Em Griffin A First Look at Communication Theory 8 th edition © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Mapping the Territory (Seven Traditions.

Em Griffin

A First Look at

Communication Theory

8th edition

© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mapping the Territory(Seven Traditions in the Field

of Communication Theory)4

© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mapping the Territory

The Socio-Psychological Tradition The Cybernetic Tradition The Rhetorical Tradition The Semiotic Tradition The Socio-Cultural Tradition The Critical Tradition The Phenomenological Tradition Fencing the Field of Communication Theory The Ethical Tradition

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Mapping the Territory

Craig suggests communication theory is a coherent field when we understand communication as a practical disciplineTraditions of communication theory

offer “distinct, alternative vocabularies”

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The Socio-PsychologicalTradition

Communication as Interpersonal Interaction and InfluenceScholars believe communication

truths can be discovered by careful, systematic observation

• Cause-and-effect relationships• Usually means designing a series of surveys or

controlled experiments• Longitudinal study of college friendships

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The Cybernetic Tradition

Communication as a System of Information ProcessingCybernetics – study of information

processing, feedback, and control in communication systems

• Theorists ask “How can we get the bugs out of this system?”

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The Cybernetic Tradition

Parks: studies personal relationships by asking both partners to describe their social networks

• Prior contact• Range of contact• Communication• Liking• Support

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The Rhetorical Tradition

Communication as Artful AddressRhetoric – art of using all

available means of persuasion

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The Rhetorical Tradition

Characterized by 6 features• Speech distinguishes

humans from other animals• Public address more effective than decrees• A single speaker attempts to influence an

audience (one-way communication)• Oratorical training is

cornerstone of a leader’s education• Rhetoric is more art than science• Oral public speaking, until

the 1800s, was province of males

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The Semiotic Tradition

Communication as the Process of Sharing Meaning Through SignsSemiotics – study of verbal

and nonverbal signs that stand for something else

• How their interpretation impacts societySymbols – arbitrary words and

nonverbal signs that bear no natural connection with the things they describe

• Meaning is learned within a given culture

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The Semiotic Tradition

I. A. Richards: railed against the semantic trap he labeled “the proper meaning superstition”

Most theorists try to explain and reduce misunderstanding created by use of ambiguous symbols

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The Socio-Cultural Tradition

Communication as the Creation and Enactment of Social RealityCulture produced and

reproduced as people talk• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic

relativity – structure of a language shapes what people think and do

Persons-in-conversation co-construct their own social worlds

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The Critical Tradition

Communication as a Reflective Challenge of Unjust DiscourseCritical theory from German

scholars called “Frankfurt School”• Originally set up to test the ideas of Karl Marx

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The Critical Tradition

Critical tradition challenges:1. Control of language to

perpetuate power imbalances

2. Role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression

3. Blind reliance on scientific method and uncritical acceptance of empirical findings

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The Critical Tradition

Culture industries – entertainment businesses that Reproduce the dominant

ideology of a culture Distract people from recognizing unjust

distribution of power within a society

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The Phenomenological Tradition

Communication as the Experience of Self and Others Through DialoguePhenomenology – intentional analysis

of everyday experience from standpoint of person who is living it

• Explores possibility of understanding experience of self and others

• Emphasizes people’s perception and interpretation of subjective experience

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The Phenomenological Tradition

Rogers: “Neither the Bible nor the prophets – neither Freud nor research – neither the revelations of God nor man – can take precedence over my own direct experience”Why is it so hard to establish and

sustain authentic human relationships?How can this problem be overcome?

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Fencing the Field of Communication Theory

Traditions have deep roots in thefield of communication theoryHybrids possible across traditionsCharted traditions might not cover every

approach to communication theory• Pragmatism – applied approach to

knowledge; the philosophy that true understanding of an idea or situation has practical implications for action

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The Ethical Tradition

Principles of ethical communicationAdvocate truthfulness, accuracy,

honesty, and reason as essential to integrity of communication

Accept responsibility for short-term consequences of our communication and expect the same of others

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The Ethical Tradition

Ethical communication (continued)

Strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to messages

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