Communication factors in everyday life

The human being is defined by his condition of sociabilityAnd if he is sociable, it is because he can communicate, that is, exchange his thoughts and emotions on the one hand, and his creations and experiences on the other. To these are due the best human achievements. “When communicating with thoughts and emotions, people live and express themselves, and when the object of communication is their creations and experiences, both individuals or groups progress and are culturally enriched ”(Gómez Delgado, T.; 1998).

The communication is a necessary condition for the existence of man and one of the most important factors of his social development. J. C Casales. (1989), states that being one of the significant aspects of any type of human activity, as well as a condition of the development of individuality, communication reflects the objective need of human beings for partnership and cooperation mutual. In this Psychology-Online article we are going to offer you a study on the communication factors in everyday life.

Index

1. What is everyday communication
2. Principles and functions of language in everyday life
3. How important is communication in everyday life?
4. Examples of communication in everyday life
5. Communication barriers in daily life
6. Examples of barriers in daily communication

What is very true is the fact that Communicating forms the foundation of all social life. It is a process that puts two or more people in psychological contact and functions as an organizing moment and as a stage for the expression of the subjectivity in which meanings and meanings of concrete subjects are exchanged, constructing individuality and knowledge of the world. According to Morales Álvarez “Society as objective reality becomes subjective reality when the individual internalizes in his consciousness and assumes as its own the social world produced by man, objectified in meanings of language, as external to it "(Morales Álvarez, J. and Cortés, M. T., 1997, p-46).

For Wilbur Schramm one of the basic principles of the general theory of communication is that “signs can have only the meaning that the individual's experience allows him to read in them ”(Schramm, 1972, p.17) and what we can only interpret a message depending on the signs that we have learned to attribute to them, which constitutes a referential framework based on which a subject, or a group of them, can communicate.

Communication, in the historical-cultural school, was worked on as a fundamental category based on the works of L.S. Vigotsky about higher psychic functions, who highlighted how they do not respond to the line of biological evolution, but which are the result of the assimilation of the products of culture, which occurs only from the contact between the mens. In this sense, it is also worth highlighting the idea of ​​L.S.Vigotsky about the interpsychological origin of everything psychic, it is say how each psychic function and personality in general is generated as inter-psychological processes and then internalize.

During the communication process, the subjects involved influence each other, that is, their subjectivities interact through the processes of externalization and internalization. Coupled with this, there is a redefinition and configuration of subjectivity, where reality comes through the other.

Communication should be studied as a multidimensional and polyfunctional process. In correspondence with this premise, Lomov raises the need to approach it from three levels of analysis in relation to its structure: Macronivel, Mesonivel, Micronivel.

Comunication elements

Generally, when we talk about the elements of communication, we refer to the sender, message, receiver, context, channel and code. However, we can also analyze the communicative act through other prisms of study.

Regardless of the implicit value of Lomov's studies about the 3 levels of analysis in the structure to which reference has been made, I agree with what Andreieva, G. M. (1984, p-85) in this regard when he addresses 3 elements or factors of communication in everyday life inextricably intertwined:

• Communicative aspect: which is nothing more than the exchange of information, ideas, criteria between the participants in the communication.
• Interactive aspect: which refers to the exchange of help, cooperation in communication, of activity planning actions.
• Perceptual aspect: which refers to the perception process of communicators, how both are perceived in the communication process, on which the understanding and effectiveness of the exchange will depend communicative.

These three aspects in turn are identified with three fundamental functions of communication that are:

• Informational function: which includes the process of transmission and reception of information, but seeing it as a process of interrelation. Through it the individual appropriates the historical-social experience of humanity.
• Affective-evaluative function: which is very important within the framework of the emotional stability of the subjects and their personal fulfillment. Through this function, man forms an image of himself and of others.
• Regulatory function: through which the feedback that takes place throughout the communicative process is achieved, which serves so that each participant knows the effect of his message and so that he can evaluate himself.

