Meanings are in people, not words and gestures.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The statement to evaluate is: 'Meanings are in people, not words and gestures.'

Option 1 (True): This perspective aligns with the idea that meaning is constructed by individuals through interpretation, context, and shared cultural norms. Words and gestures are signs that convey information, but the actual meaning arises in the minds of communicators as they interpret and assign significance to those signs. This view emphasizes that miscommunication often stems from differences in interpretation rather than from the signs themselves.

Option 2 (False): If one argued that meanings are located in words and gestures themselves, they would be treating signs as inherently carrying fixed meaning independent of observers. In reality, signs are arbitrary symbols whose meaning is negotiated within a community and can vary by culture, context, and personal experience. Therefore, the claim that meanings reside in the words and gestures themselves is misleading because it neglects the interpretive role of people and context.

To deepen the distinction: signs (words, gestures, icons) are vehicles for meaning, but meaning emerges when a person perceives, processes, and internalizes those signs. This aligns with semiotic and communication theories that place meaning in the interaction between sender, message, and receiver, rather than in the signs alone.

In sum, the correct interpretation is that meanings are constructed by people, not inherently contained within words or gestures. The false option would wrongly attribute fixed meaning to signs without considering interpretation and context.

202503_Interpersonal Communication_COMM_1041_15 QUIZ#4- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser 202503_Interpersonal Communication_COMM_1041_15 QUIZ#4- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Meanings are in people, not words and gestures.

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