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There is much discussion in the academic world of communication
Communication

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs...",, 1: an act or instance of transmitting and 3 a: "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or beha...
 as to what actually constitutes communication. Currently, many definitions of communication are used in order to conceptualize the processes by which people navigate and assign meaning. Communication is also understood as the exchanging of understanding. Additionally the biocommunication theory investigates communicative processes within and among non-humans such as bacteria, animals, fungi and plants.

We might say that communication consists of transmitting information from one person to another.






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There is much discussion in the academic world of communication
Communication

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs...",, 1: an act or instance of transmitting and 3 a: "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or beha...
 as to what actually constitutes communication. Currently, many definitions of communication are used in order to conceptualize the processes by which people navigate and assign meaning. Communication is also understood as the exchanging of understanding. Additionally the biocommunication theory investigates communicative processes within and among non-humans such as bacteria, animals, fungi and plants.

We might say that communication consists of transmitting information from one person to another. In fact, many scholars of communication take this as a working definition, and use Lasswell's
Harold Lasswell

Harold Dwight Lasswell was a leading United States Political science and Communication theory. He was a member of the Chicago school of sociology and was a student at Yale University in political science....
 maxim, "who says what to whom in what channel with what effect," as a means of circumscribing the field of communication theory.

transferring a message
Message

A message in its most general meaning is an Object of communication. It is something which provides information; it can also be this information itself....
 containing information
Information

Information as a Conveyed concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control system, data, form, instruction, knowledge, Meaning , stimulation, pattern, perception, and knowledge representation....
 to a receiver.]]

Other commentators suggest that a ritual
Ritual

A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
 process of communication exists, one not artificially divorceable from a particular historical and social context.

Communication stands so deeply rooted in human behavior
Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the action s or reactions of an object or organism, usually in Relational theory to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or Unconscious mind, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
s and the structures of society
Society

A society is a group of humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and/or institutions....
 that scholars have difficulty thinking of it while excluding social or behavioral events. Because communication theory remains a relatively young field of inquiry and integrates itself with other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, and sociology, one probably cannot expect a consensus conceptualization of communication across disciplines.

Currently, there is no paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
 from which communication scholars may work. One of the issues facing scholars is the possibility that establishing a communication metatheory will negate their research and stifle the broad body of knowledge in which communication functions.

History of Communication Theory


Aristoteles Louvre
The nature of communication has been argued about since the beginning of Western culture. Socrates
Socrates

Socrates was a Classical Greece Philosophy. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known only through the classical accounts of his students....
 and Plato
Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greece Greeks philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Platonic Academy in Ancient Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world....
 reflect on language and communication in the Socratic dialogues, particularly in the Cratylus
Cratylus

Cratylus was an History of Athens philosopher from late 5th century BC, mostly known through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue Cratylus . Little is known of Cratylus or his mentor Heraclitus ....
. Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
 attempted to work out a theory of communication and language; in The Rhetoric
Rhetoric (Aristotle)

Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the fourth century BCE. In Greek, it is titled ?????S ????????S, in Latin Ars Rhetorica. In English, its title varies: typically it is titled the Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, or a Treatise on Rhetoric....
 he primarily focused on the art of persuasion, and in De Interpretatione he discusses the elements of language and the relation of language and logic.

Theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
, humanistic and rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
al viewpoints and theories dominated the discipline prior to the twentieth century, when more scientific methodologies and insights from information theory
Information theory

Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Historically, information theory was developed by Claude E....
, psychology
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
, sociology
Sociology

Sociology is a branch of the social sciences that uses systematic methods of Empiricism and critical theory to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, sometimes with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare....
, linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
 and advertising
Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to Purchasing or to consume more of a particular brand of Product or Service ....
 began to influence communication thought and practice.

Communication Theory Framework


It is helpful to examine communication and communication theory through one of the following viewpoints:

  • Mechanistic: This view considers communication to be a perfect transaction of a message from the sender to the receiver. (as seen in the diagram above)
  • Psychological: This view considers communication as the act of sending a message to a receiver, and the feelings and thoughts of the receiver upon interpreting the message.
  • Social Constructionist (Symbolic Interactionist): This view considers communication to be the product of the interactants sharing and creating meaning.
  • Systemic: This view considers communication to be the new messages created via “through-put”, or what happens as the message is being interpreted and re-interpreted as it travels through people.
  • Critical: This view considers communication as a source of power and oppression of individuals and social groups.


