Comm Theory | Prelim

Miller & Nicholson

These people states that “We cannot completely rely on our personal theories for our communication, people like your professors develop communication theories by starting with their own personal interest, observations, and question about communication.”

Littlejohn & Foss

These people states that “Those of us who study communication are in a continual process of forming, testing, and reforming theories communication, so that we have a better understanding of our communicative practices.”

Ask Important Questions

• it is the first step in the process of discovering how communication functions in our world.

followed by (2) Look for answers by observing communicative behavior. (3) Form answers and theories as a result of your observations

Scope

It refes to how broad or narrow a theory is.

Parsimony

It refers to the idea that all things being equal the simplest solution takes precedence over a complicated one.

Heuristic Value

a theory promts other theories to engage in further study and theorizing about a given problem.

Openness

a quality that a theory allows for, and recognize multiple options and perspectives.

Appropriateness

the fit between the underlying theoritical assumptions and the research question.

Validity

The worth and practical nature of a theory.

Empirical Laws Paradigm

this paradigm states that there are universal laws that govern how we communicate.

The Classical Approach

other names for Empirical Laws; hard science, the positivist approach, covering-law-approach and?

Empircal Laws Theory

the premise of this theory can be stated as a simple equation of causation if X, then Y.

Miller & Berger

These people states that “Unlike the physical world, laws that govern human communication are not absolute and are most often bound by culture and context. Empirical Laws Theories are generally approached from the perspectives of probablity rather than absoluteness.”

Hovland, Janis, and Kelley

They are some of the first to use empirical laws theories to explain communication. During World War II it led them to study effective persuasion in mass communication and propaganda campaigns.

Winch

• These scholars believed empirical laws theories could not explain communication effectively so they began developing theories around the idea of rules rather than laws.

• They believe that we cannot, and should not try to study communication with an approach that does not work as accurately as it does in the physical sciences.

Human Rules Paradigm

This paradigm approaches communication from the perspective that we follow shared rules of communication, not strict laws. (Shimanoff)

Human Rules Theory

This theory promotes a more flexible approach to communication by suggesting that we follow general rules of communication rather than absolute laws.

Social Exchange Theory

This theory theorizes people participate in relationships when there is a fair exchange of costs and rewards.

Rhetorical Theories Paradigm

This paradigm is a way to understand and account for the way any kind of human symbol use functions in any realm.

Normative Theory

• this theory coined in USA during the height of cold war communism and soviet.

• it is often called as western theories of mass media a media system that controlled and operated by the government, authority, leader and public.

• it describes an ideal way for a media system to be controlled and operated by the government, authority, leader and public.

• These theories are more concern about the ownership of the media and who controls the press or media in the country.

Authoritarian Theory

• It is a theory where mass media is influenced and overpowered by power and authority in the nations.

• The English monarchs used this approach when the printing press was invented by censoring, licensing, taxation and making laws.

Censorship

it is a suppression of any communication which may consider as harmful to the people, King, government and its nation.

Yellow Journalism

a style of news reporting that relies on eye-catching headlines, sensationalized exaggerations, dramatic storytelling, and unverified or fabricated facts rather than well-researched truth, primarily to boost circulation and sales.

Value, fit and generalizability

The three characteristics of validity are ______, _____ and _____.

Feedback

It is an element of communication that describes the impact of a message to the receiver.

True

True or False |

the greeks used the term heuristiko, meaning “i find” to refer to an idea, which stimulates additional thinking and discovery.

True

True or False |

a theory is valuable when it is able to explain, in basic terms, complex communicative situations.

True

True or False |

Wide theories work well if the range of events they cover can be applied to a large number of situations. It is easier to understand some theories when we are given examples or can see being played out.

True

True or False |

Rules are dynamic whereas laws are not

True

True or False |

Cultural studies focus on understanding the real-life experiences of people, examining communication contexts for hidden power structures, and accomplishing positive social change as result.

False

True or False |

Empiricism challenged a lot of social power structures.

True

True or False |

In a boomers perspective, male is more powerful and commanding than female.

True

True or False |

a potential weakness of critical theories is their dependence on social values.

True

True or False |

a significant strength of the critical theories paradigm is that it combines theory and practice, seeking to create actual change from theoritical development.

True

True or Falae |

Michel Foucault asserts that we can evaluate commercials by looking how power is enacted in them.

False

True or False |

the primary strength of the critical theory paradigm is its ability to help us produce and evaluate effective messages.

False

True or False |

Rhetorical theories are often generalizable across a variety of communication contexts.