mass communication theory 2015 spring sem prof. jaewon joocontents.kocw.net › kocw › document...

Mass

Communication

Theory 2015 spring sem

Prof. Jaewon Joo

Mass Communication Theory

Harold Innis & his theory

His theories of political economy, media and society remain highly relevant today.

He has perspectives on the function of communication technologies as key agents in social and historical change.

Communication is central to social change and transformation.

Innis spent most of his career working in political economy. His interest in communications and media technology was relegated to the margins of intellectual practice.

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Contemporary Social phenomenons

Looking at Harold Innis’s theory for contemporary social phenomenons.

Divided into two sections: Time-binding, Space-binding Innins looked deeply into the rise and fall of civilizations.

For a civilization to be successful they must have a perfect balance of time-binding and space binding.

Innis had a strong opinion on where western civilizations are heading destruction of cultural activity.



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The Many contributions of Hrold Innis

Harold Innis's most significant contribution to the field of Communication studies was his theory on space Bias and Time Bias.

Space Bias media is easily transmitted and transported. This type of media reaches wider audiences. (ex. Newspaper, Broadcasting and Internet).

Time Bias media is for more tribal societies that passed on knowledge or information through generations. It includes clay or stone tablets and speech while reaching a more limited audience.



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The Many contributions of Hrold Innis

Through studies Innis discovered that societies had to balance Space Bias/Time Bias media in order to be stable.



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Questions

Do you agree with Innis’s idea that the mechanization of our communication for example the globalization of the internet will be the downfall of our society?

Most eras have seen the dominance of one medium or another. In our present society what can be noted as the dominant medium? Do you feel this has brought on a negative or positive change in communication?



01 Interpersonal communication theory


01

(1) Communication as Bowling

Interpersonal communication theory

(Bowler: sender, Ball: message, Lane: channel, Clutteron the boards: noise, Pins: target audiences)


01

(1) Communication as Bowling


In this one-way model of communication, the speaker (bowler) must take care to select a precisely crafted message (ball) and practice diligently to deliver it the same way every time.

Communication theory that emphasizes message content to the neglect of relational factors simply isn’t realistic. Real-life interpersonal communication is sometimes confusing, often unpredictable, and always involves more than just the speaker’s action.


01

(2) Communication as Ping-pong


Unlike bowling, Ping-Pong is not a solo game.

One party puts theconversational ball in play,and the other gets intoposition to receive. It takesmore concentration and skillto receive than to servebecause while the speaker(server) knows where themessage is going, thelistener (receiver) doesn’t.


01

(2) Communication as Ping-pong


Ping-Pong is a back-and-forth game; players switchroles continuously.

A true model of interpersonal encounters would havepeople sending and receiving multiple balls at thesame time.


01

(3) Communication as Charades


A charade is neither an action, like bowling a strike,nor an interaction, like a rally in Ping- Pong. It’s atransaction.

One member draws a title or slogan from a batch of possibilities and then tries to act it out visually for teammates in a silent mini-drama. The goal is to get at least one partner to say the exact words that are on the slip of paper.


01

(3) Communication as Charades


Like charades, interpersonal communication is a mutual, ongoing process of sending, receiving, and adapting verbal and nonverbal messages with another person to create and alter the images in both of our minds.


02SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

(상징적 상호주의)


02 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

I. Introduction.

A. George Herbert Mead was an influential philosophy

professor at the University of Chicago, but he never

published his ideas.

B. After his death, his students published his teachings in

Mind, Self, and Society.



I. Introduction.

C. Mead’s chief disciple, Herbert Blumer, further developed

his theory.

1. Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism, and claimed

that communication is the most human and humanizing

activity in which people are engaged.

2. The three core principles of symbolic interactionism are

concerned with meaning, language, and thought.

3. These principles lead to conclusions about the formation of

self and socialization into a larger community.



II. Meaning: The construction of social reality.

A. First principle: Humans act toward people or things on the basis of the meanings they assign to those people or things.

B. Once people define a situation as real, it’s very real in its consequences.

C. Stimulus → Interpretation → Response



III. Language: The source of meaning.

A. Meaning arises out of the social interaction people have with each other.

B. Meaning is not inherent in objects.C. Meaning is negotiated through the use of language,

hence the term symbolic interactionism.1. Second principle: As human beings, we have the ability to

name things.

2. Symbols, including names, are arbitrary signs.

3. By talking with others, we ascribe meaning to words and

develop a universe of discourse.



III. Language: The source of meaning.

D. Symbolic naming is the basis for society—the extent of knowing is dependent on the extent of naming.

E. Symbolic interactionism is the way we learn to interpret the world.

1. A symbol is a stimulus that has a learned meaning and a value for people.

2. Our words have default assumptions.



IV. Thought: The process of taking the role of the other.

A. Third principle: An individual’s interpretation of symbols is modified by his or her own thought process.

B. Symbolic interactionists describe thinking as an inner conversation, or minding.

1. Minding is a reflective pause.2. We naturally talk to ourselves in order to sort out meaning.



IV. Thought: The process of taking the role of the other.

C. Whereas animals act instinctively and without deliberation, humans are hardwired for thought.

1. Humans require social stimulation and exposure to abstract symbol systems to have conceptual thought.

2. Language is the software that activates the mind.

D. Humans have the unique capacity to take the role of the other.



V. The self: Reflections in a looking glass.

A. Self cannot be found through introspection, but instead through taking the role of the other and imagining how we look from the other’s perspective. This mental image is called the looking-glass self and is socially constructed.

B. Self is a function of language.1. One has to be a member of a community before

consciousness of self-sets in.2. The self is always in flux.

C. Self is an ongoing process combining the “I” and the “me.”1. The “I” sponsors what is novel, unpredictable, and

unorganized about the self.2. The “me” is the image of self-seen through the looking glass

of other people’s reactions.



VI. Community: The socializing effect of others’ expectations.

A. The composite mental image of others in a community, their expectations, and possible responses is referred to as the generalized other.

B. The generalized other shapes how we think and interact within the community.

C. The “me” is formed through continual symbolic interaction.

D. The “me” is the organized community within the individual.



VII. A sampler of applied symbolic interaction.

A. Creating reality

1. Erving Goffman develops the metaphor of social interaction as a dramaturgical performance.

2. The impression of reality fostered by performance is fragile.

B. Meaningful research

1. Mead advocated study through participant observation, a form of ethnography.

2. Experimental and survey research are void of the meaning of the experience.

C. Generalized other—the tragic potential of symbolic interaction: Negative responses can consequently reduce a person to nothing.



VII. A sampler of applied symbolic interaction.

D. Naming

1. Name-calling can be devastating because it forces us to view ourselves through a warped mirror.

2. These grotesque images are not easily dispelled.

E. Self-fulfilling prophecy.

1. Each of us affects how others view themselves.2. Our expectations evoke responses that confirm what we

originally anticipated, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

F. Symbol manipulation—symbols can galvanize people into united action.



VIII. Critique: A theory too grand?

A. Mead’s theory is hard to summarize and lacks clarity.B. Mead overstates his case, particularly when

distinguishing humans from other animals.C. Most interpretive theorists owe a great debt to Mead.


Q&A


THANK YOU


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