emphasis added to spoken symbols or highlighting,bolding, or all capital letters added to written symbols. For example, look at the followingsentence and read it while emphasizing each word in sequence.

I didn't say she stole the mon ey.

When emphasizing the word "I," the sentence takes on a shaded meaning from its

non-emphasized state. Emphasizing the word "didn't" changes the meaning of the sentence,as does emphasizing the word "say." Depending on which word is emphasized(paralanguage), the sentence carries a different meaning interpretation. The problem ofsymbols is best understood when you realize that the paralanguage effect can be introducedby the encoder (purposefully or inadvertently) or by the decoder (purposefully orinadvertently).

Kinesics

Kinesics is the category of nonverbal symbols created by the body. Types of Kinesics are:

Gestures1.Gesticulations2.Facial Expressions3.Eye Contact4.Appearance5.

Gestures are among the most culture-related communication symbols. While verballanguages are specific to cultures, the word symbols typically are different betweenlanguages. In the case of gestures, similar hand gestures are found in many different cultures,but the meaning associated differs by culture.


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For example, making the "vee" sign with the index and middle fingers of your hand with thepalm outward produces a gesture that carries meaning. In the U.S., England, and otherEnglish speaking cultures, it most likely represents the idea of "victory." On the other hand, itcould mean two. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of England for many years, wasmaking a speech in a foreign country. She wanted to evoke the image of Winston Churchill, aWorld War II-era Prime Minister who made the "vee for victory" gesture famous. Only, shemade it with the palm of the hand facing in instead of out. In the local culture, this gesturewas considered a vile insult. Her audience was not amused.

Another common gesture, which could be misinterpreted, is the common US come herehand signal of palm up with the pointer finger moving. In China, this is the equivalent offlipping someone the bird in the US. Instead, the Chinese use the hand with the palm facingdown and all four fingers moving to signal come here.

Do you have a body movement you use when nervous or excited? It could be rubbing your earwhen nervous. It could be holding your chin while thinking deeply. These movements arebasically involuntary. They are habits that are acquired by each individual over time, but theyare consistent and can be read by others to reveal underlying feelings. They are calledgesticulations . An example would be a baseball pitcher whose fastball is consistentlyknocked 0ut of the stadium. He doesn't realize that the opposing teams are aware that hescratches a certain part of his anatomy every time he sets to deliver a fastball.

Somebody once said that with the number of muscles in our face, we can make more than30,000 different facial expressions. Many of those have meaning attached to them. A smilemeans we are happy. Many of these more commonly used expressions carry meaning sharedacross cultures. A smile means happiness to many different cultures. However, in someAsian cultures, a smile could mean that the person is embarrassed.

Eye Conta ct is important in some cultures while not making eye contact is important inother cultures. In the U.S. and other Western cultures, eye contact sends a message ofconfidence or trustworthiness. In some Eastern and African cultures, eye contact isdisrespectful and insulting, especially if the people involved have any difference in status orpower within the culture.

How you dress, the color and style of clothes, how you fix your hair, your body type, and yourposture are among the elements ofappearance that send messages. Again, these nonverbalsymbols are very culture-bound, as the aesthetics associated with the culture will influencemany of the appearance characteristics and their meaning interpretations.

Proxemics--Distance

The proxemics of distance is a culture sensitive communication symbol. Thedistances between people reserved for categories of acquaintance will varydepending on the cultural interpretation of the distance. Studies in the United States suggestthat the distances and symbol interpretations that are carried are as follows:

intimate distance (contact to 18 in.)1.personal distance(18" to 4 ft.)2.social distance (4' to 12 ft.)3.


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public distance (12' to infinity)4.

Intimate distance is the distance reserved for those people we want to be especially near.Family members, main-squeezin's, or others can enter this distance range and we arecomfortable, in fact, their presence is psychologically pleasing to us.

Personal distance is the range of distance we are comfortable with acquaintances we knowwell, but who are not among those we prefer to have in intimate distance. Most friends and

some close fellow workers may be in this category.

Social distance is the range where we feel comfortable about those whom we know or havejust met. Someone from this category moving across the threshold of the nearer distances canmake use psychologically uncomfortable.

Pub lic distance is the range we feel comfort for people we encounter by chance and don'tknow at all. These people crossing other distance thresholds make us very uncomfortable.

Again, these distances are very culture specific. For some cultures these distance ranges maybe compressed, for others they may be expanded. When involved in cross-cultural

communication, understanding these variations of distance symbols is essential tomaintaining effective communication.

Proxemics-Space

In the case of space proxemics, the following are examples of things that can be interpreted ashaving symbolic meaning:

Room size1.Odor2.Color3.

