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Theories
of Communication MCM 511
VU
LESSON
22
REVISION
Understanding
the nature of communication
Definitions
of communication
Conceptualizations
of communication- points of
convergence
·
Communication
as a process
·
Communication
is transactional
·
Communication
is symbolic
Communication
is a process a process oriented
conceptualization of communication
suggests that it is
continuous
and complex and cannot be arbitrarily
isolated.
Communication
is transactional that is, not
only do participant constantly
influence each other, they
are
also
by the influenced context in which
they interact
A
third area of convergence in
conceptualizations of communication is the
belief that communication
is
symbolic.
·
Semiotics a
study of signs
·
Sign
is a relationship between Signifier and the
signified
·
Signifier
is the word book
·
Signified
is the concept of the book
Understanding
the nature of theory
Theory
Paradigm
Paradigms
are different ways of looking at
world- the ways to observe, measure and understand
social
reality.
There
are three major paradigms
·
Positivistic
perspective
·
Interpretive
perspective
·
Critical
perspective
Positivistic
perspective
·
Is
objective,
·
Rests
on order,
·
Is
governed by strict , natural and
unchangeable laws
·
And
can be realized through
experience
·
All
members of society define
reality in the same way,
because they all share the
same
meanings.
Interpretive
Perspective
·
Interpretative
social science relates to the works of
Vico, Dilthey and
Weber.
·
Interpretive
theorist s believe that
reality is not `out there'
but in the minds of the people
·
Reality
is internally experienced is socially constructed
through interaction and
interpreted
through
the actors and is based on the definition
people attach to it
·
Reality
is not objective but
subjective
Critical
Perspective
This
was developed out of the
work of Karl Marx and the
critical, theorists and feminists.
Critical
theorists see reality in a different
manner.
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of Communication MCM 511
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Reality
is created not by nature but by the
powerful people who
manipulate, condition and
brainwash
others
to perceive things the way
they want them to, to serve
the needs of the powerful.
Sir
Karl Popper, a philosopher
instrumental in shaping 20th century views of knowledge
are, "Theories
are
nets cast to catch what we
call the world."
Theories
help us understand or explain phenomena
we observe in the social
world.
There
are two
approaches to theory
building.
·
Deductive
approach
·
Inductive
approach
Deductive
approach
·
From
the general to particular; the process by
which theory is
tested
·
Deductive
approach to theory building tend to give
primacy to theory
Inductive
approach
·
Inductive
approach to theory building gives
primacy to observation.
·
From
the particular to the general; the
process by which theory is
generated.
·
In
this approach, theoretical abstractions
are based on- or grounded in
empirical observation
Model
A
model is a consciously simplified description in
graphic form of a piece of reality. A
model seeks to
show
the main elements of any
structure or process and the
relationships between these
elements.
(McQuail)
A
theoretical and simplified representation
of the real world. A model is
not an explanatory device
by
itself,
but it helps to formulate
theory
Study
some of the early
communication models
So
a successful pictorial model
offers three major
advantages.
·
They
organize concepts
·
They
explain processes and
·
They
predict outcomes
Two
kinds of models
·
Structural
model
·
Functional
models
Three
different ways of viewing communication
processes
·
Linear
model
·
Interactive
model
·
Transactional
model
From
communication to mass communication
models
The
term mass communication emerged in
late 1930s;
Nature
of the communicator
Nature
of audience
Nature
of communication experience
What
is mass communication?
Why
study mass
communication?
How
the media industry originated?
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of Communication MCM 511
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Development
in the history of Mass
Communication
DeFleur
and Ball Rokeach in 1989point
out to a number of important developments in the
history of
mass
communication
·
Age of
signs and signals
·
Age of
speech and language
·
Age of
writing- papyrus
·
Age of
printing after 15th century-Gutenberg's invention of
moveable type and printing
pres in
1456
·
But
the age of MC was ushered by widespread
distribution of newspapers (1920
radio 1940 TV)
Mass
media includes
·
Print
media
·
Electronic
media
·
New
media- Telematic media
As
new media combine telecommunication and
information it includes:
·
Video
games
·
Virtual
reality
·
CD-
Rom
Normative
Theories of Media
·
Authoritarian
Theory
·
Libertarian
Theory
·
Chicago
School
Authoritarian
Theory
·
Libertarian
theory arose in opposition
Authoritarian theory-
·
An
idea that placed all forms
of communication under the control of a
governing elite or
authorities.
·
Authorities
justified their control as a
means to protect and
preserve a divinely ordained
social
order.
Libertarian
Theory
·
In
rebelling against authoritarian theory
early libertarians argued that there
should be no laws
governing
media operations.
·
Free
press means that all
forms of media must be totally
unregulated.
Hutchins
Commission on Freedom
It
emphasized the need for an
independent press that scrutinizes
other social institutions and
provides
objective,
accurate, news reports.
