Summary Applying-Communication-Theory editie 4

What is communication? Chapter 1 According to the general public communication is synonymous with information, it is the flow of information from one person to another. But to scholar’s communication is more than just the flow of information, it has various meanings. Dance’s definition of communication: All of the procedures by which one mind can affect another. All behavior can count as communication, even none-behavior. Dance further examines communication into three variations. level of observation (verbal and non-verbal) Communication without a response communication without words Intentionality (you always communicate) For communication to occur, the exchange of exchange of messages has to be on purpose. Source orientation: the difference between yawning on purpose and giving it a means of communication with value as to yawning on accident gives no meaning to the communication. Receiver orientation: “you cannot not communicate” anything you say or do is communicative Normative judgment (does the message have to be successfully received?) states that communication has occurred even if it was not successful. Miscommunication is communication. Contexts of communication Cognitive context: the influence our thoughts have on the way we communicate Theories:(attribution theory, uncertainty reduction theory, expectancy violations theory, cognitive dissonance) Individual differences context: consider how indivudal differences and social roles play a role in the communication process. social role theory of gender, emotional intelligence. Message design logics and interactional perspective on workplace generations Interpersonal context: the interactions between two individuals who most often have a relationship with each other. politeness, social exchange theory Intercultural context: communication when two people are from different cultures. Persuasive context: persuasion takes place in variety of settings Group context: Organizational context Mediated context: how technology influences our interpersonal group and organizational communication. Mass communication context: focuses on the influence of mass-mediated messages. Communication competence Achieving a successful balance between effectiveness and appropriateness Effectiveness: the extent to which you achieve your goals in an interaction Appropriateness: fulfilling social expectations for a particular situation Being effective without being appropriate: a job applicant who lies on a resume to get a job Being appropriate without being effective: for example, a person who does not wish to take on additional task. Concepts, models and theories Theories: in this concept describe an abstract understanding of the communication process. Concept: an agreed-upon aspect of reality Model: as a synonym for the term theory, as a precursor to a theory, as a physical representation of a theory or as an application of predication. Three types of theory Commonsense theory (theories in use) Theory created based upon an individual’s own experiences Ex. Never date someone you work with Working theory (guidelines for behavior) Generalizations made in particular professions about the best techniques for doing something. Ex. Audience analysis should be done prior to presenting a speech Scholarly theory Provides an accurate explanation for communication Ex. Effects of violations of expectations depend on the reward value of the violator Evaluating theory Five criteria that best capture the way to assess the relative usefulness of communication theories. Accuracy – suggesting that systematic research supports the explanations provided by the theory Practicality - have real-world applications been found for the theory Succinctness – refers to whether or not a theory’s explanation or description is sufficiently concise Consistency Internal consistency – the ideas of the theory are logically built on one another External consistency – the theory’s coherence with other widely held theories Acuity The ability of a theory to provide insight into an otherwise intricate issue. Case 1: education as entertainment Story about the effect of education and entertainment as shown in sesame street. The education as entertainment theory suggests that this has a negative effect in the long run on learning behavior. Mass communication context: focuses on the influence of a mass-mediated message. Which the sesame street is infact. Well, in this case EET fulfills it role to make children learn and making learning entertaining. However, it is no longer effective because it does not go well with other ways of learning which decreases the effectiveness of those theories. A concept is an agreed upon aspect of reality. Combining learning and entertainment is an upon agreed aspect of reality. Physical representation I think EET is really practicality as, there is an real-world application being used as an example. Chapter 2 theory development Theory – research link Inductive theory (grounded theory) – research comes before theory Deductive theory (scientific method) – theory or hypothesis comes before research What is research? “disciplined inquiry that involves studying something in a planned manner and reporting it so that other inquirers can potentially replicate the process if they choose” Primary research – conducting your own research, creating data that did not exist before Secondary research – conducted by another researcher, gathering data that has been done by