Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

Abstract
Information
Research
Academic Fields
Humanities & Social Sciences
Communication Studies
Concrete
Figure 4.2 Abstraction Ladder
Interpersonal Communication
concrete ideas down to the most concrete idea (e.g., interpersonal communication). Ideally, you can see
that as we move down the ladder, the topic becomes more fine-tuned and concrete.
In our daily lives, we tend to use high levels of abstraction all the time. For instance, growing up, your
parents/guardians probably
helped you with homework,
cleaning, cooking, and
I’m
Soy
transporting you from one
event to another. Yet, we
don’t typically say thank
you to everything; we might
make a general comment,
such as a thank you rather
than saying, “Thank you so
much for helping me with
my math homework and
helping me figure out how
to solve for the volume of
spheres.” It takes too long
to say that, so people tend
to be abstract. However,
abstraction can cause
problems if you don’t
provide enough description.
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Interpersonal Communication