as revision 2012
DESCRIPTION
Revision for AQA Communication and Culture Comm1 examTRANSCRIPT
Communication and Culture
COMMUNICATIONCULTURECODECONTEXTREPRESENTATIONIDENTITYPOWERVALUE
KEY CONCEPTS! SHOULD BE USED IN 3 OF THE 4 ESSAYS
Achieved Roles; a role in which a person assumes voluntarily e.g. Employee, friend, girlfriend
Ascribed Roles; a role in which a person is given e.g. Daughter, student, granddaughter
Semantic Memory; is our shared or cultural memory. We learn to read people in certain ways
Episodic Memory; unique to you, makes you an individual personality.
PUBLIC SELF
PRIVATE SELF
CORE
PRIVATE SELF
PUBLIC SELF
ROGERS
COOLEY-LOOKING GLASS THEORYThe version of the self we find in other peoples responses
SHULTZ states that there are three reasons as to why we communicate
-To control -For inclusion-For affection
OPEN SELF(GENDER, RACE, NAME)
BLIND SELF(THINGS OTHERS SEE BUT YOU DON’T)
HIDDEN SELF(YOUR PERSONAL SECRETS)
UNKNOWN SELF(TALENTS YOU DON’T KNOW YOU HAVE)
THE JOHARI WINDOW
THINGS THEY DON’T KNOW
THINGS THEY KNOW
THINGS I KNOW THINGS I DON’T KNOW
GOFFMAN
Goffman argues that we all put on a persona, and that everyone is acting. We use props and stages throughout our everyday lives.
We use cynical and sincere performances. Cynical-fakeSincere-not fakeWe also use masks.
Ego StatesCharacteristic set patterns of behaviour
Natural Child instinctive/curious/childish/emotional
Adapted Child flirty/lying/deceivingNurturing Parent nurturing/boosts self
esteem/’no blame’ cultureControlling Parent
punishing/belittling/superior/low self esteem Adult dull/boring/coherent/logical
Attitudes-our tendency to react favourably or unfavourably to people, objects or situations.
Beliefs-our views of existence; what we think is true
Values-the worth you play on things, events and people. Values are the bedrock of all behaviour. Societies values are found in the media.
Ideal selfRealistic Self The bigger the gap between your ideal self and
realistic self, the lower a persons self esteem.
Dissonance; when information about the self comes in and conflicts with the idea of the self
WHAT YOU WANT TO BE
WHAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE
BARRIERSPsychological BarriersHow we perceive other people, determines the way we approach
them and how we communicate with them
Organisational BarriersThe structure of organisations themselves. A good organisation is
having clearly defined and smoothly operating channels of communication between its different members and departments
Mechanical BarriersA fault in the communication channel
Semantic BarriersInvolves problems of meaning at each end of the communication
process
Non-Verbal Communication
Functions Forms-Feedback Body Language; -Non-verbal Leakage - Posture -Regulate Speech - Facial Expression (5 Universal)-Reinforce Speech - Orientation-Emotional Carrier - Proxemics (personal space)-Replaces Speech - Hand Gestures (kinesics) -Self presentation - Dress and Appearance - Head Movements - Eye Contacts
Paralanguage- Fillers - Pace -Tone- Volume - Accent - Silence -Pause
DEFINITION: Bodily communication, other than words and language
A code is a system of communication which requires three elements;
1) Rules e.g. Rules of grammar2) Signs e.g. Anything that expresses a meaning3) Shared Understanding e.g. A group that shares the same
knowledge and understanding of rules and signs within that specific group
POLYSEMIC when something has more than one meaningSEMANTIC the study of meanings, and how meanings of words
can change or adopt other meaningsSEX IS OUR BIOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION.GENDER IS CREATED BY OUR CULTURAL EXPERIENCES
CODE SWITCHING the ability to switch dialect e.g. Cheryl Cole in different contexts
LANGUAGEDEFINITION: Language is a symbolic sign system that requires a code and
shared meaning between sender and receiver to be effective.
Functions-explaining -informing -creative-displace (bounce back and forth between past and present) -entertain -phatic talk
FORMS-slang -dialect (regional) -jargon -sociolect (class/group)-idiolect (personal) -taboo
Context and audience dictate our language/the words we use.
Our language can change due to; -regional/cultural identity-role/status-intellect -power/value-attitudes-age-gender
ICONIC
INDEXICAL SYMBOL
SIGNIFIEDSIGNIFIER
DENOTATION CONNOTATION
ENCODINGDECODING
SHARED MEANING OF CODE AND ITS CONNOTATIONS
Restricted Code; used mostly in group situations with a limited and predictable vocabulary
Elaborated Code; used mostly by professionals e.g. Teachers, a wider range of vocabulary and less predictable
LANGUAGE AND GENDERWords have hidden power relations behind them. These power
relations are usually about status, power and gender. Language has a relationship with all three.
It has been argued that gender is socially constructed. This idea suggests that although we are born male and female biologically, we learn to behave in a male and female way. Gender is created by our cultural experiences. One of the chief ways in which we experience culture is through our use of language. It follows that language is likely to be a key factor in differentiating the way in which gender is constructed and how males and females learn to behave. Dale Spencer argues that language reflects the dominance of men in our society. Patriarchy is the notion that power relations in our society favours men. Therefore, it could be argued that language is controlled by men e.g. The use of the word ‘man’ or ‘mankind’ to represent human beings of both sexes. However, the feminist movement has changed this a lot.