other researchers Research methods in communication experiments experiment – is the only method that allows researchers to conclude that one thing causes another variable – any concept that has two or more values Ex. Sex is a variable because we have men and women independent variable – the presumed cause dependent variable – the presumed effect manipulation – used to establish causality laboratory experiment – is an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment field experiments – experiments in a public place surveys (research method) survey research – is used to find out how someone thinks, feels or intends to behave interview – the response is always in oral form focus group – small group of people in a discussion about a certain subject questionnaire – questions to which the respondent answers in writing sampling the concept with either type of survey are questioning and sampling. This is either done with open or closed questions. Second is sampling, where the researcher takes a sample of the population. It can either be a random sample where every member of the sample has a chance to be selected or a nonrandom sample were volunteers are being used. Textual analysis (research method) Used to uncover the content, nature or structure of messages Types of textual analysis: Rhetorical criticism – a systematic method for describing and evaluating the persuasive force of messages. Content analysis – seeks to identify, classify and analyze the occurrence of particular type of messages. Associated with mass-mediated messages (chapter 1) step 1 is selection if a particular text step 2 the development of content categories step 3 is placing the content in categories and step 4 is analyzing the results. This procedure is also known as “text mining” or “data mining” Interaction analysis (conversation analysis) – focus on the interpersonal communication interaction with emphasis on the nature and structure of it Ethnography (research Method) The research is immersing himself into a particular culture or context to understand communication rules and meanings. Ex. An ethnographer might study an organizational culture, essential is that the research must take place in the natural environment. Complete participant – is fully involved in the social setting and the participant is not aware that the researcher is studying him. participant-observer – the researcher is fully involved in the social setting, but the participants are aware of the researcher complete observer – no interacting between the researcher and the participant. Social science and the humanities The difference between social science and the term humanistic Humanistic approach – one’s own interpretation is of interest. Ex. Is English literature. Humanists believe often use pragmatism which means that human beings are not passive reactors to situations but dynamic. Humans base their actions on the choice of others Social science approach – objectivity is center here, be standardization researchers can observe patterns. Social science researchers often follow “determinism” which means they believe in past experiences. The goal of a social scientific approach is to both understand and predict communication processes. The differences between social science approach and humanistic approach “why theories are developed” “the process of theory development” “the focus and methods of research” how theories change and grow Once a theory is developed it still continues to grow. It either grows by extension or intension. Extension meaning the theory adds more concepts and builds on what already is. Intension meaning scholars gain a more in-depth understanding of the original concept. Case 2: education as entertainment reconsidered To test the EET theory a survey in the form of a questionnaire was conducted Filter questions: age, sex, the frequency of viewing sesame street and other educational media Likert scale: expectation for instructional style, motivation and perceived learning Deductive, they had a theory before trying to prove the theory with research The type of research was primary because they conducted their own questionnaire According to table 2.2 the EET must be social science because the process is deductive the research method is a quantitative survey. However I could not really make a distinction between determinism or pragmatism and the goal of the theory. The research method was a survey, I think this is the best method because you want to know how someone thinks, feels or intends to behave. Ethical challenge researchers should consider. How do ethical challenges shift if the research method changes? I think the theory is not yet grounded enough so it needs to gain a more in-depth understanding by intension. The original concept is still unclear. Chapter 3 cognition and intrapersonal communication Communication messages have no meaning without an indvidual’s interpretation of the message. Cognitive process – refers to a number of tasks the brain does continuously, the process of thinking. They are procedures in charge of processing all the information we receive from the environment. Cognition – allows us to explore the world, includes the processes of reducing, elaborating, transforming and storing stimuli. It refers to what happens in the mind that causes us to behave in particular ways. There are four theories that examine the cognitive and intrapersonal aspects of communication Attribution theory Explains the process by which individuals assign