Children learn language by imitating the words and speech of others and by getting feedback from them. As infants, we had feelings but no words to express them. Our caregivers taught us through modeling their behavior how to behave and how to use language to communicate our emotions and needs. We learned the rules and meanings of words, as well along with the feelings associated with them. The language we use today reflects our early experiences and the influences of others while their emotions, language and behaviors were influenced by their caregivers. Therein lies the systemic influence unless we break the chain of influence by learning more about ourselves.
Words like “hate”, “love”, “hungry”, “eat”, “good”, “bad”, “right”, and “wrong” had both definitions and emotions attached to them. We did not have anyone to challenge or change our views or feelings about these words. So, the language we formed over the years became the record of what we learned from others. Beck also thought that emotional reasoning came from negative thoughts that we could not control or stop. This was the basis of “emotional reasoning”. Later, we may have stopped sharing our feelings because we knew they showed our true selves and affected others. So, our language was full of “emotional reasoning” from the start, before we learned any formal logic and reason if we ever did.
Then, we may have learned not to talk about our feelings because we realized that they revealed how we truly felt and that they had an impact on those around us. So, our language was filled with "emotional reason" from the start before we learned any formal logic and reason if we ever had any formal education in logic and reason.
Language is defined as words arranged syntactically and pronounced in a manner that is accepted by the community through social interaction. Socialization is the process of learning and teaching the norms and ideas of society that can happen through different sources such as family, friends, school, media, and religion. It starts in childhood and lasts throughout life. So, our verbal and non-verbal communication today is the story of our life shaped by the language influenced by others in the past who may or may not have had any awareness of the impact they have on us, our community, or our environment.
Communication is encoding in the brain a collection from memory the images, thoughts, ideas into syntactically arranged symbols of words and language to convey a meaningful message via the brain using air from the lungs to create sound via the vocal folds through the oral cavity. The sound transmitted through the air via vibration moves from the mouth of one to the eardrum of another, from the outer ear to the inner ear where it is transformed into a neural impulse and transmitted via the neural pathway to the temporal lobe part of the brain. If the sound is heard accurately (dependent on clarity, noise, intensity, language, and hearing acuity) it is decoded, and perceived with the use of memory by the brain of another to have a similar meaning as the intended communicator of the message. What could go wrong? A lot. That's the point of awareness and understanding.
Words can be used incorrectly in multiple ways which clarifies the importance of appropriate use of words to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding. The inappropriate use of words can be hazardous. Information on the terms below can be found in the Stanford University paper or in Wikipedia.
The appropriate use of words and language is important to the reception and understanding of communication.
One must be aware that a person with a hearing impairment is not likely to hear every word that does not imply an intellectual impairment. Hearing loss superimposes a processing delay as it takes time to assimilate and integrate incomplete distorted sounds in words into an organized, appropriate, clear message. In a sentence where sounds can be distorted by nerve damage, too soft, or masked by the noise of the surrounding environment, a single clear word is sometimes all that is needed to clarify a message. Volume or loudness does not solve a distorted message. So, articulating sounds in words helps to clarify the message, while language accents can be a major barrier to communication.
Distractions and noise can complicate the listening circumstances for normal-hearing individuals while potentially creating an impossible listening situation for a hearing-impaired person. Amplifying a distorted message in a distorted listening environment increases the probability of miscommunication and misinformation. What helps is a clear channel and clearly articulated sounds without noise interference. Hearing aids do not normalize distorted hearing because the hearing aid amplifies instead of clarifying sounds. The device cannot undo nerve damage. A hearing aid is defined as stated, an “aid” to hearing
People with normal hearing can have difficulty processing auditory information accurately, especially in complex listening environments (noise). Processing of auditory information requires accurate hearing, attention, motivation, memory, sophisticated language processing of words and language, and adequate processing speed.
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a condition where the brain is not able to interpret and understand auditory signals at the same rate the person is speaking, which can be complicated by vocabulary, the sophistication of language, context, the familiarity of subject, interest, motivation, the manner of how the message is stated among others.
People with APD can hear, but they may have trouble understanding rapid sophisticated language. There isn’t a cure for APD, but treatment helps people manage the condition.
Language processing and speaking:
Language processing when speaking is a highly sophisticated system involving a lot of complex variables. Speaking and listening require language processing, and accurate word retrieval from memory while assimilating words syntactically and phonetically into an understandable, fluent, clear message that can easily understood. Both speaking and processing of information require sufficient IQ or intelligence. The more complex the listening environment, the greater the propensity for confusion and misunderstanding.
Once, attention is present and, information has successfully been processed and integrated into the language system or brain, then the ability to retain that information is influenced by factors such as physical limitations of long-term or short-term memory, interest factors, or motivation. Other factors like stress, anxiety, and emotions may influence the retention of information. As more information comes in, some of the older information that was retained may no longer be useful and may fade away and disappear. So, the retention of language information is dependent on its usefulness and relevance to our everyday lives much like learning and speaking a different language.
There are times when I have found it difficult to engage in complex language conversations when the lack of mindfulness on the part of the people, I am speaking to outweighs the cognitive effort. That's when people often leave the conversation. And, when it might be more important to remain for political reasons and for one's own welfare.
