I chose to watch a show on the Disney channel because it has been years since I have watched any show on that channel. I turned on the TV at 10:00am and there was a new Disney show called Liv and Maddie just beginning.
No Sound
The show began with two girls in a bedroom. One girl was older than the other one. I thought they must be sisters. The older girl was very dramatic and animated. She was dressed fashionably with her hair curled, lots of make-up, and jewelry. The younger girl was more tailored with her hair in a pony tail, glasses, sweat pants, and a sports jersey. The older girl was showing the younger girl a video of herself performing a song and dance routine. The younger girl patiently watched but did not seem pleased or excited about the video. The older girl used many hand gestures and frequent body language while talking. I could tell she liked talking about herself. In another scene there were two boys sharing a bedroom. I assumed these were the girls two brothers. There was a mom and dad in the house who also appeared at the school. I figured the mom must be a teacher and the dad a coach. He had a whistle around his neck.
Sound
After I turned the sound on, I realized the girls were twins!! I made a bad assumption about these characters. They are not just twins in the show but the actresses are really twins. Their outward appearances changed their looks drastically. I assumed the girl dressed up (Liv) was older than the girl in the sports jersey (Maddie). I was correct in the assumption that Liv was very dramatic. She had spent some time in Hollywood while the sister, Maddie liked playing sports. The dad was a coach at the school while the mom was a teacher.
I definitely would have made better assumptions on a show that I knew well. Watching a show with no sound that I am familiar with, I would have known that the girls were twins. I had to discover that after I turned the sound on. Using non verbal cues did not tell me the whole story. Not only that but the non verbal cues also tricked me into thinking the girls were different ages. This huge error in assumption taught me a lot about making assumptions about people based on their clothes, make-up, etc. We cannot know a person by simply looking at their outward appearance but only through verbal connection can we get to know a person and develop a relationship.
There was a scene that I think summarizes this. Liv dressed up like Maddie in a sports jersey, glasses, and pony tail and asked this boy to go to a dance. He told her no because he said you are not my type. He later explained to Maddie what happened and he said he told her no because he knew all along it was Liv dressed up like Maddie. This boy obviously knew the two girls far beyond looks.
MaryJo,
ReplyDeleteYou made some great observations about how we sometimes make judgments about others based on outward appearances. Clothing, hairstyles, make-up and accessories can offer misleading information if they are your only source of information being used. The information from this class and the diversity and equity class have made me much more aware of just how often we make assumptions about others based on specific characteristics such as appearance, language, gender, etc. As O’Hair & Wiemann (2012) point out, “Appearance affects not only perceptions of attractiveness but also judgments about a person’s background, character, personality, status, and future behavior” (p. 140).
Geralyn
Reference
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insights. The information you shared with us is very important. No one should make judgment toward another person. The way a person dress or wear their clothing should not be an issue; it is what's on the inside that matter. Thanks!!
So true that often assumptions are made on looks in our society. I found it very interesting in the text that good looking defendants are more often found not guilty in court as well as all of the other ways in which good looks usually are an advantage. I wonder how many good looking guilty people are roaming around in our society. Looks are so subjective and yet people use them all of the time to make judgments.
ReplyDeleteMary Jo,
ReplyDeleteYou seemed to do pretty good with make assumptions, even though some were not as they appeared to be you make some pretty wise guesses. That goes to show us that when we use the nonverbal cues in class, meetings, and or just in a simple conversation; that you are leaving the door wide open to allow the other person to think what they want about what you just displayed. We should be more cognice of this and say exactly what we mean. It is also hard to judge a book by its cover, because 99percent of the time we are often incorrect. Nowadays, it is very difficult to tell how old females are just by looking at them. Though it seems that the older females look younger, and the younger females look older.
Pretty good blog
Sherrell
Hi Jo,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job explaining this new show Liv and maddie. When dealing with children and families having communication skills are imperative. Children will look at your non-verbal cues to see if what you are communication will make them feel safe and secure.When dealing with parents listening skill are just as important as communication to make parents feel they are a part of their child’s education. I am always watching Disney channel so I will watch it with my grandchildren.
Kathleen
I enjoy reading your post because I explain how you look at communication skills differently. Because it's the importance on how you view and look at communication
ReplyDeleteskills. We can listen to it but it more than just listen to communication it's all about understanding it.