causation or motivation to their own and others’ behavior. Human beings are continually trying to understand and make sense of what inspired various events. Causation and judgments, you make about what you believe influenced your own behavior is called attributions. Attributions as naïve psychology Individuals act as “naïve psychologists”. Whenever you see a person act in a certain way, you make judgments about the nature of that act. Individuals try to determine whether a behavior in question was caused by dispositional or situational factors. Dispositional: refers to internal or personal features, such as personality or character. Situational: refers to external dynamics that are relatively uncontrollable and determined by the environment or circumstance at hand. Correspondent inference theory When a person makes judgments about the actor’s intentions these judgments of intention are referred to as correspondent inferences. Determining the intentionality of an act can be done by access several factors; Choice: check if the actor had any alternative Assumed desirability: if a person behaves in a manner contrary to social conventions, you might think that his behavior is more honest because he is not trying to be socially correct. social role: when a person is behaving in a manner contrary to the prescribed role Prior expectations: previous encounters with an actors or background stories Hedonic relevance: the degree to which you believe an actor’s behavior affects you Personalism: refers to the belief that someone intentionally behaves in a way to hurt you. Kelley’s covariation model Explains the nature of the complete attribution process. Individuals judge the connection of someone’s behavior by examining the following factors: Consensus – would other people react similarly if placed in the same situation? Consistency – whether a person engages in similar behavior overtime. It gets higher the more you observe someone. Ex. If Rebecca is always angry and comes out of a sales meeting angry you would say she is consistent ill-tempered. Distinctiveness – whether a person acts differently depending on the situation. It decreases when an individual act similarly during different situations. If these factors are understood they can be used to control an actor’s behavior Interior locus of control: is when you believe the actor could have controlled his behavior (failing to stay calm in a difficult situation) Exterior locus of control: when the behavior was unavoidable (you had to say something about it) The combination of the factors consensus, consistency and distinctiveness allows the perceiver to predict the controllability of the actor’s behavior as either internally or externally motivated. Internal: consensus V, consistency ^ and distinctiveness V external: consensus^, consistency V and distinctiveness^ Uncertainty reduction theory Seeks to explain and predict when, why, and how individuals use communication to minimize their doubts when interacting with others. Explains and predicts initial encounters with people. What drives a person to initiate in communication and how does a person reduce his uncertainty in a new situation. There are 3 assumptions to guide the uncertainty reduction framework The primary goal of communication is to minimize uncertainties Individuals experience uncertainty daily and is unpleasant Communication is used to reduce uncertainty Reducing uncertainty Individuals are motivated to reduce uncertainty only under one of three specific antecedent conditions: You will be more likely to reduce uncertainty if you are going to see that person again Incentive, you are motivated to learn about someone if they can reward or punish you. Deviance, if a person is odd or bizarre that counters your expectations. Types of uncertainty Behavioral uncertainty – when you are insecure about which actions are appropriate in a given situation Cognitive uncertainty – when someone is unsure what to think about someone or something. Axioms explaining the uncertainty reduction process Uncertainty reduction strategies Passive strategy – individuals observe their surroundings and gather clues about which behaviors are appropriate Active strategy – seeking information from a third party Interactive strategy – straight to the source in question and ask for as much information as possible 3. Expectancy violations theory Predicts and explains people’s behavior when their expectation about what will happen are breached. Explains the meanings people attribute to the violation, or infringement, of their personal space. Assumptions EVT build upon different communication axioms; Assumptions: Humans have competing needs for personal space and for affiliation Makes specific predictions as to how individuals will react to a given violation. Core concepts of expectancy violations theory Expectancy: refers to what an individual anticipates will happen in a given situation. The first factor examined is; the context of the behavior (hugging a colleague) Second factor; relationship on has with the individual (mother, boss) Third factor; communicator characteristics (your beliefs about sexes, ethnicities) Predicting reactions when expectations are violated Violation valence: the positive or negative evaluation you make about a behavior you did not anticipate Communicator reward valence: an evaluation you make about the person who committed the violation Cognitive dissonance theory Explains and predicts how persuasion may be understood as a