Communicating Across Boundaries Essay, Research Paper
Boundaries are everywhere. Boundaries surround careers, streets, property and especially people. They are social, political, cultural and professional. One of the first things we learn as children is to stay within the lines; never overstep our boundaries. Communicating within one’s boundaries can be difficult. Even more complicated however, is attempting to communicate across those boundaries.
Miscommunication and misunderstanding are common when members of different groups converse (Mulac, Erlandson, Farrer, & Hallettet, 1998). Uncertainty in communication occurs especially with communication across gender boundaries. Men and women must follow boundary rules when communicating. Boundary rules are social conventions that protect the primary activities of a relationship?(Wilson, Roloff & Carey, 1998). Men and women also have certain roles in society that can affect these boundaries. When people communicate in a way that is not congruent with their role, then miscommunication may occur. At the core of many of these miscommunication instances is the problem that the exact same two words can carry different meaning for those involved in the conversation. When this occurs, it is as if the participants possess different dictionaries, providing them with conflicting denotative meanings for the same words and gestures (Mulac et. al, 1998).
The first article examined was an article on (mis)communicating across boundaries: interpersonal and intergroup (Petronio, Ellemers, Giles & Gallois, 1998). They propose the idea of boundary “Fit and Misfit”. People use boundaries to help them fit into their environment. We fit into our environment by drawing lines around those things that are important to us, and we control them through rules. This idea hits the mark. Many times people let others know what is and what is not appropriate
conversation material. For example, people usually don’t like to discuss their salary with others, and they show this by perhaps never opening a paycheck in front of others or by simply never talking about money issues, even around family. In order to obtain successful communication across boundaries, one must have the desire to fulfill a need through communication with others. Within a social environment, people desire both to maintain a level of autonomy from others and to find satisfying connections, so that the motivation to fulfill the boundary demands of others has to meet some need for the individual (Petronio et. al, 1998). That is the idea of boundary fit.
Because of the vast classifications of boundaries, communication is hindered. Messages need to be re-routed. When a person changes the meaning of a message, boundaries remain restricted and impermeable. In communication between men and women, a woman’s use of backchannels (e.g. “yeah” and “uh-huh”) makes the message unclear to men (Mulac et. al, 1998). Males learn that questions are used to control a conversation. For example, if a father is yelling at his child and the child asks “why?”, the father more often than not will respond with “I’m the one asking the questions!” Females learn that the use of questions within a conversation help keep the conversation going. Women use more minimal encouragers than men. Because of this gender boundary, men believe that women are fickle because they seemingly offer agreement, then take it back (Mulac et al, 1998). Also, because men use backchannels infrequently, women believe that men are not listening to them and are not interested in having a conversation with them. (Mulac et al, 1998). This argument has not been tested empirically. Even though this argument may raise a strong level of interest and seems to be popular, it is not concrete. It is almost certain that the use of backchannels and minimal encouragers, or lack there of, can help or hinder communication across the gender boundary.
A study done by Wilson et. al examined factors that inhibit expressing concerns about another’s romantic partner. It was reported that out of 100 respondents, many (46%) had a problem with their friends romantic partners’ daily habits. However, only about 50% of the irritations were expressed to the friend, and fewer than 10% to the partner (Wilson et al, 1998). Those who did not express anything did not want to cross any boundaries. This study found that if one were to communicate these problems across the boundaries, their friend would get upset. Also, many of the respondents said that crossing this boundary would affect all of the people involved permanently and they did not want that (Wilson et. al, 1998). This research portrays the fact that not only do individuals have boundaries that are the gatekeepers of personal information, but also relationships have boundary rules that regulate external intervention. This study did not have any information on the origin of these rules. However, it did pose some questions regarding the issues created by boundary rules. For example, a friend is supposed to be there when help is needed or when things are not going well. A friend is supposed to always be supportive through thick and thin. When a friend is criticizing another’s partner they are not being supportive. Hence, they are breaking boundary rules.
When individuals communicate across boundaries, whether they are personal, sexual, or even cultural, they must put their messages together in a way that minimizes negative reaction. In order to figure out why and how individuals communicate across boundaries, we must look at the formation of their messages. The three studies mentioned failed to do that. One study did acknowledge the fact that it may be useful to examine the degree to which friends understand the obstacles that they face during communication (Wilson et. al, 1998).
