Showing papers in "Communication Theory in 2002"
TL;DR: This article found that absorption in a narrative, and response to characters in a story, should enhance persuasive effects and suppress counterarguing if the implicit persuasive content is counter-attitudinal.
Abstract: The impact of entertainment—education messages on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior is typically explained in terms of social cognitive theory principles. However, important additional insights regarding reasons why entertainment—education messages have effects can be derived from the processing of persuasive content in narrative messages. Elaboration likelihood approaches suggest that absorption in a narrative, and response to characters in a narrative, should enhance persuasive effects and suppress counterarguing if the implicit persuasive content is counterattitudinal. Also, persuasion mediators and moderators such as topic involvement should be reduced in importance. Evidence in support of these propositions are reviewed in this article. Research needed to extend application of these findings to entertainment—education contexts, to further develop theory in the area of persuasion and narrative, and to better account for other persuasive effects of entertainment narrative, such as those hypothesized in cultivation theory, are discussed.
1,126 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a theory of family communication that is based on the schematic representation of relational knowledge and developed a general model of the role of relational schemas for interpersonal communication.
Abstract: Scholars who study the family generally agree that the values, behaviors, and social environments that affect family structures have changed a great deal over the past 2 decades (Fitzpatrick & Vangelisti, 1995). The ability of families to survive these changes suggests that families are flexible and that their flexibility is aided by how family members communicate. Furthermore, although a number of the functions of the family have been delegated to other social agencies, family members are expected to provide caregiving and support and to nurture one another. Whether conceived of as a process of making facts mutually manifest (Sperber & Wilson, 1986) or of developing and sustaining definitions of reality in relationships (Berger & Kellner, 1994), communication plays a central role in the family. Despite this obvious importance of family communication, there are no theories of family communication per se, although there is a growing body of excellent, theoretically driven research on various topics in this arena (Fitzpatrick & Vangelisti, 1995). The purpose of this manuscript is to attempt to fill this lacuna by developing a theory of family communication that builds on the advances made in research involving the schematic representation of relational knowledge in human cognition and that takes the unique family communication environment into consideration. To that end, we first provide some background work, explicating key concepts and terms, and discuss the relevance of intersubjectivity and interactivity for family communication theories. We then explore relational theories that employ relationship schemas and develop a genIn this article, the authors develop a theory of family communication that is based on the schematic representation of relational knowledge. They discuss pertinent issues surrounding family communication and develop a general model of the role of relational schemas for interpersonal communication. Taking the specific environment of family communication into consideration, the authors then develop a theory of family communication based on a family relationship schema and describe the schema’s location in cognition, its content, and its role in family communication.
433 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of theory and research on the causes and effects of deliberation leads to a self-reinforcing model of public deliberation, which posits that discussion participants perceive potential common ground, believe deliberation is an appropriate mode of talk, possess requisite analytic and communication skills, and have sufficient motivation.
Abstract: Although scholars have begun to study face—to—face deliberation on public issues, “deliberation” has no clear conceptual definition and only weak moorings in larger theories. To address these problems, this essay integrates diverse philosophical and empirical works to define deliberation and place it in a broader theoretical context. Public deliberation is a combination of careful problem analysis and an egalitarian process in which participants have adequate speaking opportunities and engage in attentive listening or dialogue that bridges divergent ways of speaking and knowing. Placed in the meta—theoretical framework of structuration theory (Giddens, 1984), deliberation is theorized to exist at the center of a homeostatic loop, in which deliberative practice reinforces itself. A review of theory and research on the causes and effects of deliberation leads us to develop this structurational conceptualization into the self—reinforcing model of deliberation. This model posits that public deliberation is more likely to occur when discussion participants perceive potential common ground, believe deliberation is an appropriate mode of talk, possess requisite analytic and communication skills, and have sufficient motivation. Deliberation directly reinforces participants' deliberative habits and skills, and it indirectly promotes common ground and motivation by broadening participants' public identities and heightening their sense of political efficacy.
380 citations
TL;DR: Theoretical investigations of entertainment education should pay greater attention to the tremendous variability among entertainment education interventions and to the various resistances to entertainment-education interventions as mentioned in this paper, and also benefit from close investigations of the rhetorical, play, and affective aspects of E-E.