self-induced, intrapersonal event. Humans prefer a contradiction between beliefs and behavior. Schemata: creating familiarity or discomfort Used when you are presented with a new or unfamiliar stimulus. You try to find a connection to a previously understood experience. When you first try frog legs, many people claim the dish tastes “just like chicken” Relationship between beliefs and behaviors Irrelevance – refers to beliefs and behaviors that have nothing to do with each other. Consonance – occurs when two stimuli or pieces of information are in balance (you believe that recycling benefits the environment and the actions of avidly recycling household waste) Dissonance – occurs when two stimuli or pieces of information contradict each other (you believe in recycling, yet you drive a SUV which is bad for the environment) Magnitude of dissonance – creation of dissonance The amount of dissonance one experiences is affected by the perceived importance of an issue. The dissonance ratio affects the amount of discomfort it gives. The dissonance ratio is the proportion of incongruent belief in relation to the number of consonant beliefs. Rationalize, the better you can justify your dissonance the less discomfort you have this is rationalize. Selective exposure – avoiding things that controvert with your beliefs Selective attention – if you are in a situation where there is someone or something that says something that is against your beliefs you will only focus and remember the thing that were similar to your believe Selective interpretation – people will change information they got to fit their believe Selective retention – used to uphold your viewpoints so you can easily dismiss or forget information that contradicts with your beliefs Persuasion through dissonance Case study 3: you’re fired Lisa, Steve and Chen have their own company. Lisa has political connections on both sides of the merger Steve has been laid off before because of political maneuverings Lisa got fired Their new manager asked for a report on their current projects They delivered a huge report and the manager was angry he just wanted an update They send him some bullet points and the manager was angry again he wanted specific descriptions Steve was getting fired without any explanation why Consensus, consistency and distinctiveness. Making judgments about what you believe influenced your own and others’ behavior. They have checked with each other to see if they thought the same about the situation that is consensus. They are both behavioral and cognitive uncertain and I would recommend a passive strategy Steve expected this to happen, he was not surprised. Because the relationship with his manager was bad and they did not have similar characteristics Steve and Chen show signs of cognitive dissonance when their manager asks for a report and gets mad at them for giving him too much information. They adjust their beliefs and change their perspective of a report. Lisa showed selective exposure. The ethical issue of sticking with the group or being individual, I think the uncertainty theory because that is what caused Steve to get fired. If he wasn’t so uncertain about what to do but instead kept doing what he did best, the new manager would have noticed his value. Chapter 5 interpersonal communication Interpersonal communication defined The messages that occur between two interdependent persons which means they are dependent on each other. They are able to provide feedback. The following 4 theories are used to understand interpersonal communication. Politeness theory Is used by individuals to maintain their “face” their desired image. How and why individuals try to promote protect their public image. Human beings are rational and goal oriented to achieve the needs of their face. Assumptions of politeness theory Your face, “self-image” also refers to the recognition you have of your partners. You either have a positive face or a negative face. Positive face = you want to be liked, appreciated and admired Negative face = a person’s desire to act freely without any constraints Face-threatening acts = apologizing, giving compliments, giving criticism Preserving face Facework = used to create and maintain the desired self-image of an individual Preventive facework = one category of a facework strategy related to politeness, used to help avoid face-threatening acts such as avoiding an issue Corrective facework = one category of a facework strategy related to politeness, used to give messages that restore the self-image after the used of face-threatening acts apologizing Positive politeness = occurs when a person makes an effort to recognize someone’s positive face Negative politeness = occurs when a person makes an effort to recognize someone’s negative face Bald-on-record = used when you don’t care about politeness, you want something, so you ask it When considering how polite to be, communicators determine whether to use: Social exchange theory Evaluates or measures relationships based on reward and cost. When and why individuals continue some relationships but end others. Assumptions of SET Personal relationships are a function of comparing benefits gained and at what cost that came People want to have the most benefits for the least amount of costs (minimax principle) By nature, humans are selfish Core components of SET Outcome value – the reward associated with the costs Comparison level – the reward you expect to receive Comparison level of alternatives – you