Development

Communication
Module 3 Theory and Practice
Learning outcomes
At the end of this module, students will be able
to:
Relate communication concepts/issues to
development concepts/issues
Design a development communication
intervention using the development and
communication concepts and theories
learned in this course
Theories and
Interventions within
the Dominant
Paradigm of
Modernization
Concepts of Development
Development or
improvement is equated to
economic growth
Economic growth can be
attained through
industrialization &
modernization of the 3rd
world people’s culture
 Example Theories

Communication Diffusion of
& modernization innovations
theory theory
Communication & modernization
theory

Communication seen as a complex system

that fulfills certain social functions
Mass media came to serve as agents and
indices of modernization in the 3rd world
Media plays a powerful role in modernization
Communication & modernization
theory
Bullet theory – 1950s to 1960s
Strength in the mass media was seen to lay
in their one-way, top-down, simultaneous &
wide dissemination.
Mass media as magic multipliers of
development benefits
Diffusion of Innovations theory
Proposed by Everett M. Rogers
Evolved as the local-level framework to guide
communication planning for modernization.
Had important links with communication effects
research
Diffusion of Innovations theory
Assumption: Mass
media and opinion
leaders have the ability
to create knowledge of
new practices and ideas,
and persuade the target
clients to adopt the
exogenously introduced
innovations.
Diffusion of Innovations theory
Emphasized the nature and role of
communication in facilitating further
dissemination of innovations within local
communities.
Diffusion of innovations research documented
the impact of communication on the change
from traditional to a modern way of life.
Theories & Interventions

Social marketing
approach

Entertainment-
education strategies
Social marketing approach
Evolved because of the observed
inadequacies of the diffusion of
innovations theory:
§ Diffusion concepts are imprecise
§ Diffusion model does not sufficiently account
for recipient feedback, which is crucial to
campaign success
Social marketing approach

Communication efforts turned to

science-based commercial marketing
strategies to disseminate ideas to
promote social causes.
The process was called Social
Marketing.
Social marketing approach
Campaigns to:
§ Discourage tobacco smoking
§ Stop drinking and driving
§ Discourage teen sex
§ Prevent HIV/AIDS & other STDs
§ Promote family planning, adult literacy,
responsible parenthood, etc.
Social marketing approach
Until 1970s, communication campaigns,
especially on family planning & other health
concerns, used one-way, top-down,
source-to-receiver transmission models.

Starting 1990s, the PopCom, aided by

USAID, adopted strategic communication
to overcome past weaknesses of top-down
health communication.
Social marketing approach
Strategic communication –
incorporates the concepts of social
marketing and behavior change
models in the design, execution &
evaluation of communication
strategies intended to influence
behavior.
Social marketing approach
Introduced the concepts of:
§ Audience research
§ Market segmentation
§ Product development
§ Incentives
§ Promotions
Communication process evolved into a
convergence model
Some of the most frequently used stage
theories/models of behavior change:

Social psychology
§ Cognition - attitude – behavior change
Diffusion of innovations
§ awareness – interest – evaluation – trial –
adoption
Marketing and advertising
§ Attention – interest – comprehension –
impact – attitude - sales
Some of the most frequently used stage
theories/models of behavior change:

Social marketing
Cognition – action – behavior - values
Psychotherapy
Precontemplation – contemplation –
preparation – action - maintenance
Entertainment –Education Strategies

Precursors:
Minimal effects hypothesis was
gradually losing its appeal in the 1970s;
mass media were found effective in
changing attitudes and opinions of the
audience.
Entertainment –Education Strategies
Precursors:
Research on Agenda Setting showed
that mass media were very effective
in increasing the cognition levels of
audiences about salient events, thus
serving as important agents of
surveillance
Entertainment –Education Strategies
Precursors:
Research on Uses & Gratifications also
revealed that audiences were actively
selecting radio & TV programs to gratify their
perceived needs.
Increasing commercialization & privatization
of TV and radio channels in 3rd world
countries
Entertainment –Education Strategies
These concomitant developments led to
the growth & popularity of
entertainment-education programs.
Educational content is embedded in
entertainment programs in media such
as TV, radio, videos & folk theaters.
Entertainment –Education Strategies
Entertainment-education programs
either directly or indirectly facilitate
social change (Singhal & Rogers,1999)

At the individual level, they influence

awareness, attention & behavior
towards a socially desirable objective.
Entertainment –Education Strategies
At the community level, they serve as an
agenda setter or influence public and
policy initiatives in a socially desirable
directions.

