NCERT Book Class 11 Home Science Perspectives in Communication

PERSPECTIVES  IN COMMUNICATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this chapter the learner is able to —

• know the meaning of and processes within communication.

• analyse  the  influence of age, education, gender, cultural  background and exposure on communication.

18.1 INTRODUCTION

You have learnt about the important aspects of communication in  the  earlier chapters. Communication is a vital process for all in  this  information  age. How does communication occur? It is a process in which a sender and   a receiver are involved. A sender sends a message with some intention. Likewise, the message is received by a receiver according to her/his   ability  or perspective. The communication process is complete only   when  the  intentions of the sender match with the aptitude of the receiver. If the  views  of the sender and the receiver match, a common meaning is derived.

The perspectives of the sender and the receiver will determine   effective   acceptance   of  the message.

There are many factors that determine perspectives   about   communication. These are: age, education, gender, cultural background and exposure to communication. Let us study how each of these factors influence communication.

AGE

Age has influence on communication. As one grows, fundamental changes  take place: one is ideational (related to ideas), and the second is structural  and material. Ideational changes refer to the changes in ideas. For example,

the ideas about career and life are different for an 18-year-old teenager who is thinking of a career, a 40-year-old executive who is settled in her career and a 55-year-old who is reaching the end of his career. Structural changes refer to physiological and age-related changes in cognitive functioning. Many faculties are affected with age. Vision is the first faculty to be affected. The other faculties start deteriorating, some slowly and others rapidly. Consequently, how and what one communicates is influenced by age, and messages need to be adjusted and altered accordingly. Let us take an example of older persons. As one grows older, one may begin to experience difficulty in listening. For example, in noisy environments (such as a restaurant where loud music is playing) they often find it difficult to determine who is talking and what is exactly being said. Younger people may not have any such difficulty. Further, the selection of words and style of communication also differ according to age.

Material changes refer to changes in use of material for communication.For example, a teenager prefers a mobile phone to listen to music, or will download it from the internet, whereas, an adult will be comfortable using a record player or a CD player. In rural areas, an older adult will be comfortable
listening to the radio. The ease with which the younger generation usesequipments for communication is not matched by older age groups. Thus, communication of older and younger people is bound to be affected by age, and so is communication between them.

Activity 1Think about some words or phrases you commonly use at home that your parents disapprove of. What is their objection?

Education
Education broadens the horizon of knowledge. It develops the individual’s ability to think and apply knowledge, gives access to information and prepares people for careers. All these benefits enhance one’s capacityand scope to communicate. An educated sender is likely to articulate and express her/his thoughts more effectively; if the receiver is equally educated it leads to good communication. For example, when a teacher explains a concept to another teacher, it is at a higher level of cognition than the concept being explained to students. This is so partly due to the differences in educational levels of students and their teachers. Similarly, when concepts like global warming, deforestation, effect of pesticides on crops, consequence of heat on nutrients etc. are to be explained to
farmers, health professionals, home-makers or officers, the vocabulary, information, the strategy and mode of communication need to be selected to suit their levels.

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