Choices Behind Human Communication
The Interpersonal Communication Book approaches the subject of communication through integrative theory, research, and hands-on methods. A threefold approach identifies important communicative concepts: choices in interpersonal situations, the theories and research that support these choices, and the communication skills necessary to effectively use these theories.
The text allows students to examine the question of how, when, and through which channels they should communicate in different contexts. The Fourteenth Edition provides the newest insights and research in person-to-person interaction, making for an up-to-date source for communication study. New features and chapter-by-chapter updates make Interpersonal Communication the most comprehensive, relevant source on the topic.
MyCommunicationLab not included. Students, if MyCommunicationLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyCommunicationLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.
MyCommunicationLab for the Interpersonal Communication course extends learning online, engaging students and improving results. Media resources with assignments bring concepts to life, and offer students opportunities to practice applying what they’ve learned. Please note: this version of MyCommunicationLab does not include an eText.
Features + Benefits
This title is a Pearson Global Edition. The Editorial team at Pearson has worked closely with educators around the world to include content which is especially relevant to students outside the United States.
The Interpersonal Communication Book features the following components to facilitate learning:
Pedagogical features that highlight basic terms, key information, and theory make the text easy to read and understand
NEW! Objectives are placed in each chapter opener and again repeated within each major head and chapter summary to help focus student attention on key concepts and information.
NEW! Nutshell Summary Tables and Bullet Lists help students review and retain major chapter contents.
NEW! Cultural Map relates major cultural differences discussed in chapter 2 to the rest of the text.
UPDATED! Interpersonal Choice Points that open each chapter with a relevant scenario now include four alternatives to stimulate discussion within the classroom.
NEW! Social Media and its increasing relevance to modern communication over the past five years is given greater attention throughout the book.
Key Terms are listed and defined with the page number on which they were referred.
Viewpoints photo captions challenge students to consider a wide variety of interpersonal communication issues.
Ethics in Interpersonal Communication boxes expose students to the ethical issues they will face in their day-to-day lives when communicating with others. Each box ends with Ethical Choice Point questions that ask students to think about how they would respond to a given situation.
Self-tests help students review important material and assess their learning.
Comparison tables summarize and compare the major concepts of each chapter to its opposite. Examples include individualist and collectivist cultures, ineffective and effective emotional expression, powerless and powerful listeners.
The Communication Blog, created by the author, offers a forum for students and teachers outside of the classroom with regular updates that supplement the information in the text. Hybrid and public speaking courses are also available on the site.
Chapter-by-chapter updates fill the text with the most recent research and information on interpersonal communication
NEW! Chapter 1: Foundations of Interpersonal Communication includes an expanded discussion of ethics with an integrated self-test, as well as new discussions of code switching and strategic ambiguity.
NEW! Chapter 2: Culture and Interpersonal Communication now includes a table that describes the metaphors of culture, as well as new discussions of internet dating, dialect, and accent.
NEW! Chapter 3: Perception of the Self and Others in Interpersonal Communication has new discussions of the imposter phenomenon and the Pygmalion effect. There is also new material on attacking self-destructive beliefs and social comparisons in social media, with a new table that provides communication insights to writing an online profile.
NEW! Chapter 4: Verbal Messages contains a new section called “Messages can be Onymous or Anonymous”, highly relevant to the subject of social media.
NEW! Chapter 5: Non-Verbal Messages has a new section on interpersonal time, including a new time test, an exercise on height, a discussion on smiling, and a new table about effective time management.
NEW! Chapter 6: Listening in Interpersonal Communication was moved from its chapter 4 location and now includes a new definition of listening as well as a new section on lie detection.
NEW! Chapter 7: Emotional Messages features a restructured presentation of the principle of body and mind, as well as new discussions on the principles of influence and channels and introducing people.
NEW! Understanding Theory and Research box about the five stages of grief is included in this chapter.
NEW! Table on emotional expressions helps students understand non-verbal emotional messages.
NEW! Chapter 8: Conversational Messages contains a new section on introducing people and a new table about the handshake. Excuses and apologies have been revised and treated as separate sections.
NEW! Chapter 9: Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Theories, and Communication includes a new table that examines the causes of relationship deterioration.
NEW! Chapter 10: Interpersonal Relationships and Types discusses relationships such as friends with benefits, social networking politeness, and new love styles text.
