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Chapter 7 Emotions and Communication

Language encompasses the verbal symbol systems people use to communicate. This chapter highlights four features of language as abstract, arbitrary, related to culture, and consequential. The syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic rules of language use, as well as maxims the guide using language in conversation, are described. This chapter discusses the effects of gender, power, and intimacy on language use, as well as pervasive biases that are manifested as racist, sexist, and heterosexist language. This chapter also provides suggestions for strengthening interpersonal communication skills by harnessing the power of language, working to reduce miscommunication, adjusting language to address social context, and using including language.

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Connect with Theory

Appraisal theories of emotion claim that how people perceive an event shapes their feelings and reactions. According to the theory, our emotions come from how we make assessments about our environment, goals, and resources. In particular, appraisals are individuals’ interpretations of the situation, and people make two sets of appraisals that determine the emotions they experience. Primary appraisals are about whether the circumstance is personally relevant to you and whether the situation is favorable or unfavorable to what you want. Secondary appraisals reflect whether you think that you have the resources to manage the situation and whether the circumstance will change. The theory argues that primary and secondary appraisals influence what people feel and how much they feel a certain way. According to the theory, if you believe that the situation inhibits you from achieving your goals, and there isn’t much you can do about it, you are likely to experience negative emotions. In contrast, if you think that the situation helps you accomplish your goals, and you are able to carry out your plan, you are likely to experience positive emotions. Because what people feel is based on what they think about the situation, appraisal theories of emotion provide insight into helping people manage stress and the emotions associated with it. For example, Jones and Wirtz (2006) found that supportive messages that changed distressed individuals’ negative appraisals of an upsetting event improved their emotional states. Within the framework of appraisal theories of emotion, modifying people’s appraisal of the situation can shape specific emotions they experience.

References and other suggested readings:

Burleson, B. R., & Goldsmith, D. J. (1998). How the comforting process works: Alleviating emotional distress through conversationally induced reappraisals. In P. A. Andersen, & L. K. Guerrero (Eds.), Handbook of communication and emotion (pp. 245-280). Academic Press.
Jones, S. M., & Wirtz, J. (2006). How does the comforting process work? An empirical test of an appraisal-based model of comforting. Human Communication Research, 32(3), 217-243.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00274.x
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion. American Psychologist, 46(8), 819-834.https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.46.8.819
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Roseman, I. J., & Smith, C. A. (2001). Appraisal theory: Overview, assumptions, varieties, controversies. In K. R. Scherer, A., Schorr, & T. Johnstone (Eds.), Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research (pp. 3-19). Oxford University Press.

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Selected Writings by Communication Studies majors at California State Prison

Los Angeles County, City of Lancaster

In the fall of 2016, the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, began offering classes inside a maximum security prison facility to offer incarcerated persons the opportunity to achieve a bachelor’s degree in Communication. In spring of 2017, selected assignments and essays produced by those students in response to prompts from this textbook were published in Colloquy: A Journal of the Department of Communication Studies, California State University, Los Angeles. In the time since, the program created The Prison BA Journal to share the students’ work with others. In addition, collaboration between the Lancaster State Prison’s Communication Studies students and students in Cal State LA’s Animation Option brought to life student essays through animation and narration.

Dr. Kamran Afary, faculty advisor to the program and Assistant Professor of Social Justice Communication, describes the impact of learning about interpersonal communication on his students: “I have seen its life transforming effect on my students in their interpersonal relationships with each other and in repairing relationships with their families.” Through the generosity of the program, we can share their work with all students learning from this textbook.

This website shares reflections and animations created in response to Pause and Reflect prompts, organized by chapter, as well as selected essays, poems, and presentations that address other topics or course assignments. Here is just a sample of what you will find: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7155653

We hope you will take the time to learn about interpersonal communication through the words of these students: https://www.prisonbajournal.org/ipccompanion