Lesson 2 : Approaches to communication

Question 1

Learning Outcomes:

Answer 1

• Models and theories of commuication to be outlined
• Approaches to the study of communication
• Apply some ideas to a case

Question 2

What is a model in communication?

Answer 2

A model is a description of events: it shows how things work. Examples (Scientific) can be: Ptolemaic model/ Copernican Model.

Example 1: Ptolemy’s works established the Ptolemaic System, a geocentric model of the universe in which everything in the cosmos revolved around the Earth in complicated patterns.
Example 2: Copernican Model: The Earth and the other planets circle around the Sun— a heliocentric system.

Question 3

What is a theory?

Answer 3

• A theory explains why things work the way they do
• Throughout history, different theories have been proposed to explain the movement of astral objects: Kepler’s laws, Newton’s Laws of motion, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
• Different models and theories are different ways of seeing things

Question 4

2 models of communication

Answer 4

1. Linear Model: Speaker -> Listener -> Speaker -> Listener
2. Transactional model: Speaker / Listener <-> Speaker / Listener

Question 5

Linear v Transactional Model

Answer 5

If we were to analyse a case study (between 2 people talking about a visit to the dermatologist- but it was a painful and traumatic experience):
1. Linear Model: Nancy’s story would have a definite meaning, and there are very minimal. only one way in which Nancy can respond to this
2. Transactional Model: The recepient of the conversation is actively engaged in making sense of the story ( this goes on together hence speaker/listener ). The meaning of the story/ recount is party co-constructed through the reactions and PARTICIPATION of the receipient since it happens simultaneously

Question 6

2 Approaches to Communication

Answer 6

1. Objective: A single truth exists, which can be discovered through unbiased observation - in many cases we can astablish whether a communication is truthful such as blatant fake news
2. Interpretative: multiple meanings or truths are possible ; interpretive research examines them: example: cases where people hold different views or truths about an event and it is not easy to establish what is true/ valid or not

Examples include: View of the World : exists out there independently (objective) partly created through our processes of meaning making (interpretive)
View of human nature: Partly determined/ predictable (Objective), Choice (Interpretive)
Values: Effectiveness, lack of bias (objective), Socially relevant research and participation creates values ( int )

Question 7

Case Study : Hyla X Nancy Application to the 2 Obj/ Int approaches

Answer 7

Objective: Study for individual factors, such as age/ gender/ personality traits, that can predict the kinds of response Hyla uses/ would say
Interpretive: we could explore the ways in which the meaning of Nancy’’s story lends itself to multiple possible understandings and responses / emotional connections etc (all which are potentially legitimate and can be negotiated by the participants)

Question 8

Traditions of communication research

Answer 8

• Different traditions or schools of thought and research, which position themsleves in different ways along the objective interpretaive spectrum
• Socio-psychological / Cybernatic / Socio-culural / critical / phenomenological

Question 9

Semiotic Tradition

Answer 9

Semiotics = the study of signs
Sign = something that stands for someting else
Symbols: arbitrary and conventional signs (words)
Meaning is not ‘in’ signs themselves. It is the result of processes of meaning making

Question 10

Applications of Semiotics

Answer 10

Social semiotics: how people make sense of signs(eg: verbal expressions) in everyday life, with consequences for social relationships and identities
- Word ‘mum’ conjures up implicity meanings and expectations
- Expression ‘working mum’ is more common than the term ‘working dad’
What is the reaction out of it???

Question 11

Socio-cultural Tradition

Answer 11

• Communication doesn’t only reflect culture. It creates culture
• People construct the worlds they live in through the language they use
• Gender related expectations are reflected in the language we use and an application: inter-cultural communication

Question 12

Critical Tradition

Answer 12

• Examining how communication reproduces structures of power and inequalities
• Hoey and Raymond : investigated the use of mock language within racist altercations
  Henderson and Tennent (2025) investigated how transphobic reproduces essentialist understandings of sex and gender

SLIDE 27 FOR PRACTISE