Exam #2 Flashcards
What are the contemporary approaches to studying human communication?
Social science approach
Interpretive approach
Critical approach
What is an approach/paradigm?
Belief system that represents a particular worldview.
Set of statements that explains a particular phenomenon.
Theory
The specific ways that scholars collect and analyze data, which then is used to prove or disprove the theory.
Methods
Types of methods:
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Observations
- Focus groups
- Analyses of texts
Focused on the individual, or occasionally, dryads. Contemporary term for the behaviorist approach.
Social Science Approach
What was the focus of the social science approach?
Behaviorist focus. Reality is observable and describable making predictions possible.
What method did the social science approach use?
Quantitative, concerting information into numerical data.
What are the strengths of the social science approach?
Useful in explaining communication patterns and predicting their effects.
What are the limitations of the social science approach?
- Human behavior is not always predictable
- Lab results may not hold up outside of the lab.
- Surveys don’t allow for insight into complex issues.
- Focuses on individual without looking at larger societal forces. (Inequalities, socioeconomic issues)
Contemporary term for humanistic (rhetorical) study. Focused on the individual and influenced by the Greeks.
Interpretive Approach
What was the focus of the interpretive approach?
Rhetoric/humanism. Primary goal to understand and describe human communication behavior in specific contexts or situations.
What are the methods of the interpretive approach?
Qualitative- data comes from reporting observations. Assess the quality of the Comm.
Ethnographic- field research rather than lab research. (Surveys, observation, interviewing)
What are the strengths of the interpretive approach?
Provides in depth understanding of and insights into communication in specific situations.
What are the limitations of the interpretive approach?
- Uses few participants, so researchers cannot make broader generalizations.
- Researchers are often outsiders in relation to those they study so their interpretations may not be accurate.
Concerned with how societal forces influence and interact with individual forces. Ultimate goal is to change society
Critical approach
What is the focus of the critical approach?
Enacting social change
What is the method of the critical approach?
Qualitative, using observation and textual analysis.
What are the strengths of the critical approach?
- Emphasis on importance of societal forces on human communication.
- Acknowledgement of the role of power
What are the limitations of the critical approach?
- Pack of focus on face to face interactions.
- We learn how the media influences people, but we don’t learn how to talk to each other.
- Does not produce quantitative data or allow for generalizations.
Societal categories you use to define yourself, as well as categories others define you by.
Identity
How we differ from other individuals, what makes us unique.
Individual level of identity
How our groups differ from other groups.
Societal level of identity
What are the levels identity exists at?
Individual and societal
Our self image develops through how others view us and the messages they send about who we are. (Also called the looking glass self)
Reflected appraisals
When do reflected appraisals begin?
At birth, (good or bad baby)
Important people in your life whose opinions and behaviors shape your identity.
Particular others
Collection of roles, rules, norms, beliefs endorsed by the community. (What is valued and important to others)
Generalized others
Our expectations that something might occur actually increase the likelihood that it will occur.
Self- Fulfilling Prophecy
A fairly stable set of perceptions we hold about ourselves.
Self- concept
Self presentation. How we show the world who we think we are. Shown through how we call ourselves, artifacts and clothing, Comm style.
Performance of identity
Identification with a particularly group, develops through societal forces. Historically divided by physical traits.
Racial identity