Chapter 4: Mapping the territory

Question 1

Socio-psychological tradition:

Answer 1

searching for truths, cause-effect relationships, universal laws of communication

Question 2

RECAP of the socio-psychological tradition:

Answer 2

What cause-effect patterns help us predict behavior?

Question 3

Cybernetic tradition:

Answer 3

communication as a system of information processing // communication is THE LINK in any system

Question 4

Cybernetics

Answer 4

the study of information processing, feedback and control in communication systems

Question 5

RECAP of the cybernetic tradition:

Answer 5

How does information flow through a system?

Question 6

Rhetorical tradition:

Answer 6

uses all available means of persuasion, focusing on: lines of argument, organization of ideas, language use, and delivery

Question 7

RECAP of the rhetorical tradition:

Answer 7

an effort to understand how language changes the minds of others

Question 8

Semiotic tradition:

Answer 8

the study of the different meanings of signs between people and across time

Question 9

What is a sign?

Answer 9

anything that can stand for something else (i.e. a stop sign indicates you should stop)

Question 10

What is a symbol?

Answer 10

a kind of sign; they are words but the actual words have no inherent meaning

Question 11

RECAP of the semiotic tradition:

Answer 11

how do the meanings of symbols change and impact people?

Question 12

Socio-cultural tradition:

Answer 12

as people talk, they produce and reproduce culture

Question 13

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:

Answer 13

the structure of a culture’s language shapes what people think and do // language structures our perception of reality

Question 14

RECAP of the socio-cultural tradition:

Answer 14

how does our use of communication create our realities?

Question 15

Critical tradition:

Answer 15

language perpetuates unjust differences in power

Question 16

Explain the role of the “Frankfurt School” within critical theory:

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

Determinism:

Answer 17

all events are determined by prior existing causes versus free will

Question 18

Challenges offered by critical theorists:

Answer 18

1) language perpetuates power imbalance
2) scientific method is not value-free
3) mass media dulls sensitivity to repression

Question 19

RECAP of the critical tradition:

Answer 19

how are unjust power imbalances perpetuated by language?

Question 20

Phenomenological tradition:

Answer 20

emphasis placed on people’s perception and interpretation of their own experience

Question 21

RECAP of the phenomenological tradition:

Answer 21

how can we develop “authentic” relationships?

Question 22

Does a theory have to fall solely within one tradition?

Answer 22

No. While traditions can be more objective or interpretive, some theories are hybrids of multiple traditions.

Question 23

Which of the communication research traditions concerns how communication creates the realities in which we live?

Answer 23

socio-cultural

Question 24

“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.

Answer 24

phenomenologists

Question 25

“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.

Answer 25

phenomenologists

Question 26

Which of the communication research traditions concerns how meanings for symbols change and impact people?

Answer 26

Semiotics

Question 27

Which of the communication research traditions concerns how language perpetuates power imbalances?

Answer 27

critical theory

Question 28

Which of the communication research traditions concerns how language helps change the minds of others?

Answer 28

Rhetorical theory

Question 29

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that language shapes and structures our perception of reality. This is fundamental to the ____ tradition.

Answer 29

socio-cultural

Question 30

The ____ tradition focuses on communication as the most important link in systems (like families and organizations).

Answer 30

Cybernetics