The process of learning to speak is generally instinctive for children. They tend to become proficient in their native language without much effort. However, the acquisition of language is also influenced by various factors such as universal grammar, cultural influences, personal history, and experiences. For instance, the theory of universal grammar suggests that all languages have the same basic grammatical structure, which means that while children aren’t genetically designed to understand English or Mandarin, they are genetically designed to understand the universal grammar that underlies all languages. Cultural and social influences also play a significant role in the actual languages we learn.
In conclusion, our developmental history plays a crucial role in shaping our language acquisition, development, and how we speak today.
In addition, language can be used to justify actions taken toward people. The United States has a long history of using coded language about places to justify policy and practice decisions that impact people. For example, the term “blight” transposed the language of disease onto places, with devastating consequences for people of color living within them.
In conclusion, systemic influences on our language are pervasive and can have significant impacts on individuals and communities.
Here are some common cognitive distortions that can lead to negative thinking:
Polarization: Thinking things are black and white, with no middle ground.
Overgeneralization: Using isolated incidents to represent a pattern.
Personalization: Taking things personally or blaming oneself for things that are not one’s fault.
Negative Filtering: Focusing on the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positive ones.
Jumping to Conclusions: Making assumptions without sufficient evidence.
Maximizing/Minimizing: Exaggerating or downplaying the importance of something.
Blaming: Holding others responsible for one’s problems or feelings.
Emotional Reasoning: Using one’s emotions as the basis for one’s judgments.
Mind-reading: Assuming that you know what someone else is thinking or feeling without checking with them first. This can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
Interrupting: Cutting someone off before they have finished speaking. This can be seen as disrespectful and can prevent effective communication.
Ignoring Nonverbal Cues: Failing to pay attention to nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. This can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for connection.
Using Jargon: Using technical language or jargon that others may not understand. This can lead to confusion and misunderstandings.
Not Listening Actively: Failing to listen actively to what someone is saying. This can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for connection.
In some cases where hearing is not accessible, sign language, media captions, and a variety of software and hardware tools are available that can help people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate more effectively, including text messaging, email, and video conferencing.
NON-VERBAL MESSAGING
The 55/38/7 formula is a heuristic that describes the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal communication in conveying emotions and attitudes. According to this formula, 7% of communication is conveyed through words, 38% through vocal tone, and 55% through facial expression and body language. Therefore, it is true that nearly 40% of a person’s attitude is conveyed vocally through intonation, pitch, inflection, emphasis, and emotion. This is not a hard and fast rule as communication is not that simple. However, this does emphasize the impact of emotions on communication while body language can also provide insight into a person's emotional condition. For instance, facial expressions and body postures are some of the social signals that can be used to convey messages regarding internal states, emphasizing or contradicting the verbal speech, or even occurring in its absence. Facial expressions, more than any other nonverbal signals, ought to be the physical representations of our emotions.
Language differences, accents, mannerisms, nonverbal traditions, gestures, lifestyles, and cultural differences can impact the way we feel about others from different parts of the world, especially if those traditions seem unusual to us. It is important to respect those differences rather than judge them. To overcome these challenges, it is essential to understand the impact of language barriers, explore strategies to overcome them, and be mindful of cultural differences. Strategies for effective communication include utilizing trained interpreters or translators proficient in both languages, employing language translation tools, using plain language, avoiding jargon or technical terms, and breaking down complex information into simpler concepts to enhance comprehension. It is also important to understand cultural contexts and norms, which are closely intertwined with language, and to be aware of non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, and gestures, which are important for conveying meaning. Language barriers can have significant implications for individuals and communities, including limited access to information, miscommunication and misunderstandings, social isolation and exclusion, and reduced trust and confidence eying meaning
Click on the button below for details on negative reasoning and emotional bias. Of the various factors that can interfere with rational communication and lead to misunderstandings, confusion, and poor decisions, emotional reasoning is the most significant cause of communication errors. Emotions can interfere with rational thinking and behavior, which can cause problems in personal and professional relationships.
Emotions can have a significant impact on human communication and can affect the way we express ourselves, perceive information, and interact with others. Emotion can create barriers to effective communication, such as anger, pride, depression, and anxiousness. These emotions can make us say things we don’t mean, interfere with listening, demotivate us, or distract us. However, emotions can also enhance communication if we are emotionally aware and understand the feelings of ourselves and others. Emotional awareness can help us notice the emotions of other people and how that affects their communication.
In conclusion, emotions play a crucial role in human communication, and it is essential to be aware of them to communicate effectively.
Emotional reasoning is a cognitive distortion that occurs when an individual relies solely on their emotions to interpret situations, make decisions, or draw conclusions, often without considering objective evidence. This can lead to irrational thinking and behavior, which can cause problems in personal and professional relationships.
Cognitive therapists have proposed many techniques for combating emotional reasoning. For instance, they recommend you ask yourself:
Refer to Reason under psychology.
The words and language we choose reflect our personal development and cultural history, what we think and believe, as well as the influence of those around us that we project both verbally and nonverbally in our communication with others. That communication reveals a lot about us while conveying both our emotional, reasoning, and psychological states of mind. When communicating, our ability to receive a message accurately is dependent on many variables, especially considering noise interference in the background and our ability to hear clearly. Then the message that is being communicated can also be influenced by a number of variables. So, there is a lot that can go wrong if one does not have the attention and the intention to communicate in a positive, appropriate, and healthy manner that we can call "mindfully speaking" and listening.
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