Abstract: With the growing number of entertainment—education (E—E) interventions worldwide, and the extensive evaluation research on their impacts, the time is ripe to explore in—depth the theoretical underpinnings of entertainment—education. This introductory article provides a historical background to this special issue of Communication Theory on entertainment—education, and charts a 5—pronged theoretical agenda for future research on entertainment—education. Theoretical investigations of entertainment—education should pay greater attention to the tremendous variability among entertainment—education interventions and to the various resistances to entertainment—education interventions. E—E theorizing will also benefit from close investigations of the rhetorical, play, and affective aspects of E—E. Further, E—E “effects” research should consider employing a broader understanding of individual, group, and social—level changes and be more receptive to methodological pluralism and measurement ingenuity.
365 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an alternative vocabulary for multiple public spheres through an exploration of the history of the African American public sphere is presented. And three types of marginal publics, enclave, counterpublic, and satellite, are defined as examples of how we might incorporate considerations of the kinds of resources different publics have available to them.
Abstract: Many theorists propose that there are multiple, coexisting “subaltern” counterpublic spheres. However, most discussions of these subaltern counterpublics rely on group identity markers to differentiate between these spheres and do not provide alternative means for distinguishing between subaltern public spheres. This essay presents an alternative vocabulary for multiple public spheres through an exploration of the history of the African American public sphere. Three types of marginal publics, enclave, counterpublic, and satellite, are defined as examples of how we might incorporate considerations of the kinds of resources different publics have available to them. This vocabulary facilitates more flexible descriptions of publics that are normally defined by identity and allows for more comprehensive comparisons across public spheres.
348 citations
TL;DR: The authors provides an overview of the questions and problematics with which postcolonial scholarship is concerned, and explores the intersections of postcolonial studies and communication studies, and makes a case for the relevance of this area of work to communication scholarship.
Abstract: This essay provides an introduction to postcolonial theory and criticism. It offers an overview of the questions and problematics with which postcolonial scholarship is concerned. It charts the historical and intellectual development of postcolonial studies. Finally, it explores the intersections of postcolonial studies and communication studies, and makes a case for the relevance of this area of work to communication scholarship.
343 citations
TL;DR: Hybridity has become a master trope across many spheres of cultural research, theory, and criticism, and one of the most widely used and criticized concepts in postcolonial theory as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Hybridity has become a master trope across many spheres of cultural research, theory, and criticism, and one of the most widely used and criticized concepts in postcolonial theory This article begins with a thorough review of the interdisciplinary scholarship on hybridity Then it revisits the trope of hybridity in the context of a series of articles on cultural globalization published in the Washington Post in 1998 This series on “American Popular Culture Abroad” appropriates hybridity to describe the global reception of US American popular culture Due to the controversy surrounding hybridity, the discourse woven into these articles invites a critical deconstruction A discussion of the implications of hybridity's conceptual ambiguity follows Finally, this article makes the case that hybridity is a conceptual inevitability, and proposes an intercontextual theory of hybridity, which comprehends global cultural dynamics by articulating hybridity and hegemony, providing an initial theoretical platform for a critical cultural transnationalism
327 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a communicative approach can be used as a connection between the psychological and sociological studies of humor, and a new model is put forth as an area for future research in organizational communication that expands the humor process originally proposed in the sociological case study literature.
Abstract: Humor literature can be split into two broad categories: (a) why individuals use humor (motivationally/psychologically) and (b) the function humor has within a social setting on society (sociologically). This paper argues that a communicative approach can be used as a connection between the psychological and sociological studies of humor. A new model is put forth as an area for future research in organizational communication that expands the humor process originally proposed in the sociological case study literature.
307 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the role that audience involvement plays in the effectiveness of entertainment education programs, and argued that the concept of audience involvement is multidimensional and serves as a mediator for promoting behavior change.
Abstract: The present article explores the role that audience involvement plays in the effectiveness of entertainment—education programs. Utilizing data from a popular 104—episode entertainment—education radio soap opera from India, Tinka Tinka Sukh, it argues that the concept of audience involvement is multidimensional, and serves as a mediator for promoting behavior change. Audience involvement is characterized as being composed of two dimensions: (a) affective—referential involvement, and (b) cognitive—critical involvement. Involvement appears to be a precursor for increasing self—efficacy and collective efficacy, and in promoting interpersonal communication among individuals in the audience.
