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Chapter Two

Chapter Two. Philosophical Foundations: What is Theory?. What is Communication? . Definition: “The process through which messages, both intentional and unintentional, create meaning” (Metts, 2004, p. 5). Aspects: Dialectical nature Strategic and Consequential Perceptual consequences

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Chapter Two

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  1. Chapter Two Philosophical Foundations: What is Theory?

  2. What is Communication? • Definition: “The process through which messages, both intentional and unintentional, create meaning” (Metts, 2004, p. 5). • Aspects: • Dialectical nature • Strategic and Consequential • Perceptual consequences • Behavioral consequences • Relational consequences

  3. What happens on a first date that will lead people to go on a second date? How can a student be successful? What leads one broadcasting agency to become successful in a market? What would make employees in a given organization more productive?

  4. What is Theory? • Naïve or “lay” theories… • There is no single “correct” definition of theory • Definitions depend on assumptions and needs/goals of theorist • But all agree that theory if fundamentally an abstraction Theory is not behavior but an abstract representation of behavior

  5. Metaphors might help… • Theories are a Reduction of details to patterns of associations • A map • A fishing net • Spectacles

  6. Difference between naïve theories and scientific theories • Both lay theories and scientific theories function to organize information, describe phenomena, explain how communication works, and sometimes predict future occurrences. • However, the important difference between lay theories and scientific theories is that scholars must be able to argue for the validity (truth or correctness) of their theories—they do this empirically, statistically, and/or logically

  7. More Formal Definitions of Theory? • Abstractions of the social world…that explain how, when, or why something happens, and exist at varying levels of generality (Miller, 2005) • A description of concepts and specifications of the relationships between or among these concepts (Metts, 2004, p. 9)

  8. What Theories Are Not • Theories should be distinguished from hypotheses, typologies, taxonomies, and models. • Hypothesis: A single statement about the relationship between two concepts • Typology: Thematic categories (e.g., types of immediacy cues in the classroom or types of power) • Taxonomy: Categories that are arranged hierarchically (types of animals) • Models: usually concerned with processes; draw on typologies, taxonomies, and theories but describe without predicting or explaining. Ex.: the stages of relationship development and deterioration

  9. What a theory is not As depth of self-disclosure increases, relationships will grow • A hypothesis • A model • A taxonomy • A paradigm Compliance Gaining Strategies REWARD APPEALS 1. Ingratiation 2. Promise 3. Debt 4. Esteem 5. Allurement PUNISHMENT APPEALS…etc.

  10. What is this?

  11. What is this?

  12. What is this? • The more people from groups that do not like each other have contact or talk with each other, the more they will grow to like each other. (Contact  more Intergroup liking)

  13. What are the “parts” of a theory? Miller (2005): • (1) description of phenomena, • (2) relationships among these phenomena, • (3) an underlying “storyline” that describes mechanisms at work, and • (4) links between the abstract theory and observed phenomena

  14. First—some review!

  15. What are the “parts” of a theory? Metts (2004): • (1) concepts • (2) relationships among these concepts • Propositions OR Other statements • Propositions • Temporal • Correlational • Causal

  16. What does a theory do?(Metts, 2004, p. 14)

  17. Functions of theories • To provide answers to interesting questions and/or solutions to important problems • Theories address empirical problems in which something about the observed world is puzzling • Theories address conceptual problems in which there are inconsistencies within a theory or with other theories • Theories address practical problems of daily life

  18. How are theories developed? • Deductive approach to theory building: Abstract theories are developed early in process, then tested with empirical observations • Inductive approach to theory building: Theoretical abstractions are grounded on extensive empirical observation

  19. Actual practice

  20. How can I tell if a theory is good? Metts Miller (Ch. 3; p. 44) • Utility • scientific & practical • Scope • Breadth (range of applicability) • Parsimony • Heurism • Falsifiability • Accuracy(entails falsifiability) • Consistency(internal and external) • Scope • Simple(Parsimony) • Fruitful(Heurism)

