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Title

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Subject

Level

Created

Shared Flashcard Set

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Theories of Human Communication

Foss/Littlejohn book

95

Communication

Graduate

10/24/2011

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Lecture Notes - c...

Cards

Term

What 3 advancements following WWI led to anincrease in an academic interest in

communication, i.e., "revolutionary discovery"?

Definition

1. Technology2. Industrialization3. Literacy

Term

Political and social events in the 20th centurycreated an interest in what types of

communication?

Definition

1. Propoganda2. Public opnion3. Media

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Term

What are the differences between American andEuropean communication studies?

Definition

American studies emphasize scientific,objective studiesEuropean studies have been moreinterpretive, historical, cultural, and critical(shaped by Marxism)

Currently, the two are beginning to mingle

Term

What are the differences between Eastern andWestern theories of communication?

Definition

Eastern focus on wholeness and unity of thehuman experience as unplanned and naturaloutcomes that emphasize feeling/sprituality;mistrust in verbal language/speech study; basedon role & statusWestern focus is analytical with bias onindividual, purpose and thought; verbal symbols(language/speech); based on interactionsbetween separate individuals

Term

What is the goal of communication theory?

Definition

To describe or explain the communication process,i.e. what communication involves based on

systematic observation

Term

What is inquiry?

Definition

The systematic study of experience that leads tounderstanding, knowledge & theory:

1. Ask questions of definition, fact, or value2. Observe with various methods3. Construct answers (theory building)4. Iterative theory constructioncircular where

each stage affects and is affected by the other

Term

What are the 3 broad forms of scholarship?

Definition

1. Science: objectivity, standardization &replication

2. Humanities: subjectivity seeking creativeinterpretations

3. Social Science: curious blend of the twofocusing on humans as objects of study

Term Definition



Why is communication as a social sciencechallenging?

It is difficult to deterimine the degree to whichscientific explanations of human behavior can be

reached without considering the humanisticknowledge of the observed person.

Term

What 5 levels are "often" employed incommunication research?

Definition

1. Interpersonal2. Group3. Public4. Organizational5. Mass comm

Term

What model of organization do Foss and Littlejohnuse for their book?

Definition

Robert T. Craig's "Metamodel"

Term

What is a metamodel?

Definition

A model of models

Term

How does Craig define communication?

Definition

The primary process by which human life isexperienced, thus communication constitutes

reality

Term

What are the 7 traditional standpoints Craig usesto describe communication?

Definition

1. Rhetorical2. Semiotic3. Phenomenological4. Cybernetic5. Sociopsychological6. Sociocultural7. Critical



Term

What are features of scientific shcolarship?

Definition

Objectivitiy, standardization &generalizabilityGoal is not to change things, but minimizebiasData=accuracy

Term

What are features of humanshcolarship?

Definition

Humans cannot be free of biasAccept subjectivity as part of dataDeep and thoughful description of aparticular groupValue is what we do with it

Term

What are features of social-scientific shcolarship?

Definition

Ideas from both scientific and humanscholarshipHumans are the objects of studyInquiry uses a range of methods

Term

What are some of the foremost Communicationjournals?

Definition

Communication TheoryHuman Communiciton ResearchCommunication MonographsCritical Studies in Media Communication

Term

When did the social sciences become fullyrecognized as legitimate disciplines?

Definition

After WWII

Term Definition



Psychologists view communication as... a particular kind of behavior.

Term

Sociologists view communicaiton as...

Definition

a focus on society and social process

Term

Anthropologists view communication as...

Definition

a part of culture

Term

Why so many definitions of communication?

Definition

Different definitions have differenct functions andenable the theorist to do different things

Term

What are benefits of "theory?"

Definition

See the world in an organized andsynthesized way (patterns & connections)Guide us in what and how we observeEnable us to predict & explain outcomes andeffectsHelp us communicate knowledge

Term

What are the 4 basic "elements" of theory?

