Explain how the underlying barriers in interpersonal communication frequently form the basis for the direct barriers as impediments to effective communication.Provide an example of how this process might occur.

Since the distinction between underlying and direct barriers as challenges to interpersonal communication is not strongly emphasized in the chapter,this question may be particularly challenging to some.The underlying barriers include problems associated with individual differences in personality and perceptions.Specific personality traits can serve as barriers.These include low adjustment,low sociability,low conscientiousness,low agreeableness,and low intellectual openness.Similarly,individual perceptual errors can serve as barriers to effective interpersonal communication.Such errors include perceptual defense,stereotyping,halo effect,projection,high expectancy effect,the fundamental attribution error,and the self-serving bias.These underlying barriers are often responsible for causing the direct barriers,at least to some extent.The direct barriers include noise,semantics,language routines,and lying and distortion.Student answers should point out that since the cognitive and perceptual processes related to the evaluation of information and the (conscious and unconscious)selection of behavioral strategies form the basis for the interpersonal behavior that comprises the communication process,these underlying processes can act as barriers that are manifest in a wide range of different behaviors which impede communication.Better answers will provide examples of how such personality or perceptual influences may result in behaviors associated with one or more of the direct barriers.For example,a highly dogmatic person,characterized by low intellectual openness,may be more likely to stereotype certain groups of individuals in accordance with their personal belief systems,as,for example,such an individual who is pro-choice or pro-life.These personality and perceptual influences and predispositions,in turn,can lead to different understandings (semantics)and uses of words (language routines),and be used to personally justify less than total honesty (lying and/or distortion).Numerous other such examples would be possible.