My Own World

As I considered the social constructionist perspective and how we build our “own world” I thought of all the different words in Mexico that have the same meaning but are different words. Even though it is the same culture, there are different customs that different parts of Mexico value. The first thing that popped into my head was Mexican Mothers Day. In Mexico, we celebrate it on May 10^th instead of every third Sunday in May like we do in the U.S. Although we are in the United States, the women in my family still celebrate Mexican others day. I believe that this is a part of our own world because unlike the U.S., Mexicans choose to celebrate Mothers Day on the 10^th regardless if it is a Sunday or not. Schools are closed, businesses are closed, and most families get together for a festival-type events. Although the women in my family may not celebrate it the way it is celebrated in Mexico, I like the fact that they can feel like they still value their traditions.

Concept from Ch. 13

A concept that I found interesting in chapter 13 was a leading question.  According to our book a Leading question is defined as, “ a question that indicated a preferred response”. Some example of these questions could be “ Don’t you think that red is a better color for a wall?” The reason that these questions should be avoided is because the answer could end up in a biased opinion. Once these questions are asked on a survey, people will most likely end up answering according to the preferred response, thus making it a biased response. I one took a research class in which we had to conduct questionnaires and had participants fill them out. The teacher would doc off points for anyone who had a leading question because then the results would not longer be accurate because of the biased answers. I think that in order to have a good questionnaire that participants should be able to answer the way they would want to answer and not be influenced by a leading question.  

Ethnographers

Ethnographers are professionals who learn from observations. Their reasons for observing behavior are scientific rather than personal. “Their reason for this is because they want to observe and understand how members of other cultures interpret the world.” Some steps to ethnographic research are covert roles and overt roles. Covert roles are like being “undercover” and becoming a member of the group being studied without anyone knowing. Overt roles are when scientists enter the field as a scientist and people know that they are being observed. The moral dilemmas that arise with this type of research is that the scientist has to make the decision whether or not to be deceitful or accepting the fact that he would have to judge people who have already learn to trust them.

I would try and resolve this by first trying out the overt role. Here I would let the people know what my intentions are and try to build a relationship with them. It always better for people to know what is going on before then feel betrayed after. 

Survey Research

After looking at the research methodologies on table 13.3, the one I found most interesting was Survey Research.  I found this research method the most interesting because it give people the opportunity to participate in the research.  The proctor is responsible for developing and administering the questionnaire. Once the questionnaire is answered by the desired amount of people, the proctor is able to record and code the responses. From my experiences with survey research, it is important to make sure that you always ask the right questions in order to successfully complete the research. I also enjoy the high level of interaction I get with the participants while I am administering the questionnaires.

If I were to study deception, the research question I would ask would be: “If you had the opportunity to cheat on your significant other with the chance that him/her wouldn’t find out would you take the chance and cheat or stay faithful?” I would use the survey research methods to develop a questionnaire and ask questions regarding the topic and also ask some demographic questions. I would compare answers from men and women, age groups and culture to find the appropriate answers that I need.  

Television is a cool medium.

I agree with Marshell McLuhand that the medium is a message. I think that for the most part, people become intrigued in what they see or hear. When we watch television, we are interested in what is going on and what we can visually see. Personally, I become more interested in something that I can visually see. If I am really interested in a certain show and I hear it rather than see it, I would not be as interested because I cant not see what is actually going on I would instead have to imagine it.

I agree with McLuhan saying that television is a cool medium. When I watch TV, I am interested in actually seeing the show and wondering what is going to happen. When you hear a broadcast of your favorite show, in a sense it is a bit deceiving because that narrator has to often times, fill the role of all the characters. There is also not as much action and drama as there would be if more characters were involved. I also believe that what keeps people interested is the fact that the picture is always changing and we are more focused on what is going on rather than have to focus on listening to what is happening. 

Upward Communication

A concept that I found interesting in chapter 8 was upward communication. Upward communication is “when a message travels from the bottom of the chart toward the top (records clerk to operations director. I found this was very interesting because, for the most part, most organizations have downward communication; the director sends orders or a memo to the clerk and they have to comply. I can relate to downward communication because my first job, we had to do what was told when it was asked and we never had much say. The job I work for currently is more focused on upward communication. Whenever I have had a problem or something that I couldn’t figure out, I have the ability to go to the department director and speak to him. I find that upward communication is very effecting because it shows that employees can confide in their superior and ask questions with out feeling less. I think it is also very important because it make employees feel like they have a say and their voice can be heard. I believe that in order to have a successful company, one should always focus on upward communication. 

