Mark L. Knapp

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Mark L. Knapp
Mark Knapp Rhino Cake.JPG
Knapp with rhino cake
BornJuly 12, 1938
OccupationEmeritus Professor
Website UT Austin Profile

Mark L. Knapp is the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Professor Emeritus and a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. [1] He is internationally known for his research and writing on nonverbal communication [2] and communication in developing relationships. [3] He has also done research and published books on lying and deception. [4] The Mark L. Knapp Award for career contributions to the study of interpersonal communication is awarded annually by the National Communication Association. [5] [6] The Mark L. Knapp Professorship, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, was established in 2017.

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Knapp served in the United States Army in Germany from 1957 to 1959, received his bachelor’s (1962) and master’s (1963) degrees from the University of Kansas and his PhD (1966) from Pennsylvania State University. He was employed at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1965–1970); Purdue University (1970–1980); the State University of New York at New Paltz (1980–1983); the University of Vermont (1983); and the University of Texas at Austin (1983–2008). He received an Outstanding Alumni Award from the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University in 2018.

He served as the editor of Human Communication Research (1980–1983); was an Eastern Communication Association Scholar (1982-1983); was a Fellow in the International Communication Association (1980); and was recognized as Distinguished Scholar in the National Communication Association (1993).

Knapp received teaching awards from the Central States Speech Association (1969), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1969), Purdue University (1974), SUNY-New Paltz (1983), the University of Texas at Austin (1987, 1993, 1999, 2002) and the National Communication Association (2004).

He was the President of the International Communication Association (1975–1976); the National Communication Association (1989–1990); the Association for Communication Administrators (1996–1997); and the University of Texas at Austin chapter of the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi (2001–2003). He was the Chair of the Department of Speech Communication (1989–1996) and the Department of Communication Studies (2000–2001) at the University of Texas at Austin.

Knapp examined a wide variety of topics in his published research, including: conversational narcissism, behaviors enacted in greetings, goodbyes, and conversational turn-taking, memorable messages, regrettable messages, messages people attach to their email signatures, compliments, play behavior, the construct of intent, anti-drug abuse commercials, communication in developing relationships, nonverbal and deceptive behavior in close relationships, communicating commitment in close relationships, couples’ personal idioms, the effects of interaction on appearance, nonverbal communication and aging, communicating with the terminally ill, staff-resident communication in nursing homes, and the measurement of conflict in organizations.

He has lectured to, trained, and/or acted as consultant to over 60 different business organizations, voluntary groups, government agencies, and educational institutions—including IBM, U.S. Peace Corps, Pfizer, and the Texas Attorney General's Office.

Related Research Articles

Deception is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. This occurs when a deceiver uses information against a person to make them believe an idea is true. Deception can be used with both verbal and nonverbal messages. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the message has a tendency to believe it. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight of hand as well as distraction, camouflage or concealment. There is also self-deception, as in bad faith. It can also be called, with varying subjective implications, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, ruse, or subterfuge.

Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonverbal communication</span> Interpersonal communication through wordless (mostly visual) cues

Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact (oculesics), body language (kinesics), social distance (proxemics), touch (haptics), voice (paralanguage), physical environments/appearance, and use of objects. When communicating, we utilize nonverbal channels as means to convey different messages or signals, whereas others can interpret these message. The study of nonverbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. Darwin began to study nonverbal communication as he noticed the interactions between animals such as lions, tigers, dogs etc. and realized they also communicated by gestures and expressions. For the first time, nonverbal communication was studied and its relevance questioned. Today, scholars argue that nonverbal communication can convey more meaning than verbal communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haptic communication</span> Communication via touch

Haptic communication is a branch of nonverbal communication that refers to the ways in which people and animals communicate and interact via the sense of touch. Touch is the most sophisticated and intimate of the five senses. Touch or haptics, from the ancient Greek word haptikos is extremely important for communication; it is vital for survival.

Kinesics is the interpretation of body communication such as facial expressions and gestures, nonverbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or the body as a whole. The equivalent popular culture term is body language, a term Ray Birdwhistell, considered the founder of this area of study, neither used nor liked.

