Thursday, September 10, 2009
An Interesting Concept- Intentionality
The concept I chose is intentionality, which focuses on if communication can be unintentional or if it's just intentional. Either way my opinion is that communication can be unintentional or intentional because either way you are sending out a message even if you realized it or not. People can tell a great deal about expressions, which says a lot about your mood at that moment. People say actions speak louder than words. An example the book gives about Brennan seeing Brianne and she not realizing he is there, Brianne frowns or looked annoyed because she did something revealing, which then Brennan makes an assumption about her mood at the moment. Even though Brianne didn't realize Brennan was watching she made that facial reaction. She communicated her mood at that given moment, whether she realized it or not. This concept made me think, how many times have I made a facial reaction not realizing it and/or people were watching me? What kind of message did I send to whoever saw me? Either way I "sent" a message and someone "received" it, regardless if I meant to or not.
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I think about this A LOT Chivista! I am always wondering how people perceive the emotions that I am displaying on my face. I also spend a lot of time people watching and wondering if they mean to send the messages that I am interpreting. I also think that there are situations where people unintentionally communicate with each other verbally. When someone bumps into you and apologizes, it is so rapid that you do not have time to predict the outcome of the conversation. I have also been in multiple circumstances where friends have told me later that they were intimidated to talk to me at first, because I always had such an intense look on my face! I never mean to give off that vibe, but I guess sometimes it just happens!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an interesting topic. Jahcat, I have had similar experiences! My best friend is basically incapable of hiding her emotions on her face. If she's annoyed, it shows, if she's happy, it shows, if she's nervous, it definitely shows. It's completely unintentional (or so she says) yet she is non-verbally communicating a lot more than most people who are more aware of their body language. I for one, hate making people feel uncomfortable...simply because I hate feeling uncomfortable too. So even if i'm annoyed, I'm really good at not showing emotions in my face. This comes in handy at work where I am forced to provide customer service with a smile. :)
ReplyDeleteI also find intentionality an interesting concept of communication. Humans are designed to communicate whether they intend to do so or not. I think everything that triggers a respond whether verbal or non verbal (thoughts) is considered a communication.
ReplyDeleteWe communicate by the way we express ourselves choosing particular cloths or hair style. For example, a woman in reveling cloths and heavy makeup may be view as flirtatious. A professor who delivers a public speech to students wants to be viewed as credible so she or he may choose more conservative clothing.
We also communicate by body language, such as facial expression or gestures. As Chivista says we send messages without realizing that.
How about pheromones and olfactory communication? Exposure to chemical present in sweat can alter human behavior. In this case the receiver of the message responds unintentionally.