Understanding Interpersonal Communication, 2nd Edition

Lynn H. Turner, Richard West

Copyright 2011
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Overview
Meet the Authors
What's New
Features
Table of Contents
Pricing

Overview

West and Turner's UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: MAKING CHOICES IN CHANGING TIMES, Enhanced Second Edition, empowers your students by providing both the knowledge and practical skills they need to make choices as effective communicators in today's rapidly changing and technologically advanced society. The text eliminates the perceived division between theory and practice and clarifies their fundamental interconnections. The text powerfully supports skill development by exploring communication concepts in tandem with realistic scenarios and concrete behavior choices students can make in order to become more effective communicators. Rather than "telling" students how to communicate, the authors list a "toolbox" of key skills pertaining to each theory so students can actively choose and experiment with strategies appropriate for a given situation. Filled with realistic examples and scenarios that reflect the diversity and interactions of today's students, UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: MAKING CHOICES IN CHANGING TIMES, Enhanced Second Edition, makes clear connections between theory, skills, and the life situations we all encounter on a daily basis.

This enhanced second edition includes the student workbook bound in at the end of the text, with chapter goals, outlines, interactive student activities, InfoTrac® activities, and journal entries.

Meet the Authors

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Lynn H. Turner

Lynn H. Turner is Professor in Communication Studies at Marquette University, and former chair of the department. Lynn received her B.A from University of Illinois, her M.A. from University of Iowa and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. At Marquette she currently teaches interpersonal communication at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, among other courses. Additionally, she directs Marquette’s interdisciplinary family studies minor. Her research areas of emphasis include interpersonal, gender, and family communication. She is the co-author or co-editor of over 10 books as well as many articles and book chapters. Her articles have appeared in several journals including: Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Women and Language, and Western Journal of Communication. Her books include: From the Margins to the Center: Contemporary Women and Political Communication (co-authored with Patricia Sullivan; Praeger, 1996; recipient of the 1997 Best Book Award from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender), Gender in Applied Communication Contexts (co-edited with Patrice Buzzanell and Helen Sterk), She has been honored by the OSCLG as one of the outstanding women in communication.

Richard West

Rich West is Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College in Boston. At Emerson, he served as the Department Chair for several years, as the Acting Director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, and as the Project Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. He is past President of the Eastern Communication Association, where he received the Past Officer’s Award and was recognized as a "Distinguished Research Fellow" in the Association. Rich is also the former Director of NCA’s Educational Policies Board. Both Illinois State University (B.A./M.A.) and Ohio University (Ph.D.) have recognized him as an Outstanding Alum in Communication Studies. He has written extensively in the area of classroom communication and has been recognized as a "Leading Scholar" in Classroom Communication by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship.Together, Rich and Lynn have co-authored 5 books in multiple editions. They are also co-editors of both the Handbook of Family Communication and The Family Communication Sourcebook, which won the National Communication Association’s Outstanding Book Award from the Family Communication Division. In addition, Rich and Lynn are the recipients of the Bernard J. Brommel Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Service in Family Communication. They have also both served as President of the National Communication Association.

What's New

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The Interpersonal Explorer features highlight ways theory and skills are interrelated and present skill development as a process of making behavioral choices to become more effective communicators. Each box also references a related online activity and ABC News video.
Imagine Yourself boxes highlight interpersonal communication in useful and familiar real-life contexts, including work, school, and families, to illustrate situations in which students must make interpersonal choices and prepare them to make those choices effectively.
IPC in the News boxes provide interesting and informative examples of interpersonal communication in the media to illustrate key concepts and provide compelling examples of their real-life consequences.
This second edition of UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION includes more than 150 new references on topics such as Blogs, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, Body Art and Tattoos, Internet Infidelity, "Final Conversations" before Death, Immigration and Xenophobia, Humor in Close Relationships, and Identity Play on the Internet.
As part of an integrated suite of online resources, Interactive Video Activities allow students to watch and evaluate new Case in Point case studies and ABC News videos anytime, anywhere. Additionally, within the Resource Center, Interpersonal Simulations ask students to make a choice within a scenario, answer critical-thinking questions to consider the consequences of their choice, and then see the consequences for a few likely choices.

Features

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Each chapter opens with an intriguing Case in Point scenario that helps students immediately and personally appreciate key communication concepts from self-perception to culture and identity to nonverbal communication. These scenarios feature people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and educational levels.
Ethics & Choice boxes encourage students to consider the ethical implications of key topics and explore how their own ethics relate to communication choices.
Communication Assessment Tests within each chapter allow students to build their skills by completing a self-assessment of their communication behaviors and attitudes and taking personal responsibility for their own skill development.
The text frequently refers students to online Your Turn journal activities for personal self-reflection. The authors also encourage critical thinking by presenting both the bright side and dark side of interpersonal communication to emphasize the importance of choice and a need to appreciate how our communication choices affect others.
This enhanced second edition includes the student workbook bound in at the end of the text, with chapter goals, outlines, interactive student activities, InfoTrac® activities, and journal entries.

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1. Introduction to Interpersonal Communication.
2. Communication, Perception, and the Self.
3. Communication, Identity, and Culture.
4. Communicating Verbally.
5. Communicating Nonverbally.
6. Effective Listening.
7. Communication and Emotion.
8. Sharing Personal Information.
9. Communicating Power and Conflict.
10. Communicating in Close Relationships.
11. Technology and Interpersonal Communication.
Student Workbook.