attitude after receiving your reward which will determine whether or not you continue the relationship. You are unsatisfied with the relationship, yet you continue it anyway. Only when the alternative is better than the outcome and the comparison level you will end the relationship (ye I have this mouse, but I don’t have a better one so ill just keep it for now) If o>CL you are satisfied If o<CL you are not satisfied If o>CL alt you stay in the relationship If o<cl alt you leave the relationship Dialectical perspective Describes the contradictions individuals have within their personal relationships and how good management of these can lead to success. Assumptions of the dialectical perspective Praxis – the development of a relationship is always moving forward. It can become more intimate or less intimate overtime Change – all relationships will change, so it is impossible to maintain a relationship in the same state Contradictions – the needs within a relationship sometimes contradict ex. Married people need to spend time together to sustain their marriage. However, they also need time for themselves because they have other obligations Totality – the interdependence between relationships partners. Without it a relationship cannot take place, you always need something from each other. You try to satisfy your dialectical tensions (your needs). Internal tensions: within a relationship (husband and wife) Autonomy – connection (tensions between feeling bonded and being self-independent) (time) Openness – closedness (tensions between want to open up and self-disclose yourself) (information to yourself) Predictability – novelty (tension between wanting stability and spontaneity) (place) External tensions (couple and their children) Inclusion – seclusion (a couple’s tension between spending time with friends versus wanting to spend time as a couple) Revelation – concealment (a couple’s tension between sharing aspects with the outside world and keeping things private) Conventionality – uniqueness (a couple’s tension between behaving as expected versus showing some diversity) Primary strategies to handle the internal and external tension Selection strategy – favoring one side of the tension more than the other Cyclic alteration – fulfill one side of the tension first and then the other side Segmentation – if there is a disagreement with the tensions use closedness in other word avoid talking about it Integration – being aware of the tensions and talk about them in order to solve them Communication privacy management theory Build upon the earlier theories and focuses on the decision’s individuals have to make. How and what a communicator should say. CPM recognizes that managing tensions is a way relationship are sustained. Principles of CPM Public – private (tension between revealing private information and withholding it) Privacy information (referred to as information inaccessible to others) Privacy rules (these decision about sharing private information are regulated by privacy rules and are formed by 5 criteria) Cultural criteria – culture will influence your decision-making process Gender criteria – your gender has influence on your understanding of disclosure Motivational criteria – whether or not you are motivated to communicate Contextual criteria – the environment you are in influences your need to share private information (being at a shrink) Risk-benefit criteria – the risk sharing something private brings with it Boundaries (can be split up in personal boundaries; individual information and collective boundaries; shared information. Once information is shared the ownership of the information changes and the decision rules about privacy) Boundary coordination – the ways collective boundaries are maintained Boundary linkages – the relation between the owners of the information Boundary ownership – the responsibility of the owner of the information Boundary permeability – how much information is passed through the boundary (private, close friends, semi-public, everyone knows) Boundary turbulence – occurs when the rules for privacy management are not clear Case study 5: bad move Jason: started his own cleaning company after college Seth: did a lot of studying but wasn’t happy with his job so is trying to start a cleaning company just like Jason did in Tempa Jason is not convinced it’s a good idea but will help his friend out with giving time and experience. This is a clear example of comparison level with alternatives (Jason does not want to do something but because of a friend relationship he does it anyway) Power strategy (seth has power over Jason because they are friends and Jason doesn’t want to hurt Seth) bald on record seth does everything to get what he wants Reward is helping a friend, cost is that you might lose a friendship Jason ended the friendship because he felt like he was being used Best strategy to use is integration Motivational criteria, shared information is the information between seth and the mutual friend. The mutual friend violated the boundary ownership because seth told that friend something without telling him to tell Jason. To what extent do I have still have the obligation to help my friend. The politeness theory helps the most because it helps you to determine to what extent do I have to stay polite and when is it appropriate to choose for myself without feeling like a dick. I think ethical theories will give a better support to help solve this case because in the end it is an ethical issue.