1. Ch 7. Theories of Message Production
Constructivist Theory
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2. Constructivist Theory
Theoretical approach to comprehend how messages are produced through individual cognitive process
Attempts to explore which factors result in different capacity and abilities among individuals to grasp information and interpretation in interpersonal communication

3. Metatheoretical Foundations
Ontology
Social reality is constructed in interaction of ongoing
individual’s interpretive process but limited by
previously constituted contexts and structures
Epistemology
Examination of individual’s created interpretation
Better comprehend knowledge (subjective and personal cognitive process)

4. Feature 1. Construct System
Theoretical Bases
Personal construct (Kelly; 1955) Individual mode of sensemaking
:Primary cognitive structure through which people interpret events
Developmental theory (Werner; 1957) Cognitive systems become more differentiated, more abstract and more integrated with maturation

5. Construct System (cont’d)
Cognitive Complexity
What is complex cognitive system?
- “ A cognitive system composed of a comparatively large number of finely articulated , abstract, and well integrated elements is regarded as relatively complex (Miller, p.107)”
Interpersonal constructs
- An important construct system for comprehension of individuals’ perception of others in the context of interpersonal communication

6. Construct System (cont.)
Measurement
Role Category Questions (RCQ)
- Developed by Crockett
- Measure the degree of interpersonal cognitive complexity through the coding of open-ended responses
- Larger set of constructs more cognitively complex

7. Feature 2. Person-Centered Communication
Person-Centered Messages
- Reflect characteristics of message recipients and social situations to adapt them
- Produced through complex interpersonal construct
Individual difference in communication skills
- Complex cognitive process person-centered messages more likely to have beneficial outcomes in interpersonal communication

8. Application of Constructivist Theory
Communication in Family
Theoretical assumption
Cognitive development is a critical element for effective communication.
Application
Communication between a parent and a child
Ex) A mother tries to convince her daughter not to cry after the mother finds out that the daughter had a fight with her best friend.

9. Application (cont’d)
“I am sure you feel bad now. But you and your friend can become reconciled again after you calm down. Things will get better. You’ll see.”
“I am really sorry, my sweetie. I know that you are really disappointed and depressed. But why don’t you let me tell you about what I did for reconciling with my friends before? I am not sure it would make you feel better but we can talk about what happened to you and your friend and how you would attempt to rebuild your friendship.”

10. Application (cont’d) Expected Result
Interaction of cognitive and communicative development through parent-children relationship
Parents with mature interpersonal cognitive complexity would
recognize child’s subjective perspective.
encourage child to independently deal with situation by producing more person-centered messages adapted to her/him
Through cognitive and communicative development in interaction with such parents, children would be encouraged to process what they learned into other communicative messages later and to adapt to new communication settings

11. Further Reading
Burleson, B. R. & Samter, W. (1990). Effects of Cognitive
Complexity on the Perceived Importance of Communication
Skills in Friends. Communication Research 17:
Each participant tends to perceive affectively oriented communication skills to be more important than nonaffectively oriented skills.
If cognitive complexity were taken into account:
moderate or high-complexity individuals perceive affectively oriented communication skills to be significantly more important than low-complexity individuals.

12. Further Reading Applegate, J. (1980, May). Adaptive Communication in
Educational Contexts: A Study of Teachers' Communicative
Strategies. Communication Education 29(2), 158
Teachers with high complexity of interpersonal construct show greater capacity of personal and adaptive communication with students in both regulative and interpersonal contexts. They also express the teacher-student relationship in more personal terms.