Example 2 Sex and Perceptiveness I II III IV I II Observation Women are more perceptive about interpersonal matters than men a Generalization not stereotype b Evidence on interpersonal construct differentiation other adaptiveness politeness and facework Possible Explanations a Maybe its actually genetic DNA etc b Maybe it s a survival thing i Men could survive by fighting well but ii Women had to be able to foresee danger c Maybe it s a cultural thing i Women expected to do family maintenance ii Women always in charge of intimate relationships so have more experience Notice that this example dealing with delicate issues of race and gender raises questions of morality and justice Our Goals for Communication Theory a Accuracy a better understanding of our world b Aesthetic some theories are cooler than others i Or heuristic how stimulating it is how much research it generates c Morality social science should aim at making a better world Speculation a General method observe then speculate b Abductive inference i A B and C happened ii Process P would explain A B and C iii So maybe P is going on Friendship Analysis a Ex 1 Observe Friends live nearby in residence halls i Speculate 1 Friends ask to live nearby 1 This would in fact account for the data 2 What further consequences would there be 3 Not what s the evidence that this happened ii Further consequences 1 Should be more pronounced in a jr sr dorm than a freshman dorm 2 But it isn t So speculate again 3 Quantitatively Lave March Chapter 2
View Full Document
Unlocking...