NEW! Chapter 11: Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management includes a new principle that choice is an element of all communication forms and has revised its conflict model to better align it with this principle. A new discussion of social allergens has also been added.
REVISED! Chapter 12: Interpersonal Power and Influence contains a revised section on bullying, initially in chapter 10, and a reorganized and expanded discussion of power plays.
Research and theory is balanced with learning hands-on communication skills
Understanding Interpersonal Theory and Research boxes focus on a specific theory relevant to each chapter’s contents. Topics include:
Communication Theories and Research
Culture Shock
The Just World Hypothesis
Listening to Lying
Theories of Gender Differences
Theories About Space
The Five Stages of Grief
Online Communication Theories
Relationship Commitment
Love Styles and Personality
Conflict and Gender
Compliance-Gaining Strategies
Understanding Interpersonal Skills boxes highlight important skills for communicating throughout the text, helping students put information into action.
A section on “working with” the theories, research, and skills is provided in each of these boxes, prompting students to apply the reading to specific personal interactions.
A strong focus on the relationship between culture and interpersonal communication helps students understand the challenges of communicating with someone of a different background
Chapter 2 is dedicated to culture early on in the text, stressing such important points as the relationship of culture and interpersonal communication, the ways in which cultures differ, and ways to make intercultural communication more effective.
Special Tables provide practical interpersonal communication tips for communicating with people with disabilities such as visual or hearing impairment.
Politeness is stressed throughout the text as a means for successful communication with people of different cultures.
MyCommunicationLab not included. Students, if MyCommunicationLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyCommunicationLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.
MyCommunicationLab for the Interpersonal Communication course extends learning online, engaging students and improving results. Media resources with assignments bring concepts to life, and offer students opportunities to practice applying what they’ve learned. Please note: this ve PART I: PRELIMINARIES TO INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
1. Foundations of Interpersonal Communication
2. Culture and Interpersonal Communication
3. Perception of the Self and Others in Interpersonal Communication
PART II: INTERPERSONAL MESSAGES
4. Verbal Messages
5. Nonverbal Messages
6. Listening in Interpersonal Communication
7. Emotional Messages
8. Conversational Messages
PART III: INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
9. Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Theories, and Communication
10. Interpersonal Relationship Types
11. Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management
12. Interpersonal Power and Influence
The Interpersonal Communication Book approaches the subject of communication through integrative theory, research, and hands-on methods. A threefold approach identifies important communicative concepts: choices in interpersonal situations, the theories and research that support these choices, and the communication skills necessary to effectively use these theories.
The text allows students to examine the question of how, when, and through which channels they should communicate in different contexts. The Fourteenth Edition provides the newest insights and research in person-to-person interaction, making for an up-to-date source for communication study. New features and chapter-by-chapter updates make Interpersonal Communication the most comprehensive, relevant source on the topic.
MyCommunicationLab not included. Students, if MyCommunicationLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyCommunicationLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.
MyCommunicationLab for the Interpersonal Communication course extends learning online, engaging students and improving results. Media resources with assignments bring concepts to life, and offer students opportunities to practice applying what they’ve learned. Please note: this version of MyCommunicationLab does not include an eText.
Features + Benefits
This title is a Pearson Global Edition. The Editorial team at Pearson has worked closely with educators around the world to include content which is especially relevant to students outside the United States.
The Interpersonal Communication Book features the following components to facilitate learning:
Pedagogical features that highlight basic terms, key information, and theory make the text easy to read and understand
NEW! Objectives are placed in each chapter opener and again repeated within each major head and chapter summary to help focus student attention on key concepts and information.
NEW! Nutshell Summary Tables and Bullet Lists help students review and retain major chapter contents.
NEW! Cultural Map relates major cultural differences discussed in chapter 2 to the rest of the text.
UPDATED! Interpersonal Choice Points that open each chapter with a relevant scenario now include four alternatives to stimulate discussion within the classroom.
NEW! Social Media and its increasing relevance to modern communication over the past five years is given greater attention throughout the book.
Key Terms are listed and defined with the page number on which they were referred.
Viewpoints photo captions challenge students to consider a wide variety of interpersonal communication issues.
Ethics in Interpersonal Communication boxes expose students to the ethical issues they will face in their day-to-day lives when communicating with others. Each box ends with Ethical Choice Point questions that ask students to think about how they would respond to a given situation.
Self-tests help students review important material and assess their learning.
