Assignments

linked item W1 Assignment
W1 Assignment
Interpersonal communication affects more than just us, it impacts others. Our interactions have ethical considerations. Describe a situation that involved an ethical issue and the communication practices that were used to address the issue. There should be a clear definition of what the ethical issue is, and what communication practices were used to address the issue. Your paper should be a 1-2 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W2 Assignment
W2 Assignment
Using the Johari Window model, diagram your relationship with a romantic partner or close friend. What insights can you draw from this? How did information move from your Hidden quadrant to your Open quadrant, or from your Blind to Open quadrant? Now diagram one for a person you don’t know very well, can be personal or professional. What information is in your Open quadrant with your partner/friend but not in the Open quadrant with your acquaintance? What other differences are there? How does this impact your relationship? What cues do you use to determine if you want to take a relationship to a deeper level? Your paper should be a 2-3 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W3 Assignment
W3 Assignment
Use the ladder of abstraction to describe the relationships between perception, communication and action in one interpersonal encounter in your life. First, describe the situation as fully as you can-remember, I was not there, so no you will need to provide enough detail that I understand what was happening. Next, describe the behaviors and environmental cue you noticed. Finally, identify the way you labeled what was happening and others who were there. Now consider alternate selective perception you might have made and how they might have influenced your labels and actions. Would you differently if faced with this situation again? Your paper should be a 2-3 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W4 Assignment
W4 Assignment
In Chapter 3 on perception and communication, the book stated that there is no intrinsic meaning in phenomena but that humans actively construct meanings and attach values. In Chapter 4, the book argued that language is powerful and that values inherent in the words we use shape our perceptions and those of others. Do these two statements contradict one another? Craft your answer in relation to the notions of hate speech and loaded language. (Be sure to distinguish between these two notions in your answer and provide concrete examples to support your point). Provide an example of situation you encountered with hate speech or loaded language.  How did that make you feel? Your paper should be 1-2 pages citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W5 Assignment
W5 Assignment
Our choices of social media shape our perceptions of events, issues, and people. Cultural memberships influence the content of digital and online communication. Social media have altered how we perceive time and space. People tend to feel anonymous online, even when they have a name associated with their avatar. On the internet, computer mediated conversations lack body language, voice intonation, and other important nonverbal elements. Without these features, people are compelled to fill in the gaps with assumptions about the nonverbal elements. Read the following paragraph (taken from http://archives.obsus.com/obs/english/books/editinc/can_talk.htm; bottom of web page) about a flame war. For some reason, people become much more sensitive when they’re online, and they tend to blow things entirely out of proportion—for example, taking a couple of sentences originally meant to be humorous or sarcastic entirely the wrong way. It’s even worse if you’ve had a bad day and you’ve decided that “no one likes you” (we’ve all had those moments); you’re much more susceptible to misunderstanding messages. Once that happens, everything can go downhill quickly. Instead of asking for clarification (“You were kidding, weren’t you?”) or just ignoring it, many people—forgetting that they’re dealing with another human being on the other end—decide to defend themselves and tell the originator of the offending message exactly what they think of him or her. This outcome is what’s known in the business as a flame. If both sides begin insulting each other, it’s called a flame war (kind of like fighting fire with fire). These digital battles often erupt in “public” and can sometimes be very entertaining to the lurkers.”
Describe a situation online where you witnessed trolling and flaming. What was the situation? How were the comments handled? Do you think this same situation would have happened in a face-to-face environment? Why or why not? How can situations like this be minimized? Please use the terms for your text about social media and nonverbal and guidelines for improving nonverbal communication found in Chapter 5 to respond to this question. Your paper should be a 2-3 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W6 Assignment
W6 Assignment
In a 2-3 page paper, reflect on a situation in your professional or personal life where poor listening skills created a problem. Briefly describe the situation, then spend the bulk of your reflection analyzing what went wrong in terms of listening and how, specifically, effective listening would have made a difference. Be sure you incorporate terms from the text of effective listening skills as you analyze the situation and suggest ways it could have been improved. Your paper should be a 2-3 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W7 Assignment
W7 Assignment
In a 2-3 page paper discuss emotional reactions. Provide an illustration of a specific emotional reaction of a situation you were in. Then explain the emotional reaction using two different theories of emotions discussed in Chapter 7. Finally, provide an argument for which of the two theories offers a better explanation of the emotional reaction. Your paper should be a 2-3 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.

linked item W8 Assignment
W8 Assignment
In a 2-3 page paper discuss each of the family life cycles. Do you think most couples today follow the same cycle as those 20 years ago? Why or why not? How important is each stage? Provide a minimum of three examples for each. Based on cultural trends and evolving values of new generations, what changes in marriage do you predict in the next 15 years? What evidence do you have to support this viewpoint? Your paper should be a 4-5 page paper citing specific examples and providing detailed analysis incorporation reading and textbook material. If outside sources are used, proper citation of the source should be included.