Anchorage; method of ensuring a specific interpretation of an image Channel; method we use to pass on a messageConvention; a rule/style/model for organising signs in a text Icon; sign which has a direct representation of something Index; a sign which has no concrete link to the thing it representsSymbol; a sign which has no association to the thing it representsParadigm; a set of signsSyntagm; the combination of signs from a paradigm to create a
messageIdeology; a system of beliefs of how life should be livedSign; that which stands for represents an object/idea or mental
conceptSignifier; the label we give a sign Signified; mental association we have for an object/wordDenotation; literal description of something Connotation; the mental associations which a sign has
Defi niti ons
Myth; way of explaining/simplifying/organising our perceptions of the world-making our shared understanding seem natural or taken for granted.
Semiotics; study of signsModel; message is read or interpreted in a diagrammatic formEncode; to convert a message into a means capable of being
transmittedDecode; to convert an encoded message into a form which can be
understoodBarrier; anything which interferes with the process of communicationFeedback; message(s) we receive back from the receiverMode of address; the term described in which a text speaks to its
audienceRegister; describes the variations in the use of language or other
communication codes associated with a particular contextForm and content; the essential relationship between the shape of a
text and what’s in itMessage; the meaning carried by an act of communication or text Open/closed texts; two tendencies of a text: ‘Open’
allow/invite/encourage a wide range of interpretations. ‘Closed’ reading in a limited number of ways (sometimes only one)
Reader; the active interpreter of a messageReading; intended/preferred reading. Negotiated reading.
Oppositional reading. Sender; the originator of communicationReceiver; someone to whom a message is directedText; anything which can be read for meaning Discourse; a system of representation based on the reality of
communication in specific contextsEntropy; a communication that is high on new information and
this is highly unpredictable is aid to be entropicNarrative; the way in which a text reveals information to an
audience in order to create a story Polysemic/polysemy; refers to a capacity of a text/part of a
text to be read in several different ways
CULTURE!
Fashion
Shock
Individuality
Food/drink
Multi-Cultural
Music
Behaviour
Dance
Belief
Customs/Traditions-Bonfire night-Christmas-PromBeing British
Norms-Rules and Regulations-Manners-Politeness
Religion
ValuesConform
Media
T.V/Magazines
Politics Sign Systems
Language
NVC Gestures
Culture is a big group of peopleCulture affects our identity, our sense of selfCulture affects out identity in the same way as a group does
Mainstream Culture white, young, able bodied
Minority age ethnic minorities disability gender asylum seekers sexuality non English speakers wealth
Culture
British-ness
IdentitySigns-the flag; pride/belonging-food; chippy/curry/pie-national anthem-music; Britpop; oasis
Language-elaborated code; no taboo-restricted code; common-phatic talk-power and value language-signifier/signified-code switching Language teaches us the meaning of symbols; -symbolic code systemSpoken word. Symbolic code-signs with rules and shared understanding.
Body LanguageFacial expressions, gesture, posture, orientation, proxemics, hand movements, eye contact.
ParalanguageTone, volume, pitch, pace, pause, accent.
Mass MediaTV, film, magazines, internet, music. We assimilate American Value. Power and status.
Customs, norms, patterns of lifeProm superficial materialistic American Dream Fairytale night for girls
Popular Culture-Visceral.......appeals to base emotions-Voyeuristic........nosey -Mainstream-Fake, superficial, shallow, formulaic, artificial -exploitation of audience-stifles creativity-big audiences-homogenous......all the same -ephemeral........easily forgotten-It has to appeal to everyone so it has to be dumbed down........simplified, base interests, trivialised, sensationalised.-Ideological-Celebritized
High Culture-Diversity and choice-Educated and elite-Lots of creativity-Improving civilization-Educational...Morally uplifting-Values; education, brain development, challenging-High art, poetry, literature, opera, classical opera, ballet
Folk Culture-Organic-Produced by the people, for the people-Traditional
Semiotic(study of signs)AnalysisQuestion 3 of the Exam1) Identify the Paradigms of the textse.g. Images, body language, colour, layout, dress codes, logo, font, language.2) State the dominant Signifiers(the label we give a sign)
3) For each of the four dominant signifiers state the; Denotation Literal meaning of something e.g. Describe what is there in one sentenceConnotation Mental associations of somethingMyth Cultural connotations e.g. StereotypesIdeological Gender, self esteem, power and status4) Sytagm an overall meaning of paradigms5) Conclusion show off bring in barriers oppositional readers
Deconstructing Texts
List 4 e.g. Clothing, body language, colour, font
Process Analysis (Laswell)More mathematical (formulaic) 1) Identify the sender encodes message preferred reading2) Identify the audience/receiver decodes message3) Identify the form the message takes (Channel) e.g. Leaflet, flyer, poster And why the sender chose to use it4) Identify the purpose persuade entertain change behaviour change attitudes5) Barriers x3 mechanical problems with semanticmeaning psychologicalbreakdown
Attitudes/values/beliefs
Personal
Bad juxtapositioning/there could be no mechanical barriers
E.g. Language codes.........because language codes need shared understanding