The forms and content of communication are determined by the social functions of the people entering in it, because of its position in the system of social relations and because of its belonging to one or another community or group; they are regulated by factors related to production, exchange and consumption, as well as by traditions, moral, legal and institutional norms and social services.

Because the communication process It is the one that allows people to relate, bond through the different activities and spheres that encompass the daily life, it is necessary to pay special attention to how to develop skills that enhance this ability human.

We would have to start for this, from what would be the conditions, around said process, that facilitate and promote its effectiveness. First of all, I would like to refer to the need to create a favorable psychological climate, security, trust, positivity, empathy, among other factors. When I talk about the creation of climate, it is necessary to orient oneself in the other, understanding it and showing happiness. understanding, putting yourself in their shoes and accepting them, being sincere, allowing full expression without offense or aggressiveness. In essence, it is to esteem the other, respect their right to express their feelings.

The importance of the recipient of the message

One of the most important communication factors in everyday life is the receiver. It is also essential as another essential element of interpersonal communication the listening skills and abilities adequately developed in the participants of the communication process.

The possibility of a true dialogue, learning and change depends on the existence of a high capacity to contribute data to affirm what is thought, with an equally high capacity to be willing to listen then, and get to modify any ideas that are necessary.

Knowing how to listen is a skill that brings substantial rewards: increased production and understanding, renewed capacity for work and increased efficiency, reduction of wasted time and materials. By becoming more aware of the listening process, the individual becomes more trustworthy and is able to engage good relationships, while learning to recognize the true purpose that underlies the messages of the the rest.

Communication and assertiveness

The assertiveness is a fundamental skill for the establishment of interpersonal relationships. When we talk about learning to be assertive, I mean promoting the development of skills that will allow us to be direct, honest and expressive people in our communications; In addition to being safe, self-respecting and having the ability to make others feel valuable. There is an element here that you cannot miss, you should always try to find a solution "Win - Win ", that is, it must direct the communicative act in a sense that benefits the participants of the same.

According to Predvechni (1986), not only these elements are necessary; but also the person must plan the language, the content, the means to transmit it and know how to get feedback. Another author, Bert Decker (1981), highlights questions regarding voice, posture, etc.

Naturalness is a very valuable strategy, Because this is a resource that allows you to make impressions or emphasize something, so that it is assumed by the interlocutor as true, authentic.

There are categorical opinions such as that of Hernández Aristu (1992) when he states: “Every communicative act, if it is authentic, implies a synchronous process of unmasking, of unveiling the objective, normative, intersubjective and linguistics. At the same time, it supposes a liberation from external pressures that arise from relations of power and dominance, from institutional, personal, explicit or covert interests. It also supposes a release of pressures, internal automatisms, fears, inhibitions, etc.

The communicative intention

The communicative act is the result of intersubjective consensus, of the symmetry of the relationship between the interlocutors, in which the force, if it exists, is none other than that of rational discourse. These communicative acts are therefore acts of emancipation (Hernández Aristu, 1992)

The reciprocal relationship of the parties with respect to the object of the dialogue can only be effective for the purpose of solving problems when the The situation is structured as a cooperative process, in which the attitude favorable to the purpose of reaching a common goal enables a relationship positive of the parties, at the same time that it is a condition so that the contradiction in the plane of the object of the conversation can be resolved in a joint.

These communication strategies are based on a cooperative position and that orient the act of communicating toward expression and understanding mutual for the search for joint solutions, of the tasks that gave rise to the establishment of communication.

Through them, progress is achieved in the communicative process, both subjective and objective, which is experienced by both participants. When one person addresses another through language seeking mutual understanding and effective communication, it is reciprocally assumed that what each one says:

• Responds to reality; is true.
• That what they say conforms to social norms and is justified, that is, what they say is justified.
• That when talking they do it with sincerity and truthfulness, they are not intended to deceive.
• That what they say is understandable, intelligible for both.