Inspection of a particular theory on this level will provide a framework on the nature of communication as seen within the confines of that theory.

Theories can also be studied and organized according to the ontological, epistemological, and axiological framework imposed by the theorist.

Ontology
Ontology

Ontology in philosophy is the study of the nature of being, existence or reality in general, as well as of the basic category of being and their relations....
 essentially poses the question of what, exactly, it is the theorist is examining. One must consider the very nature of reality. The answer usually falls in one of three realms depending on whether the theorist sees the phenomena through the lens of a realist, nominalist, or social constructionist. Realist perspective views the world objectively, believing that there is a world outside of our own experience and cognitions. Nominalists see the world subjectively, claiming that everything outside of one’s cognitions is simply names and labels. Social constructionists straddle the fence between objective and subjective reality, claiming that reality is what we create together.

Epistemology
Epistemology

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It addresses the questions:...
 is an examination of how the theorist studies the chosen phenomena. In studying epistemology, objective knowledge is said to be the result of a systematic look at the causal relationships of phenomena. This knowledge is usually attained through use of the scientific method. Scholars often think that empirical evidence collected in an objective manner is most likely to reflect truth in the findings. Theories of this ilk are usually created to predict a phenomenon. Subjective theory holds that understanding is based on situated knowledge, typically found using interpretative methodology such as ethnography and interviews. Subjective theories are typically developed to explain or understand phenomena in the social world.

Axiology
Axiology

Axiology is the study of quality or value . It is often taken to include ethics and aesthetics — philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of value — and sometimes it is held to lay the groundwork for these fields, and thus to be similar to value theory and meta-ethics....
 is concerned with what values drive a theorist to develop a theory. Theorists must be mindful of potential biases so that they will not influence or skew their findings (Miller, 21-23).

Mapping the theoretical landscape


A discipline gets defined in large part by its theoretical structure. Communication studies often borrow theories from other social sciences
Social sciences

The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including anthropology, communication studies, economics, human geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology....
. This theoretical variation makes it difficult to come to terms with the field as a whole. That said, some common taxonomies exist that serve to divide up the range of communication research. Two common mappings involve contexts and assumptions.

Contexts


Many authors and researchers divide communication by what they sometimes called "contexts" or "levels", but which more often represent institutional histories. The study of communication in the US, while occurring within departments of psychology, sociology, linguistics, and anthropology (among others), generally developed from schools of rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
 and from schools of journalism
Journalism

Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and editorial via a widening spectrum of Media . These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and, more recently, the cellphone....
. While many of these have become "departments of communication", they often retain their historical roots, adhering largely to theories from speech communication in the former case, and from mass media in the latter. The great divide between speech communication and mass communication
Mass communication

Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time....
 becomes complicated by a number of smaller sub-areas of communication research, including intercultural and international communication, small group communication, communication technology, policy and legal studies of communication, telecommunication
Telecommunication

Telecommunication is the assisted Transmission of Signal over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, Drum , Semaphore line, flag signals or heliograph....
, and work done under a variety of other labels. Some of these departments take a largely social-scientific perspective, others tend more heavily toward the humanities
Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural science and social sciences....
, and still others gear themselves more toward production and professional preparation.

These "levels" of communication provide some way of grouping communication theories, but inevitably, some theories and concepts leak from one area to another, or fail to find a home at all.

