Analyzing the "Birthday Party Confusion Oh, hey, Andrew. Happy birthday, man! Hey. Hey, everyone says happy birthday. Happy Birthday! Hey, got you a card, man. Oh, thanks, Dave. Oh, that's nice. What have you got? Let yourself go? Yeah. That's kind of harsh, man. Hey, what? We can't all work out half the day. No, no, no; I meant let yourself go, you know, go crazy. Go wild. It's your birthday. Yeah, I have to work all day, okay? We're not all grad students. What's that supposed to mean? You're over here working out all the time, which is fine. But you're--now you're implying that I've let myself go? Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, no-...I meant, let yourself go because it's your birthday, you know? Get in some trouble. Go crazy. Yeah, nice. Not cool.

1-Explain which of the characteristics of language likely contributed to Andrew's misunderstanding of Dave's card, and why.

2-Explain uncertainty reduction theory and how it may have been related to the misunderstanding between Andrew and Dave.

3-How do you think Dave could have better conveyed his message to Andrew? Do you think the outcome would have been any different if Dave had texted his birthday wish to Andrew?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Characteristics of Language Ambiguity The cards message is ambiguous due to the multiple meanings ... View the full answer