Defining Communication 01 29 2013 Frank Dance definition of communication 126 of them in 1970 Not one clear cut definition Issues in defining Must communication o Be intentional o Have correspondence Does message sent have to equal message received o Be successful o Be ethical Honest o Include symbolic actions o Include cognition thought perception o Be human to human Class definition of communication A process in which individuals use symbols to establish and interpret meaning in their environment Models of communication Linear o One way communication no feedback o Message sent but nothing coming back o Sender is the person who has the ideas thoughts and feelings they want to get across o Sender encodes message creation of the message o Encoding process of taking pure ideas thoughts and feelings labeling them with symbols and organizing them in some way o Channel mode of transportation for the message Made up of our 5 senses o Receiver person who interprets meaning of the message o Decoding how you unravel the message what do the o Noise anything that interferes with the sending or receiving symbols mean of messages 4 types physical external anything external to the participants physical noise visual smell semantic meaning of the words language barriers words you don t know the meaning of slang psychological any preconceived notions biases or prejudices that the participants have that may interfere with the sending and receiving of messages i e stress physiological anything that can happen within the body that interferes with the sending and receiving of the message i e being tired ADHD Interactional o Two way communication circular communication o Receiver is sending a message back to the original sender feedback o All elements still there but add feedback o Big circles in model represent the fields of experience of the sender and receiver sex education socioeconomic status religious experience political affiliations o In order for people to understand each other there needs to be some overlap in the field of experiences Transactional o Two way communication feedback happens o Different messages receiving simultaneously o Both parties mutually responsible for creation of meaning o Context can dictate what rules for communication are Contexts of Communication Intrapersonal Interpersonal Small group Organizational Public rhetorical Mass mediated Intercultural Health Communication Theory 01 29 2013 What is theory Any conceptual representation or explanation of a phenomenon Concepts are broad terms to represent a lot of specific instances Stephen Littlejohn that happen in the real world A set of statements specifying an explanatory relationship between two of more classes of phenomenon Mary John Smith Theory vs taxonomy and model Taxonomy Model o A conceptual representation of categories of a phenomenon o A simplified representation of reality Class definition of theory o Any conceptual representation of explanation of a phenomenon Goals of theory To describe and understand o What o Put in an intelligible frame o How and or why To explain To predict To control o Social change What is communication theory A way to describe explain predict and or control human Scholars have different assumptions about the nature of communication behavior Why so many communication theories o Communication o Theory building and testing Meta theory Meta theoretical discussions debates Answer the questions Body of speculation on the nature of theory and research o What communication phenomena should be observed o How should it be observed o What should be the goals of theory research Meta theoretical assumptions Ontological o Branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality o Questions and assumptions Do humans make real choices Is human experience basically individual or social Is human experience contextualized Epistemological o Branch of philosophy that studies knowledge o How do people know what they claim to know o Questions and assumptions Can knowledge exist before experience no Can knowledge be certain Yes no By what process does knowledge arise Mentalism rationalism Empiricism Constructivism Social constructivism Work together to create knowledge and meaning about communication Is knowledge best conceived in parts or wholes Axiological o Branch of philosophy studying values researcher s values o Questions and assumptions Is research value free Does the practice of inquiry influence that which is studied attitude Just by asking you to answer a question you are affected in some way might modify behavior or Should research attempt to achieve social change All theories are guided by the theorists metatheoretical assumptions 01 29 2013 Rhetoricians Critical approach Goal of research social change Interpretive of hermeneutic approach Scientific Humanistic Laws Systems Rules Rhetoricians interpretive critical Scientific vs Humanistic Scientists 01 29 2013 World View I Empirical Scientist Knowledge based on observation Phenomenon are waiting to be discovered Reality is distinct for the scientist scientist discovers reality Structured steps to discovery Collectively scientists understand the world Behavior shaped by forces beyond our control Seek universal laws Goal of research is explanation prediction and sometimes control Test theoretical explanations using quantitative research methods World View II Humanist Knowledge created by researcher Knower cannot be separated from the known Theories research explore the web of meaning constituting human Multiple meaning are acceptable Good interpretations are those that convince Human behavior is voluntary as free choice increases predictability experience decreases Goal of research is better understanding of the phenomena being studied sometimes social change Qualitative research methods Theoretical continuum of scientific vs humanist approaches to the study of communication Scientific o Objective knowledge o Search for regularity in communication behavior o Systematic observation of communication behaviors o Knowledge gained through empirical means o Goals of explanation prediction and control Humanistic o Some knowledge is subjective o Focus on individuals and how they create meaning o Non standardized methods o Knowledge gained through introspection and interpretation o Goals of understanding and social change Paradigms in the Communication field Covering laws approach o No choice Believe people communicate the way they do because some prior
View Full Document
Unlocking...