Entertainment-education programs
represent a unique kind of social
marketing where pro-social ideas are
marketed within media products.
Entertainment –Education Strategies

Theories used to predict & explain

hierarchy of effects produced by
these media programs:
§ Modeling theory
§ Self-efficacy model
§ Para-social interaction model
Theories &
Approaches within
an Alternative
Paradigm of Social
Change
Concepts of development

Development is seen as a process that

should provide people with access to
appropriate & sustainable opportunities
to improve their lives and lives of others
in their communities (Melkote, 2003)
Approaches/strategies

Participatory
approach to Participatory action
Empowerment
communication research (PAR)
and development
Participatory communication
The term is often
misunderstood and
misused
Has been defined and
operationalized in many
ways – from pseudo-
participation to genuine
efforts at generating
participatory decision
making.
Participatory communication
Common features:

Collaboration between the people &

the experts
Co-equal knowledge-sharing between
the people & the experts

Local context and cultural proximity

Participatory communication

Problem in measuring outcomes:

§ Intended outcome is empowerment
§ But in most cases, outcomes of PCs had
not been true empowerment, but the
attainment of some indicators of
development articulated in the
modernization paradigm.
Participatory communication
Thus, participatory approaches have been
encouraged, though the design & control
of messages have remained with the
experts.
Also, issues of power & control by
authorities, structures of dependency &
power inequities have not been addressed
adequately within 3rd world settings.
Participatory communication
For “real” social change to happen among
individuals & groups trapped in the margins,
there is a need for development
communication models & analytical tools
that can address systemic barriers.
PAR & Empowerment Strategies are hoped to
address the above concerns
Participatory Action Research

Encompasses an experiential
methodology
Participatory Action Research
Participatory Action Research
Basic ideology - Endogenous efforts and local
leaders will play the leading role in social
transformation using their own praxis
By resuscitating and elevating popular knowledge,
the PAR approach attempts to create a counter-
discourse, disrupts the dominant discourse of
development as problematic, causes a crisis in
authority, and creates a space for marginalized
groups to influence social change (White, 1999).
 Empowerment
 Community empowerment - the
process of increasing control by
groups over consequences that are
important to their members and to
others in the broader community
(Fawcett et al., 1984)
 A psychological sense of personal
control or influence and a concern
with actual social influence, political
power, and legal rights (Rappaport,
1987)
Empowerment
An intentional, ongoing process
centered in the local community,
involving mutual respect, critical
reflection, caring & group
participation, through which
people lacking an equal share
of valued resources gain greater
access to and control over
those resources (Cornell
Empowerment Group, 1989).
Comparing the 2 Groups of theories & approaches

DevCom in the Modernization DevCom in the

Framework Empowerment Framework

Phenomenon Nat’l & reg’l devt; people dev’t; Empowerment of people;

of interest community improvement
Belief Underdev’t due to economic,
political, geographic &
individual inadequacies due to
lack of power & control
Bias Cultural insensitivity;
environmentally unsustainable;
focus on internal factors as
causes of underdev’t
social justice, bldg. capacity &
equity
Underdev’t due to lack of
access to economic, political &
cultural resources
Cultural proximity; ecological,
diversity of standards,
endogenous sources & ideas
Comparing the 2 Groups of theories & approaches

DevCom in the Modernization DevCom in the Empowerment

Framework Framework

Context Macro and Micro-settings; very Local & community settings;

little interest in local cultures of acknowledge power inequalities
power relations & structural & systemic constraints
impediments in host society

