LIFE SKILLS (Second half)

Lecturer/instructor: Narintorn Chimsuntorn

Main topics: - Communication and Life
- Constructive and Destructive Communication
- Cross and Intercultural Communication
- Textual Analysis
- Conflict and Communication
- Stress and Therapeutic Communication
Methods of teaching & learning :
Lecturing
Class discussions
Evaluation : Class attendance ….%
Quizzes & Participation ….%
Examination ….%
Total scores 50
 I. COMMUNICATION AND LIFE

The Significance of Communication in Human Life

Functions of Communication
Role of Communication in Making Sense of Self, Others, and
the World
The Significance of Communication

“To say that communication is important to human life is to

be trite, but that bit of triteness witnesses to an invariable
truth: communication means life or death to persons.” (Reuel
Howe, The Miracle of Dialogue)

Life Definition
noun, plural: lives
(1) A distinctive characteristic of a living organism from dead
organism or non-living organism, as specifically distinguished by
the capacity to grow, metabolize, respond (to stimuli), adapt, and
reproduce
(https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/life)
Transmitting information within an organism [neurotransmitter]
and between organisms

Information informe [L] = to form from inside

was originally a concrete term, referring to the physical process

that has been going on since the time immemorial

Became an abstract term when highly-developed living

organisms(with the brain) emerged, hence connoting the
sensational/emotional information (= message?)
Functions of Communication

The primary goal of communication is to sustain human life

and enable it to functions effectively (i.e. healthy, happy life)

Main functions:
To discover oneself
To discover the outside world

To develop meaningful relationships

Levels of Human Communication

Intra-personal Comm.
Inter-personal & Group Comm.
Mass Comm.

Some Important Concepts of of Human Communication

Human beings are mental (spiritual) beings

Human beings are symbol-using animals

Social Construct of Reality

Constructive
Communication
 Positive Psychology

Intra-personal Communication : “Constructive communication comes from

positive thinker (communicator/person) ”

+ Worldview

Resilience
七転び八起き
Ex: Comparation of mind-set between positive and negative
thinkers using the framework on how they react to news developed
by Gable, Reis, Impett & Asher (2004)
 Constructive Destructive
Inter-personal Communication
Constructive communication is communication
that works in positive, constructive ways for
relationships.
Destructive communication is communication
that works in negative, destructive ways for
relationships.
 Hammer of
Communication
THE CLAW IS LIKE
DESTRUCTIVE THE HEAD IS LIKE CONSTRUCTIVE
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION

THE HANDLE OF THE HAMMER

IS LIKE US-IT IS THE DRIVING THE SHANK IS LIKE NON-VERBAL
FORCE COMMUNICATION
DESTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION

Blaming
Interrupting
Endless fighting

Calling in Reinforcement
Withdrawal

Need to be Right or Win

12 RULES FOR CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION

Use “I” message instead of “You” message

Communicate the entire message

Don’t use your feeling as weapon (You’re such a bad dad!)

Use specific language (Thanks for leaving a mess for me)

Focus on the problem, not the person (You Chula clan)

Stop bringing up ancient history

Pay attention to your body language

Watch out for mixed messages (ex: you look so pretty. I would
never have the nerve to wear that)

Pay attention to your emotions and keep from becoming

overwhelmed (if you are calm, you’re less likely to say things
that you’ll regret later)

Resolve negative feeling (when you have bad feeling about

your partner, take step to resolve them. Don’t let it build up)

Don’t be overly defensive (it will escalate the conflict)

Don’t shut down

Before you speak :
THINK
T= Is it True ?
H= Is it Helpful ?
I= Is it Inspiring ?
N= Is it Necessary ?
K= Is it Kind ?
[Extra: Tips for successful interns:]

Clarence = Communication
David = Double checking
Gary = Going the extra mile
Frank = Following direction
Sam = Stay professional
 CROSS AND
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
I. Why is intercultural communication important?
I.I Six imperatives

- The Technological Imperative

- The Demographic Imperative
- The Economic Imperative
- The Peace Imperative
- The Self-Awareness Imperative
- The Ethical Imperative
I.II Globalization
“The present phenomenon where all parts of
the world are interconnected and
interdependent through three dominant forces:
communication technology, capitalistic
economy, and international organizations”
“Globalization era”
“The Global Village”
 “Global village”

Communication Capitalism International

technology organizations

attainment of “enlightenment project”?

realization of “dream of modernization”?

I.III Two dimensions of human

contacts - Quantity
- Quality
III.II workable
definition
“communication between people from different
cultures on all levels including interpersonal,
group and mass communication; and in various
contexts such as business, social and political”
 Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952) listed 164 definitions of the word;
culture.

