Research Proposal

Title: Silence as a Communication Tool in Expressing Emotions: Giving a Female Friend 'the Silent Treatment'

Background of the Study:

Silent treatment, as defined by dictionary.reference.com, is an act or instance of maintaining silence or aloofness toward another person as a means of indicating disapproval or rejection. According to Kipling D. Williams, a professor of psychological sciences at Purdue University, it is a form of ostracism (the exclusion, by general consent, from social acceptance, privileges, friendship, etc.)

Silent treatment, in a social context, happens in all types of relationship - family, friendship, intimate bonds, and even between people who dislike each other. (However, in this study, I would like to study and focus on the structure of silent treatment in teenage female friendships).

Silent treatment may or may not be intentional. Often, though, it is given to gain control of a situation (Williams, 2001) or to express emotions such as hurt, bitterness and anger, or to punish. The makeup and emergence of silent treatment depends on individual differences between persons and in the situation in which they are in. Basically, it includes avoidance of eye contact and lack of verbal communication (Williams, Shore and Grahe) depending on the situation. www.wiki.com gives instructions on how to give someone the silent treatment, like cutting off all kinds of communication, contact and access, ignoring him/her and pretending like he/she doesn't exist at all.

Silent treatments cause different reflex actions to whom it is given. Often, it causes anxiety and worry. The anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain that detects pain, is stimulated. When someone is on the receiver end of a silent treatment, he/she initially or in the long run will be psychologically affected. On the other hand, research shows that men and women react to the silent treatment in a different way.

Significance:
This research is significant because it will showcase and analyze the capacity of silence, as well as other nonverbal communication acts which go with it to exhibit or indicate something. It will contribute to the study and analysis of the nature of friendship and behavior of friends. It will also help in nourishing friendships because it will seek to guide people on how not to abuse or ruin a friend's feelings.

Objectives:

• To find out how, why and in what instances a person considers to give her friend the silent treatment.
• To identify what emotions are associated with the silent treatment between friends.
• To find out how silence is interpreted by the person who's on the receiver end of the silent treatment and how she adapts and reacts to it.
• To determine the psychological effects of long and short terms of silent treatment on the person receiving it.
• To classify how silence differs from speech, and analyze how and why silence is said to be more expressive than speech.

Scope:
This research intends to analyze the structure of silent treatment only between teenage female peers. To narrow down the scope, the respondents will be composed of UP Mindanao first year students.

Methodology:
This study will use both interview and survey-questionnaire methods in acquiring data.
Interviews will be one to one, involving I and the interviewee. I will ask a series of questions to the interviewee regarding the research topic. Questionnaires, which have a set of questions on the topic, will be given to the (randomly selected) respondents. I would also like to interview a psychologist concerning the nature of female teenage friendships and how the silent treatment affects them.
The data gathered will be interpreted and will be linked with useful and relevant communication theories found in Em Griffin's An Introduction to Communication Theory.


PLANNER:

January:

4th week - Gather information and articles on SILENCE (and other nonverbal communication acts) and its different meanings and what it implies, primarily in the context of friendship.

February:

1st-2nd week - Conduct a series of interview with first year female students. Conduct surveys. Interview a psychologist regarding the nature of silence in friendship.

3rd week - Study, analyze, organize the data gathered

4th week - Start creating the term paper: construct introduction, RRL, etc.

March:

1st week-onwards - Start encoding, Fully work on the term paper.


Sources:

Web:

http://gpi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/2/117

http://www.gravity7.com/book_materiality.html#7
Silence

http://www.case.edu/pubs/cnews/1999/1-14/ignore.htm

"Silent treatment" carries a cost

http://www.kensavage.com/index.php/archives/silent-treatment/
The Silent Treatment - What You Are Saying By Not Saying Anything At All

http://www.wikihow.com/Give-Someone-the-Silent-Treatment

http://www.psych.purdue.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=325&Itemid=82


Printed:

Talk to the Hand, Giving an effective silent treatment is truly a work of art.
By Ana Hebra Flaster | September 2, 2007, The Boston Globe

The Interpersonal Communication Book, Unit 13, Nonverbal Communication
Joseph A. DeVito

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Peripheral Route: Alagang Papaya, Alagang Silka



This product advertisement features Iya Villania presenting the effects of Silka Papaya Whitening Lotion on her skin and how the product helps whiten the skin.

