第四期5/5

Generally these anxieties can be reduced by paying more conscious attention to the communication process, and by gathering more information on the stranger. Generally, individuals tend to explain their own behavior by reference to the situation. Observers tend to attribute an individual's behavior to elements of that individual's character. When interacting with strangers we are especially likely to attribute their behavior to their character, and then to view their character as typical if their culture or race, etc. That is, we are especially likely to interpret a stranger's behavior in light of our stereotypes about what "those kind of people" are like. As a result, consciously focusing on the communication process itself is an effective solution so as to gather more information about the stranger and hence to lower the level of anxiety. Finally, let's review the basic concepts covered in today's lecture. First, we talked about the concept of the stranger and definition of strangeness. Communicating with strangers involves uncertain predictions of their responses. Second, we discussed where communicative predictions come from and how they are processed during communication. And the last concerns our suggestions on some strategies to reduce people's uncertainty and anxiety during their communication with strangers.