Chap 8: Communication Theories and Contexts Flashcards
______ is done by organizations in the third step of strategic public relations, when the plan is being implemented.
“communication”
Define communication
a reciprocal process of exchanging signals to inform, persuade, or instruct, based on shared meanings and conditioned by the communicators’ relationship and the social context.
4 Tasks of communication
1) get the attention of target publics
2) stimulate interest in message content
3) build a desire and intention to act on the message
4) is to direct the action of those who behave consistent with the message.
what are the semantic/fidelity problems in communication?
receiver’s perception of message and meaning are not the same as those intended by the sender.
what are influence problems in public relations?
where the sender’s message did not produce the desire result on the part of the receiver
To understand the human communication process one must understand what?
how people relate to each other
Explain the process of informing. (involves four steps).
(1) attracting attention to the communication
(2) achieving acceptance of the message
(3) having it interpreted as intended
(4) getting the message stored for later use
What could be the fifth step of informing
persuasion
Define persuasion
accepting change: yielding to the wishes or point of view of the sender.
describe:interpersonal communication
involves as few as two communicators (typically in close proximity), uses many senses, and provides immediate feedback.
Generally, mass society audiences are vulnerable to messages and media and manipulated by both controls. T/F
False, the receiver is usually active
Name the four basic dimensions of all relational communication.
(1) emotional arousal, composure, and formality
(2) intimacy and similarity
(3) immediacy or liking
(4) dominance submission
what does PROXIMITY communicate
intimacy, attraction, trust, caring, dominance, persuasiveness, and aggressiveness
what does SMILING communicate
Smiling communicates emotional arousal, composure, formality, intimacy, and liking.
Successful group decision making requires accomplishing four tasks. What are they?
( 1) accurate assessment of the problem,
( 2)shared and complete understanding of the goal and the criteria for success
( 3) agreeing on the positive outcomes of decisions
( 4) agreeing on the negative outcomes of decisions
Explain Walter Lippmann’s sides in the “triangular relationship”.
“the world outside and the pictures in our heads.”
1) the scene of action
2) perceptions of that scene, and responses based on the perceptions.
3) responses that impact the original scene of action.
What is the cultivation theory?
“ cultivation theory”— the homogenizing effect of creat-ing a shared culture
What is social reality?
What the world is based on your own social perspective (Ex: those who watch a great deal of television have a different view of the world -social reality- than those who don’t.
In the agenda-settting theory, cognition refers to what?
What we know about
In the agenda-settting theory, predisposition refers to what?
our feelings about things
agenda- setting theory suggested that mass media can have a substantial and important impact on the _________ level without affecting _______
cognitive,
predisposition
What does more recent research suggest about predispositions?
more recent research shows that media affect predispositions as well.
What does the agenda-setting theory do?
Distinguishes between what we think about and what we think.
How can mass communication affect public opinion?
by raising the salience of issues and positions taken by people and groups in the news.
What two concepts in agenda-setting theory and research are especially useful in public relations?
Cognitive priming and issue salience
Issue salience
determines the prominence and penetration the issue has with the audience, or how well it resonates with each public.
Cognitive priming
describes the personal experience or connection someone has with an issue.
