Chapter 4: Mapping the territory Flashcards
Socio-psychological tradition:
searching for truths, cause-effect relationships, universal laws of communication
RECAP of the socio-psychological tradition:
What cause-effect patterns help us predict behavior?
Cybernetic tradition:
communication as a system of information processing // communication is THE LINK in any system
Cybernetics
the study of information processing, feedback and control in communication systems
RECAP of the cybernetic tradition:
How does information flow through a system?
Rhetorical tradition:
uses all available means of persuasion, focusing on: lines of argument, organization of ideas, language use, and delivery
RECAP of the rhetorical tradition:
an effort to understand how language changes the minds of others
Semiotic tradition:
the study of the different meanings of signs between people and across time
What is a sign?
anything that can stand for something else (i.e. a stop sign indicates you should stop)
What is a symbol?
a kind of sign; they are words but the actual words have no inherent meaning
RECAP of the semiotic tradition:
how do the meanings of symbols change and impact people?
Socio-cultural tradition:
as people talk, they produce and reproduce culture
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:
the structure of a culture’s language shapes what people think and do // language structures our perception of reality
RECAP of the socio-cultural tradition:
how does our use of communication create our realities?
Critical tradition:
language perpetuates unjust differences in power
Explain the role of the “Frankfurt School” within critical theory:
The Frankfurt School was set up to test the ideas of Karl Marx.
The school rejected Marxism economic determinism, but carried on the Marxist tradition of critiquing society.
Determinism:
all events are determined by prior existing causes versus free will
Challenges offered by critical theorists:
1) language perpetuates power imbalance
2) scientific method is not value-free
3) mass media dulls sensitivity to repression
RECAP of the critical tradition:
how are unjust power imbalances perpetuated by language?
Phenomenological tradition:
emphasis placed on people’s perception and interpretation of their own experience
RECAP of the phenomenological tradition:
how can we develop “authentic” relationships?
Does a theory have to fall solely within one tradition?
No. While traditions can be more objective or interpretive, some theories are hybrids of multiple traditions.
Which of the communication research traditions concerns how communication creates the realities in which we live?
socio-cultural
“I know exactly how you feel!”
A(n) _____ wouldn’t say this because their interest is in understanding the perspective from the standpoint of the person living it.
phenomenologists
“Nobody understands what it’s like to be me!”
A(n) _____ would say this is one reason why communication is so complex and rife with misunderstandings; no one can experience another person’s experience.
phenomenologists
Which of the communication research traditions concerns how meanings for symbols change and impact people?
Semiotics
Which of the communication research traditions concerns how language perpetuates power imbalances?
critical theory
Which of the communication research traditions concerns how language helps change the minds of others?
Rhetorical theory
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that language shapes and structures our perception of reality. This is fundamental to the ____ tradition.
socio-cultural
The ____ tradition focuses on communication as the most important link in systems (like families and organizations).
Cybernetics
