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 What is communication?

Scholars hold widely divergent views as towhat communication is and how we shoulduse theory.

Robert Craig suggests that communicationshould be viewed as a practical discipline;theory is developed to solve real worldproblems.

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7 traditions

Craig identifes seven established traditions ocommunication theory.

 These traditions group theories by what they

do rather than by their philosophicalassumptions.

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 The Socio-Psychological Tradition

Looks to predict and control human interaction.

ssumes that human behavior is caused! can be

predicted and discovered by careul observation

"ighly ob#ective relies on systematic testing andobserving

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 The Socio-Psychological Tradition

 Theorists check data through surveys orcontrolled e$periments! oten calling orlongitudinal empirical studies. %hat is a longitudinal study&

%hy is it good& %hat would it look like&

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 The Cybernetic Tradition

Communication as a system o inormationprocessing.

Communication is the link among system

parts ' it is what connects system elements toone another.

 These theories look at how to refne andimprove communication by balancingpredictability and uncertainty.

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 The Rhetorical Tradition

(or rhetorical scholars the communicativeworld is ull o te$ts to analy)e.

 The ocus is on *public address+ which fnds its

home in public speaking

 The rhetorical tradition is highly interpretive

and seeks *how+ messages are aestheticallyand practically designed.

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Features of the Rhetorical Tradition

Speech distinguishes humans rom otheranimals.

confdence in the e,cacy o public address.

setting o one speaker addressing a largeaudience with the intention to persuade.

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Features of the Rhetorical Tradition

•

-ratorical training as the cornerstone o aleaders education.

• n emphasis on the power and beauty o

language to move people emotionally andstir them to action.

 – /o we see these eatures in our world today&%here& %hen&

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 The Semiotic Tradition

• Semiotics ' study o verbal and nonverbal signsthat stand or something else

•

(ocuses on the sharing omeaning0communicating via *signs+

• Signs are not connected to the e$ternal world

but used to represent it or people – %ords are a special kind o sign known as a symbol

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 The Semiotic Tradition

1eanings dont reside in words or othersymbols! but in people. 1eaning is learned within a culture

 The tradition is highly interpretive 2everyonemay have di3erent meanings or the samesign4

"ow does this in5uence communication&

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 The Socio-Cultural Tradition

Communication creates reality and allows usto participate in that reality.

Culture produced and reproduced as peopletalk Sapir6%hor hypothesis

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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

•  The hypothesis has two versions

7. Linguistic determinism

%e are prisoners o our native language!

unable to think certain thoughts or perceivein certain ways because o the grammaticalstructure and le$icon o our language.

Language in5uences how we see the worldaround us

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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

8. Linguistic relativity The grammar and le$icon o our nativelanguage powerully in5uences but does notimprison our thinking and perception.

Linguistic determinism is generallyunsupported

 Thought can e$ist without words to describe it

nyone ever had a eeling0e$perience they wereunable to put into words& 9$. Sky diving! the gratitude you have or someone who

did you a huge avor

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 The Socio-Cultural Tradition

:t is through language that reality is produced!maintained! repaired! and transormed.

ersons6in6conversation co6construct their

own social worlds "ow is this accomplished& %hat does it look like&

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 The Critical Tradition

Critical theorists challenge three eatures ocontemporary society.

7.  The control o language to perpetuate powerimbalances.

8.  The role o mass media in dulling sensitivity torepression.

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 The Critical Tradition

 There is no ob#ective truth ' even *ob#ective+science is value6laden and has its own biases.

Communication is the tool to both create and

undo ine>uity. lack o airness or #ustice

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 The Phenomenological Tradition

Communication is the e$perience o oneseland others in interaction.

9$periences are individual and uni>ue

eoples perceptions and interpretations o theirown sub#ective e$periences is important

%hy&

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 The Phenomenological Tradition

9$periences 2and thereore meanings4 canonly be shared through *dialogue+ where themain ocus is to get to know one another.

henomenology reers to the intentionalanalysis o everyday lie rom the standpointo the person who is living it.

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 The Phenomenological Tradition

henomenological tradition seeks to answertwo >uestions?

7. %hy is it so hard to establish and sustainauthentic human relationships&

8.

"ow can this problem be overcome&

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Mapping the Territory

Chapter 4

Dr. Richards