Re: deviance and disinhibition
Dale Cyphert (DXC20 who-is-at PSUVM.PSU.EDU)
Thu, 29 Aug 96 14:21 EDT
Jay,
It's so nice to have your provocative thoughts back....
I have this theory that stagefright (one of the ongoing issues of teaching
public speaking) is a PHYSICAL indicator that cues the individual that he or
she has not yet been given "permission" to speak by the others in the
surrounding location. When I say this, people say of course, we react
physiologically when we experience stress, fear etc. But, I mean it in a
more literal sense. The speaker and the audience seem to engage in some sort
of physiologically complex set of cues and responses that establish whether
or not one has a "voice" in the context, on the topic or with that audience.
I haven't figured out what this might mean in terms of pedagogy, although it
offers a model that explains some of the phenomena that is otherwise not
altogether straightforward (like the internet differences you mention.)
Regards, Dale Cyphert
----------------------------------------------------------------------
dxc20 who-is-at psuvm.psu.edu/Department of Speech Communication/Penn State Univ