Expectancy violations theory (EVT) is a theory of communication that analyzes how individuals respond to unanticipated violations of social norms and expectations. The theory was proposed by Judee K. Burgoon in the late 1970s and continued through the 1980s and 1990s as "nonverbal expectancy violations theory", based on Burgoon's research studying proxemics. Burgoon's work initially analyzed individuals' allowances and expectations of personal distance and how responses to personal distance violations were influenced by the level of liking and relationship to the violators. The theory was later changed to its current name when other researchers began to focus on violations of social behavior expectations beyond nonverbal communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knapp's relational development model</span>

Knapp's relational development model portrays relationship development as a ten step process, broken into two phases. Created by and named after communication scholar Mark L. Knapp, the model suggests that all of the steps should be done one at a time, in sequence, to make sure they are effective. However, not every relationship will go through these stages of development in the same way. Compared to DeVito's six-stage model of relational development, Knapp's model is far more prescriptive and detailed, but also presupposes that the relationship will ultimately dissolve, as evident in the five "coming apart" stages that make up the second half of the model. However, Knapp himself has said that his model is also descriptive; the model describes what seems to happen, not necessarily what should happen. The model proposes that coming apart need not be seen as inherently bad, just as coming together need not be seen as inherently good.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chronemics</span> Study of the role of time in communication

Chronemics is an anthropological, philosophical, and linguistic subdiscipline that describes how time is perceived, coded, and communicated across a given culture. It is one of several subcategories to emerge from the study of nonverbal communication. According to the Encyclopedia of Special Education, "Chronemics includes time orientation, understanding and organisation, the use of and reaction to time pressures, the innate and learned awareness of time, by physically wearing or not wearing a watch, arriving, starting, and ending late or on time." A person's perception and values placed on time plays a considerable role in their communication process. The use of time can affect lifestyles, personal relationships, and work life. Across cultures, people usually have different time perceptions, and this can result in conflicts between individuals. Time perceptions include punctuality, interactions, and willingness to wait.

Interpersonal deception theory (IDT) is one of a number of theories that attempts to explain how individuals handle actual deception at the conscious or subconscious level while engaged in face-to-face communication. The theory was put forth by David Buller and Judee Burgoon in 1996 to explore this idea that deception is an engaging process between receiver and deceiver. IDT assumes that communication is not static; it is influenced by personal goals and the meaning of the interaction as it unfolds. IDT is no different from other forms of communication since all forms of communication are adaptive in nature. The sender's overt communications are affected by the overt and covert communications of the receiver, and vice versa. IDT explores the interrelation between the sender's communicative meaning and the receiver's thoughts and behavior in deceptive exchanges.

The hyperpersonal model is a model of interpersonal communication that suggests computer-mediated communication (CMC) can become hyperpersonal because it "exceeds [face-to-face] interaction", thus affording message senders a host of communicative advantages over traditional face-to-face (FtF) interaction. The hyperpersonal model demonstrates how individuals communicate uniquely, while representing themselves to others, how others interpret them, and how the interactions create a reciprocal spiral of FtF communication. Compared to ordinary FtF situations, a hyperpersonal message sender has a greater ability to strategically develop and edit self-presentation, enabling a selective and optimized presentation of one's self to others.

Judee K. Burgoon is a professor of communication, family studies and human development at the University of Arizona, where she serves as director of research for the Center for the Management of Information and site director for the NSF-sponsored Center for Identification Technology Research. She is also involved with different aspects of interpersonal and nonverbal communication, deception, and new communication technologies. She is also director of human communication research for the Center for the Management of Information and site director for Center for Identification Technology Research at the university, and recently held an appointment as distinguished visiting professor with the department of communication at the University of Oklahoma, and the Center for Applied Social Research at the University of Oklahoma. Burgoon has authored or edited 13 books and monographs and has published nearly 300 articles, chapters and reviews related to nonverbal and verbal communication, deception, and computer-mediated communication. Her research has garnered over $13 million in extramural funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterintelligence Field Activity, and the National Institutes of Mental Health. Among the communication theories with which she is most notably linked are: interpersonal adaptation theory, expectancy violations theory, and interpersonal deception theory. A recent survey identified her as the most prolific female scholar in communication in the 20th century.

