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Chapter Two
What is Communication?
y Definition: The process through which messages,
both intentional and unintentional, create meaning (Metts, 2004, p. 5). y Aspects:
What happens on a first date that will lead people to go on a second date?
What is Theory?
y Nave or lay theories y There is no single correct definition of
theory y Definitions depend on assumptions and needs/goals of theorist y But all agree that theory if fundamentally an abstraction
Metaphors might help Theories are a Reduction of details to patterns of associations A map A fishing net Spectacles
organize information, describe phenomena, explain how communication works, and sometimes predict future occurrences. y 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 theoriesthey do this empirically, statistically, and/or logically
explain how, when, or why something happens, and exist at varying levels of generality (Miller, 2005) y A description of concepts and specifications of the relationships between or among these concepts (Metts, 2004, p. 9)
Compliance Gaining Strategies REWARD APPEALS 1. Ingratiation 2. Promise 3. Debt 4. Esteem 5. Allurement PUNISHMENT APPEALSetc.
What is this?
What is this?
What is this?
y 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)
Miller (2005): y (1) description of phenomena, y (2) relationships among these phenomena, y (3) an underlying storyline that describes mechanisms at work, and y (4) links between the abstract theory and observed phenomena
Firstsome review!
OR Other statements
Functions of theories
y To provide answers to interesting questions
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
Abstract theories are developed early in process, then tested with empirical observations y Inductive approach to theory building: Theoretical abstractions are grounded on extensive empirical observation
Actual practice
Deductive
Inductive
Inductive
Deductive
y Consistency
(internal and external)
Parsimony
y Heurism y Falsifiability
y Fruitful (Heurism)
Theory Type
Theory Type
Theory Type
Theory
Theory
Theory
Metatheoretical Commitments
y Metatheory: theory about theory --
philosophical commitments y Metatheoretical commitments define different approaches to theory development and research practices y Three important aspects of metatheory are ontology, epistemology, and axiology
social world is seen as consisting of real entities, independent of an individuals perception y Nominalist stance: The social world consists of names and labels we use to structure reality y Social constructionist stance: We create the social world through symbols and interaction but it then becomes a reality constraining our behavior
Constructionist
social world are developed through separation of knower and known and use of the scientific method (observation, search for regularities in behavior; generalizable knowledge) y Subjectivist stance: Emergent and local understandings of the social world are developed through situated knowledge and reports of cultural insidersresearcher often becomes part of the group y Intersubjectivist stance?
theories, many of which also appear in communication research, on two continua. y These are continua, rather than simple categories (though they do inform Millers discussion). y The two are as follows:
1)
Subjective
Objective
Voluntarism
human nature
Determinism
Anti-positivism
epistemology
Positivism
Ideographic
methodology
Nomothetic
values can be totally eliminated from the research process y Three positions are still evident:
values
only play a role in parts of the research process values permeate the research process values should direct the research process
Rephrased as questions:
y Can research be value-free? y Should research be value-free? y What do you think?
Axiology
Regulation/Status Quo/Observation
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)
structures (like sexism, racism, classism) y Empowerment, emancipation, resistance y Social relations y Ideology, hegemony y Social change y 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: y Study 1: Does exposure to pornography lead men to see women in more objectified terms? y Study 2: In what ways does the movie, Thelma and Louise provide new (and empowering) narratives for womens relationships?
CRITICAL: Social change SUBJECTIVE HUMANISTIC: Observe/ Interpret SCIENTIFIC: Predict/ Control OBJECTIVE
REGULATION
conference today? y What do you find in the School of Communication at Illinois State University?