Assumptions


Another way of dividing up the communication field emphasizes the assumptions that undergird particular theories, models, and approaches. While this approach also tends to have as its basis institutional divisions, theories within each of the seven "traditions" of communication theory that Robert Craig suggests tend to reinforce one another, and retain the same ground epistemological and axiological assumptions. His traditions include:
  • rhetoric
    Rhetoric

    Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
    al - practical art of discourse
  • semiotic
    Semiotics

    'Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of sign processes , or signification and communication, sign and symbols, both individually and grouped into sign systems....
     – intersubjective mediation through signs in order to mediate between different perspectives
  • phenomenological - experience of otherness, dialogue
  • cybernetic
    Cybernetics

    Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory....
     - information processing and explains how all kinds of complex systems, whether living or nonliving, macro or micro, are able to function, and why they often malfunction
  • sociopsychological - expression, interaction and influence
  • critical - discursive reflection
  • sociocultural - reproduction of social order (Miller, 13)


Craig finds each of these clearly defined against the others, and remaining cohesive approaches to describing communicative behavior. As a taxonomic aid, these labels help to organize theory by its assumptions, and help researchers to understand why some theories may seem incommensurable.

While communication theorists very commonly use these two approaches, theorists decentralize the place of language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 and machines as communicative technologies. The idea (as argued by Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky was a Russian Jewish developmental psychology and the founder of cultural-historical psychology....
) of communication as the primary tool of a species defined by its tools remains on the outskirts of communication theory. It finds some representation in the Toronto School of communication theory (alternatively sometimes called medium theory
Medium theory

"Medium theory" is the name assigned to a variety of approaches used to examine how the means of expression of human communication impact the meaning of human communication....
) as represented by the work of Innis
Harold Innis

Harold Adams Innis was a Canada professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory and Canadian Economy of Canada history....
, McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan

Herbert Marshall McLuhan, Order of Canada was a Canada educator, philosopher, and scholar ? a professor of English literature, a Literary criticism, a rhetorician, and a Communication theory....
, and others. It seems that the ways in which individuals and groups use the technologies of communication — and in some cases are used by them — remain central to what communication researchers do. The ideas that surround this, and in particular the place of persuasion
Persuasion

Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means....
, remain constants across both the "traditions" and "levels" of communication theory.

Some realms of communication and their theories


  • message production: Constructivist Theory, Action Assembly Theory
    Action Assembly

    Action Assembly Theory is a communication theory that emphasizes psychology and social influences on human action. The goal is to examine and describe the links between the cognition and behavior - how an individual's thoughts get transformed into actions....
  • message processing: Elaboration Likelihood Theory, Inoculation Theory
    Inoculation theory

    Inoculation Theory was developed by social psychologist William J. McGuire in 1961 to explain more about how attitudes and beliefs change, and more importantly, how to keep original attitudes and beliefs consistent in the face of persuasion attempts....
  • discourse and interaction: Speech Acts Theory, Coordinated Management of Meaning
    Coordinated Management of Meaning

    Coordinated Management of Meaning, or CMM, is a theory of communication based on the flow of information or data between two people. Coordinated Management of Meaning start with the assertion that persons in conversation co-construct their own social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the worlds they create The theory states the...
  • developing relationships: Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Social Penetration Theory
  • ongoing relationships: Relational Systems Theory, Relational Dialectics
  • organizational: Structuration Theory, Unobtrusive and Concertive Control Theory
  • small group: Functional Theory, Symbolic Convergence Theory
  • media processing and effects: Social Cognitive Theory, Uses and Gratifications Theory
  • media and society: agenda setting, spiral of silence
  • culture: Speech Codes Theory, Face-saving Theory (Miller, v-viii)
  • Symbolic Convergence Theory
    Symbolic Convergence Theory

    Symbolic Convergence Theory is a general communication theory. SCT explains that meanings, emotions, values, and the motives for action are in the rhetoric that is co-created by people trying to make sense out of a common experience, such as university life....
  • making social worlds: Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)


More information


There is a wealth of information available about communication and communication theory. Included here are some examples of texts, journals, and organizations focusing on communication theory.

The following list is a survey of Communication Theory texts currently available on Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce company in Seattle, Washington. It is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the internet sales revenue of runner up Staples, Inc....
:

  • Communication Theory: Epistemological Foundations by James A. Anderson
  • Communication Theories: Origins, Methods and Uses in the Mass Media (5th Edition) by Werner J. Severin and James W. Tankard
  • Theories of Human Communication (9th Edition) by Stephen W. Littlejohn and Karen A. Foss
  • Communication: Theories and Applications by Mark V. Redmond
  • Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts by Katherine Miller
  • Communication Theory: Media, Technology and Society by David Holmes
  • Building Communication Theory by Dominic A. Infante, Andrew S. Rancer, and Deanna F. Womack
  • The Communication Theory Reader by Paul Cobley
  • Clarifying Communications Theories: A Hands-On Approach by Gerald Stone, Michael Singletary, and Virginia P. Richmond
  • An Introduction to Communication Theory by Don W. Stacks, Sidney R. Hill, and Mark, III Hickson


