Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
Examples
Act of giving flowers
Giving a verbal compliment Scholars don’t really agree on the definition
Blushing of the word media, but media can include
television, telephones, radio, books,
newspapers, the soapbox we stand on to
deliver a speech, etc. They are all technical
Technical media: things we
construct to amplify our media, in a way. In a broader definition, we
communication. could include our hands, voice & eyes, as
they are all used to communicate something, but in general when discussing
media communication, or the mass media, we only mean the first category.
Scholars have studied communication for years, and in the field of communication
science we share many theories, models & methods with other disciplines. It is
useful to see connections with those disciplines, and they are shown on the
Societal: aimed at a large, mass
pyramid of communication below:
audience.
Institutional: performed by
religions, corporations, political
bodies, etc.
Group: performed among
audiences that feel a high level
of group identification, such as
families or fan clubs.
Interpersonal: communication
between two or more people.
Intrapersonal: communication
with yourself. This includes
information processing, thinking,
internalising information & giving
meaning to the world around us.
communicating ideas
sharing thoughts Communication enables
absorbing new information us to function as social,
being entertained cultural and political
being persuaded somehow animals.
Theory: a statement about Concepts play an important role in the development of theories. For example, the
reality that seeks to explain or
predict the relationship between
theory of gravity predicts that if I drop a pen, it will fall to the ground. This is a
phenomena. hypothesis.
Hypothesis: a specific, predicted Whenever we visualise these statements, this is called a model. Usually, the
result, derived from theory.
arrows and lines in these models represent hypotheses. The box on the left in the
below model represents the presumed cause. This is the independent variable.
The box on the right is the presumed effect, or dependent variable.
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Intro to Comm Sci
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
If you change the example and consider the theory that giving someone a gift will
cause them to like you better, the independent variable is gift-giving & the
dependent variable is how much the receiver likes you.
By actually dropping a pen or giving a gift, and checking to see if the results
correspond with our expectations, we can prove or disprove our hypotheses, and
Primary research: collecting & by extension the connected theory.
analysing our own data.
Secondary research: studying
In other words, we test & improve our theories by conducting research. This could
the results of others. be primary or secondary research.
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Intro to Comm Sci
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
For instance, stakeholder theory tells us we should study the stakeholders in any
situation and be aware of their various interests and agendas. These perspectives
Paradigm: a framework of are sometimes called theories, but could also be referred to as paradigms or
explanation which may contain approaches since they don’t really fit the dominant definition of scientific theory.
theories from various schools
of thought. (Watson & Hill, p218) Scientific theory stresses that theories should have a predictive
value, while paradigms or approaches serve more as ‘view
glasses’ which we use to study the world.
They amplify some aspects of reality and guide our research.
engine might drown out the speaker’s voice. The listener may have other things
on his mind, and there are many other things that can cause a disruption of
effective communication.
It is important to note that communication, in this linear way of looking at it, is
only effective when the desired effect is reached – when the message successfully
reaches, and is correctly interpreted, by the receiver.
Transmission model: a linear, That many things can distort a transmission becomes clear in the transmission
effect-based model focused on model that Shannon and Weaver created in 1949. This model contains five
the transmission of a message
elements, like the model of Lasswell, but also accounted for noise.
Noise: anything that can cause a
disruption to the flow of
communication.
In the example from earlier, the passing car can create many forms of noise:
Shannon & Weaver were engineers
working for Bell Labs. Their goal was
to ensure the maximum efficiency of
the sound of its loud engine can cause confusion as the listener can’t hear
telephone cables & radio waves. the speaker correctly
They developed a model intended to the distraction it creates for the listener so he doesn’t pay attention
assist in developing a mathematical
theory of communication. Their work The important thing with both of the models above is that they see
contributed to various disciplines.
communication as a linear process, which in itself leads to an emphasis on effects,
as we want to know if communication has the desired effect.
This is one of the dominant approaches to viewing communication, and is also
very different from another approach that will be examined later.
During the 60s, many critics objected to this linear, effect-oriented approach.
They argued that many people give a different meaning to a message than what
was intended, but why should that be wrong?
Instead, they focused on the recipients of communication, and how they give
meaning to a message by using their own unique toolkit of background,
5 of 9
Intro to Comm Sci
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
Under the influence of semiotic theories, scientists became more interested in the
reception of a message, and acknowledged that communication can indeed have
multiple valid outcomes.
Roman Jacobson Take this example, proposed by Roman Jacobson in 1960:
1. An addresser sends a message to an addressee using a channel
2. He added to Lasswell’s model from semiotics the idea that every message
refers to something outside of the message, which he called context
3. Also, the specific form that our communication takes (written word, made
up of letters) is called a code
Successful
communication,
according to Jacobson,
can only exist when all
of these elements are
in place. Also, each act
of communication has
one dominant function
that relates to one of
these elements in this
model.
6 of 9
Intro to Comm Sci
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
The third approach is a continuation of Jacobson’s line of thought, but shifts the
focus to cultural and social aspects of communication. This approach deals with
how we use communication:
to give meaning to the world around us
to construct our own social reality
in group dynamics
in social interaction
This perspective makes use of insights from the fields of sociology, social
psychology and anthropology, where much attention is given to the social context
(Cultural approach)
in which communication takes place.
Communication: the means to
The definition of the concept of communication differs slightly in this cultural
share and reinforce ideas,
thereby constantly creating and approach. It sees people as social animals, and as such we are constantly involved
adapting our culture.
7 of 9
Intro to Comm Sci
Univ. Amsterdam
J Greenwood
Historical roots, concepts, theories, transmission & approaches 06/04/2015
These three elements, A, B & X, are all connected to each other in one social
system. If one element changes, this changes the relationship of the three.
David and Shirley are colleagues in the same department, so this is their shared
social environment. If David quits his job to work somewhere else, this means
they no longer have that same shared social environment; the workplace, shared
office lunches, chats around the water cooler, etc. This will inevitably change the
relationship between David and Shirley.
Perhaps they’ll decide they enjoyed their lunch breaks so much that they will now
have coffee each month, even though they don’t work together any more –
thereby going from colleagues to friends.
In another scenario, David changes jobs within the company and becomes
Shirley’s boss. This will also influence their relationship. Will they still continue to
have friendly lunches each day?
X can take many forms; the place you work, political allegiance, a group you
belong to, it can even be a person.
Let’s say X is another co-worker named Ellen. David and Shirley both like Ellen,
until Ellen and Shirley get into a fight. Now, David’s relationship with both of them
will change – he might choose sides, or establish himself as a neutral party.
Regardless of his choice, a new social balance will be found, and equilibrium
restored.
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We have made a very broad distinction between three perspectives in the field of
communication science:
1. Linear approach (Lasswell; Shannon & Weaver)– correct communication
causes the desired effect, therefore its focus is on effects
2. Signification approach (Jacobson) – views communication as the
production and exchange of meanings. It is concerned with the
construction of messages using signs, and the process of extracting
meaning from these messages, called signification. The interpretation of
communication can lead to different but equally valid outcomes.
3. Cultural approach (Newcomb) – looks at how we use communication to
construct our social reality. It examines the many ways we connect with
people around us, by constantly sharing ideas and thereby constructing,
reinforcing (or deconstructing) our identity. This perspective views
communication as the binding force of every society, group or culture.
The potential to bind goes hand in hand with the potential for group
deconstruction, audience fragmentation and cultural alienation.
There are many more ways to distinguish schools of thought in the field, and these
categories are by no means fixed or universally agreed upon, but for this
introductory course, these basic perspectives are a useful tool to categorise some
of the more widely used theories and models.
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