Definition

1. Philosophical assumptions behind thetheory (about the nature of knowledge, how it isobtained, what constitutes existence and what isvaluable)

2. Concepts (the building blocks of theory)3. Explanations (describing patterns and accounts

for why things occur, e.g. causal and practical)4. Principles (concrete details enabling a

connection between actions and consequences)



Term

Name 3 types of philosophical assumptions.

Definition

1. Epistomology2. Ontology3. Axiology

Term

What is epistomology?

Definition

A branch of philosophy that studies knowledge, orhow people know what they know

Term

What are 5 epistemological concerns forcommunication scholars?

Definition

1. To what extent does knowledge exist beforeexperience?

2. To what extent can knowledge be certain?3. By what process does knowledge arise?4. Is knowledge best conceived in parts or wholes?5. To what extent can knowledge be explicit? (tacit

vs. explicit)

Term

What do Universalists believe?

Definition

They are seeking immutable, absolute"knowledge"

Term

What do Relativists believe?

Definition

That what we know is filtered through our ownperceptions, expereinces, and theories and these

are never static.

Term

Which is wiser?

Definition



Questioning a theory's usefulness

or its truthfulness

Usefullness!

Term

What is Rationalism?

Definition

Knowledge arises out of the sheer power of thehuman mind

Term

What is Empiricism?

Definition

Knowledge arises in perception

Term

What is Constructivism?

Definition

People create knowledge in order to function

Term

What is Social Constructivism?

Definition

Knowledge is a product of group and culturalexperiences

Term

How do Gestaltists see knowlege?

Definition

Holistically



Term

How do Analysts see knowledge?

Definition

An an understanding of how parts operateseparately

Term

What is the difference between explicit and tacitknowledge?

Definition

Explicit: what you can "get out"Tacit: what is in your mind

Term

What is Ontology?

Definition

A branch of philosophy dealing with the nature ofbeing

Term

What are 4 ontological concerns forcommunication scholars?

Definition

1. To what extent do humans make real choices2. Is human behavior best understood in terms

of states or traits?3. Is human experience primarily individual or

social?4. To what extent is communication

contextual?

Term

What do Determinists believe?

Definition

Behavior is caused by many poor conditions, andhumans are reactive and passive

Term

What do Pragmatists believe?

Definition

Humans plan their behavior to meet goals



Term

What is the difference between trairs and states?

Definition

Traits are static and stable.

States are dynamic and temporary.

Term

How does study of an individual vary from that of asociety?

Definition

Individual researchers focuses on behavior as anindividualistic experience.

Society researchers believe humans cannot beunderstood apart from their social relationships

Term

What are factors in considering contextualcommunication?

Definition

Whether life is best understood looking atuniversal factors or that such generalizations

cannot be made

Term

What are 4 axiological concerns forcommunication scholars?

Definition

1. Can theory be value free?2. To what extent does the practice of inquiry

influence what is studied?3. What is the aim of scholarship?4. To what extent for social change?

Term

What is axiology?

Definition

What is knowledge for?

Term Definition



What is Value-free scholarship?

Classical science... that there is an intrinsicvalue of knowledge to ascertain Truth; thatthe application does not drive research.Scholarship is neutral

Term

What is Value-conscious scholarship?

Definition

A blief that researchers are guided by choice,personal and institutional values, funding,

ideologies

Term

What are taxonomies?

Definition

Existence "theories" that stop at the conceptuallevel and just provide a list of categories without

indicating HOW they relate

Term

What are causal explanations?

Definition

Events are connected where one variable is anoutcome/result of another

Term

What are practical explanations?

Definition

The actions are considered to be goal directed toreach a future state.

Term

What do "principles" of theories do?

Definition

Identify situation or eventIncludes a set of norms or valuesAsserts a conncection between a range of



actions and possible consequences

Term

What is praxology?

Definition

The pracitce of how you practice or carry outresearch, e.g. scientific vs. humanistic

Term

What is Nomothetic theory?