Most of the research done by Mulac on gender differences has found that women ask more questions than men do when attempting to communicate across the sexual boundary. They reported that in small problem solving, women asked three times as many questions as men (Mulac et. al, 1998). Perhaps the most important element required to avoid miscommunication across the gender boundary is to obtain shared meaning among those conversing. There is no evidence of shared meaning when men and women converse (Mulac et. al, 1998). The simple fact that shared meaning is a major problem of poor communication can be a sure indication of what happens when communicating across cultural boundaries. If people of the same culture can not consent on the meaning of the same word, then crossing the cultural boundary successfully when communicating must seem impossible. The Wilson study was a sample drawn only from the United States, so it is of no use when examining cross-cultural boundaries.
People deal with communication boundaries every single day. When an individual is in an intimate relationship, they must cross not only the gender boundary, but the romantic boundary as well. Typically, children learn appropriate patterns of communication between the ages of 5 and 15 (Mulac et. al, 1998). They learn to distinguish their own behavior, with the behavior of the opposite sex. Stereotypically, masculinity and femininity are the norms. For instance, when a boy is trying to communicate his opinion with another boy who disagrees, the boy who disagrees will immediately stand up and argue that point. When boys are together there is a tendency for competition to come about and hierarchies to form, as well as many attempts to gain superiority. When girls are together there is a tendency to lean towards group agreement and harmony. It is because of this social contrast between groups of boys and girls we can see many differences in communication.
Communicating across boundaries can be a very difficult thing. A common bound between the three articles discussed seemed to be that in order to communicate across boundaries an individual must be able to understand the other person’s message. Rules govern communication across boundaries. Boundary rules also restrict how people communicate their feelings and concerns, especially towards their friends. Due to its brevity, this paper did not even delve into such things as emotional boundaries and feelings in communicating.
If interpersonal communication had a handbook that was completely universal and informed every person of every culture and sex exactly what words mean, and if everyone shared the same knowledge of topics, conversation would be simple. Unfortunately there are so many factors that influence and hinder communication. If we have an understanding of each other and ourselves, some of those factors could be diminished.
Carey, C., Roloff, M., Wilson, L. (1998). Boundary rules: Factors that inhibit expressing concerns about another’s romantic relationship. Communication Research, 25, pp 618-640.
Ellemers, N., Gallois, C., Giles, H., Petronio, S. (1998). (Mis)communicating across boundaries: Interpersonal and intergroup considerations. Communication Research, 25, pp 571-595.
Erlandson, K., Farrar, J., Hallettet, J., Mulac, A. (1998). “Uh-huh. What’s that all about?”: Differing interpretations of conversational backchannels and questions as sources of miscommunication across gender boundaries. Communication Research, 25, pp 641-668.
Другие работы по теме:
Egyptian Goverment Essay Research Paper The Egyptian
Egyptian Goverment Essay, Research Paper The Egyptian government was the very first government. There were many reasons why the Egyptians had a good government. One example was that they were surrounded by natural boundaries to help them keep their land. Another is how they were excellent scientists. They had the Nile River, it was the reason they could grow 4 crops a year.
Revolutionary War 2 Essay Research Paper The
Revolutionary War 2 Essay, Research Paper The British lost and the Americans won the Revolutionary war. Though this is true there are arguments that the British lost the war more than the Americans won it. The Americans were under the control of the British and the Americans at first did not even have the intention of independence.
What Causes Cancer Essay Research Paper Cancer
What Causes Cancer? Essay, Research Paper Cancer is the number one killer in America today.We can say the known causes of cancer are radiation,sunlight,pollution,cigarette smokingand improper diets.I will explain the major causes of cancer,but before I proceed let me define the term “cancer.”To be defined cancer is an abnormal,uncontrolled growth of cells that can spread beyond their natural boundaries to other parts of the body.Cancers can develop in numerous parts of the body.
