lawade

Individual Differences
Brent Ruben and Richard Budd (1978) argue that individuals are central to the communication process because although a group may share a common experience, individuals perceive their environment differently from one another. In their book, Human Communication Handbook: Simulations and Games, Ruben and Budd contend that while individuals can grasp the theory that everyone else sees a different world than they do, many individuals find this concept difficult to put into practice.
Let us return to James and Becky. Becky begins to retreat into the woods and states, “There is something unusual about this place,” and James nods his head in agreement. Seemingly, James and Becky have reached an understanding, but this is not the case. As Becky, an avid outdoorswoman, enters the woods, she sees a beautiful forest like she has never beheld before, full of majestic trees with curious woodland critters, but James, a survivor of a bear attack, walks into that same woods and sees dangerously overgrown trees with blood thirsty beasts lurking around every one of them. The initial impressions that James and Becky create from the shared experience of walking into the woods can vary vastly because of the individual experiences that they have acquired over their lifetimes or even cultural differences. In order for humans to effectively communicate their messages they must try to bridge the gap of individual interpretation, otherwise shared understanding cannot occur.