A Conceptual and Personal Review
Introduction of interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication has always been a part of our daily lives and it is important in many situations: we greet the security guard when we leave home for work; negotiate ideas with our group mates when working on projects; comfort our friends when they encounter difficult situation...Relationships are gradually developed as we are interacting with each other in a daily basis. According to Solomon and Theiss (2013), interpersonal communication is a specific type of communication which “communication” refers to the use of symbols including sounds, movement or images to represent ideas so to share meanings— for interpersonal communication, it specifically refers to communication between human beings and bonding is eventually established. Gruyter (2008) also added that it is a “continuous game” of interaction between a sender and a receiver while Brooks and Heath (1993) mentioned the process of interpersonal communication is facilitated by verbal and non-verbal means such as eye contact, facial expressions and body gestures. To summarize the above definition, interpersonal communication is an ongoing process that involves the use of symbols to convey ideas and messages verbally or non-verbally between at least one sender and receiver.
Conceptual review on social penetration theory
Social penetration theory proposed by Altman and Taylor (1973) provides a framework to describe interpersonal relationship. It proposes that interpersonal communication will move from relatively shallow and superficial level to a more intimate one as relationship develops. The theory is based on an idea that human beings are layered like onions which the private self is at the core protected by the “public” self on the outer layers. The theory can be categorized into 4 stages: at the beginning (orientation), individuals are often cautious when they interact
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