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TEXT COMPARISON
CHAPTER OUTLINES
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Theory Outlines
9th Edition
9th Edition
From the Instructors Manual
List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details
Chapter 4—Mapping the Territory
- Introduction.
- Communication scholars hold widely divergent views as to what communication is.
- Robert Craig suggests that communication should be viewed as a practical discipline; theory is developed to solve real world problems.
- Craig identifies seven established traditions of communication theory.
- The socio-psychological tradition: Communication as interpersonal interaction and influence.
- This tradition epitomizes the scientific perspective.
- Scholars believe that communication truths can be discovered by careful, systematic observation that predict cause-and-effect relationships.
- Researchers focus on what is without their personal bias of what ought to be.
- Theorists check data through surveys or controlled experiments, often calling for longitudinal empirical studies.
- The cybernetic tradition: Communication as a system of information processing.
- Norbert Wiener coined the term cybernetics to describe the field of artificial intelligence.
- Wiener’s concept of feedback anchored the cybernetic tradition.
- Communication is the link separating the separate parts of any system.
- Theorists seek to answer the questions: How does the system work? What could change it? How can we get the bugs out?
- Norbert Wiener coined the term cybernetics to describe the field of artificial intelligence.
- The rhetorical tradition: Communication as artful public address.
- Greco-Roman rhetoric was the main communication theory until the twentieth century.
- Six features characterize the tradition.
- A conviction that speech distinguishes humans from other animals.
- A confidence in the efficacy of public address.
- A setting of one speaker addressing a large audience with the intention to persuade.
- Oratorical training as the cornerstone of a leader’s education.
- An emphasis on the power and beauty of language to move people emotionally and stir them to action.
- Rhetoric was the province of males.
- The semiotic tradition: Communication as the process of sharing meaning through signs.
- Semiotics is the study of signs.
- Words are a special kind of sign known as a symbol.
- I. A. Richards was an early scholar of semiotics.
- His “proper meaning superstition” identifies the mistaken belief that words have a precise meaning.
- Meanings don’t reside in words or other symbols, but in people.
- The socio-cultural tradition: Communication as the creation and enactment of social reality.
- Communication produces and reproduces culture.
- Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf pioneered this tradition.
- The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity states that the structure of a culture’s language shapes what people think and do.
- Their theory counters the notion that languages are neutral conduits of meaning.
- It is through language that reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.
- The critical tradition: Communication as a reflective challenge of unjust discourse.
- Critical theory derives from the German Frankfurt School.
- The Frankfurt School rejected Karl Marx’s economic determinism, but embraced the Marxist tradition of critiquing society.
- Critical theorists challenge three features of contemporary society.
- The control of language to perpetuate power imbalances.
- The role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression.
- Blind reliance on the scientific method and uncritical acceptance of empirical findings.
- The phenomenological tradition: Communication as the experience of self and others through dialogue.
- Phenomenology refers to the intentional analysis of everyday life from the standpoint of the person who is living it.
- The phenomenological tradition places great emphasis on people’s perceptions and interpretations of their own subjective experiences.
- Phenomenological tradition answers two questions: Why is it so hard to establish and sustain authentic human relationships? How can this problem be overcome?
- Fencing the field of communication theory.
- These seven traditions have deep roots in communication theory.
- They have been mapped with respect to the objective/interpretive dichotomy.
- Hybrids are possible across traditions.
- They might not cover every approach to communication theory—thus the addition of the ethical tradition.
- The ethical tradition: Communication as people of character interacting in just and beneficial ways.
- Since ancient Greece, scholars have grappled with the obligations of the communicator.
- The NCA recently adopted a “Credo for Communication Ethics,” which includes the conviction that ethical communication:
- Advocates truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason.
- Accepts responsibility for short-term and long-term consequences of communication.
- Strives to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
- Concern for ethics spreads across the objective-interpretive landscape.
- Craig’s framework of seven traditions helps us make sense of the great diversity in the field of communication.
You can access the Outline for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
Resources
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Instructors can get
additional resources.
Read more
OUTLINES
New to Theory
Resources?