Lighting4.Room Arrangement5.

The shape and layout of the room provides nonverbal symbolic clues to peopleusing the room of the expectations of roles to be filled.

1.

Physical positions in an office layout establish power or status for the employeesin the physical positions.

2.

Proxemics--Time

Even time is used as a symbol and conveys a meaning, regardless of whether the meaning isintentional or not. Examples of time as a symbol include:

Being Fashionably Late1.Ambiguity (culture specific)2.

Receiver Comprehension

One way to evaluate the effect these symbol interpretations have on thecommunication process is to look at one suggestion of what goes on inside areceiver's head as he or she is exposed to communication and processes throughcomprehension of the message. A receiver probably makes three sequential


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judgments during the comprehension process. When the receiver makes a negative judgmentabout a specific domain of concern, he or she is likely to abort the comprehension process. Inother words, each domain of comprehension must be judged at least neutral to positivebefore the next domain's judgments are processed

Attraction Domain

The attraction domain includes judgments about visual symbols that are the basis of areceiver's decision whether or not to attempt to interpret the communication. For example,the form of communication carries symbolic interpretation. A letter is perceived to be moreformal and, therefore, more deserving of attention than a memo might. E-mail may beconsidered more urgent than snail-mail (e-mailer's term for regular mail). A particular formcarries a meaning interpretation about the importance, urgency, accuracy, credibility, andusefulness of communication. The visual appeal of the communication (in terms ofappearance of the document in written communication or the appearance of the speaker inoral communication) leads to attraction of the receiver's interest in exposure to thecommunication. A communication that is not appealing visually is unlikely to attract theattention of the intended audience.

Once the attention of the receiver is focused on the communication, the second domain ofjudgment kicks in.

Detection Domain

Three components of judgment occur in this domain. First, is a review of the subject to judgeperceived self-interest. If the subject is not one that taps a "hot button" for the receiver, thenthe comprehension process stops. If the judgment is that the subject is related to self-interest,then the judgment regarding readability is made in the case of written communication whilea similar judgment about oral communication is also made. Readability is the degree of ease

that the words on the page or spoken can be decoded for meaning. Several factors comprisereadability, including size of words, length of sentences, typeface, type size, type color, andpaper color. If the receiver's judgment is that the style of type or size, or color makes theinformation too difficult to bother with, the comprehension process stops. If the judgment ismade that the readability is sufficient for the receiver to easily detect the information, he orshe probably views the presentation of information. Information presented in graphicalformat is easier to interpret than is information presented in a narrative format. Think abouta company's balance sheet. In its graphical format, it's relatively easy for anyone tounderstand the financial position of a firm. However, suppose the same information werewritten in a narrative form. Understanding the relationship among the numbers would be


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nearly impossible.

Motivation Domain

If all variables are acceptable, the receiver reaches a point to decide whether or not toattempt to comprehend the communication based on two fundamental symbolicinterpretations--the credibility of the information source and the perceived self-interest inthe information. This is different from the subject judgment earlier. In this case, the receiver

takes a subject that he or she perceived to be of potential interest and now judges the degreeof self-interest in the subject. For example, you may now be interested in knowing what goeson in Sri Lanka's civil war, but your self-interest is not sufficient for you to write yourcongressman.

One note of importance--the perception of self-interest is the most powerful variable indetermining whether or not someone comprehends your information. If you get them thisfar, a perception of self-interest will activate them to try to comprehend your informationregardless of the negatives of all other variables. For example, the want ads for jobs violate allsuggestions for comprehension success. Its type is small, its visual appeal is terrible, itsreadability is marginal, and its visual appeal is rotten. However, if we're out of work, we readthe ads with a fine-toothed comb to glean information and understanding from them. We dothis because our self-interest is so high that it overcomes all the deficiencies. In business, werarely have the luxury of a potential self-interest that high in what we are trying tocommunicate to people. Therefore, we have to make our communication as easy as possiblefor the receiver to comprehend.

Outcomes Domain

When a receiver has progressed through the comprehension process, he or she reaches thedomain of outcome for the process. Now, there are three possibilities based on the receiver's

comprehension: to internalize the information for future use; to make some behavioralchange now; or to reject the information outright.

Perception and Commu nication

One conclusion arising from the discussion of symbols is that they are susceptible toindividual meaning interpretation. The ultimate meaning interpreted resides in the receiver,not in the sender. This suggests that most communication is dependent on the way thereceiver perceives the symbols encountered and the meanings he or she ascribes to thesymbols.

