The Social Constructionist Perspective of communication is formed by everyday interactions and by the culture around us. This is one definition of communication that I have found interesting.
People can also change over time to adapt to the communication customs of a culture. At my job, everyone calls each other hun, love, babe, etc. Whenever we get new employees they are taken back by the way we interact. Also we take it with us into everyday life. My best friend who works with me said “thanks hun” to a guy friend of hers in front of a guy she was dating. The guy could not understand why she would call another guy hun and he got upset on the fact.
Another way to look at the social Constructionist perspective is the world as a whole. Every country/region has a way of communicating. The United States have become accustomed to messaging electronically whether it is through email, BBM, text messages etc. Other countries where computers are not as prominent in society they tend to use word of mouth or written letters.
Many cultures have different ways of expressing themselves. It is only through continual interaction and observation that these customs present themselves. This leads us to Pragmatic Model of Communication. (To be posted tomorrow)
Kolby,
ReplyDeleteTo my understanding, the social constructionist perspective is where people, given their own respected culture, create their own perspective(s) on reality. I enjoyed reading your example regarding your work environment, and how specific word jargon is used amongst employees. I think you captured the social constructionist perspective in relation to your own smaller culture at work. It got me asking myself at the end, where do you actually work where you call each other babe, hun, and love?
I too think this is an interesting perspective, but it’s a perspective that eventually evolves over time like you mentioned. We all express ourselves in different ways, and it’s interesting to see how certain cultures view reality in that sense.
The ability of people to adapt to the communication customs of a culture is an interesting concept. Humans as social creatures are vulnerable to social and cultural pressures. When we move from one culture to another we change the way we interact. For example, my friend who grew up in western culture moved to Tunisian Republic in North Africa. One of the cultural aspects she needed to adapt was the inferiority of women. During official or private events she had to seat behind her husband and she was not allowed to talk without his permission. When the cultural differences are very extreme, such as in western and African countries the adaptation is difficult or impossible.
ReplyDeleteBut people change their communication style within their own culture based on circumstances or psychological profile of the speaker. As Kolby says we communicate differently with a new employee as opposed to a senior one. We also may communicate differently with a shy person, a child, an elderly. I think in every communication the psychological component plays a big part (the psychological model ).