https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5 Have you ever wondered why, when you meet someone new, you always seem to have the same; "Hi. What's your name? Do you ____? Me too!" conversation? Or why your idea of the perfect relationship as a female is one where a man falls deeply for you and does anything it takes to get you? Have you ever wondered what it is about some of your friends that make you feel more comfortable sharing secrets with them than with others? It is quite likely that you have never questioned these actions once in your life. And now, you may think; "Well, that is just what we do as humans. It's instinct.". But the truth is that these patterns of communication are not instinctual. Communicating itself is an instinctual behavior. The ways we communicate inter-personally, however, are very heavily influenced by culture. Culture is defined as an established and coherent set of beliefs, attitudes, values and practices shared by a large group of people, that is learned from parents, teachers, religious leaders, peers and the mass media. The act of learning these cultural "norms" is called socialization. Of course, we remember our parents telling us not to share our address or phone number with any strangers when we were a child, or our teachers telling us that it is important to share our blocks, crayons etc. with the other students. We may recall a time when we said or did something "embarrassing" but only truly felt that embarrassment when we were being laughed at, or made fun of by our peers; which made us not want to say or do that thing again. Many religions teach that kindness and compassion are important when interacting with others. The media has a more subtle way of socializing us though, and it is arguably one of the most influential tool for socialization. This is occurring everyday through Facebook, Instagram, television commercials and shows, but perhaps the most important and influential socialization happens during the time we, as young children, are watching our favorite television shows or movies. American interpersonal communication "norms" are often demonstrated by some of our favorite and most memorable movie characters. These are a few examples of some memorable animated movie characters adhering to the "norms" to which we are upheld. en-us 2016-12-04 21:36:55 UTC 2016-12-08 10:29:15 UTC hello@padlet.com taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141659575 Upon meeting new communication partners, our initial interactions serve the main purpose of reducing uncertainty we may have about one another. Reducing uncertainty is the process of gathering information about each other until you feel able to predict, and/or explain, their communication (McCormack, 2013). There are three main strategies that can be used to collect this information. 
Passive strategies include observing someone as they interact with other people or their environment (McCormack, 2013). This may provide information that would help the observer predict how their own interaction will occur. Active strategies include asking a persons peers to disclose information about them to you (McCormack, 2013). Finally, interactive strategies include directly approaching an individual and inquiring about themselves (McCormack, 2013). This process typically involves a scripted conversational pattern in first encounters that is universal. The script goes something like this; greeting; "Hi.", introduction; "My name is...", well being inquiry; "How are you?", comments about surroundings/weather, and so on.
 When we reduce uncertainty about another person, we begin to feel more comfortable which allows us to consider creating an interpersonal relationship with them. Because we communicate inter-personally for specific purposes; i.e. physical needs, safety, social needs, self-esteem, self-actualization, self-presentation or relationship goals, it is important to have a strategy for getting to know one another (McCormack, 2013). This may be the reason that the initial conversational script universally follows the same structure. However, there are still cultural differences regarding how this scripted communication occurs. These two clips, from the movies "The Aristocats" and "Pocahontas", provide examples of the culturally "normal" initial interaction between a man and a woman when seeking uncertainty reduction.  


]]> 2016-12-05 07:12:19 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141659575 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141713254 Begin; 00:30:00]]> 2016-12-05 12:54:35 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141713254 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141727481  In both clips, women utilize the passive strategy; Duchess and Pocahontas are watching Thomas and John from afar when they are noticed by the men. It is then the men who use the interactive strategy; Thomas approaches Duchess with his serenading song and eventually asks Duchess whom  she is, and John approaches and then chases Pocahontas, finally asking her who she is once he catches up to her. This is a direct reinforcement of the stereotype in Western culture that men communicate more straight-forwardly, using interactive methods to get to the point of reducing uncertainty quickly and effectively and women communicate more indirectly, using passive methods to collect information and predict a future conversation. Other cultural "norms" in America are depicted in these clips as follows;
Larger expectations for personal space, especially during initial interactions, are communicated by the uneasy nonverbal reaction that Duchess displays and by Pocahontas running away.
