Naughty or Nice

A concept from the textbook that I think needs further discussion is the concept of Euphemism and Dysphemism. "Euphemism is a word or phrase that makes something sound better than a neutral description" and "dysohemism is a word or phrase that makes something sound worse than a neutral description" (O'hara 182). I feel that we use these two concepts more than we realize in life. Think about how many times when you are telling a story and something happened that you exaggerate it a little and use more dramatic words to make what happened seem more interesting or significant, that is using euphemism or dysphemism. Or when your trying to convince something it won't be so bad so you choose words that make it more or less of what it really is. When can see these concepts in our daily lives, our school lives, work lives and with our government. These concepts are always taking part in what we are doing.

Things I learned

When looking back over this semester and reflecting on what I have learned it kind of overwhelms me with how much I learned in such a short amount of time. What I think I benefited the most from and really sticks out in my mind is when making a claim or an argument how I form them. I now make sure I make good valid claims and arguments that are not too vague or misleading, because if they are misleading, vague or can even be considered a fallacy it does not make it easy to prove your point. Not to mention it does not speak well for your reputation. With my major being public relations I understand the importance of forming good arguments and claims to get your point across. I found this class to be a very practical class that I can use in my professional career and really enjoyed what I learned.

3 premises needed

When dealing with generalizations it is important to understand that you are still making an argument, it may not seem like you are but think about it you are making assumptions about a larger population or group based on your knowledge and information that you have gathered so you are arguing your point. So when you here generalizations you can examine them and evaluate them the same way you would any other argument claim made. You would examine and evaluate the generalization based on what we have learned over the semester such as is it too vague or does the premises followed by the conclusion, etc. Because generalizations are arguments it is important to know that there are three premises needed for a good generalization argument. These three premises that are need are the following: first, the sample has to be representative, second the sample has to be big enough, and third the sample has to be studied well.

Cause and Effect in Populations

I have noticed a trend that people use when making claims involving large populations and cause and effect…we generalize these claims. We make claims that if you do a then b will happen for example if you drive drunk then you will get a DUI and go to jail. Even though we know this is not necessarily true, there are plenty of cases when people drink and drive and don’t get caught. What we are doing when we make these generalized claims about a population is called cause in populations. The textbook says that “cause in populations is usually explained as meaning that given the cause, there’s a higher probability that the effect will follow than if there were not the cause” (Epstein, 320). The example the text provides is about smoking causes cancer. Like the DUI example this is not always true, but inevitably if you smoke long enough cancer will happen and if you drive enough times drunk you will get caught.

Mission Critical

I found the mission critical website to be useful for the amount of information it provided. It when in depth and detail all the key concepts from class this semester. I think I will be using this website as a study guide for the final. I also found the layout to be very convenient to navigate and go to the information that I wanted to read. Here is a little constructive criticism though, by making everything a hyperlink and that lighter blue and underlined it was not so easy to read at first (not reader friendly), everything kind of blended in together. Another part that I found I liked a lot is the interactive questions, you could click on the answer to the question you thought was right and find out if you were correct or not. If you got it wrong it explained why you might think that it was correct but also explain why it was not the correct choice. Always very helpful to explain why it was not correct instead of just saying that was the wrong answer.

Cause and Effect Website

The cause and effect website reading and exercises was useful for me because it helped me to really understand how cause and effect works in real life situations. By taking an example most everyone can relate to, because it is pretty safe to say that everyone has either ridden a bike, driven or at least rode in a car and seen or have been in an accident themselves. It is easy to come up with our own personal opinion on why the accident happened and what or who caused it, but to stop and think about the similarities between the different people involves reasoning is not something I do often. However, no I think I might start more often, because I think it can be a helpful way of forming a good argument by listening to what someone else is saying first. By listening to the other persons argument you may be able to pick up on something that you didn’t observe or a fact that you missed.

A Feel-Good Argument

We touched on feel good arguments in discussion question 2 of this week, but only by briefly answering a question about it. I thought it deserved a little more discussion. A feel good argument is defined by the text by Epstein as “one that appeals to our wanting to feel good about ourselves” (this argument is actually pretty self-explanatory in its name alone). Feeling good about our self’s includes physically, mentally and emotionally, so any argument that is appealing to how you feel about yourself in any of these ways is considered a feel-good argument. If you want to find examples of feel-good arguments a good place to look is cosmetic and beauty product advertisements or Victoria Secret’s ads. Arguments using this appeal are trying to get you to use their product or participate in their organization to make your self feel better. They often have a negative reputation, but these ads don’t always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes they can really help improve the way someone feels about himself or herself.