Level of Nation, Region, individuals Individual, group or organization,

analysis community

Role of change Expert, benefactor, non- Collaborator, facilitator,

agent participant participant, advocate for
individuals & communities, risk
taker, activitist
Comparing the 2 Groups of theories & approaches

DevCom in the DevCom in the Empowerment

Modernization Framework
Framework
Communica- Linear, top-down; Non-linear, participatory; used to
tion Model transmission of info using convey info as well as build
the big mass media organizations; increased use of
small media; communication used
for transaction, negotiation or
understanding
Type of Usually quantitative; some Quantitative & qualitative;
research use of FGDs, contextual or longitudinal studies; PAR
evaln reseach
Comparing the 2 Groups of theories & approaches
DevCom in the
Modernization Framework
Exemplars Prevention of underdev’t;
remedy thought by experts;
blame the victim; individual
adjustment to a dominant
norm; use of mass media to
spread standardized
messages & entertainment;
messages that are preachy,
prescriptive, and/or persuasive
DevCom in the Empowerment
Framework
Active social support systems;
social networks’ help & self-help
activities; participation of all
actors; empower community
narratives; facilitate critical
awareness; facilitate community &
organizational power;
communication used to
strengthen interpersonal
relationships
Comparing the 2 Groups of theories & approaches
DevCom in the
Modernization Framework
Outcomes Modernization; econ growth;
desired political dev’t; infra dev’t;
change in people’s attitudes &
behavior towards
modernization objectives
DevCom in the Empowerment
Framework
Increased access of all citizens to
material, psychological, cultural &
informational resources; honing of
indiv & group competence, leadership
skills, useful life & communication
skills at the local level; honing of
critical awareness skills; empowered
local orgs & communities
Implications for DEVCOM
Need to re-conceptualize the role of
communication in development
Need to put greater importance on the
organizational value of communication & the
role of communicative efforts in empowering
citizens.
In Asia & Latin America, socioeconomic
structural constraints greatly diminished the
power of the mass media in overcoming
problems of development.
Implications for DEVCOM
 In the empowerment paradigm, the professionals are not
the key actors in designing intervention strategies; the key
players are the people themselves.
 DEVCOM should be able to encourage the acceptance
of multiple meanings, symbolic rationality; cultural
specificity, change through human agency,
communicative actions & structuration, deconstruction of
the dominant ideology of power, & the strengthening of
critical consciousness among the people in the
community (Servaes, 1999; Tehranian, 1994)
Implications for DEVCOM
In general, the intellectual ferment in
the humanities & social sciences has
increasingly favored participatory
approaches in DevCom, as appropriate
for each context.
 Assignment 7: Communication and Development
Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible.
1. In your own words, define development communication. (10 points)
2. Explain the similarities and differences between development communication and mass communication. Give
at least one example each of a communication activity/project that falls under “development communication”
and “mass communication.” (20 points)
3. Do you believe that in implementing a community-based development project, it is better to use “participatory
development communication” model than the communication models anchored on the modernization
paradigm of development? Please explain your answer. (20 points)
4. Describe an example of a communication for development intervention/project anchored on:
a. A development communication theory/model under the modernization paradigm (i.e., diffusion of
innovations theory, social mobilization or entertainment-education) - (25 points)
b. A development communication theory/model under the “alternative paradigm” of development (i.e.,
participatory communication, PDC, etc.) - (25 points)
Submit your answers through our virtual classroom, or through email (edithcagasan@vsu.edu.ph). Also prepare
for an oral report which you will present during our next meeting.
 Assignment 8: Designing a DevCom Intervention

§ Using the theories and concepts that you learned in this class,
design a communication intervention that is intended to address
a societal problem in your community. Your devcom intervention
may focus on addressing issues related to health (COVID-19
pandemic, measles vaccination, etc.), enviroment (proper waste
disposal, forest conservation. etc.), agriculture (reducing pesticide
use, adoption of new varietes, etc.), or other concerns.
§ Submit the full paper (in word file) through our VSUEE VC, or
through email (edithcagasan@vsu.edu.ph). Also prepare for an oral
report of your project which you will present on our agreed date.