The cultural expectations of appropriate touch during initial interaction is demonstrated by the nonexistent utilization of it by Thomas and the quick and gentleman-like nature of it by John. The reaction Pocahontas has to John's outstretched hand further supports the message that the nonverbal interaction is abnormal as well.
Finally, the expectation that women should always only exhibit positive and pleasant non-verbal expressions is reinforced in these films when, in the face of the rather presumptuous uncertainty reductive behavior of the two men; Thomas dancing and singing to Duchess and John chasing Pocahontas, both of the women respond by smiling and welcoming their behavior openly. It may not seem plausible that the interpersonal interaction of clearly fictional characters such as the Aristocats could influence a child's behavior, and it is possible the extent to which this particular film impacts a child's interpersonal schema is slightly less in comparison to others. However this is only a fraction of the extensive collection of the popular animated children's movies. Similarly, uncertainty reduction is only a fraction of the comprehensive behaviors in interpersonal communication. And, quite frankly, the process of reducing uncertainty is quite brief. As soon as casual introductions are exchanged, the process of social penetration begins.]]> 2016-12-05 13:44:33 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141727481 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141729201 Begin; 00:17:00]]> 2016-12-05 13:49:39 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141729201 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141730160  Shortly after introducing one's self, until the termination of a relationship, a process known as "social penetration" is continually occurring. This is the progressive act during interpersonal communication, that involves many layers of characteristics, values, beliefs and opinions making up each person, which are peeled away and shared with each communication partner; a process referred to as "self-disclosure"  (McCormack, 2013). There are three main categories of layers; peripheral are the outermost layers which include superficial information such as age, gender, birthplace, name, etc. (McCormack, 2013). This information is typically discussed during the uncertainty reduction phase, and possibly during one or two subsequent conversations. Information that is a bit less transparent, and may not be regularly shared with all whom we meet are referred to as intermediate layers (McCormack, 2013). These include components of one's self such as attitudes and opinions about music, politics, hobbies, etc..The innermost, and most intimate layers of self, are called the central layers (McCormack, 2013). These include core characteristics such as self-esteem; or value of self, self-concept; or definition of self, and personal values, fears and personality traits. Each unique relationship we are a part of includes its own rate of self-disclosure. The rate of penetration involves two measurements; breadth and depth (McCormack, 2013). Breadth is the wideness of the range of topics which are explored with a communication partner, and depth is how far into one's "layers" have been penetrated (McCormack, 2013). Despite the fact that it may seem logical to assume that these layers are disclosed in an orderly fashion, this is not the case. In fact, the original metaphor for this theory; involving the layers of an onion, has since been challenged and modified.