Most Filipinas desire to have a fairer, whiter skin. Even I have already tried using whitening skin products such as lotions and soaps, just because everyone wants to be white and white skin is enticing.
Silka Papaya promises two weeks, and your skin will be much elegant and whiter. This isn't even entirely true, actually. A viewer gets hypnotized by what the lotion ensures to produce - whiter skin.



When my aunt first saw this tv ad, she was thrilled because Iya Villania's the endorser of this product. She ignored the thought that Iya basically has a beautiful skin even before she became the product endorser of Silka. The idea of having a lovely skin seduced her.

She was motivated to consider buying the product because she wants her skin to be fairer, and because the lotion boasts its papaya extract content. But she doesn't have enough knowing if the product is effective or not. The ad doesn't bring about much elaboration in a viewer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Central Route: Dove Self-Esteem Fund Commercial




I first saw this commercial back in high school when I was really conscious about my weight. This tv ad features young girls who feel bad about themselves. (I later knew that the ad shown here in the Philippines is the Singaporean version of the ad, the original one was first shown in the US). It's deeply compelling because it isn't just a typical tv commercial. It's true, original, and even poignant. Next thing I knew, my girl classmates started adoring the ad.

If not all, most of us can actually relate to the commercial. Pop culture has established a standard of what beautiful is - thin, fair-skinned and perfect. Asians even get envious of the Western pattern of beauty - blond, tall and light-eyed. We are all aware that young women experience anxiety and eating disorders because they are not confident of themselves.



The ad is simply a series of clips of girls staring straight to the camera, radiating a look of despair (which creates an emotional touch) and there are tags such as afraid she's fat, hates her curly hair, wishes she had double eyelids, and thinks she's ugly. Girls sing out the tune True Colors, which is so heavenly, creating a touching background music. The commercial ends with the lines "Let's help change their minds... because every girl deserves to feel good about herself."

This Dove ad has achieved recognition not just because of the issue of the frail self-esteem of women, but because it has let us view beauty in a different light, and in a so captivating way. The ad makes use of the cognitive processes of a viewer, because it makes him/her ponder on what is presented in the ad.

According to the commercial, from each soap product you purchase, a peso will be donated to the self-esteem fund. This may be a marketing scheme, but nevertheless, it kindles something positive in us, which is the strong attitude change indicated in the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

A Letter to Jim

Dear Jim,

I know you and Shelley have been dating for months now. I sense that you two have been deeply attached to each other. She reveals herself to you without holding back. But you are intensely bothered by the diary that she keeps.

You know, Jim, I also keep a personal journal wherein I scribble my thoughts. It helps a lot, especially to an emotionally disturbed person like me. It serves as my hiding place. I tell you, you must understand Shelley's privacy. Of course, this doesn't sound so moving to you and as her partner, you believe that in order for your relationship to work out, both of you must not keep anything from each other. But Jim, this isn't true. You even have your own separate sanctuary inside yourself, and when anyone attempts to enter this domain, you freak out, right?

I would like to share with you a quote by Khalil Gibran, one of my most adored poets. "But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls." It tells us that partners like you and Shelley are intermingled, merged by love and common goals, but in order for you not to lose your “oneness”, both of you should never lose your separate and personal self. People's common idea is that in order for a relationship to be maintained, both partners need to thoroughly discover each other. No. Self-seclusion is as crucial as self-disclosure. This will help in strengthening your bond.

All relationships are in constant commotion. Sometimes we're happy with our partners and believe that everything's running smooth. But in reality, no relationship is static. That would be boring, right? And even impossible. Two people possess two different minds. Your thoughts and Shelley's will always conflict no matter how hard you try to always keep things between you harmonious.

You and Shelley are loving. That's what is important. Never deter her from her own way of self expression.


Yours,
Rae =)

The Interactional View : An Advice

Dear Miss X,

I understand that you love your family, but you find it hard to submit to their wants. We're in the same situation and I guess you don't know what to do.

