Communication – Perception, Culture, and the Self

I have to respond in essay form to the following discussion using my text book as the source. The text book is Communication by Morale, Spitzberg, & Barge, 3rd Edition. The material from the text book needs to come from Chapter 3. In the response essay, we are to use specific examples, text, terms, etc from Chapter 3 to offer a retort.

I think the role of communication plays a role in what I think of myself and of others by me interacting with people who I feel I can relate to and just be open and honest with without feeling uncomfortable. For an example I am an emotional driven person which results in me being really sensitive and I tend to communicate that with every person I see myself relating to in a genuine way. Me voluntarily expressing that trait of mine can connect to self-disclosure, which is the process of intentionally and voluntarily providing others with information about yourself that believe is honest and accurate, and is unlikely to be discovered elsewhere (Spritzberg, Morreale & Barge, 2012, p. 78). Me disclosing that freely relates to the open self which is known to the self and to others as explained by the Johari Window model.
Culture, our individual histories, and norms of communication can hinder how we interact with each other by not being able to understand and interpret how people from another culture communicate. Not being able to understand and interpret other people causes unnecessary stereotypes placed on certain people that we simply don’t understand. In order to better communication with others we must acknowledge our individual self which is how we look at and understand ourselves to be which deciphers what we think about others and how we understand them.