week 17 question 3

A concept that I believe that we should have focused more is managing interpersonal conflict. It does discuss in our book about expressing conflict but dealing with it is different. Discussing these may help us to handle different situations in the real world, not just between our friends but also in the professional world. It can help us position ourselves to think outside the box and not just about ourselves and how we feel at the moment of conflict. The different feedback from discussing them will help each student give pointers and help each other out in the different dilemmas that they may come across on a daily basis conflict situation. For some, conflict is hard to face and they just withdraw or keep to themselves, but this isn't healthy and with the help of discussions and similar experiences it may give others great feedback for everyone else!

week 17 question 2

A concept that I found most interesting is the concept of the group socialization process. It's a concept between a group and an individual. The steps that you go through in group socialization breaks down to the steps of where we fit in to where we find our own or new group. Starts at investigation which may be also referred ot as recruitment, feeling out what the group is about. You are thinking of becoming a prospective member. Then comes the socialization step, the step where you become the member and you are being accepted by the group. Maintenance means you become the full member and you are at the peak of the group socialization process. You are interacting and part of everything they do. It's who you relate yourself with in the group. Resocializaiton is when you become the marginal member, you are still in the group yet you are just accomodating to their needs. Lastly is the Rememberance step, where you are the ex member of the group, you have found something better or left the group for a reason. This is where you reflect back of who you were in the group. We go through these steps throughout each chapter of our lives, trying to fit into different groups, especially in college we feel our different clubs and different friends to see where we fit in and where we feel most comfortable. This concept relates to everyone in their lives and it's interesting to see the different steps and process of the socialization process.

week 17 question 1

I found the ethnography research method the most interesting due to the fact that it has to do with certain groups of people. The research observes behavior in its natural setting. In order to really know how the groups react would be to go be part of them, such as going undercover to really go in depth. It shows how different classes and groups of people act differently from each other. My research question would be, "How many people tune into reality tv shows on a weekly basis?" To answer this question I would have to go with content analysis because it shows and determines how often a give unit of content occrus. It may also go under survey research because it you can have face to face interview to question and get their responses. It gives their feedback so you can get a reality answer instead of just guessing from the networks data.

week 15 question 3

Concept I found interesitng is the selective processing. Throughout the different selecting process we learn who we are as individuals and how everyone thinks differently. There are many ways that people may react to one topic and each reaction can differ in drastic ways. Selection attention is defined in our book ast "we may listen only to parts of the message," (pg 309) there are many times that I have experienced selection attention, especially during classes that I may not be interested in. I really don't like history, not the facts it holds or the story it tells, but the concept of sitting in a classroom hearing a teacher droan on about and event that has happened that I really don't relate to or care to hear about. My mind begfins to wander and the messages distorted, when it comes to tests or reviews, it takes a lot longer to process and understand the concepts. This is key for advertisers, I believe they seek out a certain demographic and their message is profiled for that group, even though it may not please everyone it still gets it's message across to that specified group. I believe our ads these days on tv, radio or newspaper, are all targeted through the right channels and with companies knowing that we go through selective processes, it' skey to narrow their demographics.

week 15 question 2

I agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, he describes "the medium is the message, he was expressing the beliefs that the channel through which a message is transmitted is as ismportant as the message itself and that the channel, in fact, often determines which messages iwll be transimitted and which will be ignored." (pg 307) The way we present message may be it all has a great way to channel it's message, wether it be through tv, radio, or newspaper all has unique ways to pressent them. I believe that newspaper is an effective channel and the medium is great for current events mostly, it's hard facts that can be presented without much change, because what has happened has happened.
In regards to McLuhan's idea that television is a cool medium (it demands that viewres fill in detail) is a great way ot explain his theory. Tou have to be "cool" not rough around the edges to get your message on TV. He goes on to use that presidnetla debate between JF Kennedy and Richard Nixon as stating that Nixon being more hotter and Kennedy's cooler characterisitcs were part of his success in this debate. Being able to be more open minded and flexible to the messages keeps us "cooler" and condensed, simple, short, and rapidly changing.