Chicago
School
Chicago
School envisioned modern cities as
"Great
Communities" comprising hundreds of small
social
groups-
everything from neighborhood social
organizations to citywide
associations.
For
these Great Communities to
develop, all the constituent groups had
to work together and
contribute.
These
were referred to as pluralistic groups in
recognition of their cultural and
racial diversity.
Totalitarian
media Theory
Totalitarian
media Theory is a normative theory
calling for suppression of
pluralistic groups and the use
of
media under the control of the dominant
political party to propagate a strong
centralized political
culture.
·
Civic
or public journalism
·
Development
media theory
·
Democratic-participant
theory
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Keeping
the spirit of the SR theory in view
many newspapers began
practicing civic
journalism,
actively
engaging
the members of their areas in
reporting important civic
issues.
Development
media theory
Development
media theory was intended to recognize
the fact that societies
undergoing a transition
from
underdevelopment and colonialism to independence and
better material conditions
often lack the
infrastructure,
the money, the traditions, the
professional skills.
Democratic-participant
theory
Democratic-participant
theory was proposed in recognition of
new media developments and of
increasing
criticism of the dominance of the main
mass media by private or public
monopolies.
·
the
rise of mass society
·
the
assumptions about mass
society
·
main
theories of mass society--one propounded
by Ferdinand Tonnies concept
of
Gemeinschaft
(folk society) and Gesellschaft
(modern, industrial
society)-
·
the
other propounded by Emile
Durkheim- concept of mechanical
solidarity (folk societies) and
organic
solidarity (modern social
societies)
·
what
were the assumptions about the
relationship of mass society
and mass media
Theories
that propounded that media have a
powerful effect on people. Theories
which were the reason
for
the theories that media can be used as
powerful propaganda tool.
·
Behaviorism
·
Freudianism
·
Magic
bullet theory
·
Lasswell
propaganda theory
·
Walter
Lippmann
Behaviorism
John
B. Watson- an animal experimentalist
who argued that All human action is
merely a conditioned
response
to external environmental stimuli.
Media provides external
stimuli that triggered
immediate
responses
(Nazi propaganda)
Freudianism
Sigmund
Freud
1.
Ego is rational mind is in
control
2.
Id is the dark side of the self- the
egocentric, (selfish and self-centered) pleasure
seeking part of
ourselves-
that Ego must struggle to
keep in control
3.
Ego relies on the internalized
set of cultural rules the Superego- for
guidance
Magic
Bullet Theories
In
the 1920s Media was assumed
to operate like magic bullets that
penetrated people's minds and
instantly
created associations between strong emotions and
specific concepts.
By
carefully controlling these magic
bullets, propagandists felt that
they could condition
people
associate
good emotions, such as loyalty and
reverences with their own
country and associate
bad
emotions,
such as fear and loathing
with their enemies.
Paradigm
Shift in Mass Communication
Theory
Middle
range theory and the
consolidation of the limited effects
paradigm. How a
radical
transformation
in media theory took place. The focus
from powerful effect of media
shifted to Limited
Effects
of Media. And how this
became the dominant paradigm in
U.S media research from 1940
till
1960s.
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Work
of the pioneer researchers in this
field who were responsible for
bringing this shift
Work
of Paul Lazarsfeld of Princeton
University
Work
of Carl Hovland
Two-Step
Flow of Information and
Influence
This
finding led the establishment of a
TWO-STEP FLOW MODEL OF MASS
COMMUNICATION,
in
which effects were perceived as being
modified by interpersonal communication
about those media
messages.
Carl
Hovland and the Experimental
section found
that attitude change was a
very complex issue
and
many
variables had affects on the attitude of an
individual e.g. kind of message- one
sided or two-sided;
socio-economic
background, when people are
predisposed to a certain attitude
etc
Collectively,
these ways have become known as the
SELECTIVE
PROCESSES
·
Selective
exposure
·
Selective
retention
·
Selective
perception
The
influential middle range theories
developed as part of the limited effects
paradigm
·
Functional
analysis approach
·
Information
flow theory
Functionalist
approach
So
functionalist approach was that
all practices that
contribute to maintaining the society
can be said to
be
Functional rather than good. Any
practices that are
disruptive or harmful are by
definition
Dysfunctional
rather than evil.
As
long as functional practices
dominate and dysfunctional
practices are kept to some
minimum. The
society
will flourish- it can be
said to be in balance because the
functional practices balance
out the
dysfunctional
ones.
Information
Flow Theory
The
overall objective of this
wok was to assess the effectiveness of
media in transmitting information
to
a
mass audience.
News
flow research focused on
determining whether barriers impeded the
flow of information
from
media
to typical audience members
The
research confirmed the importance of
motivating people to pass on
information, but suggested
that
even
a free gift was insufficient
to guarantee the accurate flow of
information.
Klapper's
Phenomenistic theory
He
argued that media rarely have any
direct effects and are
relatively powerless when
compared with
other
social and psychological factors such as
social status, group membership, strongly
held attitudes,
education
and so forth.
