Looking Out/Looking In Chapters 3 and 4

Chapter three deals mainly with perception. Perception is something I have problems with. I sometimes think someone is acting a certain way for a reason that is not the correct one.

To really find a reason for a way someone else communicates in a certain situation, many things must be taken into account. These include physical condition, biological cycles, and how they are perceiving the other communicator.

A first impression of someone can cause either positive or negative ideas to develop about that person.
I have committed this error many times.

By assuming things about other people, one can jump to the wrong conclusions. I have done this many times, and it always worked out badly for me.

One thing this chapter helped me realize is to communicate very effectively with someone else, one must develop empathy for that person. This allows us to put ourselves in the other person's point of view, and can eliminate many communication errors.

Chapter 4

Chapter four deals mainly with emotions. Emotions have a very powerful presence in any communication. There are many factors that affect emotions, such as physiological factors and personality.

One's culture affects how they display emotion. Our modern culture in America is very emotionally expressive, and tends to encourage others to be emotionally expressive. This is not always a wholesome thing. Emotions are powerful, and they are fleeting. If one fully expresses an emotion, they can later on feel regret for what they did. One can also hurt others if they fully express their negative emotions about somebody. I believe that it is better to be moderate in emotional expression, in either positive or negative forms.

One's emotions can also influence other people. Emotional contagion is the action of spreading certain emotions through people. If someone displays a certain emotion, others are likely to display the same emotion even if they didn't feel it originally.

One problem with being overly emotional is to allow a debilitative emotion to control you.
People often allow this to happen and subscribe to certain fallacies. These fallacies include trying to be perfect, seeking approval, and over generalizing your own or other's behaviors.