week 15 question 1

When it comes to cyberspace I believe that it is a big part of our lives, just because with all the social networking sites keeps everyone connected. I don’t have any friendships that exist exclusively to cyberspace because I believe that those relationships don’t last very long, and can be based on fictitious beliefs, I say this not because I think people are always lying, but when it comes to cyberspace, many like to create their own personality instead of shining their own true personality. I don’t think that anyone can have a true friendships/relationship without the f2f because they don’t know who they truly are and how they really would react to you face to face. In the cyberspace world, people expect you to believe what they tell you based on their profile or what they write about, but how will you really know an individual without seeing them and having a conversation that’s face to face to see their reactions. I’ve known my mother for my whole life and have had f2f relationship with her the whole time, yet there are times when I still don’t get her, and here we are saying that cyberspace relationships can only exist and keep a real relationship going. I am sure that there are individuals who do have friends exclusively online, but do you really know them as a person besides what they are telling you? It’s hard to say until you have the f2f relationship at one point.

week 14 question 3

A concept I found interesting was the interviewing skills, since I have been on the search for a new job, it came in handy to see what I can improve upon. From preparing for the interview to asking questions and following up, all gave be great pointers to reinforce what I knew and what I didn't know. I am always looking for new ways to improve my resume and interviewing skills so that way I can land the perfect job which I would love. I am very familiar with "work content skills" which is facility in using computers, research ability, and graphic design skills, because this is what I am really good at, I am very computer saavy and have a passion for using them and use it on a daily basis. I also like the self management skills which include personal strengths such as flexibilty, enthusiasm, and persistence, I believe my assistant manager position in the past has helped this skill greatly. It is hard to become persisitant when there are other people weighing you down, but with enthusiasm and flexibilty it can all interedepently work together. I find it really impressive for interviewees to know the organization that they are interviewing for, it shows that you know what the company is about and why you chose the company. The simpliest research just by their brochure or website shows that you know the background of the company and shows you took the initiative to get to know the company. The whole process of interviewing is very tedious and can be nerve wracking but with the proper research and attentiveness to the company can leave quite the impression to the interviewer.

week 14 question 2

Cellular phones- I have been bothered many times when people talk on their cellphones especially when you are out with them at dinner or lunch. It's rude to take a call especially on a date. I had date once where the guy just would keep texting or talking on the phone with his friends during our dinner and after when we were just talking and taking a walk. It was like I couldn't complete a sentence or a thought without a rude interruption. It's like leave the phone in the pocket unless you have a big emergency call that you are expecting. The attention shouldn't be on the phone, but on you and what you have to say.

Answering machines- The answering machines on cell phones are quite annoying. The owner sometimes tricks you by pretending to answer and then after like 5 seconds the lines beeps to show that you need to start leaving a message. You are talking to yourself and realize after about ten seconds that it was a waste of time, especially if the message was really important. It makes you twice as frustrated.

Conference calls- I believe that conference calls are a great way to communicate between a group of people that are spread out and cannot meet at the same place at the same time. It's an effective way to get the main points across in a meeting while giving input. I don't like how people can talk and think that everyone else cannot hear what you are saying, at least mute your phone while your doing your other things. Even the slightest whisper can lead to everyone listening to what you said, it's rude and can be of course embarassing.

Faxes - I have to use these on a daily basis at work and it's great to get patients to sign papers quickly and receive them back. Also to file claims faster, faxes are a great way to get them delivered fast and efficiently. I hate how the fax machines are receiving a lot of junk fax from businesses or ads, it keeps the fax machine clogged up with unnecessary things, and cause clutter and waste of papers. I like how our book stated that we call the would be recipients office first and ask if it's all right to transmit material during a certain period.

Timing your communication - I am 100% on making sure that the timing of your communication is important. If you don't want to disturb them, ensure that their schedule is clear and not when they are doing something important. That way you can ensure that your document will be there on time and with their full attention, same with their phone calls.