Find out more
in this short
video overview
(3:01).
CHANGE TO View by Theory
Theory Outlines
9th Edition
9th Edition
From the Instructors Manual
List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details
Chapter 4—Mapping the Territory
- Introduction.
- Communication scholars hold widely divergent views as to what communication is.
- Robert Craig suggests that communication should be viewed as a practical discipline; theory is developed to solve real world problems.
- Craig identifies seven established traditions of communication theory.
- The socio-psychological tradition: Communication as interpersonal interaction and influence.
- This tradition epitomizes the scientific perspective.
- Scholars believe that communication truths can be discovered by careful, systematic observation that predict cause-and-effect relationships.
- Researchers focus on what is without their personal bias of what ought to be.
- Theorists check data through surveys or controlled experiments, often calling for longitudinal empirical studies.
- The cybernetic tradition: Communication as a system of information processing.
- Norbert Wiener coined the term cybernetics to describe the field of artificial intelligence.
- Wiener’s concept of feedback anchored the cybernetic tradition.
- Communication is the link separating the separate parts of any system.
- Theorists seek to answer the questions: How does the system work? What could change it? How can we get the bugs out?
- Norbert Wiener coined the term cybernetics to describe the field of artificial intelligence.
- The rhetorical tradition: Communication as artful public address.
- Greco-Roman rhetoric was the main communication theory until the twentieth century.
- Six features characterize the tradition.
- A conviction that speech distinguishes humans from other animals.
- A confidence in the efficacy of public address.
- A setting of one speaker addressing a large audience with the intention to persuade.
- Oratorical training as the cornerstone of a leader’s education.
- An emphasis on the power and beauty of language to move people emotionally and stir them to action.
- Rhetoric was the province of males.
- The semiotic tradition: Communication as the process of sharing meaning through signs.
- Semiotics is the study of signs.
- Words are a special kind of sign known as a symbol.
- I. A. Richards was an early scholar of semiotics.
- His “proper meaning superstition” identifies the mistaken belief that words have a precise meaning.
- Meanings don’t reside in words or other symbols, but in people.
- The socio-cultural tradition: Communication as the creation and enactment of social reality.
- Communication produces and reproduces culture.
- Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf pioneered this tradition.
- The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity states that the structure of a culture’s language shapes what people think and do.
- Their theory counters the notion that languages are neutral conduits of meaning.
- It is through language that reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.
- The critical tradition: Communication as a reflective challenge of unjust discourse.
- Critical theory derives from the German Frankfurt School.
- The Frankfurt School rejected Karl Marx’s economic determinism, but embraced the Marxist tradition of critiquing society.
- Critical theorists challenge three features of contemporary society.
- The control of language to perpetuate power imbalances.
- The role of mass media in dulling sensitivity to repression.
- Blind reliance on the scientific method and uncritical acceptance of empirical findings.
- The phenomenological tradition: Communication as the experience of self and others through dialogue.
- Phenomenology refers to the intentional analysis of everyday life from the standpoint of the person who is living it.
- The phenomenological tradition places great emphasis on people’s perceptions and interpretations of their own subjective experiences.
- Phenomenological tradition answers two questions: Why is it so hard to establish and sustain authentic human relationships? How can this problem be overcome?
- Fencing the field of communication theory.
- These seven traditions have deep roots in communication theory.
- They have been mapped with respect to the objective/interpretive dichotomy.
- Hybrids are possible across traditions.
- They might not cover every approach to communication theory—thus the addition of the ethical tradition.
- The ethical tradition: Communication as people of character interacting in just and beneficial ways.
- Since ancient Greece, scholars have grappled with the obligations of the communicator.
- The NCA recently adopted a “Credo for Communication Ethics,” which includes the conviction that ethical communication:
- Advocates truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason.
- Accepts responsibility for short-term and long-term consequences of communication.
- Strives to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
- Concern for ethics spreads across the objective-interpretive landscape.
- Craig’s framework of seven traditions helps us make sense of the great diversity in the field of communication.
You can access the Outline for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
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