Definition

That which seeks universal or general lawsto predict (traditional scientific)Dominant approach in experimental naturalsciences

Term

What are the 4 processes of the hypothetico-deductive method (or variable-analytic tradition)?

i.e. "explanation and prediction" = knowledgeclaim that is BROAD

Definition

1. Develop questions2. Form falsifiable hypothesis3. Test hypothesis4. Formulate theory

i.e., Research-then-theory method

Term

What are the Nomothetic "philosophies"?

Definition

EpistemologicallyEmpiricist and Rational,i.e. reality is separate from researcher,privilieging objectivityOntologicallyBehavior is determined bybiology and environmentAxiologicallyValue-free stance

Term

What is Operationism?

Definition

Concepts in traditional science are preciselydefined and stated in ways that explain how to

observe them

Term Definition



Why control and manipulate in research?To eliminate extraneous influences and include

necessary ones in testing

Term

What are the 5 tenets of Practical Theory?

Definition

1. Action is voluntary, i.e. humans are self-motiviating

2. Knowlegde is socially created, i.e.communication theories are created byprocesses they are designed to explain

3. Theories are historically tied to setting and time(concrete variables) and will change over time

4. Theories affect reality of researcher5. Theories are never neutral

Term

What are the Practical Theory"philosophies"?

Definition

Epistemologiciallypeople take an active role increating knowledge, i.e., not out of discovery butfrom interaction,thus are Humanistic andsubjective and NOT universal lawsOntologicallyIndividuals create meanings,have intentions and make choices in deliberatewaysAxiologicallyValue-consciousConcepts organize a framework for classifyingdynamic interpretations in real situations

Term

What is one difference between Nomothetic andPracitcal theories?

Definition

Practical theories offer a guidelines/prescriptionsfor reflection and action, i.e., provides "principles"

to improve life, for a particular grup or situation

Example: a KM audit of a particular organizaiton

Term

What are 6 criteria for evaluating communicationtheory?

Definition

1. Theoretical scope (breadth of a theory)2. Appropriateness (how consistent its

assumptions are with its methods andquestions)

3. Heuristic value (use for generating research andideas)

4. Validty (pragmiatic, fit between theory & reality,generalizabiltiy)

5. Parsimony (simplicity)6. Openness (open to dialogue with other

approaches)

Term Definition



Who developed the 5 tenets of an alternativeparadigm to traditional science?

Robyn Penman

Term

What is Theoretical Scope?

Definition

The conceptual domain or extent of coverage

Example: E=MC2 has a BIG scope

Term

What is Heuristic Value?

Definition

Ability to inspire new knowledge/ideas

Term

What are 3 "tests" of Validity (or truth value of atheory)?

Definition

1. Value or worth in practical theory2. Corrspondence or fit with the way it can be

observed3. Generalizability or scope

Term

What is Parsimony?

Definition

A theory's simple elegance, i.e. can details becombined into a fewer number?

Term

What is openness?

Definition

Especially in practical theory... admits to diversityand perspective.

Even nomonthetic can be open in acknolwedging



the possibility of growth and change in the future.

Term

What are simple definitions for

Epistomology

Ontology

Axiology?

Definition

Being

Knowledge

Value

Term

What is the Semiotic Tradition?

Definition

Focuses on signs and symbols, andcommunication is the application of these signs to

bridge the worlds of individuals

Term

Who is Charles Peirce?

Definition

The first modern semiotic theorist who developedthe "Triad of Meaning or semiosis": the object(referent)the person (interpreter)the sign.

Term

What are the 3 areas of Semiotics?

Definition

1. Semantics (dictionaries, what the signstands for)

2. Syntactics (relationship among signs, or partof a larger code with rules)

3. Pragmatics (practical use and effects ofsigns

Term

What is the Phenomenological Tradition?

Definition

Knowing through direct experience;

lived experience is the basic data of reality

Term Definition



What is a phenomenon?The appearance of an object, event or condition in

one's perception

Term

What are the 3 basic principles of Stanley Deetzphenomenological beliefs?