  21. Paradigms & Theories • Kuhn on Paradigms • Paradigms > Theories • The Paradox of Paradigms • Revolution versus accumulation

  22. Paradigm shift as “Revolution” Normal Science Anomalies “Revolution” Crisis

  23. Paradigms & Theories Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Theory Type Theory Type Theory Type Theory Theory Theory

  24. Metatheoretical Commitments • Metatheory: “theory about theory” -- philosophical commitments • Metatheoretical commitments define different approaches to theory development and research practices • Three important aspects of metatheory are ontology, epistemology, and axiology

  25. Ontology: The Nature of the Social World • Realist stance: The social world is seen as consisting of real entities, independent of an individual’s perception • Nominalist stance: The social world consists of names and labels we use to structure reality • Social constructionist stance: We create the social world through symbols and interaction but it then becomes a “reality” constraining our behavior

  26. These positions are on a continuum Realist Social Nominalist Constructionist • Where do you fall on this continuum?

  27. Epistemology: The creation and growth of knowledge (Table 2.1, p. 29) • Objectivist stance: Causal explanations of the social world are developed through separation of knower and known and use of the scientific method (observation, search for regularities in behavior; generalizable knowledge) • Subjectivist stance: Emergent and local understandings of the social world are developed through situated knowledge and reports of cultural insiders—researcher often becomes part of the group • Intersubjectivist stance…?

  28. Paradigms: Burrell & Morgan’s View • Burrell and Morgan outline sociological theories, many of which also appear in communication research, on two continua. • These are continua, rather than simple categories (though they do inform Miller’s discussion). • The two are as follows: • 1) Ontology/Epistemology (x-axis) • 2) Axiology (y axis)

  29. The Subjective-Objective Dimension Ontology/ Epistemology Subjective Objective (Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

  30. Nominalism Realism ontology Voluntarism Determinism human nature Anti-positivism Positivism epistemology Ideographic Nomothetic methodology The Subjective-Objective Dimension The subjectivist approach to social science The objectivist approach to social science (Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

  31. Scientific key words • CauseEffect, influence, affect, lead to • Factors, variables • Predict • Generalizable • Analytic/reductionistic • Quantitative (or qualitative)

  32. Humanistic key words • Contextual • Interpretive • Social construction • Holistic • Subjective • Qualitative (usually)

  33. Axiology: The role of values in theory development • Most theorists now reject the idea that values can be totally eliminated from the research process • Three positions are still evident: • values only play a role in parts of the research process • values permeate the research process • values should direct the research process

  34. Rephrased as questions: • Can research be value-free? • Should research be value-free? • What do you think?

  35. The Social Change/Status Quo Dimension Radical Social Change Axiology Regulation/Status Quo/Observation (Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

  36. Critical key words • Power (struggles, etc.) • Production and reproduction of social structures (like sexism, racism, classism) • Empowerment, emancipation, resistance • Social relations • Ideology, hegemony • Social change • NOTE: May be qualitative or quantitative

  37. A very important note: Critical theory, at least in communication, is not a question of method or ontological/epistemological assumptions, but of the purpose of research: • Study 1: Does exposure to pornography lead men to see women in more objectified terms? • Study 2: In what ways does the movie, Thelma and Louise provide new (and empowering) narratives for women’s relationships?

  38. CRITICAL: Social change HUMANISTIC: Observe/ Interpret SCIENTIFIC: Predict/ Control Three (socially constructed) paradigmsnin communication! RADICAL CHANGE OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE (Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 22) REGULATION

  39. Building Communication Theory Chapter 3

  40. Two debates in “Communication” • 1977: Laws, Rules Systems • 1983: Scientific, Humanistic, Critical • Today’s debates? • 1989: Rethinking Communication • What would you find at a communication conference today? • What do you find in the School of Communication at Illinois State University?

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