Page 195 Questions

1. Here is my example of a BAD (and I mean bad) argument in favor of affirmative action: People of minorities don’t have the means to get a job as easily as do those of non-minorities. They are suffering and living on streets. Help change this and support affirmative action today.

2. “Ready to dazzle? This light, oil-free moisturizer contains tiny light reflectors to leave your skin looking naturally brighter. The SPF 15 formula also protects your skin from harmful UV rays. For soft, instantly brighter skin, use MORNING GLOW® Moisturizer every day.”
The ad for Morning Glow Moisturizer from Clean & Clear is an example of apple polishing, because it is saying your face will be brighter (aka prettier) and softer by using this product. It is a good argument, though because it tells why and how it would do this, but to believe it actually works you have to test the product out.

3. See the second advertisement at the top of this post (from www.sacredpursuit.com), it represents an ad appealing to the fear of what will happen to someone who drinks and drives. I would say it is a good example because it is showing proof along with the argument.

6. See the first advertisement image at the top of this post (from the Drug Policy Alliance), it represents am example of an appeal to spite because it is contradicting what many people think about laws against the use of marijuana. It is a good argument because it is giving you facts along with the argument, backing it up.

Appeal to Emotion

The text by Richard L. Epstein defines appeal to emotion in arguments to be “just a premise that says, roughly, you should believe or do something because you feel certain way.” Often the entire argument the premise is made in is considered an appeal to emotion. There are multiple types of appeal to emotions such as appeal to spite, appeal to fear, feel good argument and appeal to pity. The one that sticks out the most to me is the appeal to pity. I think it sticks out the most to me because it is the one that I notice the most and can think of the most examples for. One example is from the social organization that my group wrote on for the social organization paper, the ASPCA. They show pictures of sad, and abused animals in need of help and ask you to donate money for these poor helpless animals. These images are intended to make you feel sorry for the animals and send money. Not going to lie, it has worked on me before so appeal to pity strikes me the most.

Understanding How to Check Validity with Diagrams

Chapter 8 discusses diagrams and how to check for validity. I think this is an important aspect of the chapter to understand in order to really understand the rest of the information provided in this part of the textbook. This is a summary of how to check the validity of an argument with a diagram: enclosed areas are used as representation of collections (collections is another word for a population), if this enclosed area is completely inside another enclosed area then that collection is also apart of another collection. But if only a portion of the enclosed areas is within another closed area (overlapping in some portion) then that just means that there is a similarity between the two collections. Further if two collects aren’t overlapping in any way then there is nothing similar or in common with the two collections. When looking at a diagram and seeing an “a” or dot followed by for example a persons name that means they are apart of that particular collection (this could also be an object of some sort doesn’t just have to be a person). Diagrams helpful in using to determine the validity of an argument because you can visually see what the words are stating.

Usefulness of Critical Thinking of a Social Organization

I found the second major class assignment of Critical Thinking of a Social Organization to be very helpful both professionally and academically. My group chose to analyze the ASPCA and their social issue. Because I personally am an animal lover and advocate I find myself easily influenced and persuaded by the social issue of ending animal cruelty, which is the social issue of the ASPCA. What this assignment taught is to be away of the different methods used by organizations to influence and persuade others and also evaluate the credibility of the source and their motivation for making the claims they do before simply just accepting the claim. What I learned from this assignment will not only help me evaluate the sources I use in research papers, and other assignments, but also help me in my professional career which will hopefully be in public relations. It will help me in P.R. by helping create messages for clients that aren’t using fallacy in a bad to inform and persuade the target audience.

Vague Generalities

Often times we use vague terms such as all or some to describe a collection in some portion such as the entire collection or a part of the collection. We use these vague terms so that we do not have to specify the exact number we are talking about. Because often times we really do not know the exact number we are referring to. There are a number of words used to specify quantity but only all or some are considered to have enough precision to make valid arguments. Even though the words all and some can be considered ambiguous we can still determine if the argument is valid or not. If the premises give the receiver of the argument good reason to believe the conclusion even though there is no follow up exceptions the argument is usually considered strong. An personal example I have this type of argument is from my work. Almost all of the nail technicians at the day spa speak Vietnamese. Lieu is a nail technician at the day spa. So Lieu speaks Vietnamese. This is considered to be a strong argument because it is the direct way of reasoning with almost all, instead of arguing backwards. Arguing backwards with the same example would look like: Almost all of the nail technicians at the day spa speak Vietnamese. Lieu speaks Vietnamese. So Lieu is a nail technician at the day spa. Just because Lieu speaks Vietnamese does not make her a nail technician. This is arguing backwards and is considered usually weak.