Interpersonaladaptation theory (IAT) is often referred to as a theory of theories. Several theories have been developed to provide frameworks as explanations of social interactions. After reviewing and examining various communication theories and previous empirical evidence pertaining to interpersonal communication, a need to address ways in which individuals adapt to one another in interactions became apparent. The importance of observing both sides of a dyadic interaction lead to the development of the interpersonal adaptation theory. The theory states, individuals enter interactions with expectations, requirements, and desires, which combined establish an interaction position. Once the interaction begins, the difference between interaction position and the other party's actual behavior determines whether the individual will adapt and continue the communication positively or not.

Predicted outcome value theory introduced in 1996 by Michael Sunnafrank, posits that people seek information in initial interactions and relationships to determine the benefits of interpersonal relationships by predicting the value of future outcomes whether negative or positive. If a person predicts a positive outcome in the relationship this can lead to increased attraction, however if a person predicts a negative outcome then he or she would pursue limited interaction or possibly relationship termination. The processes of predicted outcome value directly link to continued relationship development and communication as well as stronger attraction and intimacy within the relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interpersonal communication</span> Exchange of information among people

Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish several personal and relational goals. Communication includes utilizing communication skills within one's surroundings, including physical and psychological spaces. It is essential to see the visual/nonverbal and verbal cues regarding the physical spaces. In the psychological spaces, self-awareness and awareness of the emotions, cultures, and things that are not seen are also significant when communicating.

Affiliative conflict theory (ACT) is a social psychological approach that encompasses interpersonal communication and has a background in nonverbal communication. This theory postulates that "people have competing needs or desires for intimacy and autonomy". In any relationship, people will negotiate and try to rationalize why they are acting the way they are in order to maintain a comfortable level of intimacy.

Marianne Dainton is a scholar of interpersonal communication and a Professor in Communication at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dainton has made substantial contributions to the communication field with several publications concerning relationship maintenance and personal relationships. In addition to her research, Dainton has contributed to mainstream press stories for the CBS Morning Show, Wall Street Journal, and The Philadelphia Inquirer concerning relationship maintenance. As an author, she is widely held in libraries worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Schmid Mast</span>

Marianne Schmid Mast is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC) of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hurtful communication occurs when the receiver perceives a specific social interaction as upsetting or harmful emotionally. In the course of human interaction, one party will say or do something that results in unpleasant emotional feelings for another. Negative social interactions can be intentional, when one or both parties are involved in interpersonal conflict, or unintentional, such as when misunderstandings occur. Actions such as failure to recognize accomplishments or significant dates can cause hurtful outcomes within relationships.

In psychology, interpersonal accuracy (IPA) refers to an individual's ability to make correct inferences about others' internal states, traits, or other personal attributes. For example, a person who is able to correctly recognize emotions, motivation, or thoughts in others demonstrates interpersonal accuracy. IPA is an important skill in everyday life and is related to many positive social interaction outcomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Honeycutt</span> American academic

James M. Honeycutt is an American academic who is currently a lecturer on the faculty of Organizational Behavior, Coaching, and Consulting at the UT-Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, he is best known for his Theory of Imagined Interactions (IIs). IIs are a form of social cognition in which an individual imagines and therefore indirectly experiences themselves in anticipated and/or past communicative encounters with others. IItheory appears in communication encyclopedias, handbooks and graduate and undergraduate textbooks.

References

  1. "Jesse H. Jones Centennial Professorship in Communication". The University of Texas at Austin, Giving to UT. January 20, 2018.
  2. Knapp, Mark L. (2014). Nonverbal communication in human interaction. Hall, Judith A., Horgan, Terrence G., Knapp, Mark L., Hall, Judith A., Horgan, Terrence G. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN   9781133311591. OCLC   800033348.
  3. Knapp, Mark L. (26 November 2013). Interpersonal communication and human relationships. Vangelisti, Anita L., Caughlin, John P. (Seventh ed.). Boston. ISBN   9780205006083. OCLC   857288205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Knapp, Mark L. (2016). Lying and deception in human interaction. McGlone, M. S., Griffin, D. J., Earnest, W. (2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. ISBN   9781465284594. OCLC   932825940.
  5. "The Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication". January 20, 2018.
  6. "Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication". National Communication Association. January 20, 2018.

Further reading