 The Johari Window Theory, was developed defining and supporting the concept of the "four quadrants" of self. These quadrants are: Public area; which includes all information which we are conscious of, and openly disclose to others, this may include music and food preferences, religious beliefs and moral values (McCormack, 2013). Hidden area; any information about ourselves to which we are conscious, but do not disclose openly to others, including destructive thoughts, impulses, disturbing life experiences that do not fit in with your own self-concept, etc. (McCormack, 2013). Blind area; any information that others can see in us during communication, but that we cannot see in ourselves, such as strengths and/or weaknesses and flaws which conflict with self-concept, therefore we choose to ignore (McCormack, 2013). Finally, unknown area; includes information about ourselves to which we, nor anyone else are conscious of, including things like motives and impulses that influence our interpersonal communication and relationships. The window metaphor is used to illustrate how our communication develops; in the beginning of interpersonal relationships, public area of our relational selves is small, namely being comprised of demographic information, and the hidden "quadrant" is big, including most information that is not disclosed within an introduction of one's self (McCormack, 2013). Throughout establishing and maintaining a relationship with someone; we allow them to "peer in" to our hidden areas; sharing information that was once hidden (McCormack, 2013). This theory provides a much more realistic mental image of social penetration. Self-disclosure is affected by many influences such as culture, intimacy of relationship and attachment type. Intimacy of a relationship is interconnected with self-disclosure in the sense that the reciprocity of disclosure creates more intimacy, and vice versa. The following clips from the movie "Tangled" depict the "normal" patterns, and stereotypes, of social penetration in America.]]> 2016-12-05 13:52:14 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141730160 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141860608 Begin; 01:00:00]]> 2016-12-05 19:32:47 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141860608 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141862846 Begin; 00:35:00]]> 2016-12-05 19:39:18 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141862846 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141864904 Begin; 00:53:00]]> 2016-12-05 19:45:57 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141864904 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141866117 Begin; 00:10:00]]> 2016-12-05 19:49:21 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141866117 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141871221 In the first scene, both Rapunzel and Flynn's peripheral layers are being revealed. They are able to observe the gender, ethnicity and are likely able to predict one another's age, roughly. As previously mentioned, this conversation also closely follows the script used in uncertainty reduction. Contradictive to the previous portrayal of reducing uncertainty, it is the woman; Rapunzel, who interactively initiates the interpersonal communication. However the apprehension and indecisiveness that she displays while doing so communicates abnormality. This certainly reinforces the stereo-typical "normal" feminine submissiveness. Flynn's inability to maintain his romantic Shakespearean introduction of himself reinforces the American cultural expectation that men communicate assertively and straightforwardly, not with flowery poetics. Also, Flynn takes charge of the conversation quickly; being the first to further inquire about Rapunzel and attempting to bypass any unnecessary information by ignoring her questions and explaining his "situation" instead. Both Rapunzel and Flynn maintained a small public area in this interaction; the hidden area of self is still significantly larger. This initial conversational pattern is very common in most cultures. However the rate of progression, and even the ultimate depth, vary widely throughout culture.

The second scene, Rapunzel is rapidly revealing her intermediate layers; her opinion of her surrounding environment, desire to run, dance, etc.. . She even shares a few of her central layers; her current self-esteem as feeling like "a horrible person", and " a despicable human being" and fear of her mother finding out about her perceived betrayal. By openly sharing her internal emotional struggle, Rapunzel reinforces the "norm" in social penetration that Americans have a general tendency towards deeper self-revelation than other cultures. Though the decision to stay in or leave the tower is presumably a difficult one for Rapunzel, vocalizing her struggle to decide and self-esteem is definitely more characteristic of Western populations. Flynn also revealed some of his intermediate layers while giving persuasive advice in an attempt to talk Rapunzel out of the journey, expressing that rebellion and adventure are healthy behaviors.In addition, Flynn's advice and Rapunzel's ultimate decision to take the journey, although they did not verbally communicate it, illustrates their value of individualism, which is a cultural "norms" in America. Common value in individualistic cultures includes focusing on the self and personal journey towards individual achievement. It is possible that the lack of depth in disclosure in other collectivist cultures is another maintenance strategy for congruence-y. It may be that it is expected of everyone to have the same political views, values, self-concept and so on. Whatever the reason may be, it also contributes to the differences in development of intimacy cross-culturally.