Bad Appeals to Authority

Under common mistakes in evaluating premises the topic of appeals to authority is discussed specifically bad appeals to authority, which is defined by the textbook as its usually a mistake to accept a claim as true solely because a lot of other people believe it. I think this is an important part of evaluating premises because you need to be aware of whom you believe and why you believe them. It is important to ask yourself does this person have authority on this subject, or are they just reporting information they have heard somewhere else. For example, let’s take this blog post and myself, do I have authority on common mistakes in evaluating premises or am I just relaying information that I have heard somewhere else? Obviously I am not an expert. I am only a student with a textbook. The true expert would be the person who wrote this textbook, so it would be wise to take what information I am writing into consideration and then double check it with what the textbook has to say on bad appeals to authority.

Advertising on the Internet

The advertisement I found on the homepage of Yahoo! is an ad for Victoria’s Secret. The advertisement is for Victoria’s Secret’s 7 new bras and new line I Love My Body by Victoria. The concepts that we read about in Chapter 5 are about accepting, rejecting or suspending judgment on a claim and this information can be applied to the above advertisement. There are both written messages and implied messages the ad is trying for the target audience to receive. Let’s start with the written messages, I Love My Body by Victoria (I accept this claim because from my own knowledge Victoria is the designer who stared the company, so it is safe to say she is the designer). Experience the 7 Bras can also be accepted because from what you can see with your own eyes there are seven different models each with a different bra on, so yes there are indeed seven bras that you can purchase. Now let’s look at the non-written messages that are implied, if you get one of these bras you will look as sexy as the model wearing it does. This message (claim) can either be accepted, rejected or suspended depending on your knowledge. You better than anyone else knows how your body looks (because of personal experience trying different ones on). For me personally I could reject this claim because I know that I am not 90 pounds nor 5’11, so no I wouldn’t look like the models, but then again that doesn’t mean I still wouldn’t look sexy in the bra. So personally I would suspend judgment because I would neither reject nor accept the unwritten claim Victoria’s Secret makes. From this advertisement it is easy for me to understand how it is important to trust what you already know from you experiences and knowledge. And since from my experience Yahoo! is a reputable and reliable source I can even further trust this ad beyond my knowledge of Victoria's Secret.

Repairs

Here is my example of an argument that needs to be repaired in some way:
No horse barks. So Cash does not bark.
Here is my analysis of the argument I stated above:
The only premise that needs to be added to the argument in order to make it a strong or valid argument is, “Cash is a horse.” If this sentence is added the argument becomes a good argument, since the proposed added sentence is a true premise.
Another premise “Cash nays” would not be added to the argument. Even though it is a true statement, and one that can be determined as obvious to the person making the argument, by adding it the argument does not become stronger or valid. It would violate the first rule of The Guide to Repairing Arguments.
What I noted from this particular example, is that it is important to be careful what premises you add to an argument to repair it; just because it is true does not make it a premise that improves the argument.

Sexual Harassment

In Chapter 4 of O’Hair’s textbook sexual harassment is discussed. Sexual harassment is defined by the text as unwelcome sexual advances or overtures and requests for sexual favors. I think sexual harassment is an important topic to be aware of throughout our lives. It is something that is taking place more than statistics actually know because it so often goes unreported, because the victim doesn’t want to face the person sexually harassing them. Often times the reason is that they feel they will loose their job, won’t be taken seriously or they think it is their fault. Women tend to be the majority of the victims of sexual harassment and as the text also points out it’s probably because of the different method of communication men and women have. Men aren’t as expressive when communicating as women are. Women are known to use smiles, eye contact and physical touch when they are communicating more than men are. And this can cause misunderstandings between female and male coworkers. If we better understand the differences between the way males and females communicate it could help lessen the number of sexual harassment cases each year.