His
theory is often referred to
now as reinforcements theory because a
key assertion is that the
primary
influence
of media is to reinforce (not change)
existing attitudes and
behaviors
Klapper's
Generalizations
Diffusion
of Innovation Theory
Diffusion
of innovation theory states
that an innovation (i.e. , an
idea , new technique, new
technology )
diffuses
or spreads throughout society in a
predictable
pattern. A few
people will adopt an
innovation
as
soon as they hear of it
other people will take
longer to try something new
and still others will
take
much
longer. The pattern is that
of an S-shaped curve.
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of Communication MCM 511
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Rogers
and other diffusion researchers have
identified five separate
innovation-adoption categories
into
which
all people in a society will
fall.
·
Innovators
·
Early
adopters
·
Early
majority
·
Late
majority
·
Laggards
Challenging
the dominant
paradigm
How
the growing violence and the possible
contribution of the television became a
concern for the
American
society. Several different perspectives
are discussed,
including:
·
Surgeon
General's Scientific
·
Catharsis
·
Social
learning
Surgeon
General's Scientific
Advisory
Committee on Television and
social behavior in
1969.
While
the ... report is care fully phrased
and qualified in language acceptable to
social scientists , it is
clear
to me that the causal relationship
between televised violence and
antisocial behavior is
sufficient
to
warrant appropriate and immediate
remedial action. The data on
social phenomena such
as
television
and violence and or
aggressive behavior will never be
clear enough for all
social scientists to
agree
on the formulation of a succinct
statement of causality, But
there comes a time when the
data are
sufficient
to justify action, that time
has come.
Catharsis
sometimes called sublimation- the
idea that viewing violence
is sufficient to purge or at
least
satisfy a person's aggressive drive and,
therefore, reduce the likelihood of
aggressive behavior.
Catharsis
suggested that television
violence had social utility,
providing young people with
a harmless
outlet
for their pent-up aggression
and hostility.
Social
Learning
Social
learning encompasses both
imitation and identification to explain
how people learn
through
observation
of other in their
environments
Social
cognitive theory
Modeling
from mass media
Priming
effects
Variables
that enhance priming
effects
According
to Albert Bandura, " social
cognitive theory explains psychosocial
functioning in terms of
triadic
reciprocal causation , in this model of
reciprocal determinism, behavior;
cognitive, biological
and
other personal factors; and
environmental events all
operate as interaction determinants
that
influence
each other
bidirectionally."
Baundra's
social cognitive theory of mass
communication the broader social learning
theory serve as the
foundations
for volumes of research in
all areas of media effects
study-
Effects
of media violence
And
sexually explicit
material
Pro-social
or positive media effects
Cultivation
effects
Persuasion
Social
cognitive theory emphasizes
the importance of these
uniquely human characteristics, known
as
the
·
symbolizing
capacity
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of Communication MCM 511
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·
self-regulatory
capacity
·
self-reflective
capacity
·
vicarious
capacities
Modeling
The
phenomenon of behavior reenactment is
called as MODELLING. Modeling is the
acquisition of
behaviors
through observation.
Modeling
includes four component
processes
·
Attention
·
Retention
·
Motor
reproduction
·
Motivation
Whenever
a person sees a character on the
screen expressing some strong emotion or
performing some
powerful
action,
The
viewer is affected or
aroused.
The
viewer remembers similar
experiences and emotions, and these
thoughts and images serve as
cues
that
trigger self-arousal. E.g. ET,
Jaws, horror movies--fear
reaction.
Cultivation
The
cultivation hypothesis developed as one attempt to
explain the influence of television on
its
viewers,
the cultivation tradition grew
out of a media violence research
project called the
Cultural
Indicators
Project, headed in the 1960s by
George Gerbner, a University of
Pennsylvania
communication
scholar.
Simply
stated, the cultivation hypothesis
proposes that over time ,
heavy viewers of television
develop
views
of the world similar to what
they see on
television.
Mainstreaming
Mainstreaming
is a leveling effect. Heavy
viewing resulting in a common viewpoint
washes out
differences
in perceptions of reality usually caused
by demographic and social factors.
Resonance
Resonance
occurs when real world
support the distorted image of reality shown on
television. Whenever
direct
experience is in agreement with the
messages from television, the
messages are reinforced-
they
resonate-
the cultivation effect is
amplified.
The
extent to which person
cultivates the messages seen on
television depends upon a number
of
factors.
Some people are more susceptible to
cultivation influence due to personality
traits, social
background,
cultural mores (education) and even
their past television
viewing experiences. Is viewing
done
to meet informational needs or as
diversion? The number of information
alternatives available.
Systems
Ideally,
systems notions could
provide a powerful way of
conceptualizing complex, social system
and
analyzing
the role played by communication in them.
Important social problems might be
solved
·
Closed
versus open systems
·
The
criticism of systems models
·
Emergence
of critical and cultural theories of
mass communication
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