You already are a grown-up and all grown-ups feel the need to be uncontrolled by anyone. But you must bear in mind that you and your mother have this complementary relationship. Expect that she acts and will always act like any other mother. She expects her child to be obedient and unresisting.

On the other hand, it bothers you that your father is complaining about your smoking. Imagine yourself as a parent and if you had a child who smokes, what would you feel? You too would be distressed, or even furious, right?

Your sister tries to be a great person here. As the older one, you feel dominant to her. But your sister doesn't want to be dominated and this places you both in a situation wherein you clash – both of your desire to dominate another is powerful.

On the whole, I suggest that your family sit and talk things over. This cannot be done when not everyone of you is willing to talk. So it must be arranged at the right time when everyone is prepared and eager to disclose his/her thoughts and discuss how he/she is affected by the mode of communication you have with each other. As a member of a family system, you are responsible for the current status of your family. All of you are elements of a whole which must coordinate in order to build a peaceful and pleasant whole. Avoid “handling” anyone.

Of course you love them. So for the better, try to change your beliefs and ideals, and create a more adorable you instead of attacking and opposing them.


Yours,
Rae

Silence as a Communication Tool in Expressing Emotions: Giving A Friend "the Silent Treatment"

It is said that silence is as significant as speech, and that it is mysterious.

This analysis aims to explore the nature of silence between and among friends and show why and how it is used to express emotions, primarily hurt, ignorance, bitterness, etc. and how it is interpreted by the one to whom 'the silent treatment' is given.

This is significant because it will showcase and analyze the capacity of silence, as well as other nonverbal communication acts which go with it to exhibit or indicate something. I chose to study silence between and among friends because I believe friends have their own sense of understanding as to why their friend/s drench in silence.


SOURCES:

Web:

http://www.work911.com/communication/barrierssilence.htm
Silence can be your friend in conversations

http://www.gravity7.com/book_materiality.html#7
Silence

http://www.case.edu/pubs/cnews/1999/1-14/ignore.htm

"Silent treatment" carries a cost

http://www.kensavage.com/index.php/archives/silent-treatment/
The Silent Treatment - What You Are Saying By Not Saying Anything At All



Printed:

Talk to the Hand, Giving an effective silent treatment is truly a work of art.
By Ana Hebra Flaster | September 2, 2007, The Boston Globe


The Interpersonal Communication Book, Unit 13,Nonverbal Communication
Joseph A. DeVito



PLANNER:

January:

1st-2nd week - Gather information and articles on SILENCE (and other nonverbal communication acts) and its different meanings and what it implies, primarily in the context of friendship.

3rd-4th week - Conduct a series of interview with people who are friends with each other (girls, boys, children, high school and college students, adults)

February:

1st week - Interview a psychologist regarding the nature of silence in friendship, and perhaps continue on interviewing and having survey with people on their interpretation of silence

2nd-3rd week - Study, analyze, organize the data gathered

4th week - Start creating the term paper: construct introduction, RRL, etc.

March:

1st week-onwards - Start encoding, Fully work on the term paper.

Silence

Aren't we amazed, mystified and sort of haunted by silence?

Well me, I am.

Silence is not at all the absence of speech, or total quietness. But in reality and oftentimes, silence seems to be conveying a more pungent idea than words do.

Why are you silent when you are depressed? When you are annoyed? When you are angry? Why does a girlfriend remain quiet after his boyfriend has mumbled lots of explanations why he didn't appear on their date last night. Why does a kindergarten pupil seem mute when he is asked of the same question thrice by the teacher?
How do you use silence? When do you use it, and how long?

Silence is sometimes misleading, vague, evocative and profound. Sometimes we just don't know how to interpret it and thus, silence is a form of communication we try to decode in different situations in our lives.

Univ Atrium

Last Thursday and Friday were the first days of school after the Christmas break. Nothing was new except that the administration building was already painted white. Truth is, I missed the admin building’s ambiance. I missed the usual everyday passing by of people there.

If you come to think about it, our university’s atrium is an incredible spot of interaction between and among people. People flock there to have little chats, talk over things concerning school or just sit and contemplate.