In Chapter 6, we learned about communication research. When researchers are doing research they have an intended outcome which is when the person conducting the investigation has a specific result they desire to obtain. In communication, researchers are constantly making theories about how and why people communicate. This semester I am also taking experimental psychology in which we have to run different experiments and do a bunch of research papers. Since the beginning when we state our hypothesis, we have a goal that we want to accomplish and that is our intended outcome. 

The editorial cartoon shows the null hypothesis, in experimental psychology they teach us that we are supposed to always try to prove our null hypothesis right even though our original desire would be to prove the alternative hypothesis right. In other words, even though our originally intended outcome is to provide evidence supporting the alternative hypothesis, in order to be objective or not be biased we need to always try to support the null hypothesis. From personal experience, when we are running a research project we tend to be really biased and do whatever is easier for us to accomplish our own goals so we tend to search for the evidence that best fits our biased minds which is very unethical too because we have to be professional as well. 

 

In chapter 5, we learned about how law and theories are related to communication. Theories help us predict and control our communication. Causation means that there is a cause and effect. Prediction suggests that once someone determines a particular law is at work, they will use it to predict outcomes of communication situations. For example; if you say “How are you” to someone then, that person responds “I’m fine.” The part that you think their response was a result of your question, that’s causation. However, when you asked “How are you” and you expected their response to be “I’m fine,” that’s a prediction. 

This editorial cartoon portrays how the way and attitude we use to communicate affects or causes other people to react differently. We can predict how the other person will react to us by the tone we use to communicate as well. One example from my personal life is that I have a cousin who is 5 years old, I noticed that every time I demand him to eat or do his homework with an attitude he doesn’t like, he won’t do anything or do but against his will, however, if I ask him to do those things with a lovely attitude he will do anything I asking him to do. The way you approach people can cause them to react differently. You can also predict how someone will react to the type of attitudes that they receive.

In chapter 8 we learned about mass communication. Mass communication is when media organizations share specific information to a large public and the public sees, listens and understands the message that those organizations are portraying. Mass communication can be positive when the message shared by those organizations have a positive intention towards the audience such as acknowledging people on mental help, among many other things that can benefit society. However, sometimes mass communication can be negative because some organizations’ owners might funnel down the information they share in their networks according to their personal agenda. Some people believe that just because it’s on the internet or a famous newspaper is sharing a particular information, that information is true. Be careful, some information can seem good but it might be hiding a negative intention behind. You have to question the validity of every information that you are consuming. Who does it benefit? What’s the motive? etc.

The cartoon represents how journalists sometimes try to share positive stories about a person but news owners don’t like those type of journals because “if it bleeds, it leads.” People tend to pay more attention to stories that are negative. Media owners think in terms of consumers rather than citizens. From personal experience, my grandma watches news 24/7 and she believes every single thing she sees or hears. I remember during 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, she heard on the news that people needed to wear 3-5 face mask so they can remain healthy, so every time she went outside she would use 4 face mask, glasses, two pairs of gloves, spray herself with Lysol before coming inside the house, etc.

An organization is a group of two or more people that work together toward achieving a common purpose. Organizations are corporations and the serviced industry. Organizations also include non-profit companies such as schools, governments, churches, small businesses, etc. Critical approaches categorize organizations as “sites of domination” (Miller 116). In every organization there is always one group who is negatively affected or marginalized by the politics and structures that the company operates. 

This cartoon represents how some people shut their mouths because they might be experiencing financial instability, so they accept maltreatment from their employers and however are in a higher position than them to keep that job. From personal experience, I work in a retail store, and the way that cashiers are maltreated by managers is insane. Sometimes, cashiers have to work 12-hour shifts, they don’t have a stool or anything in which they can rest a little bit while the store is not busy. Also, when customers maltreat cashiers, the managers always talk badly in front of the customers because “customers are always right” even though most of the time it is the customer’s fault. The more humiliating thing is that when the customer leaves the store, the managers like to joke about that moment and tell cashiers “Don’t pay those customers no mind, you know that we cannot lose our customers and they are always right.” In my mind, it is like: so you can’t lose a customer but you will feel very good about losing a great employee. Unfortunately, some people have to accept those humiliations because otherwise they could lose their jobs, and losing their jobs also means losing control of the economy. 

In Chapter 10, we learned about the importance of group communication. Groups are a collection of three or more people who link together to obtain or complete a collectivist goal. Each member works to accomplish the goal which will benefit the whole group. In Chapter 10, we also learned about collectivism and individualism. Collectivism is when everyone in the group is more focused on working to benefit the whole group equally, not one individual in particular. However, individualism on the other hand is the opposite of collectivism. Individualism is when one puts a high value on one person above the needs of the whole group. 

The cartoon shows the different ways in which cultures raise their children. Some cultures teach their people at young ages how to be individualist by telling them to first think about their benefits. Nevertheless, other cultures teach their people at very young ages to behave in a way so the whole group gets the same benefits. 

In my opinion, I am a mix of both, individualist and collectivist depending on the context. When it comes to school projects if everyone in the group is committed to the work, I activate my collectivist mindset and work for the well-being of everyone. But, if I see that some students in the group don’t want to work, I activate my individualist mindset and I do my best to shine by myself. 

