Approaches in Communica-Tion Theory: Topic 4

Approaches in Communica-
tion Theory
TOPIC 4
© 2019 MohdKhairieAhmad/SCCA1023/191/4-1
Learning Outcomes
i. Identify school of thoughts / approaches in com-
munication theory.
ii. Define the seven main traditions in communication
theory.
iii. Describe various traditions in communication
theory.
Approach/Paradigm/Tradition
➲ The way or how one looks and develop the process of knowing.
➲ Method used to acquire knowledge.
➲ The focus / perspective of a theory.
Seven Approaches/Traditions
 Rhetorical
 Socio-Cultural  Semiotic
 Critical
 Socio-

Psychological
Phenomenological
 Cybernetic
1. Rhetorical Tradition
Communication as artful public address.
• Emphasizes talk as a practical art.
• Reflects an interest in public speaking and its soci-
etal functions.
• Involves elements pertaining to language.
• Acknowledges audience appeals.
1. Rhetorical Tradition
Rhetoric
▪ The art of using all available means of persuasion, fo-
cusing upon lines of argument, organization of ideas,
language use, and delivery in public speaking
▪ Well into the twentieth century, the rhetorical theory and
advice from Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and
other Greco-Roman rhetorist served as the main
source of wisdom about public speaking.
2. Semiotic Tradition
Communication as the process of sharing meaning
through signs.
• Involves the study of signs.
• Meaning is achieved when we share a common
language.
• Values and belief structures are passed down from
previous generations.
2. Semiotic Tradition
Semiotics
 The study of verbal and nonverbal signs that can stand for
something else, and how their interpretation impacts society.
Symbols
 Arbitrary words and nonverbal signs; their meaning is
learned within a given culture/context.
 For semiologists, meaning doesn’t reside in words or other
symbols; meaning resides in people.
3. Phenomenological Tradition
Communication as the experience of self and others
through dialogue.
☛ Emphasises experiencing otherness/uniqueness.
☛ Reflects personal interpretation of everyday life and
activities.
☛ Involves communication as attaining authenticity/
legitimacy.
3. Phenomenological Tradition
☛ Phenomenology
▪ Intentional analysis of everyday experience from the
standpoint of the person who is living it.
▪ Explores the possibility of understanding the experience of
self and others.
▪ Places great emphasis on people’s perception and their inter-
pretation of their own experience.
▪ An individual’s story is more important.
4. Cybernetic Tradition
Communication as a system of information
processing.
➲ Emphasizes information processing.
➲ Reflects communication as information science.
➲ Involves a broader, systemic viewpoint of
communication.
➲ Cybernetics - The study of information processing, feed-
back, and control in communication systems.
4. Cybernetic Tradition
➲ Regards communication as the link connecting the
separate parts of any system, such as a
computer system, a family system, a media
system, or a system of social support.
5. Socio-Psychological Tradition
Communication as interpersonal interaction
and influence.
 Emphasises on causal linking.

 Reflects the notion that behaviour is
influenced by one or more variables.
 Uses experimental/longitudinal research.
5. Socio-Psychological Tradition
 Believes that communication truths can be discovered by care-
ful & systematic observation.
 Scholar look for cause-and-effect to predict the results when people
communicate.
Eg: Communication competence => self confidence
Comm style => communication/job satisfaction
 This tradition is the most prolific in generating theory.
 Observe the specific phenomenon, situation or scenario and try to ana-
lyse it.
Eg: Abnormal behavior / deviant/violence /vandalism activity– ex-
plain the situation through observation and duration
6. Socio-Cultural Tradition
 Communication as the creation and enactment of social
reality.
 Emphasises seeing from another’s view.
 Acknowledges that shared cultural patterns and social struc-
tures influence communication.
 Involves viewing social order and reality as co-created.
6. Socio-Cultural Tradition
 The socio-cultural tradition is based on the premise that as people
talk, they produce and reproduce culture.
 Suggest that our view of reality is strongly shaped by the lan-
guage we’ve used since we were infants.
 The assumption that words merely act as neutral vehicles to
carry meaning.
 Language actually structures our perception of reality.
7. Critical Tradition
⬂ Communication as a reflective challenge of unjust dis-
course.
⬂ Emphasizes advocacy of fairness.
⬂ Reflects a concern for injustice, oppression,
power, and inequality.
⬂ Involves a critique of the social order.
7. Critical Tradition
⬂ Critical theorists consistently challenge three features of
contemporary society:
i. The control of language to perpetuate power imbalances.
ii. The role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression.
iii.Blind reliance on the scientific method and uncritical acceptance of
empirical findings.
What have you learned…
▪ The seven traditions have deep roots in the field of
communication theory.
▪ Each tradition has its own way of defining/ ex-
plaining communication phenomena.
▪ However, they are closer together in their basic as-
sumptions.

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Approaches in Communica-

➲ Method used to acquire knowledge.

➲ The focus / perspective of a theory.

 Emphasises on causal linking.

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