Theories of Communication Essay Example for Free

Theories of Communication Essay Argyles theory of communication is that to learn communication skills and social skills there is a certain cycle that needs to be used this therefore involves translating or decoding what others have communicated. Argyle believes that this gives the individual an opportunity to adapt on their person behaviour so that at the end of the process they are able to communicate effectively. The cycle has different stages 1. The cycle will start when an idea is thought of so that the message can then be coded and sent. This stage involves the individual thinking in their head what they are going to be saying and they then need to ensure they get the message to the other individual clearly so that they can understand what the message is about. 2. The next step is therefore when the other person receives the message and it can be decoded. This stage means that they will be processing the message in the head thinking about the message and understanding it so that they are then able to go onto the third stage 3. This stage is the part where the individual responds to the message they have received and decoded, they then respond and the whole cycle will be repeated. Example In My Placement: In my placement at Linden Lea nursery they have corner that the children are able to go and read in and pick a book each week, there are pillows down in the area so that there is a relaxed atmosphere and I can go and sit with an individual child and read a book with them. When reading with the younger children I am able to ask questions about the book for example ‘who is your favourite person in the book? or ‘what part of the book do you think is the best bit? ’ this therefore helps me to be able to see if the child is understanding the story or what parts they are understanding however they won’t feel pressured as they will be relaxed questions and it will be a relaxed conversation. Tuckman’s Theory Tuckman’s theory of communication was described as a group interact ion, as he believes that people work better together and interact better when they are working within a group. Tuckman’s theory of the group coming together and performing involves four key stages. Forming- This is when the group have come together and they are getting to know each other beginning to think of ideas and ask each other questions. An example of forming in my placement will be when the children at the nursery sit in groups with a teacher or a team leader and the groups can be based around their ability or specific needs. Storming- Storming is the second stage and this is when conflict can often flare up because the roles begin to be put in place for those in the group and a leader may begin to take control causing some arguments as the group is functioning. For the storming stage an example in my placement could be when the children have formed their groups and begin to play games it can mean that conflict will begin as some individuals may want to play the same role in the group as there will always be a leader to group this therefore means you often get many personality clashes. Norming- Norming is when the group properly comes together and start to develop strong sets of shared values and the group will start to work as one group together. For this stage in my placement you will begin to see the children coming together and working together in their friendship groups, this may involve them playing various games and taking part in various activities for them to come together and begin to understand eachother. Performing- After the stage of norming they then have a full understanding of the groups expectations and understand each individual’s values they then therefore are able to start working together to perform as an effective group. The relationships have become stronger within the and they are able to support each other. In my nursery placement I see this stage being shown when I see children taking part in an art activity this means they have a chance to all show off their own skills however they can work together and help in the groups their working in for example if they were doing a big display they can come together to decide who will do what part of the display. Schultz(1958) also had a different theory of communication which can be uses in group interactions. This was a different theory to Tuckman’s theory and instead of four stage is has three key stages. The first step is inclusion; this is the stage that the individuals spend time building relationships between the members in a group so they can choose which group they wish to belong to. The second step is control this stage is the part in which you see who has the power in the group, little groups are made and people will compete to be part of certain groups or in a role. The last stage is affection this is the stage in which it calms down as each member in the group will have their role and they are able to form effective group work. Example In My Placement: At the nursery I am working in the children are always playing and they are able to communicate with each other. I sit with the children and join in the games and they play together as a group. They were dressing up and they play with the dolls ‘mummy’s and daddy’s’ this therefore means they communicate together working out who will be who and then played together sharing all the toys. They are therefore working together to decide if they want to play in that group or choose to play something else. This type of interaction helps the children to communicate with all children and as games develop they begin to become more comfortable.