Grace Sewell

LOC #1
Chapter 1: LOC #1: Describe the Communication discipline and its central questions
Chapter 1 in Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life explains how today

many people online and in real life think of communication as “easy”. However, the author goes

on to describe that it is a much more complex process and even adopting a certain set of skills is

not guaranteed to bring you success in communicating. Rather, understanding theories and their

underlying assumptions and predictions, can make you a more competent communicator.

The first definition of communication is given by Dance. He argued that definitions

varied based on the level of observation, which he described as the scope of what is included in

the definition. He first defined communication as “eliciting response through verbal symbols;”

however, it limits what is considered communication. It first limits communication to only that

which elicits a response and also limits communication to a solely verbal process.

Although it is difficult to provide one solid definition of communication, you can identify

some specific contexts of communication. The first context of communication is cognitive, by

which we mean the influence our thoughts have on the way we communicate. The second

context is the individual differences where we consider the nature-nurture debate that considers

how individual differences and social roles play a role in the communication process. The third

context is interpersonal, which refers to interactions between two individuals, who most often

have a relationship with each other. The fourth context is the intercultural context, which focuses

on interpersonal communication when two people are from different cultures. The fifth context is

focused on a particular type of communication, persuasion. The sixth and seventh contexts are

similarly related, group and organizational. The eighth context is the mediated context, which is
concerned with how technology influences our interpersonal, group, and organizational

communication. The ninth and final context is mass communication, which focuses on the

influence of mass mediated messages.

Communication competence is something covered in the chapter as one of the goals of

communication theory is to become a better communicator. Communication competence is

understood as achieving a successful balance between effectiveness and appropriateness.

In communication, many theories are used to explain concepts and ideas further. There

happen to be three types of theories, the first being commonsense theory. This type of theory is

often created by an individual’s own personal experiences or developed from helpful hints

passed on from family members, friends, or colleagues. The second type of theory is known as a

working theory. These are generalizations made in particular professions about the best

techniques for doing something. The type of theory focused on in the book is scholarly theory,

which means that the theory has undergone systematic research and provide more accurate, and

abstract explanations for communiation than do commonsense or working theories.