Dream Deffered Essay Research Paper Dream DeferredHe
Dream Deffered Essay, Research Paper ?Dream Deferred? ?He knew as he stood there that he could never tell why he killed. It was not that he did not really want to tell, but the telling of it would have involved an explanation of his
Trinculo And Stephano Essay Research Paper Drunk
Trinculo And Stephano Essay, Research Paper Drunk and More Drunk Trinculo and Stephano though not major characters in William Shakespeare s The Tempest, serve a large role in the story itself. They mainly serve as the story s comic relief and they also contribute to demonstrating to the audience how evil has no boundaries.
Plate Essay Research Paper Plates
Plate Essay, Research Paper Plates The structure of the earth is made up of many layers, but the crust and theupper mantle make up the lithosphere. The lithosphere is divided intoindividual sections called plates. The rest of the mantle makes up theasthenosphere. Convection in asthenosphere causes the plates to shift andmove about.
Beloved A Review Essay Research Paper Beloved
Beloved (A Review) Essay, Research Paper Beloved I decided to delve into the issue of slavery in this novel. SETHE, the mother of Beloved, and was owned by the character Schoolteacher . SETHE had three children by another slave. Schoolteachers sons would take her milk so she couldn t feed her children. She grew tired of this mistreatment so she decided to run away.
Hitler Essay Research Paper Hitler ResponseI think
Hitler Essay, Research Paper Hitler Response I think that the American propaganda differs from the German propaganda because it allows people to be more open-minded and choose a side more freely. German Propaganda doesn t allow people to make a free choice. It is a forced choice the put upon the people.
Death Essay Research Paper DeathDeath is the
Death Essay, Research Paper Death Death is the thing most people fear the most. I myself however do not, death can mean a lot of things. To me death is a restraint on life, a barrier
The Awakening Essay Research Paper
“The boundaries which divide Life and Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial (Bartlett, 642). To venture into the world of Edgar Allan Poe is to embark on a journey to a land filled with perversities of the mind, soul, and body.
Twelfth Night Essay Research Paper There are
Twelfth Night Essay, Research Paper There are definitely class boundaries broken in the Twelfth Night as well. The person who most often brings out the crossing of the class boundaries is Viola (or Cesario as the case may be). Both Olivia and Orsino fall for this bright and beautiful young woman (or man). Both of these people are part of the of the upper class, while Viola a member of the lower class who has been shipwrecked in a city that is foreign to her.
Boundaries Essay Research Paper This article tells
Boundaries Essay, Research Paper his article tells us the early conflicts, fears, vagueness and historical backgrounds over territorial expansion. The United States had been established with obscure concept of national boundaries. The constitution itself did not articulate geographic limit of the states, partly because the members of the constitutional convention were unsure of their territorial limit and expansion.
Freedom Essay Research Paper Free to me
Freedom Essay, Research Paper Free to me means that you have no restrictions, no laws, and no boundaries controlling you. You can do basically what you want, when you want. If people were to follow my idea of freedom though, the world would be a chaotic place to live.
The Contemporary Debate Over Constitutional Interpretation Essay
, Research Paper The debate over the role of the judiciary in the government has been going on for a long time. Some say that the Supreme Court has overstepped the boundaries that it is to operate by, while others believe that much of the Constitution was written in such a way that it needs to be interpreted according to the situations that have arisen in today’s society.
Great Plains Essay Research Paper For this
Great Plains Essay, Research Paper For this assignment we are asked mainly to answer the questions given to use over the reading material, as a measure of accounting for each student completing the reading. In class we have briefly discussed these articles to the extent to figure out that most saw the article written by Walter Webb as being less than factual from a Historical context.
Techtonic Plates Essay Research Paper Lab Report
Techtonic Plates Essay, Research Paper Lab Report The structure of the earth is made up of many layers, but the crust and the upper mantle make up the lithosphere. The lithosphere is divided into
The Louisiana Purchase Essay Research Paper The
The Louisiana Purchase Essay, Research Paper The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the French province of Louisiana by the United States in 1803. The province stretched from the Mississippi River westward to the
Hazards In Placentia Essay Research Paper Hazards
Hazards In Placentia Essay, Research Paper Hazards in Placentia Earthquakes are probably the number one hazard that affects my area. I live about six to seven miles from the Whittier Fault and about 16-18 miles from the Newport Inglewood Fault. Just about a week or two ago, we experienced an earthquake around 2:30 a.m.