182 citations
TL;DR: The authors explore Bakhtin's notion of dialogue and offer a set of conversational sensibilities that may inform communicative practice in organizational life. But they focus on the second-order learning process.
Abstract: Organizational dialogue has traditionally been associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology learning organization project rooted in the work of David Bohm As a result, dialogue is viewed as an “abnormal” form of discourse—removed from everyday managerial practice—that occurs when organizations encounter crisis and need to engage in second—order learning We offer an alternative approach to dialogue grounded in the work of Mikhail Bakhtin A Bakhtinian perspective toward dialogue views everyday communicative practice as inherently dialogic We explore Bakhtin's notion of dialogue and offer a set of conversational sensibilities that may inform communicative practice in organizational life
151 citations
TL;DR: The authors derives a set of hypotheses to explain how drama can affect the behavior of the audience, including emotional response, cognitive reorientation, and character change within a drama, both fictional and real.
Abstract: This article derives a set of hypotheses to explain how drama can affect the behavior of the audience. First, theories of drama explain how to create a drama that involves the audience. Second, drama theory explains how confrontation leads to emotional response, cognitive reorientation, and character change within a drama, both fictional and real. A convergence theory of communication predicts that audience members who perceive the change in characters with whom they closely identify will be influenced to change their behavior. Cognitive image mapping is used to illustrate how these hypotheses could be tested with an entertainment—education drama about AIDS in Africa.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a theory that mentoring is similar to the initiation of friendships and love relationships in terms of communicating appropriate relational expectations, and that the protege is more likely to direct more communicative attempts toward initiating, maintaining, and repairing the relationship than the mentor.
Abstract: The theory explicated herein postulates that communication is central to the initiation, maintenance, and repair of mentoring relationships. The initiation of mentoring is likened to the initiation of friendships and love relationships in terms of communicating appropriate relational expectations. Because the mentor has the most power in a mentoring relationship, the protege is anticipated to direct more communicative attempts toward initiating, maintaining, and repairing the relationship than the mentor. Protegees are proposed to be more likely than males to use communicative strategies in achieving their mentoring goals. Mentors are proposed to use communication to initiate, maintain, and repair mentoring relationships if they are invested in the success of their proteges. Malama is the Hawaiian word for nurturance and care. It is often used to encourage people to kokua: to help in efforts to conserve and clean up the ocean and land or to help others within their environment. One can nurture and care for the ocean, for the land, or for others. Care of our environment and of those living in our environment is a part of being human. We nurture and care for our physical environment through conservation and proactive efforts to keep our world clean. We nurture and care for future generations through parenting, teaching, coaching, and mentoring. The theory presented in this paper focuses on a particular expression of nurturance and care, which is the mentoring relationship. A mentoring relationship is a personal relationship between a more sophisticated mentor and a less advanced protege. The mentor has achieved personal or professional success and is willing and able to share covert and overt practices that have assisted him or her in becoming successful. The protege has the potential or desire to learn the methods used by the mentor in becoming personally or professionally successful. Together, the mentor and protege form a relationship of care and assistance. In the simplest form the mentor teaches the protege by demonstration or instruction and the protege follows the mentor’s training. This coaching can be in any area of the mentor’s success and can be
TL;DR: A case study of National Geographic's August 1999 “millennium” issue explores the representational politics of the magazine's narratives on globalization as discussed by the authors, which is suffused with representations of femininity, masculinity and race that subtly echo the Othering modalities of Euroamerican colonial discourses.
Abstract: This case study of National Geographic's August 1999 “millennium” issue interrogates the representational politics of the magazine's narratives on globalization. The essay's textual analysis, which is based in the insights of semiotic, feminist, and Marxist critiques of consumer culture, accounts for multiple media texts and historical contexts that filter the magazine's imagery. Drawing from postcolonial theories of gender, Orientalism, and nationalism, the analysis explores the disturbing ambivalence that permeates the Geographic's stories on global culture. Critiquing discourses of gender, the author shows that the magazine's interpretation of global culture is suffused with representations of femininity, masculinity, and race that subtly echo the Othering modalities of Euroamerican colonial discourses. This article undermines the Geographic's articulation of global culture, which addresses Asians only as modern consumers of global commodities, by questioning the invisibility of colonial history, labor, and global production in its narrative. The conclusion argues that the insights of postcolonial theories enable critics of globalization to challenge the subtle hegemony of modern neocolonial discursive regimes.
