Blog Post #2

 1) According to our textbook, uncertainty reduction theory, "focuses on how human communication is used to gain knowledge and create understanding (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks, 2019, pg. 105)." When strangers meet, their primary goal is to reduce uncertainty or increase predictability about the behavior of both themselves and the other person (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 105). Chuck Berger proposes eight axioms to explain the connection between the central concept of uncertainty reduction theory and the development of relationships (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 2015). All individuals rely on these axioms when meeting a new person in order to reduce their uncertainty about each other and to further develop the relationship. For example, when I first met my girlfriend, I relied on both verbal communication and information seeking to reduce my uncertainty about her. When my girlfriend and I initially met, I depended on verbal communication as a strategy in order to get to know her better. As the amount of verbal communication between us increased, my level of uncertainty about her as a potential partner decreased. Because verbal communication significantly helped us reduce our uncertainty about each other, we were able to become more comfortable together and verbally communicate more easily. Through the process of information seeking, I was able to get to know my girlfriend on a more personal level, which assisted in reducing my uncertainty about her. I used information seeking as a strategy to better understand her personal background and to gauge her personality. Because information seeking helped me better understand the type of person she is, my uncertainty about her was remarkably reduced. When my partner and I initially met, the main factor that motivated me to reduce uncertainty was that I knew we both had feelings for each other, and I knew that I eventually wanted to date her. Below I attached a photo of us (we have now been together for three years!). 

3) Social information processing theory was developed in order to better understand how online communication impacts the development of interpersonal and group relationships (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 117). Social information processing theory focuses on computer mediated communication (any communication that happens over the computer), which leads to the question, can individuals form meaningful relationships online? The answer to this question is yes, people can form meaningful relationships online because there are so many different social media and virtual communication platforms that individuals can easily access to connect with others that they would normally not be able to. Because these platforms exist, individuals can easily exchange interpersonal information with each other, which contributes to relationship development.  Communicating through these virtual platforms allows individuals to practice impression formation, which is, "the composite mental image one person forms of another (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 2019)." Through the use of impression formation, individuals are able to develop relationships online because even though they may have never met face-to-face, they are still able to communicate and form a real connection between each other. When the COVID-19 pandemic initially took over the globe, I encountered several instances of computer mediated communication, and was forced to build and maintain relationships solely online. For example, when all classes were conducted virtually during the peak of the pandemic, I had to build several relationships with various professors over Zoom that I had never previously met in-person. Looking back on it, I can honestly say that I was able to form equally strong relationships with these professors online as apposed to working with them in-person. 

4) Both uncertainty reduction theory and social information processing theory are related because whether one is communicating face-to-face or through an online platform, uncertainty reduction still needs to take place. There are several similarities and differences between face-to-face communication and computer mediated communication. For example, communicating face-to-face and online both require a specific degree of engagement. In other words, individuals can carry out the exact same conversations online as they could face-to-face. Individuals are able to maintain both professional and casual relationships through computer mediated communication and face-to-face communication. However, non-verbal cues are very difficult to nearly impossible to distinguish through computer mediated communication compared to face-to-face communication. Unless one is engaging in some sort of video conference online, non-verbal cues are impossible to detect through computer mediated communication. Even though face-to-face communication and computer mediated communication share some similarities and differences, uncertainty reduction still occurs when first meeting an individual online or in-person. Building off of my example in my previous answer of how I was forced to build relationships with professors strictly online during the peak of the pandemic, I utilized the shared networks axiom to develop my relationships with these professors. Conducting and participating in virtual classes was a new concept for most people when the pandemic first hit, so in order to reduce my uncertainty about these professors that I have previously never met in person, I was able to recognize that we were sharing a new type of communication network. Below I attached an extremely interesting article the further depicts how the pandemic affected the way in which we communicate!

Link to article https://www.uab.edu/news/research/item/11542-how-has-covid-19-affected-the-way-we-communicate

Sources

Griffin, E. A., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. G. (2019). A first look at communication theory. McGraw-Hill Education.