In America, intimacy is deeply interrelated to self-disclosure. It seems, in this scene that Flynn has experienced a spark of intimacy, because he decides to disclose a huge piece of his hidden self to Rapunzel; his fake alias. Her culturally stereotypical sensitivity to his disclosure, and her reciprocal disclosure of a huge piece of her own hidden self; her hair, further develops their intimacy towards one another. Additionally, in the fourth scene provided, Rapunzel and Flynn are involved in rapid self-disclosure, and intimacy development through revealing their largest parts of their hidden selves to one another. Flynn's reluctance to disclose his feelings, and his comment; "I'll spare you the sob story", are portrayed, again, maintaining the socialization for stereotypical gender "norms" in American culture. Additionally, this depth of social penetration and intense intimacy it creates is culturally characteristic in America. The rate of disclosure, however, is more personal than it is cultural. Rapunzel discloses more about herself, and hints at Flynn to follow suit. Flynn then adapts his communication to match hers, by opening up to her as well.]]> 2016-12-05 20:05:24 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141871221 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141899915 When we seek social approval, wish to establish relationships with others or view others' language as appropriate, we are particularly motivated to adapt our language  (McCormack, 2013). Alternatively, we tend to accentuate our differences when we seek to distance ourselves from another person or group. Adaptations we use include moderating adjustments; like matching the speech rate, clarity and desired continuance in communication  (McCormack, 2013). Another important accommodation that is necessary, is the adaptation to a culture's guidelines for verbal and nonverbal expressions. For example; some Asian cultures believe saying "no" is rude, therefore they replace it with "okay". Without knowledge of these differences a person may know some cultural language, but may lack the ability to apply it, resulting in ineffective communication. Language and its guidelines for communication are culturally maintained communicative tool that varies widely, even between sub-cultures; like the rural and the suburb areas in Ohio. Differences between language sub-culturally are usually dialectical; consisting of unique phrases, words and accents (McCormack, 2013). A few important functions that language has, which are important to remember are: it is symbolic; symbols are items used to represent other things, which means words are symbols for objects and actions; therefore, language is symbolic (McCormack, 2013). It is governed by both constitutive rules; which tell us which words represent which objects, and regulative rules; which are used to remind us to do things such as use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, or when to use your and you're, etc. (McCormack, 2013). Finally, it has an interdependent relationship with culture (McCormack, 2013). For example; high and low context cultures use language in different ways; high-context cultures assume that there is an extensive shared knowledge base and therefore use context clues to make their point when speaking, rather than stating it directly  (McCormack, 2013). Low-context cultures assume that there is no knowledge shared and therefore speak in an informative, clear and direct manor (McCormack, 2013). In addition to language, non-verbal communication rules are dependent upon culture. For example; eye contact and physical distance are two of the many forms of nonverbal communication. In some cultures eye contact is considered rude, whereas others it is a sign of respect. Also, some cultures stand extremely close to one another when communicating, whereas in America distance is important. The ability to moderately adjust your language to match other culture's results in being perceived as having high communication skills  (McCormack, 2013). The following clips from the movie "Tarzan" illustrates some of the "norms" in the English language, as well as the process of communication accommodation to the English language. ]]> 2016-12-05 22:36:23 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141899915 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141909677 Begin; 01:56:00]]> 2016-12-06 00:43:45 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141909677 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141910137 Begin; 01:11:00]]> 2016-12-06 00:49:10 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141910137 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141910601   In the first scene, it is clear that Tarzan's motive for adapting the English language is the desire to establish a relationship with Jane. This type of motivation is reflective of the individualistic cultural "norms" of Americans in comparison to a more collectivist motive; such as seeking social approval. Tarzan models an impressive ability to modify his language to match anyone he speaks to in tone, speech rate, clarity, loudness etc.. The only problem is that he does not possess knowledge of the cultural guidelines for communication, which results in minimal comprehension of the sounds he mimics. Tarzan behaves in a way that, at first, makes it seem as if he understands the symbolism of the English he hears and speaks; for example the symbolism of the names "Tarzan" and "Jane". He displays this basic understanding of symbolism in a general sense again by using the word "Clayton" when he heard the gun and using the word "gorilla" as he inspects the chalk. Additionally, there were some culturally "normal" English non-verbal communication guidelines that went completely over Tarzan's head; such as Clayton's yelling. In the English language, tone and loudness are used to emphasize words and their collective purpose; for example the intonation at the end of a question. However Tarzan does not associate Clayton's yelling with frustration, because he does not posses the knowledge of those "norm's". All of the communicative interactions in these scenes, maintain the image of English