1. Seven traditions in the field of communication theory
Anne Suryani
Dani Vardiansyah
Novita Damayanti
Universitas Multimedia Nusantara
2010

2. The socio-psychological tradition
The cybernetic tradition
The rhetorical tradition
The semiotic tradition
The socio-cultural tradition
The critical tradition
The phenomenological tradition

3. 1. The socio-psychological tradition
Communication as interpersonal interaction and influence
Scientific/objective perspective
Communication truth can be discovered through systematic observation
Cause & effect relationship
Carl Hovland  did experimental research on the effects of communication - the Yale Attitude Studies: “who says what to whom with what effect”
Result: Credibility = expertness & character

4. 2. The cybernetic tradition
Communication as a system of information processing
Norbert Wiener  Cybernetics: the study of information processing, feedback, and control in communication systems
Claude Shannon  a mathematical theory of signal transmission
Information: the reduction of uncertainty; the less predictable a message is, the more information it carries
Channel capacity = Information + Noise

5. Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication (Griffin, 2009, p. 44)
Information source
transmitter
Receiver
Destination
signal
received
signal
message
message
Noise source
Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication
(Griffin, 2009, p. 44)

6. 3. The rhetorical tradition
Communication as artful public address
Rhetoric: the art of using all available means of persuasion, focusing upon lines of argument, organization of ideas, language use, and delivery in public speaking
Aristotle
Logos (logical)
Ethos (ethical)
Pathos (emotional)

7. 4. The semiotic tradition
Communication as the process of sharing meaning through signs
Semiotics: the study of verbal and nonverbal signs that can stand for something else, and how their interpretation impacts society
Symbols: arbitrary words & nonverbal signs that bear no natural connection with the things they describe
Their meaning is learned within a given culture

8. 5. The socio-cultural tradition
Communication as the creation and enactment of social reality
Language
Edward Sapir & Benjamin Lee Whorf
Linguistic relativity  the structure of a culture’s language shapes what people think and do
Contemporary socio-cultural theorist  reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed through communication processes

9. 6. The critical tradition
Communication as a reflective challenge of unjust discourse
Frankfurt school: Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse
1. The control of language to perpetuate power imbalances
2. The role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression
3. Blind reliance on the scientific method and uncritical acceptance of empirical findings

10. 7. The phenomenological tradition
Communication as the experience of self and others through dialogue
Phenomenology: intentional analysis of everyday experience from the standpoint of the person who is living it, explores the possibility of understanding the experience of self and others
Congruence: the match between an individual’s inner feelings and outer display; authenticity, genuineness

11. Pragmatism: an applied approach to knowledge; the philosophy that true understanding of an idea or situation has practical implication for action

12. 8. The ethical tradition
Communication as people of character interacting in just and beneficial ways
Credo for communication ethics
Truthfulness, accuracy, honesty
Consequences
Understanding, respect

13. Summary The socio-psychological tradition The cybernetic tradition
The rhetorical tradition
The semiotic tradition
The socio-cultural tradition
The critical tradition
The phenomenological tradition
8. The ethical tradition
Reference: Griffin, 2009, pp