Content Fallacies: Slippery Slope

How I understand Slippery Slope is in the form of an algebra equation almost, X+Y=Z. If X happens then Y will happen, which will force Z to happen. Someone will often use this argument to try an convince others why a specific event shouldn’t happen because if it does it will ensure that another event that people don’t want to happen will happen. The reasoning that happens is in a chain of events, but what the argument lacks is reasoning of why the final event inevitability will happen. There isn’t evidence provided to back up the argument they are presenting. An example of a Slippery Slope argument that I think most of us being students can relate to is: We have to put a stop to our school increasing our tuition. If we don’t the next thing you know, we will be paying $50,000 a semester to attend college. Yes, it is true that tuition is increasing steadily it seems and that inevitably we will being paying more and more to attend college, but it is highly unlikely that out of no where we will be paying $50,000 a semester.

Analyzing the Structure of Arguments

Question #4 (numbered claims): When Dr. E was walking her dogs last night they started to chase something 1. It wasn’t a skunk 2. The dogs could catch a skunk if they were to chase it a. The dogs would stink if they caught a skunk b. The dogs didn’t stink c.
Argument? Yes, it is an argument.
Conclusion: It wasn’t a skunk. (2)
Additional premises needed? Not really, what wasn’t said is common sense. The unstated premises that are common sense are: If a skunk feels threatened, which it would if being chased by two dogs it would spray them. Spraying them is the skunk’s method of defense.
Good argument: Yes, this is an example of a good argument.

I found this exercise to be helpful in the since that I am a firm believer in practice makes perfect. I have found over my years of school and homework that I learn the best from application and hands on work. So by taking what I read if the previous pages of this part of the textbook and then applying it I found myself better understanding how to analyze the structure of an argument and determine if it is a good argument or if it’s not what is needed to make it a good argument. So all in all, the exercise was helpful.

What is Leadership?

The definition that the book presents of leadership is "the exercise of interpersonal influence toward the attainment of goals" (0'Hair, p32). In my opinion the definition of leadership is pretty vague, but I think there is a reason for this. Leaders can be found in all parts of our society and world and take many shapes and forms therefore you cannot have a detailed definition of leadership because it changes depending on what type of leader you are talking about. Some examples of the different types of leaders are: the leader of a household (an adult or parent), of a school (the principal), of the office (manager or owner), of the state (the governor), of the military (the general), and of the U.S. (the president). These are just a few examples of different types of leaders, but looking at these examples it is easy for me to understand why there are four types of leadership. Each type of has traits that benefit and hinder them in different situations. For example lets look at the military general; he has to make quick decisions with minimal input or discussion from others to be effective in times of war and to resolve conflicts. The general uses the authoritarian leadership style to lead the military. Authoritarian leadership makes sense for the general to use because most of his decisions have to be made quickly and doesn’t have time to discussion his decisions with others in the military. But take the governor his style is participative leadership; he opens problems up for discussion, takes inputs from other members of the state, and works together with other members equally to make decisions. Although his opinion ways more he has to be sure to be a participative leader because he is an elected official and his job security depends on the happiness of the citizens of his state. If they aren’t when it is election time he could not be re-elected.

Tests for an Argument to be Good

My example argument: I like my mom’s cooking. My friends and family like my mom’s cooking. Everyone I know likes my mom’s cooking. Using the three tests for an argument to be good I am going to analyze my argument. The first test is, is the premise plausible? Yes, it is true that I personally like my mom’s cooking and my friends and family like it as well. The premise is more plausible than the conclusion is for the reason that it is near impossible that everyone I know, from my teachers, to coworkers to fellow classmates (to just name a few) has tried my mom’s cooking. All though it is possible that if these people had a chance they to would like my mom’s cooking doesn’t make the conclusion of my argument true. The second test, are the premises more plausible than the conclusion? Yes the premises are more plausible than the conclusion. As I have stated before it is almost impossible for everyone I know to have tried my mom’s cooking. Unless I carried around samples of my mom’s cooking and had very single person I met try it there is very few ways that everyone I know to try my mom’s cooking. And with our technology world it makes that method even more unlikely to work. I can’t feed Ms. Perez a sample of my mom’s cooking through a blog post, making my premises that my friends and family and myself like my mom’s cooking more plausible than the conclusion that everyone I know. The third test is, is the argument valid or strong? My argument is a weak argument, because my premises don’t include the majority of the people I know, classmates, coworkers, superiors, acquaintances I have from the gym, my favorite restaurant, and through my friends. So, everyone to know my mom does have amazing cooking skills :)

Strong vs Valid Arguments

A valid argument is an argument that’s conclusion is followed logically from the truth of the premises the argument has. A valid argument cannot have a false conclusion with premises that are true. However, just because an argument is valid doesn’t mean its conclusion will be true. The premises (doesn’t have to be all of them can just be one) can be false leading to a false conclusion. An example of a valid argument is Brandon has a degree from San Jose State University. Therefore, Brandon went to college at San Jose State University. A strong argument is an invalid argument and is an argument that is likely impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion of the argument to be false. The same is for the opposite. A strong argument is an argument that is likely impossible for the premises to be false and the conclusion to be true. An example of a strong argument is: When I visited Brandon at work I saw a diploma from San Jose State University on his office wall. Therefore, Brandon got his degree from San Jose State University.