Cultural gender dynamics change over time and across the different cultures. The process of cultural gender starts with dressing baby’s according to their sex, for example: blue for males and pink for females, or males play with cars while girls play with dolls. We learn cultural gender differences from our families. Cultural gender changes over time, we can think about the past how females were not allowed to vote, because their only responsibility was being a housewife, cook and maintain the stability of her house and family, while the male responsibility was to bring money to the house. Nowadays that perspective changed a little, now females are allowed to work, vote and do many more things rather than being a housewife. Cultural gender dynamics change through the differents counties, what is seem to be normal to Americans might not be seen good for people in the Vatican and viceversa. 

The cartoon shows how in some cultures females are represented with a cleaning brush. From my perspective that is very humiliating, women’s duties and importance goes beyond cleaning a house and maiming a house organized. On the other hand, males are represented by a hammer. From my perspective, the representation of a male is also humiliating because not all males have to work like machines all the time.

An example of how cultural gender communication that I’ve experienced and have seen happening a lot is that while driving is someone is making a lot of mistakes or cannot park a car people always say “that must be a women” or if a female drives fast people often say “She drives like a man.” No matter in what culture or country I am, I’ve heard this a lot, and in my opinion those type of comments are very out of place. 

Am I better than you?

Intercultural communication is the exchange of information between languages and cultures. Each cultural identity is shaped differently depending on their beliefs and cultural dynamics. Cultural identity is not only shaped by your race, nationality, and ethnicity. Your cultural identity is also shaped by your gender, social orientation, religion, social class, and ability. Your cultural identity is an intersectionality of all these categories, where all of them meet and interact creating who you are. 

Ethnocentrism is when an individual believes that his/her culture, beliefs, values, and behavior are the center or better than others’ culture, beliefs, etc. From my perspective, some people are raised with more privilege than others and that is the reason why some might feel superior to other people who might have a different culture or point of view. 

The editorial cartoon shows ethnocentrism in how people judge others without getting to know each other. People often criticize other people based on their own beliefs, and that is wrong. If we were raised in a certain way, that doesn’t mean that somebody who was raised differently is mistaken.

 From personal experience, there have been times that behave in an ethnocentric manner unconsciously. I work in a retail store where most of the customers are Caribbean restaurants. When I first started working at that job I saw males with long braids which was rare to me because I was never exposed to another culture different than mine. There were times that I believed that they were wrong or ugly, however, I never said that to anyone. Now that I am aware that just because someone has different values or a different culture than me, that does not mean they are wrong or that I am better than them. 

Self-disclosure is when one individual decides to tell others information that is not known to the public about his/her own life. There is information that others can perceive like your skin color, the color of your eyes, etc. that is information that can not be self-disclosed because people are already aware of it. Implications such as I am sad or I love pizza, are information that can be disclosed. There are levels of information that people can disclose, starting from simple things such as one’s favorite color to more personal implications such as “I am going through a very hard depression.” 

The cartoon represents how one person is saying “Why would I trust you.” Trust is crucial for people to express their feelings, emotions and/or personal life to others and that is something I struggle with. From personal experience, I don’t like to tell others my business. When it comes to my emotions or when I am feeling sad I don’t like to self-disclose that information to people I don’t trust. In my opinion, other people can use that information as a weapon to destroy my reputation or hurt my feelings even more in the future. 

You don’t need to speak to communicate…

We often relate communication with oral speaking. However, communication is a broad spectrum that has a lot of implications. Communication is not only what one can express through words, but what we express through our body language, sounds, gestures, appearance, and physical action (non-verbal communication). We use verbal communication consciously (we think before we deliver the message) while we use non-verbal communication unconsciously (we don’t think about the message we deliver). Tattoos, environment, hairstyle, clothing, etc. are implications that communicate a message to others about how you are as a person, your values, and/or social status. 

From personal experience, my facial expression is my major problem. There is a saying that I totally relate to “if my mouth doesn’t say it, my face definitely will.” There are a lot of times in which people assume I am rude or mean due to the reason that I always have a neutral facial expression. I don’t tend to smile at people if I don’t know them, which in my opinion is the reason why people misinterpret me. I am a very introverted person but as time progresses and I am more comfortable with the other person I become more friendly. But that doesn’t mean that I am rude just because I have a different way of portraying myself to others

Most of us have been taught that verbal communication is only oral communication, which is when we speak to one another. From chapter 2 we can learn that written communication is also part of verbal communication, as well as sign language. What is not part of verbal communication are the gestures, body language, when we laugh, cry or cough, these denominations are part of non-verbal communication. The difference between spoken communication and written communication is that spoken communication tends to be informal, while written communication is more formal. From personal experience I have to say that I have been mistaken all my life, thinking that verbal was kind of a synonym of speak and that is why I thought that verbal communication only involved spoken communication. When it comes to how we are supposed to talk, it’s very difficult to be formal. I work in customer service which involves a lot of oral communication. I have to say that people are very informal when it comes to speaking no matter where they come from. For example most customers use a lot of words such as “sum instead of something” or say “She do instead of she does.” In my head I am always “judging” people when they talk in that way due to the fact that I know that they are speaking in a very particular way that I sometimes don’t understand because I am not used to it but I am open to get to know the different ways in which people express themselves.