interaction

adaptationSarah Chepregi

What?a theory of theories; a compilation, if you will.

this theoryattempts to make predictions about

communicative interactions

between humans

what do you expect when you approach this group of people?

vs. this group of people?

we go into conversation with others with:expectations

about how they willcommunicate.

we have requirements

based on how we needthem to communicate.

and we have desires

based on what and how we want

them to communicate.

GET IT?

expectations come from social norms. involves: appearance, context, attire

requirements entail biological needs. hard of hearing? you need others to speak loudly and clearly.

desires stem from personal goals of the conversation. what do you want to gain or accomplish?

I’m not stupid.

when one individual’s expectations, requirements, and desires match the other individual, little adaptation is required. communication can proceed normally.

=

if the three elements are different,one party must alter or adapttheir behavior in order to effectively communicate.

OR…

humans feel the need to adapt for a number of reasons: 1) the need to fit into a mold, or to meet standards set in place by our society

2) to gain social approval from the party they are communicating with

3) to maintain a positive identity to those they are communicating with

Who cares?

…EVERYONE!

interaction adaptation theory is useful for all communicators.

everyone experiences thistheory in practice, thoughalmost always unaware of it.

especially useful for those involved with:

Applied/organizational communication (training to improve communication between supervisors and employees)

Intercultural communication (similarities vs. differences of cultures)

Interpersonal communication (communication between pairs)

there are few blatant criticisms of this theory since it basically took the good parts out of other theories and made a new one.

however, not all social norms are perceived the same way from everyone, and people will have different expectations based on their life experiences.

this theory cannot besubjective.

*it is important to note that all communication is circumstantial.

So…expectation, requirements, desires

offer to make predictions on how we will communicate with one another

we need to adapt to others when the situation when it calls for it

you do this unconsciously