Communication is a means of transfer of information from one point to another. It has become a very important aspect of our lives because it helps in the share of information and knowledge. The excerpt highlights a key concept of information. It states that communication does not occur alone, without influence of the individual or society in which the individual is found in. It also mentions two concepts that affect the outcome of communication. This write up is to explain the excerpt that Communication interventions do not fall into a social vacuum. Rather, information is received and processed through individual and social prisms that not only determine what people encounter (through processes of selective exposure), but also the meaning that they derive from the communication (known as selective perception) depending upon factors as both the individual (prior experiences, efficacy beliefs, knowledge etc.) and the macro-social (interpersonal relationships, cultural patterns, social norms) levels (source: University of Pretoria Handbook).
How an individual understands information depends on;
Selective exposure
This refers to the orientation of the individual to favor information which reinforces his or her pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information. It has to do with fueling ones belief system. People tend to gear more towards acquiring new ideas that are in line with what they see as right than to finding information that is contrary, causing confusion and inconsistency. It is the idea that an individual grasps, what they want to hear in a message while ignoring opposing viewpoints. For instance, in the football world, a fan of Ronaldo would not be looking for information that would imply that Messi is the greatest of all time. But rather, he will be inclined to look for information that will help win an argument that Ronaldo is the best. This concept applies in communication. A listener would ignore opinions that go against what he or she stands for. This narrows the information the listener would have come across and therefore reduces the understanding of the information when there is communication. Selective exposure was proposed by Festinger in 1957.
Selective perception
This refers to how individuals interpret and understand the information they encounter.This has implications on the meaning the person derives from the information after a communication process. This theory was proposed by Jerome Bruner and Leo Postman in 1949. The selective perception process is affected by;
?The individual
Ones own personal experiences can affect how they understand what is being communicated to them. For example, after a team of health care workers came to Kofis community, there was an increase in the cases of sickness in the community due to the medications they were given. When a second team of professionals come, his response and involvement to the process will be low as compared to the first even if these people are more competent. The beliefs of people also affect communication interactions. The knowledge they have about the topic also would affect their communication process.
?Macro-social level
The bigger society also influences the communications interventions of the individual. Their social norms and cultural patterns will be visible in how they share information. In some societies in Ghana, sex is a topic that cannot be discussed in the open. Due to this, a talk on sex education in the schools assembly hall will not have a lot of children talking about what they know about the topic because those who talk will be described as the spoilt child. The interpersonal relationships between people also has bearing on how they understand information.
In conclusion, communication interventions are complex processes that do not occur in a social vacuum. The excerpt underscores the critical role of selective exposure and selective perception in shaping the impact of communication. Individual factors such as prior experiences, efficacy beliefs, and knowledge inform what people encounter and how they interpret it. Meanwhile, macro-social factors like interpersonal relationships, cultural patterns, and social norms provide the broader context in which communication takes place.
References
Hart, William; Albarracn, Dolores; Eagly, Alice H.; Brechan, Inge; Lindberg, Matthew J.; Merrill, Lisa (2009). "Feeling validated versus being correct: A meta-analysis of selective exposure to information". Psychological Bulletin. 135 (4): 555588. doi:10.1037/a0015701. PMC 4797953. PMID 19586162.
Sullivan, Larry E., ed. (2009). "Selective Exposure". The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. SAGE Publications. p. 465. ISBN 978-1-4129-5143-2.
Tsang, Stephanie Jean (2019-05-04). "Cognitive Discrepancy, Dissonance, and Selective Exposure". Media Psychology. 22 (3): 394417. doi:10.1080/15213269.2017.1282873. ISSN 1521-3269. S2CID 220378435
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