Scholarly journals are also a great source for recent research and academic discussion of theory. Some communication journals that emphasize theory are as follows:

  • Argumentation
  • Asian Journal of Communication
  • China Media Research
  • Communication Abstracts
  • Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies
  • Communication Education
  • Communication Monographs
  • Communication Quarterly
  • Communication Research Reports
  • Communication Research
  • Communication Studies
  • Communication Theory
  • Communications and the Law
  • Continuum - Journal of Media and Cultural Studies
  • Critical Discourse Studies
  • Critical Studies in Media Communication
  • Discourse Studies
  • Howard Journal of Communications
  • Human Communication: A Journal of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association
  • Human Communication Research
  • Intercultural Communication Studies
  • Journal of Applied Communication Research
  • Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
  • Journal of Communication
  • Journal of Communication Inquiry
  • Journal of Intercultural Communication Research
  • Journal of Language Identity and Education
  • Journal of Mass Media Ethics
  • Journal of Multicultural Discourses
  • Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
  • Journal of Public Relations Research
  • Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  • Journalism - Theory Practice and Criticism
  • Journalism History
  • Journalism Studies
  • Keio Communication Review
  • Language in Society
  • Listening - Journal of Religion and Culture
  • Mass Communication and Society
  • Media Asia
  • Media, Culture and Society
  • Multilingua - Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication
  • New Media and Society
  • Philosophy and Rhetoric : Paper for Muse Participants
  • Political Communication
  • PR Reporter
  • Public Relations Quarterly
  • Review of Communication
  • Rhetoric and Public Affairs
  • Rhetorica
  • Southern Communication Journal
  • Studies in Communication Sciences
  • Text - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Discourse
  • Vital Speeches of the Day
  • Western Journal of Communication
  • Women's Studies in Communication
  • Word and Image
  • Written Communication


Finally, there are many Communication Organizations that create a network of scholars who actively pursue and test theories. These organizations usually hold an annual conference showcasing the latest and best research in the field, as well as publish scholarly Journals. Examples of Communication Organizations with contact information are:


See also


  • List of basic communication topics
  • Metacommunicative competence
    Metacommunicative competence

    Metacommunicative competence is the ability to intervene within difficult conversations and to correct communication problems by utilizing the different ways of practical communication:...
  • Rogerian argument
    Rogerian argument

    Rogerian argument is a conflict solving technique based on finding common ground instead of polarizing debate....
  • Time- and space-bias
    Time- and space-bias

    The terms time-bias and space-bias describe concepts that anchor communication theory Harold Innis's communications theories understanding of dominant communication technologies in history....
     and Harold Innis's communications theories
    Harold Innis's communications theories

    Harold Innis was a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on Canadian economic history and on media and communication theory....
  • Tetrad of media effects
    Tetrad of media effects

    Generally speaking, a tetrad is any set of four things. In Laws of Media and The Global Village , published posthumously, Marshall McLuhan summarized his ideas about media studies in a concise tetrad of media effects....


Bibliography


  • Littlejohn, S. W.,Theories of human communication. 7th edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2002.
  • Emory A Griffin, A first look at communication theory. 3rd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. ISBN 0-07-022822-1
  • Miller, K., Communication Theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
  • Werner, E., "Cooperating Agents: A Unified Theory of Communication and Social Structure", Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 2, L. Gasser and M. Huhns, eds., Morgan Kaufmann and Pitman Press, 1989.
  • Werner, E., "Toward a Theory of Communication and Cooperation for Multiagent Planning", Theoretical Aspects of Reasoning About Knowledge: Proceedings of the Second Conference, Morgan Kaufman Publishers, pp. 129-143, 1988.
  • Witzany, G, "The Logos of the Bios 2. Bio-Communication", Helsinki, Umweb, 2007.


External links