Perception D efines Reality

Two types of perception are operative:

Sensory PerceptionNormative Perception

Sensory perception is the process of your receiving stimuli from your environment throughone or more of your biological senses. Normative perception provides meaning to the stimuliyou sense through your senses. Your brain uses several types of tools to help it make sense ofwhat you sense.


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ContextsSelective SetsPsychological Sets

The brain tries to place the experience into context in terms of previous experiences or withknown expectations. For example, when we see something such as an unknown light in thesky, our brain looks for a context in which to interpret a meaning. In some cases, we might

have an expectation such as "lights in the sky mean UFOs." Then, regardless of what the lightsmay actually be, we are convinced we saw a UFO. A rash of "documentary" television showsabout UFOs have hit the airwaves during the past few years since the 50th anniversary of theRoswell Crash. These TV shows include displays of photos taken all over the world ofreported UFOs. For someone ready to see the objects in the photos in this context as UFOs,they are remarkable evidence of their existence. However, for someone who walks past theTV just as they are showing one of these photos, the new viewer asks why they are showingpictures of light fixtures double exposed on landscapes of the countryside.

The tool of selective sets is probably a specialized case of the context process. In this case,

however, the brain interprets something that doesn't exist because the brain knows what issupposed to be there. For example, when you get a paper back from the professor gradedwith red ink all over it for misspelling words, you believe he or she must have changed thespellings to get you. You are sure you didn't turn in a paper with so many errors. Whathappened was that during the writing process, your brain knew what was supposed to be inany particular sentence. So, when you read what you wrote, your brain saw the correct wordsin the sentences, even if the words were misspelled. It's only when your brain has disengagedfrom the situation that the selective nature of the interpretation is reduced and you can seespelling errors that were, in fact, always there.

Lastly, perceptual sets are psychological sets influencing meaning interpretation. These work

similarly to context or selective sets. As an example, let's look at how these perceptual setscan serve as barriers to communication.

Barriers to Commu nication

The psychological sets that can be barriers to communication can be characterized intoseveral basic categories. These sets can occur in the sender or in the receiver in thecommunication process. The sender has the ability to recognize these barrier categories whenthey occur and to transform communication to overcome them. However, the receiver is adifferent story. If the receiver is interested in communication, he or she can recognize whenthese barriers arise and can consciously overcome them. On the other hand, when a receiver

is passive in the communication process, he or she does not recognize the barriers and thesender can do little to overcome the blockage.

Fact Inference Confusion

The Fact-Inference confusion has three basic components:

Making an inference for factFailing to recognizeActing on the inference as if it were fact


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Until the third component occurs, the inference for fact does not really become a barrier tocommunication. When we act on the inference as if it were a fact is when this barrier becomesa major stumbling block to communication.

For example, let's say you work in a department of nine people that have been together for along while. You're best "buds." On many days, the group doesn't return from morning breakuntil late. During the years, lunch hour has stretched to the point that some of you don't get

back to your desks until 1:30 p.m. In all, it's a pretty good place to work. One Mondaymorning, when you arrive, a woman is at a previously empty desk. She introduces herself as anew employee. You and the group ask her to join you for morning break. She thanks you andsays that she has something she must do so she cannot join you. When you return from break,five minutes late, she is already at her desk working. As you prepare for lunch, she similarlydeclines to join your group. When you return from lunch at 1:20 p.m., she is already workinghard at her desk. This pattern repeats itself until Friday. On Friday at 3:00, the woman getsup from her desk and goes to the supervisor's office. She goes in and closes the door. She is inthe office for about twenty minutes. She comes out and assumes her position without sayinganything to anyone. About 4:30, the supervisor comes out of her office and says to the group,

"Everybody gather around for a little meeting. We have to have some changes around here.We have been a little lax in the time we take for breaks and lunches. From now on, get backfrom breaks and lunch on time. Anybody not getting back on time will be reprimanded andthe incident entered in your personnel folder."

Most people would make an inference for fact. The new woman complained that she wasworking while everyone else in the department was goofing off! At this point, the barrier tocommunication has not occurred. Only when we act on the inference as if it were fact doesthe blockage occur. If the group sanctions the new woman by giving her "the silenttreatment." or allowing the inference to influence how they react to the woman, then the

barrier occurs. When you get a hold of yourself, you approach the woman to ask her abouther part in this event. She tells you that her visit to the supervisor had nothing to do with theafternoon announcement. In fact, she had gone to the supervisor to tell her that the job wasexactly what she had been looking for and that she was able to get to the company's on-siteday care facility to breast-feed her six-month old son during breaks and at lunch.

The bottom line to this barrier is to make a "reality check" to ensure that you do not allow aninference to drive your actions.

