PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:

WHAT IS THEORY?

Chapter Two

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?

What is this?

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

First—some review!

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

Actual practice

Inductive

DeductiveInductive

Deductive

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

Paradigm shift as “Revolution”

Normal Science

Anomalies

Crisis

“Revolution”

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

Rephrased as questions:

Can research be value-free?Should research be value-free?What do you think?

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

Building Communication Theory Chapter 3

Two debates in “Communication”

1977: Laws, Rules Systems1983: Scientific, Humanistic, Critical Today’s debates? 1989: Rethinking CommunicationWhat would you find at a

communication conference today?What do you find in the School of

Communication at Illinois State University?