speaking cultures as one of low-context. This portrayed through Jane's confusion when she is attempting to interpret the gestures Tarzan used to ask for her name, the use of pictures and impersonations of Tarzan to create a clear understanding of him and the attempt made by Clayton to get Tarzan to understand "gorilla" being an illustration. This communicates that Clayton was under the impression that further tailoring his communication of the word would help Tarzan understand, which is a common behavior within low-context cultures. Both of these scenes provide viewers with a comical experience by depicting Tarzan's attempt at communication accommodation as innocently mocking those speaking the language which he intends to adapt. This may be acceptable as a "wild man" who was raised by gorillas, but an important point to understand is that mimicking a culture's dialect would likely be perceived as rude or insulting. Of course Tarzan is not upheld to any expectations, nor does he expect anything of himself, which saves him from the potential effects of his mocking. For example; imagine Tarzan was practicing communication accommodation because of his desire to be the first wild man who was bilingual across species and he mocked the English speakers, who expected him to be more intelligent. Their likely reaction to scold him for his ignorant and culturally insulting behavior may cause him to feel ashamed. This feeling was the result of Tarzan's expectations of himself being different from the English speaker's expectations of him; also known as a discrepancy.]]> 2016-12-06 00:55:52 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/141910601 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142402080 As long as we are communicating with others, both verbally and non-verbally, it will be paralleled with our communicative peer's expectations of us. Peer's expectation of who we are/should be is known as the "ought self", and is influenced by family, friends, romantic partners and larger cultural elements; like the media (;  (McCormack, 2013). Additionally, at some point in life, personal expectations of our own behavior begin to manifest. Our expectation for ourselves regarding who we are/should be is known as the "ideal self"  (McCormack, 2013). Areas of the "self" that are included in these expectations can be mental, physical, emotional, material or spiritual, etc.. In order to construct an ideal self, we must first have an idea of who we are; or self-concept  (McCormack, 2013). We develop a sense of our own value based on this self-concept; known as self-esteem  (McCormack, 2013). Knowing who we are, and the we value we place on who we are helps us decide what about our selves we want to keep, what we need to do to become anything we are not and what we would like to modify or get rid of; forming our ideal self. We can also assess how we measure up to our ought selves, as well as how our ideal self compares. Sometimes, the ideal self and the ought self do not align, sometimes we align with one self over the other and sometimes we do not align with either self. The effect that these misalignment have on our self-esteem is known as self-discrepancy  (McCormack, 2013). We highly value a perception of ourselves that we can uphold the standards of ideal and ought selves. If we uphold one of these standards of self, we experience a slight discrepancy, which can lower our self-esteem. If we perceive that we are unable to uphold either of these standards, we experience major self-discrepancy and have a low self-esteem; placing little value on ourselves. Cultural expectations of who we are/should be similar to those previously explored are thick in the media; using advertisements to communicate "ideal" body figure, emotional "norms" such as "men don't cry" and so on  (McCormack, 2013). These clips will highlight a few of the common cultural ought self characteristics shown in the media . Additionally, the concept of self-discrepancy will be explored in the eyes of cultural expectations, as well as the solutions to these discrepancies. ]]> 2016-12-07 19:25:41 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142402080 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142461503 In the clips from the movie The Little Mermaid, Ariel's ideal self includes independence, adventure, open-mindedness and some relationship with the "human world" or, more precisely, her romantic interest; Eric the human man. King Triton's ought self for Ariel is to remain under the water, with no contact whatsoever with the outside human world. These differences in ideal and ought selves alone represent common individualistic cultural values. Ariel, at 16 years old, is concerned with being on her own and achieving her individual goals. This is a common value in individualistic cultures. King Triton's reaction to punish Aerial by destroying her statue, as well as Ariel's counter-reaction to disobey her father are also characteristic of individualistic cultural norms. During conflict, individualistic cultures do not mind disagreeing with one another, and are more likely to react or compete. Again, contributing to the cultural value that the individual is the most important; there is little to no portrayal of Ariel reflecting on or feeling badly and experiencing a low self-esteem due the discrepancy between her ideal and ought selves. Additionally, the conclusion of this discrepancy includes King Triton accepting Ariel's desires for her ideal self. The lack of effect this discrepancy had on Ariel's self-esteem is not specifically a commonality in individualistic culture. However, the common familial practices are that, upon reaching a certain age, the power between child and parent balances out and becomes a relationship of mutual respect. Also, once again, the pursuit and achievement of individual goals is extremely valued and rewarded in these cultures. The lack of low self-esteem may be to reinforce the independent and mature mindset which would be important to have if one wanted to earn respect and be given more power from their parents. This pursuit for individual respect and power is vastly different from what is pursued in collective cultures.