Culture = Way of Life

tangible (material) & abstract

(spiritual)
shared meanings
socially learned and transmitted
fluid
Fred E.Jandt:
1. A community large enough to sustain itself
 2. The totality of that group’s thoughts, experiences, and
patterns of behavior & its concepts, values, and assumptions
about life that guide behavior.
3. A process of social transmission of these thoughts and
behaviors over the course of generations..
4. Members who consciously identify themselves with that
group , i.e. cultural identity, or the identification with and
perceived acceptance into a group that has a shared system of
symbols and meanings as well as norms for conducts.
(Samovar, Porter, Stefani)
Characteristics of Culture

Culture Is Learned
Culture Is Symbols
Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation
Culture Is Subject to Change

Innovation Diffusion Acculturation

 Culture Is Integrated

Culture Is Ethnocentric

Culture Is Adaptive

Some important elements of cultural

transmission
“myths”
Socially collective of persistent of value handed down from generation to
generation that help to make the world understandable, support the social
order, and educate the young. Myths provide the cultural image of
perfection and provide a guide for living. They are expressed in the
symbols, rituals and story-telling (e.g. in novels, other forms of literature.)

“proverbs”
Examples:…..
“Rules and norms”
Rules = socially agreed-on behavior/ individual
guidelines for behavior:
Norms = specify appropriate and inappropriate

National Culture

Cultures within Cultures

Subcultures:
exit within dominant cultures and are often
based on economic or social class, race , ethnic or
geographic region.
(Co-cultures)
Subgroup
occupation, institution and membership groups

“Deviant’ label

Temporality
“Wanna-
be”behavior
 Kluckhohm and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations

Florence Kluckhohm and Fred Strodtbeck(1961)

Five key orientations:

1. Human nature
2. Man-nature relationship
3. Time sense
4. Activity
5. Social relations
 Hofstede’s Value Dimensions

Greert Hofstede’s research with more than 116,000 IBM

employees in 72 countries : Cultural Consequences (1980)
Four value dimensions:

Individualism / Collectivism
Uncertainty Avoidance
Power Distance
Masculinity and Femininity
Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Communication

Edward Hall is one of the first scholars in the field of

intercultural communication: The Silence Language (1959), The
Hidden Dimensions (1966)
A high-context communication or message:
=most of the information is either in the physical context or
internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded,
explicit, transmitted part of the message

A low-context communication or message:

= is just the opposite, i.e., the mass of information is vested
in the explicit code
high context high context

xt
Japan

n te
Greece

Co
Spain
Italy
UK

n
a t io

Meaning
France

o rm
USA
Scandinavia
In f
Germany

low context

low context
Barriers to intercultural communication

Attitu
Percepti Pics. O f vest, doggy

de.
on.
Ethnocentris Pics. O f vest, doggy

m. “culture shock”
Anxie
Stereotype/
ty Prejudice/
Racism
Language

Nonverbal communication
I. Attitude “Essentialist”/ “Non-essentialist”

II. Perception
III.ANXIETY

refers to being so conscious of feeling out

of place and focusing so much on that
feeling that you appear awkward to others
Culture shock

“the anxiety that results from losing our

familiar sings and symbols of social
intercourse” (Oberg 1960)
“ Culture shock, ‘transition shock’, or ‘the
experience of foreignness’ are the reactions
to living in a new culture” (Marx 1999)

Manifested in both physical and metal

symptoms
IV. Stereotypes
 V.
ETHNOCENTRISM

negatively judging aspects of another culture

by the standards of one’s own culture; to
believe in the superiority of one’s own culture.
Extreme ethnocentrism leads to a rejection of
richness and knowledge of other cultures. It
impede communication and blocks the
exchange of ideas and skills among peoples.
STEROTYPES AND PREJUDICE

Stereotype refers to negative or positive

judgments made about individuals based on
any observable or believed group membership

Prejudice ,on the other hand, refers to the

irrational suspicion or hared of a particular
group, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Stereotypes impede communication when
they cause us to assume that a widely held
belief is true of any one individual
continued use of the stereotype reinforces the
belief e.g. stereotypes of women as ornaments /
black as stupid or licentious / gay as only
interested in sex. Such belief can place
individual woman, black, and gay man at risk.

media (tv/ movies) reinforce stereotypes

Case study: Asian-

A i
RACISM

Involves not only prejudice but the exercise

of power over individuals based on their
race. Racism can be either conscious or
unconscious, intentional or unintentional.
the 19ᵗʰ cen. French writer, Count Joseph
Arthur de Gobineua : “father of racism”
Essai sur l’inequlite des races humaines
(White racial superiority)