Static Viewpoint

Of the barriers to communication, static viewpoint,sometimes called frozen evaluation, is the one thatsometimes infects faculty members at colleges anduniversities. It is a failure to recognize change over time.It may also be a major affliction of our parents whomake judgments about your activities based on theirexperiences as teenagers or young adults withoutrealizing that the mores and standards of society havechanged in the intervening twenty or thirty years. In thecase of professors, they become professors by


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completing doctoral degrees. By the time a dissertationis finished, the crowning glory of a doctoral degree, thecandidate is likely the definitive expert in the world onthe dissertation's subject. He or she has lived with, sleptwith, eaten and beaten the subject for as long as tenyears to reach completion. The first academic job tendsto be related to the dissertation subject. The result is a new professor who believes his or her

knowledge about the subject is complete. He or she assembles a course and begins a teachingcareer, teaching the same material for the next thirty years. After all, he or she is the expert!Right!! If you ever find yourself involved in the debate regarding the role of research as amajor component of a faculty member's responsibility, then this is the best argument for it. Itensures that faculty don't get caught up in static viewpoint and, in turn, short change studentswho trust the faculty member is providing the best, most up-to-date coverage of the topicavailable.

Blocked Mind

Theblocked m ind is probably best exemplified by Archie Bunker; ofAll In The FamilyTV

show fame, or a stereotype of the typical teenager's father. In this case, the person's mind isclosed to reality assuming that he or she knows everything there is to know about a subject. Ineffect, the person refuses to acknowledge that any facts about the situation exist other thanwhat he or she knows about the situation. More importantly, when confronted with new facts,the blocked mind refuses to accept the new facts as relevant, and these facts may even be metwith hostility.

No strong solution to this barrier exists if you encounter it in others. In order overcome it, theblocked mind must be made to realize the nature of the closure. In essence, the blocked mindmust be made to see that it is its best self-interest to recognize that unknown facts may be outthere and to recognize that any of the unknown facts may serve to alter the situation. The

primary purpose of this tactic is to ensure that when unknown facts make themselves known,the person is prepared to accept them as potential influences to the situation and to evaluatethem on the basis of their effect on the situation.

General Statement

The genera l statement category of blockage is, unfortunately, a category where the namedoes not do a good job of relating to the barrier. The barrier occurs because we react to alabel rather than the reality it describes. You may recall from our discussion about theSymbolic Interactionists that people tend to create symbols to describe things they encounterin life. However, after time using these symbols, they begin to define reality for us. In the case

of the general statement, we allow ourselves to be influenced by the interpretation of asymbol rather than the reality the symbol was created to describe. For example, if yourprofessor came into the room smiling and opened the lecture with the statement, "I feel gaytoday!" Most students would react to the symbol "gay " as it has become applied to ahomosexual lifestyle rather than to the reality the word is trying to describe based on itsoriginal meaning interpretation, that the professor feels happy and light hearted. The resultat the least is a titter (another general statement candidate) that runs through the class and,at the worst, an interpretation by the students of the professor's preferred lifestyle.

Semantics


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Semantics is the natural weakness of language to convey meaning. As we discussed earlierin the General Semanticist section, word symbols can be thought of at different levels ofabstraction from the reality they are trying to describe. Although you now understand thatthe higher the abstraction, the less communicative is the symbol in conveying exact meaning,you must also recognize that even the most concrete and descriptive word symbol isinefficient in carrying complete meaning to describe the reality. This is a problem inherent inthe symbol process. The only defense is to recognize that the word symbols are inefficient,and to select symbols with the highest level of effectiveness in representing the reality and tocombine these symbols in such ways as to more completely represent the idea to betransmitted.

Two-Valued Thinking

Two-valued thinking , sometimes called polarization , occurs when contraries are treatedas contradictories. Acontraryis an idea represented by a continuum anchored bydescriptive adjectives. For example, the adjectives "tall" and "short" are anchors on a realitycontinuum with an infinite number of possibilities in between. No matter how you define"tall" in absolute terms nor how you define "short," an infinite number of possibilities of"tallness" or "shortness" exist between the anchor points. Acontradictoryis a truedichotomous situation. Something is one way or another with no possible situation inbetween. For example, "On" and "Off" are contradictories. Two-valued thinking as a barrieroccurs when we begin to stereotype the situation using contrary adjectives as contradictories.In such a case, we refuse to recognize differences among people and situations and, instead,allow narrow interpretation of the situation as one way or the other. For example, you mayencounter a person identified as a "high school student" who is dressed in a pair of jeans withholes in the knees, a Grateful Dead T-shirt, with a gold stud in his nose, and blue hair thatstands on end. Your reaction to the person may be the result of your two-valued thinkingabout high school students with this appearance--they're drug-selling, acid-popping, deviant

freaks. Much to your amazement, when you control your two-valued thinking , youdiscover the high school student is a straight-A, National Merit Scholarship Finalist whohappens to have individualistic tastes in dress.