In the clips from Mulan, the cultural value is family honor. The wish of Mulan and her family's being that she bring honor to the family demonstrates collective cultural values in that it is not a personal goal that they each are working towards, but a goal that involves the family as a whole. Living for others is the core value of collective cultures. While this is a commonly shared value between Mulan and her family, there are still major discrepancies between the self's envisioned for her. Mulan's ideal self is not stated outright, however she sends the message that her ideal self is not the "perfect bride". This ought self that Mulan's parents want for her is a common collectivist practice to be a "perfect bride" and values that it is wrong to speak your mind, especially as a woman. After Mulan is repetitively told that she was not capable of bringing her family honor, she breaks down. This is a depiction of the effect self-discrepancy has on self-esteem. It is important to remember that this movie was created in America, and therefore may not be totally accurate in terms of collective cultural norms. Keeping that in mind, Mulan also acts in rebellion of her parents expectations as a last resort to bring honor to her family. The end result is, of course that her courage and independence contribute to her success in achieving that honor. While these concepts are more common in individualist culture, the final scene includes a return to the collectivist values. This includes Mulan bowing to her father and showing him the items she had been given to symbolize her family's honor. In collectivist cultures, the relationship is based on the value that children should always show respect to their elders. Despite Mulan's moment of rebellion, her overall behavior displays conformity to her families beliefs and values. Her desire to conform, as opposed to Ariel's desire to deviate from her father's values, may also have ultimately been the deciding factor of whether or not their self-esteem was impacted by the self-discrepancy between ideal and ought selves. This familial conformity/diversity illustrates one of many dimensions of communication within families.]]> 2016-12-08 03:43:53 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142461503 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464652 Begin; 00:20:00 End; 00:32:00
Begin; 02:30:00 End; 02:53:00]]> 2016-12-08 04:49:13 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464652 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464686 2016-12-08 04:50:01 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464686 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464765 Begin 00:15:00]]> 2016-12-08 04:52:16 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142464765 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142465946 Begin; 00:27:00]]> 2016-12-08 05:18:06 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142465946 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142466027 Begin; 00:45:00]]> 2016-12-08 05:20:18 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142466027 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142466134 Begin; 00:17:00]]> 2016-12-08 05:23:10 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142466134 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142471996 During interactions with family, there are two imperceptible dimensions that guide our communication. Conversation orientation is the level of encouragement family members receive to discuss a wide range of topics without restraint (McCormack, 2013). If there is high encouragement, or high conversation orientation, family members value openly talking to one another about any given topic. Low conversation orientation family beliefs that are included are that irrelevant conversation is unnecessary, and intimate thoughts and feelings should be kept private. Conformity orientation is the familial opinion of whether conformity or diversity regarding family attitudes, beliefs and values should be upheld  (McCormack, 2013). High conformity involves family communication which encourages and reinforces uniformity in thought, regards elders highly and prioritize family relationships over outside relationships. Low conformity includes emphasis being placed on diversity and uniqueness in attitudes, values and beliefs, children and elders are regarded as equals and family relationships are maintained at the same level that outside relationships are. Between these two dimensions, families will have one of four possible patterns of communication. Consensual families are high in both conversation and conformity orientation  (McCormack, 2013). This communication encompasses the encouragement to openly share opinions, views, etc. with one another and active