What is Communication?
Definition: “The process through which messages, both intentional and unintentional, create meaning” (Metts, 2004, p. 5).
Aspects: Dialectical nature Strategic and Consequential
Perceptual consequences Behavioral consequences Relational consequences
What happens on a first date that will lead people to go on a second date?
How can a student be successful?
What leads one broadcasting agency to become successful in a market?
What would make employees in a given organization more productive?
What is Theory?
Naïve or “lay” theories…There is no single “correct” definition
of theoryDefinitions depend on assumptions
and needs/goals of theoristBut all agree that theory if
fundamentally an abstractionTheory is not behavior but an abstract representation of behavior
Metaphors might help…
Theories are a Reduction of details to patterns of associations
A mapA fishing netSpectacles
Difference between naïve theories and scientific theories
Both lay theories and scientific theories function to organize information, describe phenomena, explain how communication works, and sometimes predict future occurrences.
However, the important difference between lay theories and scientific theories is that scholars must be able to argue for the validity (truth or correctness) of their theories—they do this empirically, statistically, and/or logically
More Formal Definitions of Theory?
Abstractions of the social world…that explain how, when, or why something happens, and exist at varying levels of generality (Miller, 2005)
A description of concepts and specifications of the relationships between or among these concepts (Metts, 2004, p. 9)
What Theories Are Not
Theories should be distinguished from hypotheses, typologies, taxonomies, and models. Hypothesis: A single statement about the
relationship between two concepts Typology: Thematic categories (e.g., types of
immediacy cues in the classroom or types of power) Taxonomy: Categories that are arranged
hierarchically (types of animals) Models: usually concerned with processes; draw on
typologies, taxonomies, and theories but describe without predicting or explaining. Ex.: the stages of relationship development and deterioration
What a theory is not
A hypothesisA modelA taxonomyA paradigm
As depth of self-disclosure increases, relationships will grow
Compliance Gaining Strategies REWARD APPEALS1. Ingratiation2. Promise3. Debt4. Esteem5. AllurementPUNISHMENT APPEALS…etc.
What is this?
The more people from groups that do not like each other have contact or talk with each other, the more they will grow to like each other.
(Contact more Intergroup liking)
What are the “parts” of a theory?
Miller (2005): (1) description of phenomena, (2) relationships among these phenomena,
(3) an underlying “storyline” that describes mechanisms at work, and
(4) links between the abstract theory and observed phenomena
What are the “parts” of a theory?
Metts (2004): (1) concepts(2) relationships among these concepts
Propositions OR Other statementsPropositions
TemporalCorrelationalCausal
What does a theory do? (Metts, 2004, p. 14)
Function What the Theory Does
Organize
Describe
Explain
Predict
Functions of theories
To provide answers to interesting questions and/or solutions to important problems Theories address empirical problems in
which something about the observed world is puzzling
Theories address conceptual problems in which there are inconsistencies within a theory or with other theories
Theories address practical problems of daily life
How are theories developed?
Deductive approach to theory building: Abstract theories are developed early in process, then tested with empirical observations
Inductive approach to theory building: Theoretical abstractions are grounded on extensive empirical observation
How can I tell if a theory is good?
Utility scientific &
practicalScope
Breadth (range of applicability)
• ParsimonyHeurismFalsifiability
Accuracy (entails falsifiability)
Consistency (internal and external)
ScopeSimple (Parsimony)Fruitful (Heurism)
Metts Miller (Ch. 3; p. 44)
Paradigms & Theories
Kuhn on ParadigmsParadigms > TheoriesThe Paradox of ParadigmsRevolution versus accumulation
Paradigms & Theories
Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm
Theory Type
Theory Type
Theory Type
Theory Theory
Theory
Metatheoretical Commitments
Metatheory: “theory about theory” -- philosophical commitments
Metatheoretical commitments define different approaches to theory development and research practices
Three important aspects of metatheory are ontology, epistemology, and axiology
Ontology: The Nature of the Social World
Realist stance: The social world is seen as consisting of real entities, independent of an individual’s perception
Nominalist stance: The social world consists of names and labels we use to structure reality
Social constructionist stance: We create the social world through symbols and interaction but it then becomes a “reality” constraining our behavior
These positions are on a continuum
Realist Social Nominalist
Constructionist
Where do you fall on this continuum?
Epistemology: The creation and growth of knowledge (Table 2.1, p. 29)
Objectivist stance: Causal explanations of the social world are developed through separation of knower and known and use of the scientific method (observation, search for regularities in behavior; generalizable knowledge)
Subjectivist stance: Emergent and local understandings of the social world are developed through situated knowledge and reports of cultural insiders—researcher often becomes part of the group
Intersubjectivist stance…?
Paradigms: Burrell & Morgan’s View
Burrell and Morgan outline sociological theories, many of which also appear in communication research, on two continua.
These are continua, rather than simple categories (though they do inform Miller’s discussion).
The two are as follows: 1) Ontology/Epistemology (x-axis) 2) Axiology (y axis)
The Subjective-Objective Dimension
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)
Subjective Objective
Ontology/ Epistemology
The Subjective-Objective Dimension
Nominalism Realismontology
Anti-positivism Positivismepistemology
Ideographic Nomotheticmethodology
The subjectivist approach to
social science
The objectivist approach to
social science
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)
Voluntarism Determinismhuman nature
Scientific key words
CauseEffect, influence, affect, lead to
Factors, variablesPredictGeneralizableAnalytic/reductionisticQuantitative (or qualitative)
Humanistic key words
ContextualInterpretiveSocial constructionHolisticSubjectiveQualitative (usually)
Axiology: The role of values in theory development
Most theorists now reject the idea that values can be totally eliminated from the research process
Three positions are still evident:values only play a role in parts of the
research processvalues permeate the research processvalues should direct the research
process
The Social Change/Status Quo Dimension
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)
Radical Social Change
Regulation/Status Quo/Observation
Axiology
Critical key words
Power (struggles, etc.)Production and reproduction of social structures (like sexism, racism, classism)
Empowerment, emancipation, resistance
Social relationsIdeology, hegemonySocial change NOTE: May be qualitative or quantitative
A very important note: Critical theory, at least in communication, is not a question of method or ontological/epistemological assumptions, but of the purpose of research:
Study 1: Does exposure to pornography lead men to see women in more objectified terms?
Study 2: In what ways does the movie, Thelma and Louise provide new (and empowering) narratives for women’s relationships?
Three (socially constructed) paradigmsnin communication!
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 22)
SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
REGULATION
RADICAL CHANGE
CRITICAL: Social change
SCIENTIFIC: Predict/ Control
HUMANISTIC: Observe/ Interpret