TL;DR: The authors argue that understanding the dynamic relationship between the structural forces (for example, nation-state powers, governmental forces, global economic structures) and situated cultural practices is key in understanding the complex articulations of diasporic identity, agency, and discourses that may echo exclusivist nationalist appeals.
Abstract: In this essay, we highlight and theorize the dynamic relationship between the structural and cultural aspects of diasporic politics and its importance for communication studies. In response to the divide between structurally determined studies of diaspora and cultural studies of celebratory resistance, this essay argues that understanding the dynamic relationship between the structural forces (for example, nation—state powers, governmental forces, global economic structures) and situated cultural practices, is key in understanding the complex articulations of diasporic identity, agency, and discourses that may echo exclusivist nationalist appeals. Throughout our theory—focused discussion, we refer to two historically specific diasporic formations—the Polish and Hawaiian diasporas—as case studies to illustrate the ever—changing relationships among the structural formations and cultural practices which constitute diasporic politics.
TL;DR: In this article, a Dutch study focused on how health communication professionals and television professionals collaborate in the design and implementation of entertainment education (E-E) television programs is presented, and a conceptualization of the collaboration process is offered by drawing upon Bourdieu's general theory of practice.
Abstract: This Dutch study focused on how health communication professionals and television professionals collaborate in the design and implementation of entertainment—education (E—E) television programs. A conceptualization of the collaboration process is offered by drawing upon Bourdieu's general theory of practice. An E—E collaboration is a strange kind of marriage between these two fields. Health communication professionals are perceived by television professionals as turtles (trustworthy and solid, but slow), while television professionals are perceived by health communication professionals as peacocks (arrogant, with big egos and preening their feathers). These differences can be resolved by jointly creating a new frame of reference and constituting a new genre of E—E television.
TL;DR: This article reviewed five media theories (uses and gratifications, cultivation, agenda setting, knowledge gap, and diffusion of innovations) for creating effects in media-saturated countries such as the United States.
Abstract: Entertainment—education initiatives face unique problems in media—saturated countries such as the United States. Five media theories (uses and gratifications, cultivation, agenda setting, knowledge gap, and diffusion of innovations) are reviewed for guidance in creating effects in such environments. Recommendations for entertainment—education initiatives in media—saturated countries are suggested including: reconsideration of the type of effects possible, the use of individual differences to target and effect audiences, consideration of competing social factors in choice of message and sender, and combining efforts of campaigners to create a cultivation—level theme message.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the processes whereby the concept of relationship awareness was developed and expanded to include the situational contexts and individual factors that modify the association between relationship awareness and relationship satisfaction.
Abstract: Theories are often born out of puzzlement. Sometimes the puzzles are intellectual and sometimes they are practical. Juxtaposing the theoretical with the practical, the author describes the processes whereby the concept of relationship awareness was developed and expanded. Relationship awareness involves attending to relationships. Such attention can take the form of thinking or talking about relationships. The concept of relationship awareness began to form during the process of fulfilling an assignment in graduate school. The concept was later expanded to include the situational contexts and the individual factors that modify the association between relationship awareness and relationship satisfaction. The next phase of the theory broadened the contexts in which relationship awareness is examined. Theorizing on relationship awareness has begun to incorporate sociocultural contexts. By examining the role of cultural beliefs on thinking and talking about relationships, this new development also has the potential to extend our understanding of the underlying factors that determine whether the effects of relationship awareness are positive or negative. Applications of the theory to other domains are also discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors integrated baseline survey data into an ethnographic understanding of locally situated knowledge to evaluate how radio entertainment education regarding reproductive health is socially constructed in the riverine communities of the Peruvian Amazon.
Abstract: Baseline survey data are integrated into an ethnographic understanding of locally situated knowledge to evaluate how radio entertainment—education regarding reproductive health is socially constructed in the riverine communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Focus group interviews, sustained participant observation, in—depth interviews, letters from radio listeners, and input from trained peer promoters complement the survey data. Employment of culturally sensitive, multiple methods makes findings more intelligible and coherent, provides practical wisdom for action, and heightens awareness of the joint ownership of ethical responsibilities on the part of the researcher and the researched.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effectiveness of social interaction with a prospective romantic partner made him or her see you as more physically attractive, under what conditions does this process occur? And how to bring the discrepant perceptions into alignment by actually seeing the other person as more attractive.