Several authors coincide in classifying barriers into two large groups or levels:

• The former, on a sociological level, are based on objective social causes, by the belonging of the participants to different social groups, which originates philosophical, ideological, religious, cultural, different conceptions that cause the lack of a single conception of the situation of communication.
• The second, on a psychological level, arise as a consequence of the psychological particularities of those who communicate (character, temperament, interests, mastery of communication skills) or because of the psychological peculiarities that have formed between the members (hostility, distrust, rivalry) that may have arisen not only due to the combination of the personological characteristics of each also due to circumstantial factors that have placed them in contradictory or rivaling positions depending on the situation in which they are find (wars, fight of opposites for an object or subject in which the gain of one means the loss of the other) (Darcout, A., 1993).

Other authors classify them as:

• Materials
• Cognitive
• Socio-psychological

The materials are given when the communication is global, massive or is directed, at least to a considerable number of people; They occur due to the objective lack of resources or communication goods and are defining in the transmission of messages (mass media: television, radio, press; microphones, loudspeaker). But these barriers are easily detectable and therefore its elimination does not constitute an insoluble problem.

The cognitive ones are more complex and refer to the level of knowledge that the listener has about what we intend to communicate. Finally, the socio-psychological ones are the most difficult to overcome and are determined by the referential scheme of the subject; Some ideas are not valid or are directly or indirectly opposed to what the recipient of the information has accepted, so these ideas block any level of communication.

Rogers, C. states that the greatest barrier to intercommunication is our natural tendency to judge, evaluate, approve (or disapprove) of other people's judgments (Almenares, M., 1993). The most widely disseminated classification is that which establishes:

• Physical barriers: Communication inferences that occur in the environment in which said communication takes place. A typical physical barrier is distraction by a type of noise that significantly obstructs the voice of the message, others may be those that mediate between people (distances, walls, objects that make contact difficult visual).
• Semantic barriers: These arise from the limitations in the symbols with which we communicate generally symbols have as a variety choose among many, sometimes we choose the wrong meaning and the bad communication.
• Personal barriers: They are inferences of communication that arise from human emotions, values ​​and bad listening habits. They occur commonly in work situations. We have all experienced how our personal feelings can limit our communication with other people, these situations occur at work, as well as in our life private.

To make an accurate definition of this phenomenon, I would call a restrictive communication strategy the conscious way of directing and conducting the act communicative in a negative sense, hindering and hindering the process of mutual understanding and the search for joint solutions between the parties to the communication. These deal with non-cooperative positions in which the orientation in itself predominates over the task and the other, and whose aims are directed to prevail in the relationship at all costs.

• There are egocentric people They tend to speak only about themselves, which is why it is impossible for them to understand the other, they do not even allow them to express themselves. Others, on the contrary, remain so quiet that they remain on the margins of communication.
• Use humor Too often, it can make the interlocutor consider that you devalue what he is saying, generating discomfort and constituting a true communication barrier.
• Also attitudes of superiority, loaded with mimics and other extraverbal signals, it prevents the participants of the process from feeling in collaborative equality and from being able to exchange for the benefit of the other.
• The rush, lack of attention, of consideration, they make the person pay little interest to the speaker, downplaying the importance and interest of what he is expressing. Obviously, the communication process is not effective in any of these cases.
• Also, I cannot fail to mention the rigid attitudes What common mistakes in communication, because their own opinions, in this case, would be the only fair and indisputable, preventing and hindering exchange, understanding; in short, the interaction.

How communication influences everyday life

Starting from the idea that it is not only important to have communication skills, but also to know what the barriers are due to the frequent use that we make of them, their consequences that truly prevent achieving positive exchanges, developers for the people involved in the process; and that, in addition, they are repeated over and over again, being automated in our daily behavior.

Therefore, I suggest that you reflect on the ideas presented here, and exercise in function of being a good communicator, for the benefit of yourself and those around you in your life everyday. If you are interested in improving your communication skills, I recommend you read the following article about techniques for effective communication.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Communication factors in everyday life, we recommend that you enter our category of Social psychology.

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