An Opinion On Age Requirements In The
US Essay, Research Paper Since the beginning of time people have had an idea of right and wrong. As civilization progressed, we adapted these ideas and made them into laws. Laws are in place so people have rules and boundaries. These things are necessary so people don?t just run amuck doing harm to others and instilling chaos.
Burmese Days Essay Research Paper In the
Burmese Days Essay, Research Paper In the novel Burmese Days by George Orwell, imperialism shaped the daily lives of both British and Burmese characters through three main things racism, sexism and inequality. In the mid 1920’s, deep into the days of the empire when The British ruled Burma, racial and sexist boundaries were part of everyday life.
Earthquakes Essay Research Paper Major Earthquakes for
Earthquakes Essay, Research Paper Major Earthquakes for 60s and 70s. In the map have plotted the major earthquakes for the 60s and 70s. The major earthquake areas are in the area around the Pacific Ocean. Most of the earthquakes happened at these areas and for this reason they call it “Pacific Ring of Fire”.
Mending Wall Essay Research Paper Mending WallThe
Mending Wall Essay, Research Paper Mending Wall The year was 1914; this was a time in American history when we as a nation were just beginning to emerge onto the world stage. The world had yet to endure the First World War and all that followed it within the 20th century. This was at a time when life seemed to move at a slower pace and a large number of families still lived in the country.
Allen Ginsberg Essay Research Paper What exactly
Allen Ginsberg Essay, Research Paper What exactly does it mean to be American? What are the boundaries of freedom and liberty? Do we have the freedom to speak from the heart? Allen Ginsberg believed so, and he did just that.
Lorenzo
’s Oil Essay, Research Paper The movie Lorenzo’s Oil is about a boy, his family and their struggles to stick together through a life threatening disease. A family’s togetherness is challenged in the event of unexpected change, like in this movie. The Odone family tested many factors of their family structure when Lorenzo was diagnosed with ALD.
Manifest Destiny Essay Research Paper For two
Manifest Destiny Essay, Research Paper For two centuries, Americans had been progressively taking over and establishing a continent. People felt that westward expansion between the 17th century and the 1840s
Perils Of Hope
– Analysis Essay, Research Paper Analysis of “Peril of Hope” The poem “Peril of Hope,” by Robert Frost is about having hope. The poem speaks about no matter how things are one minute they can always change. Hope, however, is constantly there and will always be there to help get through the tough times until things get better.
Boundaries Distinctions And Games Essay Research Paper
Boundaries, Distinctions, and Games To Kill a Mockingbird revolves around human behavior and the boundaries that it facilitates. The boundaries of the quiet little town of Maycomb, Alabama are constantly tested by the games that people play. In each game, distinctions evolve. The distinctions become the rules of the game, of life, and from them, different boundaries form for each new character.
Convergent Plate Boundaries Essay Research Paper When
Convergent Plate Boundaries Essay, Research Paper When any two plates collide, some sort of activity is bound to take place. A specific type of boundary is a convergent plate boundary. At this type of boundary, two plates are moving towards each other. Neither plate is subducted into the mantle. Many things happen when plates drive into each other.
Antigone Essay Research Paper AntigoneThroughout the play
Antigone Essay, Research Paper Antigone Throughout the play, Antigone, both Creon and Antigone suffer from tragic flaws which eventually lead to their downfall. Creon and Antigone cannot control their tragic excessiveness; this leads to the public s negative opinion of him, while Antigone commits suicide due to her tragic excessiveness.
Second Shepherds Play Essay Research Paper The
Second Shepherds Play Essay, Research Paper The Second Shepherds Play goes against many of the characteristics that Horace believes should be in a play. The play does not stay in the boundaries of genres
Human Nature Essay Research Paper Shawn Gullberg
Human Nature Essay, Research Paper Shawn Gullberg Dr. Katz 4-01-01 Human Nature Man is constantly attempting to be better, faster, stronger, and smarter. This has been occurring for many years and has become human nature to strive forward and advance. It is uncommon for an individual to be reasonable and make the decision to stay within his limits.