Bypassing

Bypassing exists in two forms

Type IWhen different words are used to describe the same event

Type II

When a word is used that has a different meaning for the receiver

An example ofType I Bypassing would be situations that typically arise because of differentsymbol meaning associated with similar realities. Perhaps the best illustration is between theUnited States and Great Britain. We share a common language, but many realitiesencountered have been assigned different symbols for use. Conflicting Type I combinationsare such things as gasoline/petrol, truck/lorry, elevator/lift, conservative/liberal,liberal/conservative and the like.


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Vingette

Type II Bypassing results from our using a word from our frame of reference that has adifferent meaning in the frame of reference of the person targeted for communication. Forexample, a new convenience store was opening in a small town near our university calledEdcouch. The owners of the convenience store wanted to open as soon as they could even ifthey couldn't offer all the products and services they intended to. Therefore, as soon as the

building was complete, they opened to sell convenience goods plus bar-b-cue. They had towait on selling gasoline until their pump installation was complete. Since all passingmotorists could see the pumps, the owners believed they needed a temporary sign in front toapprise passers by of the situation. The sign read:

"Bu y Bar-B-Cue Today and Ge t Gas in Two We eks."

Or, maybe they had a better understanding of their product than most roadside sellers ofbar-b-cue.

Pointing or Associating

When words are selected to clarify or obscure meaning, pointing or associating occurs. Inthis case, the barrier is likely an intentional one where the "communicator" carefully selectswords to guide a meaning interpretation of the target audience in a direction other than onethat reflects reality. In recent days as we have been preparing this manuscript, the press hasbeen full of statements made by President Bill Clinton that are carefully crafted statements toguide interpretation of the American public. Advertisers use the technique to influence theinterpretation of potential buyers. A classic example quoted in many marketing texts is amerchandising experiment credited with any number of different department stores(depending and the text you read). The story goes that the management wanted to testmerchandising so they divided a shipment of handkerchiefs (some stories divide socks, shirts,

or ties) and placed two stacks on a counter. One stack was labeled "Fine Irish Linen-$5.00each," while the other was labeled "Nose Rags-3 for $1.00." Supposedly, the stack labeledFine Irish Linen sold out first, presumably because of the pointing or associating creatingan image in the consumers' minds of a better, higher quality product.

Blindering

Of all the barriers listed here,blindering is the one that probably most often affectsstudents. It is the placing unspecified boundaries on interpretation. The best example is fromour own experience. About thirty years ago, Southwestern Bell Telephone created as a part of


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its sales training seminars for customers a test that was given at the beginning of a trainingcycle (actually they may have commandeered the test from some other source). The test hada cover sheet that listed instructions including,

"Y ou have fou r minutes to complete this test of twen ty items.Read all items before b eginning to answer."

Item one said, "Write your name in the upper left-hand corner of this page." Item two said,

"Stand at your desk and crow like a chicken." Question three said, "go to the blackboard,make a circle with chalk, place your nose in it and sing America." The remaining items weresimilar until item twenty that said, "Do only item one and turn your paper in." The room wasfilled with people standing and crowing like chickens, singing, and dancing. The reason thisoccurs isblindering . When reading the instructions students placed an unspecifiedboundary on themselves by thinking that if they only had four minutes to complete the testand they had to read all twenty items before beginning, they wouldn't have time to completethe entire test. Therefore, since they had to read every item as they worked through the test,they could meet the essence of the instruction by reading as they worked. The result was a lotof embarrassed people, wasted time, and useless effort.

When trying to analyze barriers to communication, you may find that a specific situationmight be classified in two or more categories. This is not unusual. These categories are notfinite laws. Rather they provide a method to help us identify why barriers to communicationoccur. If a situation is easier to see as one type of barrier as opposed to another, that's OK aslong as we recognize it as a barrier that must be overcome.

Practice Exam

When you have completed reading this chapter, you may elect to take a practice exam

on-line. You may take the practice exam as many times as you wish. Each time, the test willbe compared to the answer key. You then have the option to review the results or not. Youmay wish to try the exam again before seeing the results of the comparison.

1997 2000 David L. Sturgesand Michael Minor

These pages were created on November 1, 1999, and last modified on August 29, 2001, on a PowerBook G3-266 using Dreamweaver 3.0. Questions orcomments should be directed to theWebJfe.


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