VAGUE & AMBIGUOUS

Vague sentences usually use the words like “this,” “it,” or “which” for example that don’t have any reference to a specific word or phrase, instead is referring to a whole situation. We are accustomed to vague statements in verbal conversations and these statements are often unnoticed by the recipients and senders. However, vague statements can be very confusing when reading it in writing. I often find it interesting how the bad habits and laziness we have grown into in our conversations has found its way into our writing. From my experience in communicating through public relations it has become such a norm to use it in day-to-day conversation; sometimes the author doesn’t realize they have snuck into their work. An example of a vague sentence that I have encountered lately is a phrase that has become a norm for the American culture. The phrase is the Nike slogan “just do it.” When this slogan came out years ago, Nike had to make sure to explain the statement. Nike had to make sure to give the word “it” implied context with the image in the ad. “Just do it” is a very vague sentence, if someone read this and was unfamiliar with the Nike brand they would be very confused and unsure of what exactly they were just supposed to do.

A Good Group

Some of the key points that make up a good group are members of the group must be able to work together well, ideas should be in sync with each member, the group must be able to resolve any conflicts that arise, the group should have group rules established, and as a whole and individually have good behavior together. When reading chapter 2 in the Small Group Comm book a metaphor of what a good group is came to my mind; a household family. I'm not talking about my family or anyone else's family specifically I am just talking about the general concept of a household family that I believe in. In order for a house to function smoothly there are needs to be order or rules established for example who's in charge of paying the bills, who takes out the garbage and who cleans. A family tends to be in sync with each other, they have the same values and because of that get along for the most part. Although in any household problems and conflicts do arise, but part of being a family is working through the problems and conflicts that arise. Although groups in comm classes are not families or even households that can use that as an example of how to function well together. Rules need to be established, who is gonna do what part of the assignment, when will we be meeting and what happens if a member does not do there part.

OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CLAIMS

Objective claims are ones that can be either proven true or false, they are factual statements. Objective claims do not always have to be true they can be false; as long as they concern factual matters they are objective. Objective claims must use criteria and methods that both exist and are expected by the majority to determine if they are true or false. Subjective claims are statements/claims that express a belief, opinion, value, feelings, judgments or preference that a person or a group may have, they are not factual statements that can be verified. Subjective claims cannot be proven true nor can they be proven false, right or wrong by any general method.
An example of an objective claim that I have recently encountered is from an online news article I read this morning about a bombing that took place in South Carolina and what the authorities had to say about it. The article’s title, “Bomb blows up unoccupied truck in SC neighborhood” is the objective claim. The title is a fact that can be proven through policy records and investigation. There is a general method for determining whether something is a truly a bomb or not. A bomb is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an explosive device fused to detonate under specified conditions. In addition, the state in which the incident happened can be tested as well as if the truck was unoccupied or not.
An example of a subjective claim that I have recently encountered is from over the weekend when I listened to my dad and brother discussed the 2010 Super Bowl. My brother said, “Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL right now.” This statement is an opinion; you can’t prove it right or wrong (it’s not a factual statement). There may be people that agree with what my brother said and there also may be people that strongly disagree with what he said. However, even if someone disagrees with his statement he still has a right to say it.

Hi Fellow Classmates!!!

Here's a little about me...I'm a graduating senior,public relations major with a focus in Communication Studies. Looking forward to a great last semester and interacting with all of you in this class. I have taken a couple of other communication classes before including Comm20 and Comm144 (Organizational Communication) which I found really interesting and helped me already in my current job. What I hope to get out of this class is to develop my understanding and knowledge how how we communicate and how to be a more effective communicator. I have only taken one online class before, but it was more independent work and not interactive with blogs or group discussions so this is a new experience for me.

Hope your first week of school is going well.

DeeAnn