PLUMMER'S (Human Comm.) PRINCIPLES TO REMEMBER... ( the P-P-T-R's)
In addition to the 5 basic Principles of Interpersonal Communication mentioned in your text (Beebe, Chap1) , your instructor is giving you these additional, overlapping 5 concepts to keep in mind throughout ALL of the topics to be studied THROUGHOUT the course. More background for each of these will be discussed in class.
>1< Some of the most distinguishing characteristics of Interpersonal Communication are:
| -
The flow of the communication process is truly "dynamic"
(i.e.
multidirectional & highly reciprocal) [ see Beebe's model of "interaction" & the "transaction" model] |
| - participants act as Senders AND Receivers |
| - participants interact in close proximity to each other |
| - the nonverbal part of the message has a great weight on the overall meaning |
| - participants' emotions are more likely to be communicated-- not just informative content |
>2< There are some cultural variations, but for the most part , Humans are biologically programmed to be
Egocentric as well as Ethnocentric. This is particularly visible in "western' cultures such as the U.S. )
>3< There are some cultural variations, but for the most part, Humans are biologically programmed to seek Similarity and Balance.
>4< Communication & Human Interaction proceed according to Rules & Norms. Some of them are explicit & some of them are implicit, but they are THERE!
>5< Communication is Culture--&--Culture is Communication; therefore, all communicative interaction is "culture-sensitive" at the very least. In other words, every observation that you make about human interaction must take into consideration the cultural CONTEXT.
updated 1/2019