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Interpersonal Communication Book, The, 16th edition

Published by Pearson (March 24, 2021) © 2022

  • Joseph A. DeVito Hunter College of the City University of New York

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For courses in Introduction to Communication.

An introduction to interpersonal communication that emphasizes the impact of our choices

The Interpersonal Communication Book provides in-depth coverage of interpersonal communication, blending theory and research with practical skills. Author Joseph DeVito utilizes the concept of choice as the philosophical foundation of his narrative, emphasizing how the choices we make influence our relationships and the effectiveness of our messages.

The 16th Edition incorporates coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests to emphasize the importance of interpersonal communication in our daily lives as well as in the larger world.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Interpersonal Choice Points present brief scenarios about which students are prompted to make interpersonal communication choices.
  • Viewpoints photo captions encourage students to explore significant communication issues from a more personal point of view.
  • Ethics in Interpersonal Communication boxes present ethical issues and prompt students to consider how they would react to the presented scenarios.
  • Culture is presented as one of the foundation concepts for understanding interpersonal communication.
  • Politeness in interpersonal communication is stressed throughout as one of the major features of effective interaction.
  • Social media is covered throughout the text to reflect the increasing importance of this form of communication in today's world.

New and updated features of this title

  • NEW: In order to keep pace with important recent events, author Joseph DeVito has incorporated coverage of the implications of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests throughout the narrative, as well as in the features and photos in most chapters. In addition, he has revised the text narrative to eliminate binary pronouns and reflect gender fluidity.
  • NEW: To build upon the opportunities for review presented in the chapter-closing Summary of Concepts, new end-of-chapter Summary of Skills sections present numbered lists of the key skills discussed in the chapter.
  • UPDATED: Fresh photos with accompanying Viewpoints captions throughout each chapter help students connect course material to issues in the headlines.
  • EXPANDED: Captions have been added to all of the text's figures to help students better understand the context of the information presented.
  • UPDATED: The research findings and references throughout the text have been updated to the latest available.

Features of Revel for the 16th Edition

  • Integrated Experiences interactive exercises allow students to analyze their own communication behavior, enabling them to learn and grow over the duration of the course. Topics include assertiveness and interpersonal conflict strategies.
  • UPDATED: Brief video clips showcase interviews with working professionals, examples of face-to-face scenarios and concept reviews. Corresponding video self-checks enable students to test their understanding promptly. Many videos are new to the 16th Edition.
  • Dialogue examples of effective and ineffective communication approaches are enhanced with audio, which demonstrates the dimensions of inflection, tone and volume.
  • Interactive figures allow students to manipulate illustrations, increasing their ability to grasp difficult concepts. Allowing students to examine specific parts of a model makes theoretical concepts easier to understand.
  • Interactive tables allow students to first study and review information, and then, when ready, assess their understanding through drag-and-drop activities.
  • Interactive cultural maps highlight major cultural differences to reinforce how these factors may impact communication around the world. Topics include ambiguity tolerance and masculine and feminine orientation.

PART I: PRELIMINARIES TO INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

  1. Foundations of Interpersonal Communication
  2. Culture and Interpersonal Communication
  3. Perception of the Self and Others

PART II: INTERPERSONAL MESSAGES

  1. Verbal Messages
  2. Nonverbal Messages
  3. Listening
  4. Emotional Messages
  5. Conversational Messages

PART III: INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

  1. Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Communication, and Theories
  2. Interpersonal Relationship Types
  3. Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management
  4. Interpersonal Power and Influence

About our authors

Joseph A. DeVito received his BA from Hunter College, MA from Temple University, and his PhD from the University of Illinois. After earning his doctorate in speech and linguistics, DeVito returned to teach in the CUNY system, first at his alma mater, Hunter College, and then at Queens College. During his teaching career, DeVito taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses with a focus on introductory courses. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Hunter College.

At various times, DeVito has served on the editorial boards of Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Monographs, Communication Education, Communication Quarterly, Journal of Communication and Etc: A Review of General Semantics. He has also served as a consulting editor to the following publishers: Random House, Harper & Row, Waveland Press and HarperCollins. He was an ETS coordinator of the committee to construct the DANTES Public Speaking Test for the Educational Testing Service as well. A prolific author, DeVito has written or edited more than 30 books in the field of communication, including The Interpersonal Communication Book, Human Communication: The Basic Course, Essential Elements of Public Speaking, Interpersonal Messages and Essentials of Human Communication, all published by Pearson. A number of his textbooks have been translated into a variety of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, French, Greek and Czech.

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