This week's reading was very insightful into the way that I listen to others. I have always considered myself to be a very good listener because I pay attention to details and I ask a lot of questions. But being a good listener entails much more than that. In Chapter 3, Sarah Trenholm talks about the cognitive schemata that helps us identify and organize incoming information. There are three types of schemata; person prototypes, personal constructs, and scripts. Upon reading these schemata, I can apply it to myself and evaluate how I am as a listener and how attentive I can be. The schema that really applied to me is the scripts. The person prototypes and the personal constructs are schemata used to process information about other people. But the scripts schema helps us interpret the sequence of actions. Trenholm wrote that a script tells us what comes next in a sequence of actions. For an example; if we experience a situation repeatedly, we can identify the order that it's going to happen when it does happen again.
What I find really interesting within the script schema is the schematic default options. A good example is an everyday greeting of , "Hello, how are you?" and you would expect the person to say, "Oh, I'm fine thank you." Since it is so scripted and you've gone through that experience many times, it s usual for you to assume what's going to happen next. You end up being confident in yourself. But when the other person replies, "No, I'm doing terrible." Sometimes you won't even notice that they said that because you are stuck to your script. Then when you do notice that they are not doing well, you are thrown off and feel uncomfortable because you haven't encounter this situation. I notice that in everyday life, I do this all the time. I greet people with the same words again and again and nothing changes. I have noticed this before as I started to go over the script repeatedly. With recognition I was able to step away from the script and listen beyond it. Script can be good in situations like an interview. You are well prepared and confident to answer the expected questions. This will help you achieve your career. But scripts can have its downfall. If we rely too heavily on a script, we may see or hear what we expect rather than what actually occurs. This is so true in many occasions of greetings. I expect the, "I'm fine," that I don't even pay attention to what they are trying send. I really enjoyed chapter 3 because it helps me to be a better listener than I was before. I am also going to put effort in improving my interpretation. Interpreting the message correctly can help improve relationships and also help you understand what the speaker is really trying to send.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
For an example; if we experience a situation repeatedly, we can identify the order that it's going to happen when it does happen again.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the examples you gave following this statement. Responding to "How are you" is almost like a generic answer given for courtesy. Not to assume you don't care about the other person when you ask, how are you, but it's almost as if you're doing it just because you want to which is why you are so thrown off when a person doesn't respong the way you expect he/she to.
For the most part, I think this schemata is good for acquantances. But just to go off topic, I was thinking about how when you're fighting with a signficant other, if you argue the same way, no matter what the topic is, it almost goes the same way. Which is why it's always good to mix it up maybe the message will get through the other more effectively.
Other than that, your most interesting part of that chapter became very interesting to me! =)