COMMUNICATION AS A PROCESS OF INTERPERSONAL UNDERSTANDING IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the communication phenomenon not just in terms of the relationship theory, but as a process of perception and understanding one another in social interaction as well. Understanding means the ability of a person to feel other person’s nature, to learn it through their relationships with other people. Research has proved that identification is a useful tool to understand another person. In social perception it should be interpreted as equalling of one person’s nature with another one’s. Identification is closely connected with empathy being an ability to understand other people’s emotional states through sympathy. The process of interpersonal sympathy is provided by a reflection activity. Reflection ability is being formed gradually and in a different way for every individual. Reflection activity takes place on several levels. Mindset or readiness to get to know another person from some specific perspective being already formed significantly influences the way you understand a partner in communication. It also involves the phenomenon of stereotyping – incorporating of traits typical of some profession or national group into the person’s image. The process of interpersonal understanding is activated due to causal attribution set into motion – causal explanation of the communication partner’s actions attributing feelings, intentions and motives of behaviour to them. Interpersonal understanding is strongly linked to an emotional sphere. Feelings and empathy help understand other people adequately. It has been found out that mechanisms and results of understanding in every communicative situation are different in terms of key points and levels. Two stages of interpersonal understanding are identified – specific-sensitive and abstract-logical. At least three types of understanding should be distinguished in the communicative act: accurate, adequate and absolutely adequate. In the pedagogical process social interaction is characterized as the interrelation between partners in terms of information, actions, emotional impact exchange that can lead to mutual understanding.