Abstract: Can the effectiveness of your social interaction with a prospective romantic partner make him or her see you as more physically attractive? If so, under what conditions does this process occur? These questions prompted the development of a theoretical perspective to explain this process. Interaction appearance theory (IAT) requires (a) a set of beliefs about the importance and interdependence of physical attractiveness and social interaction in a satisfactory romantic relationship; (b) an initial perception of the other's physical attractiveness that is not high enough to trigger the pursuit of a romantic relationship but is not low enough to preclude it; (c) social interaction that is eventually perceived as more desirable than the perception of the other's physical attractiveness; and (d) bringing the discrepant perceptions into alignment by actually seeing the other person as more physically attractive. While providing support for the theory, the interviews in Study 1 also provided insights into how the process can vary. Study 2, using a sample of new daters, provided quantitative support for the belief structure. Study 3, using diaries, found changes in perceptions of a partner's physical attractiveness to be a function of positive and negative interactions. These studies provided support for IAT and the idea that perceptions of physical attractiveness can be changed by social interaction.
TL;DR: This article argued that the importance of the relational history among participants in any conversation is a major influence on the understanding necessary for conversation to be coherent and suggested a method for incorporating history into studies of interpersonal communication.
Abstract: This article argues that an essential piece in the puzzle of everyday communication is the history that exists among conversational partners. Three types of history are examined as creators of “hypertextual links” among ideas in conversation in a way that allows the flow of conversation to continue. The importance of the relational history among participants in any conversation is stressed as a major influence on the understanding necessary for conversation to be coherent. Theorists of communication are urged to attend to the history existing among participants in interpersonal communication. A method for incorporating history into studies of interpersonal communication is suggested.
TL;DR: The work of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak as mentioned in this paper has had a profound impact on conceptualizing issues of culture, identity, communication, and transnationalism in postcolonial thinking.
Abstract: This interview took place on December 18, 2000, in Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's office at Columbia University, New York. In a room lined with books and papers stacked high, Spivak spoke about postcolonial scholarship and its global challenges. Spanning a diverse range of interests, Gayatri Spivak's work has influenced critical scholarship across multiple disciplines throughout the world. Her scholarship has significantly shaped the course of postcolonial thinking and has had profound impact on conceptualizing issues of culture, identity, communication, and transnationalism. When asked about her interest in the areas of global communication flows, new technologies, and the politics of culture, Spivak referred us to two of her recent essays where she writes about global cities and cyberliteracy in the journal Gray Room and in Judith Butler's edited volume What's Left of Theory. In this interview, we asked Spivak to speak to issues concerning the intersections between communication and postcoloniality.
TL;DR: This paper introduced a set of theories designed for the study of communication in human relationships, including interaction appearance theory, hypertext in the key of G, history influences conversational structure and flow, communication in mentoring relationships, a theory on how mentors and proteges develop and maintain their relationships using communication, and a communication-based theory on family communication.
Abstract: This essay introduces a set of theories designed for the study of communication in human relationships. These theories are original applications of theoretical structure to communication behavior. Theories in this set include (a) interaction appearance theory, which focuses on how perceptions of physical attractiveness can be changed through social interaction; (b) hypertext in the key of G, a theory on how history influences conversational structure and flow; (c) communication in mentoring relationships, a theory on how mentors and proteges develop and maintain their relationships using communication; (d) a communication—based theory on family communication; and (e) the development of a theory on relational awareness linking cognition and communication.
TL;DR: This article argued that Gouran and Hirokawa's (1983) functional approach should take a causal view, arguing that whereas a functional account provides an accessible description, a causal account provides guidelines for action.
Abstract: This article examines functional and causal explanations in small group communication theory and argues that Gouran and Hirokawa's (1983) functional approach should take a causal view. The essay builds on Pavitt's (1994) critique of functional theories, but challenges his selection of a model from the philosophy of science. Gouran and Hirokawa's approach is concerned with the requisite conditions for good group decisions, not the etiology of functional statements. This article also discusses the differences between functional and causal accounts, arguing that whereas a functional account provides an accessible description, a causal account provides guidelines for action. Each account corresponds best to different phases of theory building.