listening, but ultimately the parents will ensure that it is known that nothing in deviation of their own perspectives is acceptable. Pluralistic families are high in conversation and low in conformity orientation  (McCormack, 2013). This involves communication without barriers, encouragement of diversity of values, beliefs and attitudes and debating as equals-regardless of role as a child, parent, grandparent etc.. Protective families maintain low conversation and high conformity orientation  (McCormack, 2013). The communicative procedures commonly seen in this pattern includes little discussion about anything, parent with extreme power over children- ie. "children only speak when spoken to", and maintaining obedience to family norms. Laissez-Faire families are low in both conversation and conformity orientation  (McCormack, 2013). This consists of parents who allow their children to explore diverse attitudes, values and beliefs, but do not discuss these, now much else on a day to day basis. There are many cultural influences that effect our communication patterns. Some of these include the common cultural practices of Americans. These practices are not taught, they are simply a byproduct of the larger influences which contribute to our culture. The media is, again, one of these influences due to the endless reach it has into our lives. The following clips will illustrate common cultural practices and corresponding family communication patterns.]]> 2016-12-08 07:17:59 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142471996 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142482589 Begin; 00:16:00]]> 2016-12-08 08:39:00 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142482589 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142483803 Begin; 00:30:00]]> 2016-12-08 08:48:45 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142483803 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142485066 These clips depict families in individualistic countries (USA and UK). The Incredible's family communication pattern follows those characteristic of consensual families. There is plenty of discussion and debating of opinion that occurs, but it is clear that Mrs. Incredible sets the rules. Still, it is common in individualistic cultures to openly display disagreement and react to conflicting opinions, values or beliefs. This is demonstrated when Flash justifies the prank that got him in trouble and Violet voices her desire to be normal. Additionally, the cultural value that parents and children are equal in power is demonstrated to an extent in the Incredible family. Since the children are younger, and this practice is age-dependent, the children are able to express themselves even if it is to disagree with their elders. However, they are not permitted to act however they want at this point. This practice is illustrated a bit differently in Brave, because Merida is a bit older.

The family communication pattern  in Merida's family follows those characteristic of consensual families as well. This pattern is extremely close to a pluralistic family, however. Although Queen Elinor  is presented as having maintained conformity, by "preparing" Merida for her courtship for her whole life, as well as managing the time and decision of who is worthy of competing for Merida's courtship, this conformity is violently resisted. The support that King Fergus provides for Merida's diverse way of thinking and acting provides her with the courage she needs to deny her mother's requests and act how she wants. Again, the cultural practices are that at a certain age, children in individualist cultures become equally powerful in the parent-child relationship. Merida's bold response to Queen Elinor reinforces that practice as a sign that the time for this balanced relationship is drawing near. As a side note, Merida ends up achieving this respect and balanced relationship, which is another reinforcement of this practice. Also, Merida's decision to deny her mother's request, rather than accept it for the sake of her family is illustrative of individualist cultural value, again, that individual accomplishment is the most important of all. There are endless examples of components of this theory in these and other movies, just as there are components of all of the previously mentioned, and most of the existing concepts in interpersonal relationships.

]]> 2016-12-08 08:59:36 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142485066 taylorxk https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142497370 McCormack, S. (2013). Reflect and relate: An introduction to interpersonal communication. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin'ss]]> 2016-12-08 10:11:15 UTC https://padlet.com/taylorxk/7qdca22pzzl5/wish/142497370