Screen Names and Ring Tones - I know some girls who have the same screen names as they did in high school, it's not so cute now, like the whole XxcUtEgIrLxX, for example, isn't what impresses people and your current age group. Same goes for emails, especially when they are on your resume, it doesn't show your professional side, has to be discrete and age appropriate.

week 14 question 1

Organizations are tied to the environment because organizations depend on their surroundings for resources and energy. "The fact that organizations are linked to the communities around them means that they must be aware of the damage they can sometimes cause. They must also be capable of adapting to changes in the environment that surrounds them. "(pg. 215) The relationship between SJSU and the city of San Jose is that how they are independent. Like a living organization system we must all work together to keep the school running well and follow the rules that the city provides for us to work well together. With the different organizations on campus at SJSU and the great business programs we have available for all students, we can give back by providing great engineers and teachers to help others within San Jose. The great football games that the school has and provide fundraisers for the team and what it can bring to the community and to true SJSU Spartan fans.

week 13 question 3

The concept I found interesting was the Feedback concept. "Feedback is information that helps individuals to control and adjust their behaviors. It is also information that tells people how they are doing and what they may need to change to be more effective." (pg 167) As the youth director at my church we had a big meeting to discuss our services and talk about the teachers. Now I have never received any feedback from the kids themselves, but from the adults, I got a lot of positive feedback. During the meeting, the kids slowly started to give their own feedback and their opinions on what was good as a teacher and what was bad and can improve on. It was hard to take in at first because of course we all want to hear only positive feedback, but coming from the kids that I teach every Sunday I was learning that not all feedback has to be good. Feedback is meant for us to learn from and improve on what is bad and make them good for the better of others and yourself. It's hard for us to learn the bad stuff because we tend to think that we are perfect and not need any help but that meeting helped me realize that others have great intentions for you, even though you are older.

week 13 question 2

There are many characteristics and or behaviors that may lead me to judge them as unattractive other then their physical looks. It is a big thing for me to have a big sense of humor and can make me laugh, it is important that they make me happy and can do so by being light hearted. As potential romantic partners, I really don’t like when they act very cocky or disrespectful especially to women, just so that you know that that is how they really are and may treat you. It automatically filters to unattractive when men think they know everything when they really don’t, like when your having a conversation about a specific topic, yet they just act like they know to impress you, it’s not a great quality to have, if you don’t know, you don’t know, that’s it, there’s not maybes. Duck’s theory does make sense to me, Duck states that he feels that attraction is really a process of elimination, and I can concur to this statement. I once used pre interaction cue to consider a person, yet that person’s height wasn’t the ideal height I wanted him to be, and he worked at pearl tea place, which I was hoping he’d have a more stable job. “In pre interaction cues, people use non verbal impressions to determine whether they wish to interact with others.” Pg 159. We mostly make our first decisions based on this cue, by the first physical meeting and see what we are working with in a sense, then we decide if we would like to interact with them and get to know them or just move on to something “better.”

week 13 question 1

I believe that the competitive symmetry would be the most difficult to change in a person. "Competitive symmetry, both members fight for the one-up position." (pg 148) With this much competition within any relationship can get very dangerous and can cause much friction and tension with one another. Everyone is always trying to get ahead in our world and with this competitiveness, it's only human nature to feel this way to get ahead and beat everyone else out. The most damaging one to a relationship would be the rigid complementary, "when the submissive partner begins to resent always giving in or when dominant partner beings to tire of being in charge, dissatisfaction can result," (pg 148) it can dammage the relationship. They will be clashing in their rigid roles and this can lead to much anger and frustration for both people. When there was just one submissive and one dominant person in the relationship and the submissive becomes dominant then there will be two dominants and this will lead to control mayhem. The most damaging to the self esteem ofthe individuals involved would be the submissive symmetry where both parties struggle to relinquish control. We've all been there with friends when we decide where to go next with the struggle of deciding and just got back and forth until someone makes a final decision. It loses your self control and what you want because you cannot make a decision, it can ruin how to take control of your life and the decisions you make if this pattern does continue throughout their life.

week 11 question 3

A concept in this chapter that interested me was the part of ethnocentrism. It states that ethnocentrism is the belief that ones' own culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one's own criteria. Recently I was watching the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and in it the girl's father is so full of pride of his greek's heritage, he believes that every word is derived from Greek language. It is a great movie about love and his ethnocentrism plays a very funny role. It just shows how he believes his culture is the best and that without it their lives would be totally different and not as useful. This movie, every time I watch, reminds me that we mustn't think that we are the only people who are right about our own culture and that with our melting pot that we live in here, we must always keep an open mind and that there is no right culture or wrong culture.