Definition

1. Knowledge is conscious2. How one relates to a thing determines ints

meaning for that person3. Language is the vehicle for meaning

Term

What is interpretation in the phenomenologicaltradition?

Definition

Interpretation forms what is real for thepersonhermeneutic circle of back and forth betweenexperience and assigning meaning

(In semiotic tradition interpretation is separatefrom reality?

Term

What are the 3 schools of thought in thePhenomenological tradition?

Definition

1. Classical (Husseri)highly objective throughbracketing, i.e. putting aside bias

2. Perception (Merleau-Ponty)contemporarythrough out person, subjective relationships tothings

3. Hermeneuticadds that communication is thevehicle by which you assign meaning to yourexperience

Term

What is the Cybernetic Tradition?

Definition

Complex systems in which a wide variety ofphysical, social, behavioral and biological

processes work

Term

What are "systems" in the Cybernetic Tradition?

Definition

Interacting components that together form somethingmore than the sum of the parts:

unique, interdependent wholes

input>environment>output>environment

self-regulation and control



embedded in one another

network fedback loops

Term

What are the 4 variations of systems theory?

Definition

1. Basic with interdependent component parts,self-regulation, and networks

2. Cybernetics focuses on circular feedback loopsand control processess

3. General System Theory (GST) recognizesuniversal nature of all types and points tocommonalities in all

4. Second-order (or cybernetics of knowing) saysobservers are always engaged cyberneticallywith in the system being observed.

Term

What is the Sociopsychological Tradition?

Definition

Common approach in communication, the behavioralsciences and social sciences, at largefocuses on

individual in social interaction with others as the"communicator"

Emphasizes psychological variables, individual effects,

personalities, perceptions and cognition

Message processing, strategies, reception and effects

Term

What are the 3 large branches of theSociopsychological Tradition?

Definition

1. Behavioralstimulus-response and how peopleactually behave in communication

2. Cognitivemental operations to manage infoleads to behavior

3. Communibiologybiological perspective

Term

What is the Sociocultural Tradition?

Definition

Addresses the ways our understadnings,meanings, norms, roles and rules workinteractivelyReality is not objective outside us, butconstructed THROUGH communication ingroups, societies & culturesFocuses on patterns of interactionsKnowledge is intpretive and constructed

Term

What are lines of study "contributing" toSociocultural Tradition?

Definition

1. Symbolic interactionism (Mead)socialstructures and meaning is created within socialinteraction

2. Social constructivismhuman knowledge isconstructed through social interaction; nature ofthe world is less important than language usedto name it

3. Sociolinguisticsstudy of language and culture4. Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Language



meaning of language depends on its use5. Language gamepeople follow rules6. Ethnographyobserving social groups to build

meaning in their language (verbal andnonverbal)

7. Ethnomethodologymicrobehaviors in realsituations

Term

What is the Critical Tradition?

Definition

How power, privilege, and oppression are productsof certain forms of communication

Term

What are the normative features of the CriticalTradition?

Definition

Seek to understand taken-for-granted systemsInterested in uncovering oppressive socialconditionsAttempt to fuse theory and action

Term

What are the branches of the Critical Tradition?

Definition

Classical Marxism (or critique of politicaleconomy)the means of production in a societydetermines the nature of the societyContemporary Marxism (neomarxist)socialprocess is caused by multiple sourcesFrankfurt Schoolmass communication andmedia as structures of oppression in capitalisticsocieties

Term

What are the 3 branches of the Critical Traditionthan break with modernity?

Definition

1. Postmodernismvia information age withmanipulation of knowledge, associated withcultural studies (ideologies that dominate aculture and how social change is inhibted bygroup relations)

2. Postconstructuralismdeconstruct the study ofsigns rather than generate a unified theory;instability of texts

3. Postcolonialall cultures affected by imperialprocess

4. Feministchallenges and assumptions aboutgender affects on life

Term Definition



What is the Rhetorical Tradition?The way humans use symbols to affect those

around them and construct the worlds in whichthey live

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