Cyber Relationships

I can’t say that have formed friendships that exist exclusively on cyberspace. I think the closest friendship that I have had in cyberspace was with one of my cousins’ friends. I had met him before at her house but I never really had a conversation with him, just kind of a hi and bye type of thing. One day I get a friend request and I thought to myself, what’s the worst that can happen it’s not like he is a complete stranger. Well, in a sense he wasn’t a complete stranger, I just didn’t know him as well as other friends. I received a message and we started chatting. It wasn’t a big deal to me but for him apparently it was. His chats began to pop up a little more frequently and each time he revealed something else about himself. We actually became good friends. I saw him only once in a blue moon, but very very rarely. So one day I get to my cousins and he was there. It was probably the most awkward moment of my life; I greeted him like I would greet any other friend, but he acted like he didn’t know me. He just ended up being all-around weird, so I decided our “cyber friendship” had to end.

Although my case was mostly cyber, even though we had had f2f contact, I think that some people feel more comfortable chatting and getting to know others without having to physically interact with them. I think that it is hard to interpret peoples real feelings and emotions because we can only read what people are saying and we can’t hear the sound of their voice, or the tone in which they are saying things.

Cognitive Cues vs. Pre-Interaction Cues

The characteristics that have lead me to judge others as unattractive have not so much been physical characteristics rather than personality and the quality of person that they are. The characteristics I value in a person are honesty, trustworthiness and loyalty. Unattractive characteristics that lead me to judge people are laziness, people that are disrespectful, and people who do not value themselves as a person. I think that this is very important because if I am with someone who cannot value themselves as a person, when would make me think that they would value me?  I agree completely with Ducks theory. I think that we as humans use various filters until we find someone that we think are perfect for us. I would be lying if I said I had not eliminated someone due to a pre-interaction cue. When I met my first boyfriend, I automatically eliminated him because in my eyes, he was not as attractive as I would have like. I thought he seemed a little arrogant and self-centered. Once I got to know him, he was completely the opposite. This is where the cognitive cues kicked it. I reconsidered him as a potential partner because we actually ended up having a very similar attitude and share practically all of the same values. At the beginning I was only basing him off of pre-interaction cues but once I got to know him, the cognitive cue stood out more than the pre-interaction cues. 

Rigid, competitive, and submissive patterns.

Which pattern (rigid complementary, competitive symmetry, or submissive symmetry)do you think would be the most difficult to change? Why? Which would be the most damaging to a relationship? Which would be the most potentially damaging to te individual involved?

I think that out of the three stated above, the most difficult one to change would be submissive symmetry. Submissive symmetry is when both parties struggle to relinquish control. I think that this would be the most difficult to change because one person wants to give the other the opportunity to decide but the other person doesn't want to make decisions either. I think it would be hard to change because decisions would never be made or it would take forever to make them. One is also already used to trying to get other people to make decisions so when it comes down to actually having to decide on something it will be harder for the person because they are dependent on others to make decisions for them.

The most damaging to a relationship would be comepetitive symmetry. This is when both members fight for a one-up position. I think it would be the most damaging to a relationship because both parties are trying to be in control; when this is difficult to achieve, patience may run low resulting in a sour ending.

The most potentially damaging to the individual involved I think, would be rigid complementary. The example given in the book talks about a parent and child relationship. For the most part, parents make decisions and children follow them, however, the child may rebel making it hard for the parent. I think that this would be especially damaging for the parent because once the child starts rebelling more often and not listenting, the parent may feel as though they have not been successful in their parenting and they may think that they have failed which would result in low self-esteem for the parent.

Group Synergy

One concept that I found interesting in chapter 7 was group synergy. According to our book “group synergy is the idea that groups are often more effective than the best individuals within them.” Through group synergy you can gather information and find out different interpretations of the same concept with the members of your group. I once took a communication class and we had to form different groups for each presentation and I thought it was a good experience. Through our group we were able to motivate each other and spark off of each other’s ideas. Group synergy is especially effective within groups because it allows group members to work together in a team, support and motivate each other, and help each other understand a concept from a different perspective. From my experience, I was able to work together, as I would be in a job setting, and find strategies and we also feed off of other group members energy and if they are enthusiastic about the project or presentation then it will rub off on us and we will also be enthusiastic about it. 

Ethnocentrism

A concept that I found interesting in chapter 12 was ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is defined as “the belief that one's own culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one's own criteria.” I think that ethnocentrism is very common within cultures. There have been many people that I have interacted with that believe that their culture is above all other cultures. Although I do not agree with it, I think that it is very common for some cultures to think that they are superior to everyone else. I think it is especially hard for people that have immigrated to the United States to not think they are superior because that is all they know. Once they are exposed to other cultures they begin to develop stereotypes and slowly start believing that their culture is superior to all other cultures. I think that these stereotypes develop from negative experiences that people have with other cultures and often times it is hard to break these stereotypes because they have never experienced anything positive with that particular culture. If more people of different cultures interacted with one another, I don’t think that ethnocentrism would be as common as it is.