week 11 questions 2

Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?
I believe in the rationality (most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis) and mutability (human behavior is environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances) premises. It has to do with the way we live here in America for the rationality premise, Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, and Nemi Jain argue that most Americas at heart, rational, the way out society works through systems such as democracy and free enterprise systems. AS with mutability if we live better lives and we make better physical appearances and our psychological circumstances then we are inclined to improve ourselves as humans. IT is like getting a new haircut or a all over makeover and then we realize we like ourselves better and like to maintain those compliments we get.

week 11 question 1

I do agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" in that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilites are shaped by our culture. We are shaped by our culture because that is what we grew up with and who are parents shaped us and taught us to be every step of the way.
Our book describes culture as "that part of the environmetn mad by humans," it includes the all thematerial objects and possessions that a social group invents or acquires. It also shares the less tangible parts such as the shared customs and values that bind its members together. This is what we are making our lives to be, part of a certain culture and hold certain morals and values as we were taught. Just like being taught right from wrong from our parents, it's how we were shaped. In order to break through the limits of our cultures, we must always keep an open mind and not conform to think that our culture is the best and that it is the only way that is correct. We must surround ourselves and understand other people's cultures and realize that we must not believe in what they believe in but keep in mind that they just have different values and rules then us.

week 8 question 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

In this chapter it discusses territory and the use of space, and it got interesting when discussing body territories. It says that body territories are the most private of all our territories.
I can agree it’s about our rights to see how much we can touch others and how much we are restricted to. It states “in comes cultures, practices such as tattooing or nose piercing are encouraged; in others, the yare though to be disgusting.”
This sentence brings up a time when I was in elementary or junior high, my sister and I would beg my dad to let us get our ears pierced but he wouldn’t even hear of it, even letting him know that every other girl in our class had them and all our friends had their ears pierced, he said that they aren’t his daughters so it doesn’t matter, that we are his daughters and we should obey. Upon asking why we couldn’t he said that in bible times, having something pierced meant you were a slave, and that he didn’t want that image with us. My dad being a pastor has brought many of these ideas into my dad’s head and kept his ruling. It can be a cultural thing, piercings are pretty and in India are very popular, but my dad just couldn’t let go of the fact that it had to do with slavery in the Christianity persepctive, and therefore he didn’t want us to.

week 8 question 2

Trenholm says” In addition, the rules for how often and when to smile vary in different cultures. And when it comes to other kinds of nonverbal meanings, such as the use of time and space, quite dramatic differences occur.” Cultures have nonverbal messages that are universal such as waving is a greeting at a friend, but there are some nonverbal displays that take on different meanings in different cultures.
This one experience I had was when I was talking with my mom, who is from South Korea, about a topic that I really didn’t care about so pretty much throughout the conversation I just listened and nodded, however towards the end a statement she said was rather annoying to me and so I rolled my eyes. After she caught me rolling my eyes she started to yell at me saying that I was glaring at her and it was disrespectful to her, and that she was my elder and that it was very rude. For me growing up here in the states, I just roll my eyes in sarcasm or just to show that it was a stupid comment, however my mom took it to another level saying it was rude. After that I never rolled my eyes in front of my mom or my dad, lesson learned, sometimes the cultural differences are hard to adjust to but through careful experiences I have managed to see which nonverbal messages worked and which didn’t.

week 8 question 1

Nonverbal communications is the study of communication systems that do not involve words. Everyday we are exposed to non verbal messages whether it be at the grocery store waving down the deli guy, or at school making hand signals to our friends during class, all these can easily be misinterpreted.
Just recently, my sister and I were at church and she walked in late for the service. I look over at her and she just shakes her head as if to say something was wrong. I automatically thought,” Oh great another guy problem for her” or something to that affect, however throughout service she kept glancing over at me and then to her room mate who was crying. I was utterly confused, did my sister get into a fight with her room mate? All these thoughts were racing through my head, at last after service was over, I asked her what was going on. She told me that her room mate has gotten a DUI at like 3 in the morning that day. I was shocked. This whole time I thought it was all about her but she was just shaking her head because she had to pick up her room mate from the holding cell that morning. My sister hates waking up before noon, and that affected her mood which wasn’t helpful at the time. Simple things like these signs can mean numerous things, usually when she shakes her head it’s usually about her and her situations, but not this time, it was all about her room mate and how it ruined her weekend.
Nonverbal messages can be very tricky to decipher but it helps if you know the person on a personal level and spent time together. To increase the accuracy of nonverbal messages it to be open minded and think of possibilities of what they could mean, and of course through experience by being aware of certain hand signals, such as driving in your car if a car lets you in, into their lane, you wave your hand as a sign of thanks, and the only way one will figure this out is to experience it on their own and take it once sign at a time.