Comparison tables summarize and compare the major concepts of each chapter to its opposite. Examples include individualist and collectivist cultures, ineffective and effective emotional expression, powerless and powerful listeners.
The Communication Blog, created by the author, offers a forum for students and teachers outside of the classroom with regular updates that supplement the information in the text. Hybrid and public speaking courses are also available on the site.
Chapter-by-chapter updates fill the text with the most recent research and information on interpersonal communication
NEW! Chapter 1: Foundations of Interpersonal Communication includes an expanded discussion of ethics with an integrated self-test, as well as new discussions of code switching and strategic ambiguity.
NEW! Chapter 2: Culture and Interpersonal Communication now includes a table that describes the metaphors of culture, as well as new discussions of internet dating, dialect, and accent.
NEW! Chapter 3: Perception of the Self and Others in Interpersonal Communication has new discussions of the imposter phenomenon and the Pygmalion effect. There is also new material on attacking self-destructive beliefs and social comparisons in social media, with a new table that provides communication insights to writing an online profile.
NEW! Chapter 4: Verbal Messages contains a new section called “Messages can be Onymous or Anonymous”, highly relevant to the subject of social media.
NEW! Chapter 5: Non-Verbal Messages has a new section on interpersonal time, including a new time test, an exercise on height, a discussion on smiling, and a new table about effective time management.
NEW! Chapter 6: Listening in Interpersonal Communication was moved from its chapter 4 location and now includes a new definition of listening as well as a new section on lie detection.
NEW! Chapter 7: Emotional Messages features a restructured presentation of the principle of body and mind, as well as new discussions on the principles of influence and channels and introducing people.
NEW! Understanding Theory and Research box about the five stages of grief is included in this chapter.
NEW! Table on emotional expressions helps students understand non-verbal emotional messages.
NEW! Chapter 8: Conversational Messages contains a new section on introducing people and a new table about the handshake. Excuses and apologies have been revised and treated as separate sections.
NEW! Chapter 9: Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Theories, and Communication includes a new table that examines the causes of relationship deterioration.
NEW! Chapter 10: Interpersonal Relationships and Types discusses relationships such as friends with benefits, social networking politeness, and new love styles text.
NEW! Chapter 11: Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management includes a new principle that choice is an element of all communication forms and has revised its conflict model to better align it with this principle. A new discussion of social allergens has also been added.
REVISED! Chapter 12: Interpersonal Power and Influence contains a revised section on bullying, initially in chapter 10, and a reorganized and expanded discussion of power plays.
Research and theory is balanced with learning hands-on communication skills
Understanding Interpersonal Theory and Research boxes focus on a specific theory relevant to each chapter’s contents. Topics include:
Communication Theories and Research
Culture Shock
The Just World Hypothesis
Listening to Lying
Theories of Gender Differences
Theories About Space
The Five Stages of Grief
Online Communication Theories
Relationship Commitment
Love Styles and Personality
Conflict and Gender
Compliance-Gaining Strategies
Understanding Interpersonal Skills boxes highlight important skills for communicating throughout the text, helping students put information into action.
A section on “working with” the theories, research, and skills is provided in each of these boxes, prompting students to apply the reading to specific personal interactions.
A strong focus on the relationship between culture and interpersonal communication helps students understand the challenges of communicating with someone of a different background
Chapter 2 is dedicated to culture early on in the text, stressing such important points as the relationship of culture and interpersonal communication, the ways in which cultures differ, and ways to make intercultural communication more effective.
Special Tables provide practical interpersonal communication tips for communicating with people with disabilities such as visual or hearing impairment.
Politeness is stressed throughout the text as a means for successful communication with people of different cultures.
MyCommunicationLab not included. Students, if MyCommunicationLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyCommunicationLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.
MyCommunicationLab for the Interpersonal Communication course extends learning online, engaging students and improving results. Media resources with assignments bring concepts to life, and offer students opportunities to practice applying what they’ve learned. Please note: this ve PART I: PRELIMINARIES TO INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
1. Foundations of Interpersonal Communication
2. Culture and Interpersonal Communication
3. Perception of the Self and Others in Interpersonal Communication
PART II: INTERPERSONAL MESSAGES
4. Verbal Messages
5. Nonverbal Messages
6. Listening in Interpersonal Communication
7. Emotional Messages
8. Conversational Messages
PART III: INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
9. Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Theories, and Communication
10. Interpersonal Relationship Types
11. Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management
12. Interpersonal Power and Influence