Chapter 1 I. A. Inference. B. Inference is any stimulus that hinders the process of sharing meaning (Communicate 5).

The text explains that inference can be either physical or psychological. Physical inference is sights, sounds, and other stimuli in an environment that draws a persons attention away from an intended meeting (Communicate 5). Psychological inference, on the other hand, refers to internal distractions based on thoughts or feelings that consist of either internal (which are aroused by thoughts or feelings that interfere with communication) or semantic (which are aroused by certain symbols that distract us) noises (Communicate 6). C. Inference severely hinders a conversation; communication cannot occur if his or her environments or thoughts are distracting a person in the conversation. For example, a conversation in a noisy room will face distracting stimuli, making the distracting environment a physical inference. Also, if one person in the conversation is reviewing topics on an upcoming test in his or her head instead of completely participating in the conversation, the dialogue faces psychological inference. II. A. Physical Context. B. Physical context is the environment that a conversation takes place in; this can be effected by temperature, lighting, noise, distance between the communicators, or even the time of day (Communicate 4). C. A conversation about how hot it is outside is only likely to occur in an environment where it is hot outside. Or, a conversation about ones detest for loud, obnoxious people is most likely to occur when loud, obnoxious people are nearby. III. A. Historical Context. B. Historical context is the background provided by previous communication episodes between the participants that influence understandings in the current encounter (Communicate 4). C. If an inside joke is made by two people in a conversation at an earlier time and that inside joke is relayed in a larger group, only the two who were in the earlier conversation understand the meaning of the joke because, according to historical context, they know the meaning of the joke. IV. A. Communication Competence. B. Communication competence is the impression that communicative behavior is both appropriate and effective, depending on the situation; when appropriate, it conforms to what is experienced in the conversation, and when effective, it achieves its goals (Communicate 15)

C. A person on either side of a conversation ensures the other that the central message of the conversation is understood by using communication competence. For example, two people are talking about the first persons mother being diagnosed with an illness. In this instance, he is very upset. The second participant can display communication competence by reassuring him that his mother will likely recover, displaying behavior that is appropriate (reassurance as compared to vexing) and effective (sympathetic as compared to apathetic). V. A. Cultural context. B. Cultural context is the values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society (Communicate 5). C. Because culture penetrates every aspect of our lives, it directly impacts how we talk, think, behave, and interpret messages. A person raised in a certain culture sees the world a certain way; when two people from different lifestyles meet, there can be a lot of difficulty in understanding certain aspects of a conversation. For example, American slang is often misunderstood by people who were raised outside of the United States.