week 7 question 3

I really liked the concept of empathic listening. The fact that active listening is important it truly shows that people are actually listening instead of giving half remarks. With the concept of paraphrasing shows you are really listening instead of just pretending to. To repeat and reinstate what the other speaker is saying to you, and then giving your remarks can reassure yourself and the speaker that you understand what they are saying and what your response is. I was talking to my boyfriend the other day about our vacation plans, and just to reinstate the days and the point of our trip was, made us both make sure and both understanding the point. Since we have read about how gender differences can affect communication it is important for us to paraphrase and keep responding to each other so we understand the concepts.

week 7 question 2

I believe that men and women use language differently in certain ways. Just like some of the examples in our book such as the scenario with Michael and his girlfriend, Michael’s friends ask whether it’s okay to come over to watch the game on Friday. Michael says, “sure.” When he tells his girlfriend, Alyssa, she’s upset-not because the friends are coming but because Michael didn’t consult her first. Had the situation been reversed, she would have asked.” I have to check with Mike” would have been a way for her to let others know that she’s part of a couple. For Michael, however, asking Alyssa implies he needs to get her permission. This scenario’s end result shows that as the women they would like to be more personal and included in everyday life even if it’s a small thing but as to men it may be showing to be needy. In our book it states from Deborah Tannen, “Women’s cultures, she belives, stresses intimacy and connection, whereas men’s culture values autonomy and individual achievement. These orientations affect men’s and women’s topics of conversation, their conversational styles, and their interpretation of one another’s meanings.” Our conversation does differ from relationship to relationship but overall the way we are raised are usually based on our gender. As a female my parents taught me to be more passive and a nurturer, especially being the oldest it has taught be to be responsible. My only brother was taught to be tough and strong and respectful. There’s a difference and it plays a big role in each lives.

week 7 question 1

I believe that possible to perceive other without judging or categorizing them as long as we keep an open mind. It is our natural instinct and whatever prior experiences we have had, to judge others, but we can keep those to ourselves and realize that there are those genuine nice and friendly people who don’t have hidden agendas. We probably categorize people because of what we may have gone through before with those kinds of people or something that are similar to the prior experience. We have to give them the time of to let them truly show their true colors. I have made judgments before in the past of certain people but they turned out to be the best friends that I have now, I maintained an open mind and kept my feelings out of how I decide who they truly are. To make it more fair, you give them time, and chances so that you can understand who they are and what they are all about. Without patience, and keeping an open mind most people will continue to judge and be short minded. We have to be fair or else, all of the world will be hating each other.

chapter 9 question 3

What I really liked about this chapter describes audience attitudes and changes. It shows that the audience members come prior to speeches with their own beliefs and values and life experiences with them which the speaker must realize and relate to. This shows that they must understand the audience and appeal to them, “Psychologist Milton Rokeach believes that the human mind uses three kinds of cognitive structures: beliefs, attitudes, and values. Because these structures organize perception and motivate action, it is essential that public speakers understand them.” You have to be able to understand the audience in order to know how to present your speech and your point to them. You have to persuade them to think the way you do yet keeping in mind that they have their own beliefs and their own dimensions such as cognitive, affective, and behavioral, which is different for each individual. To be able to be open minded as a speaker is important and to be able to relate to your audience is key.

chapter 9 questions 2

Barack Obama has very strong characteristics when he speaks. He has to carry himself with head held high and to prove to everyone in the nation that he is the best leader there is. He has to show even his opponent McCain who is thinking of ways to take Obama down, that he is a better leader despite what he says, such as Obama being too young to being so inexperienced. He built his credibility through his campaign speeches and traveling around and devoting his time with others to show his compassion and show everyone that he can make change. I believe that it does take all three credibility, attractiveness, and power to make a strong speaker; appealing yourself for your audience is important so it helps them realize why they should believe what you say and power so they know how important you are and what you can do for them in your speech. To build ethos you have to bring not what the book tells you to bring to your speech but your ultimate you factor, your own personality and your character is what makes you different from everyone else. I’m sure as we all made our votes on November 4th, we all voted for Obama for many different reasons, but those reasons are because of those three characteristics he carries and that we believe in him.

