Three interpersonal variables motivation,

perception and emotion operate within the

individual and strongly influence
interpersonal communication
Lack of Awareness of how motivation,
perception and emotion operate in ourselves
and others accounts for a large percentage of
breakdowns in communication
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
Managers are largely unaware of the interpersonal
variables
Managers need to try to understand the
subordinates present motives rather than to
change their motives
The integration of the individual and the
organizational objectives is one of the primary
issues facing managers in todays world
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
Lack of Awareness of ones i.p. motives leads
to a confused way of expressing them and
thus to communication breakdowns
People who are either unaware of or refuse to
acknowledge their i.p. motives are acting
defensively by protecting their self-image
Research evidence shows that everyone has
i.p. motives and that all communication acts
attempts are attempts to satisfy these
motives

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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
Schutz has suggested that there are three
basic i.p. needs which underlie all behavior:
They are:
1. The Need for Inclusion
2. The Need for Control
3. The Need for Affection
Schutz suggests that our methods of dealing
with these needs are shaped by childhood
experiences and that some methods lead to
more healthy individuals than others
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
The need for inclusion is concerned with
having people to interact with who pay
attention to you and what you to say


The need is manifested each time you enter a
new group of people
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
People learn to deal with their need for
inclusion in one of three basic ways:
1. The Undersocial Type
2. The Oversocial Type
3. The Adaptable Social Type
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
They may deny their need for inclusion by
remaining aloof from others.
They maintain distance between themselves and
others and tend to be social isolates
Create a world of their own in which they feel
secure
In this they need not risk the pain of rejection but
instead endure the pain of being lonely
This is an extreme example of people who
express their need for inclusion in a very
confused way they are denying their need for
inclusion altogether!
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
A manager who maintains such aloofness is
likely to experience poor i.p. communication


Others are likely interpret the managers
aloofness to be snobbishness or arrogance
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
This type of person learns to deal with inclusion
needs by constantly interacting with others
Attempt to focus attention on themselves by
exhibitionist-type behavior
Attempt to acquire some special status
Oversocial managers are likely to spend so much
time demanding attention that they neglect other
things.
Are over friendly
Thus the need for inclusion is expressed
unclearly, resulting in low task orientation
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
This type can be a high participator or a low
participator in a group depending on the
situation
Such managers are comfortable being with
people and are also comfortable being alone
They have resolved the need for inclusion in a
constructive way so that they can maintain
identity and individuality
They are not afraid of interaction and showing their
identity, as are the undersocial managers; nor are they
compelled to submerge their identity by constantly
pleasing others, as are the oversocial managers
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
The i.p. need for control can also be
discussed in terms of 3 types of people:
1. People who have learned to avoid i.p.
situations in which they have control of
others. These managers do not like to make
decisions which affect other people. Are
happiest when others control them by
making decisions for them. They feel
incompetent and seek to avoid situations in
which they have to face these feelings of
incompetence
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
2. People who are comfortable only when they
are controlling others. These managers seek
to dominate other people as a way of
proving to themselves that they are
competent
3. People who are comfortable both in
situations where they control others and in
situations where others have control over
them
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
1. People who deny their need for affection.
These managers may be openly antagonistic
or may remain emotionally distant from
others. They feel unconsciously that they
are not worthy of being loved and thus are
determined to avoid situations where
people may express their feelings toward
them.
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
2. These people also fear that they are not
worthy of being loved. They react to this by
trying to please everyone. Unfortunately,
the more they seek the approval and love of
others, the less likely they are to receive it.
3. Ideal Type people who are comfortable
being close to other people but who also
are able to understand that they are worthy
persons even if some people do not like
them.
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Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management
When people are unaware of their motives,
they interact with others in ways which often
lead to communication breakdowns
People guess from inferences about others
motives
If these motives are expressed in a confused
way, they are likely to be misinterpreted
This is happens for the following reasons:

Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 15
1. The same i.p. act may be motivated by one of
several different motives. The impact of the i.p.
act depends on how one perceives the
motivation underlying the act.
Ex: Joe inviting Fred, his boss, to dinner
2. The way the i.p. act is perceived depends on
the perceiver as well as the act. Ex: if Fred feels
uncomfortable being close to other people, he is more
likely to treat the invitation as an attempt to influence
him. We tend to interpret other people's
actions in terms of our own motives
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 16
3. We tend to interpret i.p. actions in terms of our
image or stereotype of the person with whom we
are interacting
Perceptual errors have strong effects on the nature
of subsequent interactions.
Often people are unaware that they are forming
impressions of others; they often are unaware of
how they form these impressions
The best way of increasing the accuracy of i.p.
perception is by noting what observations lead to
a particular conclusion and then checking the
conclusion for accuracy
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 17
Lack of awareness of emotion can lead to
breakdowns in communication
This is because feelings influence i.p.
perception and i.p. motives
In fact, the expression of any i.p.
communication reflects the individuals
feeling
If people are unaware of their feelings, they
are unaware of a significant aspect of what
they are communicating
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 18
Many people are aware of only their strong
feelings; this does not mean that feelings do
not exist
The individual has repressed his feelings
because of strong social conditioning
When emotion is suppressed or repressed, it
acts in accumulative fashion thus producing
more intense feeling finally the emotion
may become so strong that the person
explodes
The straw that broke the camels back
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 19
Expression of feelings leads to greater self-
awareness and the possibility of more
straightforward i.p. communication
Lets now look at specific emotions:
1. Fear
2.Anger
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 20
Fear is the anticipation of physical or
psychological pain
If you are paying attention to what might
happen rather than to what is presently
happening your ability to respond to the
situation is impaired

Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 21
A manager may be afraid of making presentations to
committees/boards. If the fear is great, the manager
is likely to perform poorly, and concludes that he is
a poor speaker and avoids speaking in front of
groups. The avoidance of a fear-producing situation
relieves the fear and thus is rewarding. The
individual forms a habit of avoiding public-speaking
and this habit becomes stronger each time he
manages to avoid the situation!
The only way of reducing the fear is by speaking to a
group and performing well.
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 22
The cultural norm is to avoid the expression of
anger or control ones anger
When a person cannot express anger directly, it
is likely to be expressed indirectly
Displaced Aggression to take it out on a
innocent victim (spouse, subordinate or even
themselves)
The failure to express anger increases tension to
a point where it affects performance adversely
We have to learn constructive ways of expressing
anger basically, create a positive relationship
strong enough to survive the expression of
negative emotion

Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 23
Inclusion
Control
Affection
Stereotypes
Interpersonal Trust
Repression of Feelings
Displaced Aggression
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 24
1. For a two-day period maintain a log of your
feelings: when it occurred, what the
emotion was, how it showed up in your
body, what the circumstances were, and
how you showed or concealed the feelings
from others
2. Pair up with two other classmates. Discuss
your logs Are you normally aware of your
feelings?
Ashok Karri, GITAM Institute of
Management 25