 from Em Griffin's A First Look That there is a graphical rendering of communication theories throughout history. The metaphorical river comes from an earlier edition of Em Griffin's A First Look at Communication Theory book (now on it's 7th edition).
But I'll let you navigate down that river yourself. You can cruise down the river with Griffin's book (or you can use Littlejohn's or West & Turner's or Wood's).
Rather, we'll take a look at how these theories came to be. Communication theories really arise from our attempt to define specific communication acts. These definitions of communication are usually situated in a context. These contexts usually limit the scope or depth of applicability of our definition. These contexts include:
- Intrapersonal (self-talk)
- Interpersonal
- Group and/or team
- Public
- Media and new technology
- Organizational
- Intercultural
Theorizing about communication usually arises when we want “to make sense of things” (Wood 45). Defining what communication is becomes the first step in our theorizing.
Along the way, we also describe communication acts. What we include in our theories usually reveals our assumptions about communication. These assumptions may be:
- Epistemological (ways of knowing – objective/scientific vs. subjective/interpretive)
- Ontological (view of human nature – deterministic or involving free will)
- Purpose and focus (universal laws vs. situated rules; behavioral vs. meaning making; quantitative vs. qualitative approaches)
Our assumptions determine what we value in relation to how they impact communication. These values may be:
- Personal
- Interpersonal
- Professional
- Cultural
And our assumptions will either: confirm/affirm, contradict/oppose, reform/emancipate us from our ideas about communication.
Our theories about communication may be evaluated by objective standards. These objective standards include:
- Explanation
- Prediction
- Parsimony
- Testability (falsifiabilty)
- Utility
Our theories about communication may also be evaluated by interpretive standards. These interpretive standards include:
- New understanding of people
- Clarification of values
- Aesthetic appeal
- Community of agreement
- Reform of society
These objective and interpretive standards may be combined, as follows:
- Explanation and understanding
- Prediction and value clarification
- Simplicity and aesthetic appeal
- Testability and community of agreement
- Utility and reform
Our theories about communication are also evaluated by other standards, namely:
- Scope (how much is described and explained, and what type of explanation -- law-based or rules-based)
- Heuristic (or how theories leads to the generation of new ideas)
Our perspective about the complementarity among theories also affect our theorizing. The focus and scope of our theory may be limited, even when we aspire for a universal explanation of communication.There are several types of communication theories, namely:
- Structural and functional
- Cognitive and behavioral
- Interactional and conventional
- Interpretive
- Critical
- Ethical
These types of theories are what we'll tackle next.
 'Hide and seek' by Jean Claire Dy
Because you have to?
Seriously though, as Communication Arts students, you need to know not only how to communicate but also how acts of communication work. That knowledge is what makes you an artist of communication. That knowledge will be what you'll find most invaluable when you, for example:
- Need to construct effective messages in different settings.
- Need to convince people to believe you.
- Need to win an argument, or at least to listen to your side.
- Need to make people notice and buy your product.
- Need to communicate with people from a different culture.
You will know how to handle these situations because you have learned all these theories of communication.
Theories of communication are "maps of reality," according to Em Griffin, that will help you find your way in the communication maze. And believe me, you will soon find out that all acts of communication are labyrinthine.
Griffin presents a metaphor for the different theories of communication as a river flowing from the mountains to the sea. (Go to the A First Look website, then click on the "Theory Archives," scroll down the table to "Talk About Communication," and click on the PDF version [marked 1254 kb] of the file.)
These theories are what you'll read more on as we cruise down the river (but not necessarily in chronological flow).
Enjoy the ride.(You'll soon note that I rely on Griffin's textbook for this blog, mainly because of how he introduces communication theories to first-year or second-year students.)
|
RSS Feed