chapter 9 question 1

I have been influenced by a speaker several years ago at a retreat for college students. It was a retreat for United Methodist Churches in the area, and usually had a speaker every year, this one year I went, he spoke in a way that captured all of the audience. He made it relate to what it was like to a Christian, and just the experiences he shared captivated everyone. It was the experiences and how he told the stories that caught our attention, because as a Christian we believed you have to live the “perfect” life, but when this pastor was speaking to us, he was telling the opposite, how he sold drugs, and joined gangs, etc, just the most astonishing stories that you wouldn’t hear from someone of his stature. Public speaking is hard, since you have to attend to a very large audience, but to be able to approach them with shocking stories and how you learn from them it can be influencing. The worst speaker was once at my church when we had a big event we hired a speaker to discuss being “homesick” with God. He rambled on for over the time limit, like an hour more, you could see the audience was getting restless and the topic didn’t even seem to go with the theme we asked for him to speak about. The kids were confused, even I was confused and we kept telling him to wrap it up but he just continued. Listening to him was a big dreadful time for all of us, as much as I tried to listen to him, his topic seemed to go off tangent and kept all of us confused. After that we never recommended him for any other events. Speaking to a large group of people has to be able to connect and easy to listen to.

week 4 question 3

What I found most interesting about this chapter was Social constructionist model of communication. The way that we have to play off of each other’s reaction and signs, show a great deal of understanding and connection between two individuals. Even though we all come from different backgrounds and different cultures, those set of roles and rules guide our actions and shape the way we experience the world. It shows diversity in communication and always keeps us learning of new ways to interact with each other from different people who come from different experiences. It’s true what they say, “Everyone has their own story”, but with that it can enhance our identities and communications skills.

week 4 question 2

The pragmatic perspective is such that follows the same as playing a game. It's an interdependent behaviors we have that soon become a pattern. It's in a way that we play off each other's reaction when we communicate. When we speak to one another with friends, when they make a certain face expresison or a certain reaction to what I said, we continue our story basing off their reactions.
In the chapter the pragmatists argue "you need to do much the same thing: understand the moves people use as they work out their relationship to one another." Each step you take into making a certain statement as crying or laughing, there is a story behind as to why, therefore we keep playing off their reactions, the more you know about the reason why, the more you understand the communication game. It is more like a game because in order to win one must strategize and keep up their toes and keep the opponent always guessing what their next move would be. The most important thing is to focus on the interaction rather than the personality. Instead of blaming each other think of what you may have said or done to make the opponent react that way. There is a reason why some may act that way. Such as relationship between boyfriends and girlfriends, most tend to blame each other because they are too stubborn to realize what the individual had done to make them feel that certain way. It's what they do to to work out the relationship then and there.
It's little different from a game because it's not the objective of winning but more of the strategy within the game and the reaction that they play off of one another. It's that moment in time that matters, where they are in a pattern to work out the problems within the "game."

week 4 chapter 2

Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we build worlds through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts continue to our happiness or success in our culture?

As defined in our text a social constructionist model is "a process whereby people in group, using the tools provided by their culture, create collective representation of reality.” When we respond to one another we play off each other’s reaction and therefore begin communication. A simple nod or a simple answer as yes can be received differently.
In different cultures such as Korean cultures it is always most respectful to answer directly and being precise to your answers, not beating around the bush; however it may be ok to just nod or in other cultures. Growing up I learned the hard way with my parents on what was right and what was wrong, especially during arguments there was a bit of culture clash since, they were from South Korea and I was born here. The certain holidays, and the way we are supposed to act towards elders, totally different from America where it is a little more liberal. Even looking my mother straight in the eye can mean disrespect whereas here it may mean you are making eye contact for the better.
Everyone comes from a different background and through their self experiences from trying again and again can improve our social constructions. Through enhancing our skills through this model we meet new people everyday and manage to look beyond the stereotypes and learn different symbols that help us mold who we are and how we communicate. It can help us understand each other more accurately and reveal the “truth” not the illusion.