Chapter 2 Review

• The root source of all interpersonal communication is the self, an evolving composite of self-awareness, self-concept, and self-esteem.

• We make sense of ourselves and our communication by comparing our behaviors with those of others. Social comparison has a pronounced impact on our sense of self when the people to whom we’re comparing ourselves are those we admire.

• Our self-concept is defined in part through our looking-glass self. When we have a clearly defined, consistent, and enduring sense of self, we possess self-concept clarity.

• It is challenging to have positive self-esteem while living in a culture dominated by images of perfection. Self-discrepancy theory explains the link between these standards and our feelings about our selves, and ways we can overcome low self-esteem.

• When our families teach us gender lessons, they also create emotional bonds with us that form the foundation for various attachment styles, including secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful attachment.

• Many of us identify with more than one culture and can be thrust into situations in which we must choose a primary cultural allegiance.

• The face we present to others is the self that others perceive and evaluate. Sometimes our face reflects our inner selves, and sometimes we adopt masks.

• Information posted about you online has higher warranting value than what you post directly.

• According to social penetration theory, we develop relationships by delving deeper and more broadly into different layers of self. The more we reveal, the more intimacy we feel with others.

• Revealing private information about ourselves to others is self-disclosure, which, along with the responsiveness of listeners to such disclosure, makes up the interpersonal process model of intimacy.