Mapping the Territory Chapter 4 (7thed.) (ch 2, 6th ed.) Em Griffin (4th edition)

CLICKER QUESTION IS A TRADITION A THEORY? –A. TRUE –B. FALSE

The Socio-Psychological Tradition:Communication as Interpersonal Influence Scientific (objective) perspective Truths to be discovered by careful, systematic observation (experiments) The central question of this tradition is: What can I do to get them to change? E.g., the Yale attitude studies investigated 3 causes of persuasive messages: –Who says it (expertise, trustworthiness) –What is said (fear appeals, order of arguments) –Whom is it said to (personality, susceptibiity to influence)

Yale Studies Measured opinion change –Pre-test –Message –Post-test For instance, a message from a high credibiltiy source produced a larger shift of opinion than a message from a low credibility source

The Cybernetic Tradition: Communication as Informaton Processing Communication as feedback –Feedback was adjusting future behavior by taking into account past performance The Mathematical Theory of Communication falls into this tradition (little interest in meaning, but rather hi- fidelity sound transmission)

Information source Transmitter ReceiverDestination Noise Source Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication Message Signal Received Signal Message Note that this is a linear model

The Rhetorical Tradition:Communication as Artful Public Address Conviction that speech distinguishes humans from other animals Confidence in solving problems by public address in a democratic forum Public speaking-one speaker tries to persuade an audience Oratorical training as the cornerstone of a leader’s education Rhetoric as art: to move people emotionally

The Semiotic Tradition: Communication as the Process of Creating Meaning Through Signs Semiotics is the study of signs: anything that can stand for something else –high body temperature stands for infection (is a sign of...) –birds fly south is a sign of coming winter –an expensive car signifies wealth –an arrow designates which direction to go

More on the Semiotic Tradition: WORDS Words are a special kind of sign, they are: How do symbols differ from signs? Let’s look back at the examples of signs given earlier and compare to how words work

Semantic Triangle I.A. Richards on how words work: Scholars in this tradition are interested in the way signs and symbols (words or pictures) mediate meaning

The Socio-Cultural Tradition: Communication as the Creation& Enactment of Social Reality Based on the premise that as people talk they produce and reproduce culture Instead of words always reflecting what exists, this tradition says that words shape our view of reality The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis falls within this tradition (p.43) –language directs our attention to aspects of the world and structures our perception

The Critical Tradition: Communication as a reflective challenge of unjust discourse Convinced that “all previous history has been characterized by an unjust distribution of suffering” The ‘haves’ continue to exploit the “have nots”

Critical Theory Critical theorists challenge (among others) 3 features of modern society (p.44): –The control of language to perpetuate power imbalances –The role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression (the average citizen is numbed by the mass media) –Blind reliance on the scientific method and uncritical acceptance of empirical findings

The Phenomenological Tradition: Communication as the experience of self and others through dialogue The intentional analysis of everyday life from the standpoint of the person who is living it People’s interpretation of their own subjective experience –an individual’s story is more important than any research hypothesis or communication axiom

Phenomenology Talk which furthers understanding what it is like to be the person According to Carl Rogers, 3 things enhance this process (p. 45) –congruence –unconditional positive regard –empathic understanding

Congruence The match between an individual’s inner feelings and outer display –genuine –real –integrated –whole –transparent

Unconditional Positive Regard An attitude of acceptance that isn’t contingent on performance –warmth –caring –liking –interest –respect

Empathic Understanding The caring skill of temporarily laying aside our views and values and of entering into another’s world without prejudice –An active process of hearing the other’s thoughts, feelings, tones and meanings as if they were our own

Griffin’s Map of Traditions The map of traditions represents the 7 traditions of theory in relation to their Objective vs. Interpretive character –cybernetic and socio-psychological on the left are most objective –phenomenology, critical theory, and socio- cultural on the right are most interpretive What does that mean to you?