COMMUNICATION THEORIES

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COMMUNICATION THEORIES
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Summary of slides

• At the end of lesson you have learned the
  following topics
• Understand the need for theory
• Looking for reality / truth
• Human inquiry
• Traditions
• Authority
• What benefit when you learn theory
• Objectives of the theory
• Media phenomenon

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• Development ears of Communication theories
• Definition of Theory
• Three most common questions asked about mass
  media issues.
• The drive towards the development of mass
  communication theories
• Define mass communication

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• What is Mediated communication technology
• What is Interpersonal communication
• Break
• Five eras of media theories
• A. Mass Society Mass Culture
• B. Scientific Perspective of mass Communication
  

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• C. Limited Effects Paradigm
• D. Cultural Criticism
• E. Moderate Effects Perspective
• Categories of Theories
• 1. Social Scientific Theory
• 2. Normative Theory
• 3. Operational Theory

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• 4. Everyday Theory
• 5 . Critical Theory
• Source Baran Davis (2003) Mass
  Communication Theory. pgs 2-37

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Why theories? Questions?

• How do we know what we know?
• From where the sources of our knowledge comes
  from?
• Some things you know seem absolutely obvious?
• Some we are told what we know?
• Some knowledge that we know based on agreement?
• Some things we learned through tradition?
• Some things we know were told by others?

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A. In Search for Reality / Truth

• 1. Scientists have certain criteria that must be
  met before they will accept the reality / truth
  of something they havent personally experience.
  These must be supported by empirical evidences.
  It must make sense. It must not contradict with
  actual observations.
• 2. Scientists create epistemology i.e science
  of knowing.

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B. Human Inquiry

• 1. We learn to recognize circumstances that
  the future circumstances are something caused
  by the present situation.
• 2. We realize that patterns of courses
  and effects are problematic in nature.
• 3. The instincts that motivate human beings
  depends heavily on our ability to predict
  future circumstances.

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Traditions

• Traditions have clear advantages to human
  understanding. By accepting what everybody knows,
  we are spared overwhelming task of starting from
  scratch.
• Understanding knowledge is cumulative.

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Authority

• New knowledge appears everyday.
• We benefited through new discourses
  understanding produced by others.
• It creates expert in different field of
  knowledge.

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What benefits when you learn theory?

• Reduces skepticism in understanding theories.
• Learn form past experience.
• Reduce mistakes.
• Learn for scholars / experts.
• Learn to improve your thinking critically.
• Learn how to improve scholarly writings.
• Learn how to response to different argumentation.
• Learn to evaluate certain body of knowledge.
• Accept challenge.

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Objective of Theories

1. Understanding the theoretical principles on
   which scientific research was based.
2. Understand how these principles were reflected in
   everyday lives.
3. Understand the appropriateness of the theories
   to the society.

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Media Phenomenon

• Revolution in communication technology
  transforming social orders and cultures world
  wide.
• Old paradigm of giant media
• The new media has expanded our options for
  entertainment information content (cable
  channels, satellites, videotapes, CDs, DVDs,
  MP3, web-casting, PCs, hand phones, ipord/ipac
  etc)

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• Well examine how media scholars have
  conceptualized the role of media during this
  last century.
• Presented with grounded perspectives on what
  media can do for you to you.
• Provide the review of the roles and potentials of
  the media to understand their influence.
• Presented the challenges of the new technology

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• Witness the rise of various media industries.
• Assess the current theories from various
  different perspectives.
• Media theories are never completely innovative
  and are always the products of particular era in
  which they are constructed.

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• Theories can only work within their social and
  psychological context.
• Present day theories are mostly updated versions
  of the old ideas.
• To understand contemporary society it is
  important to understand the theories on which
  they are based. e.g (i) theories on media
  violence, these theories have been around as
  long as media itself.

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• Concerned about media effects have been around
  were voice as early as 1900.

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Development eras of mass communication theories.

• 1. Beginning of media theories of the 19th
  century.
• Evaluate their objectives
• Illustrate their strengths and limitations.
• Search for the purposes of these theories
• Understand how past theories evolved
• Why current theories are important

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Definition of theory

• Theory is able to describe and explain certain
  aspects of a given phenomenon

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3 most common questions asked about media issues

• 1. What potential is offered and what threats are
  posed with the new form of media technology.
• 2. What forms of media bureaucracies should be
  created in order to control or evaluate media
  technologies their threats are minimized.
• 3. How can media serves democratic and
  culturally pluralistic societies.

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The drive towards the development of mass
communication theories

• New media communication technology provides
  interconnectivity within societies.

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A. What is Mass
communication

• Mass communication is based on an organization
  that employs a technology as a medium to
  communicate with large audience (e.g. newspapers,
  magazines, radio, tv, internet, books, ect.)

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B. What is Mediated communication technology

• Communication between a few or many people that
  employs a technology as a medium of communication
  (e.g. telephones of various types, computers etc.)

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C. What is Interpersonal communication

• Communication between two or few people face to
  face

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Question to ponder?

• What is the difference between the three types
  (mass communication, mediated communication
  technology, interpersonal communication) of
  communication mentioned above?

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Five eras of media theories

• A. Mass society mass culture
• B. Scientific Perspective on Mass Communication
• C. Limited Effects Paradigm
• D. Cultural Criticism
• E. Moderate Effects Perspective

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A. Mass Society Mass Culture

• That the new industrial technology disrupt
  peaceful rural communities forcing people to live
  in urban areas merely to serve the workforce in
  large factories / bureaucracies etc.
• Mass media symbolized everything that was wrong
  with 19th century urban life.
• Mass media is responsible for changing the
  cultural norms the old social order based on
  landed aristocracy was crumbling so as its
  cultures politics.

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• The dominant perspective during this period is
  the Mass Society Theory.
• Mass society theory deals with ideas that held
  strong appeal for any social elites whose power
  was threatened by change. E.g. the Penny Press
  were a convenient target for elites criticism.

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• The essential argument of mass society theory is
  that media undermining the traditional social
  order.
• They favored all forms of technological
  development including that of mass media.
  Technology was good. It facilitate control over
  the physical environment, expand human
  productivity generate new form of material
  wealth.
• While on one hand this is encouraging but
  industrialization brought about other

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• other problems such as exploitation of workers,
  pollution social unrest (These arguments is
  captured in chpt. 3,4,5).

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B. Scientific Perspective of mass Communication

• This is the view that the media is not as
  powerful as previously imagined. But rather
  audience had numerous ways resisting media
  influence.
• This perspective view that media is reinforcing
  existing social trends strengthening rather
  than threatening the status quo.
• Lazarsfeld, Berelson, Gaudet (1940s)

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C. Limited Effects Paradigm

• The mass society theories was again under attack
  as unscientific or irrational.
• Mass communication scholars stopped at looking at
  the powerful media effects but rather look into
  the limited effects theories. Such as the
  elite pluralism theories that the theory
  asserting that the media use by sophisticated
  audiences enriches the process of democracy.

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D. Cultural Criticism

• This is the notion that the media enable the
  dominant social elites to secure their power.
  Media provide the ruling elite with a convenient,
  subtle, yet highly effective means of promoting
  worldviews favorable to their interest.

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• e.g. The British cultural studies focus heavily
  on mass media in their role promoting a hegemonic
  (dominant ideas that is imposed on society)
  worldview and dominant culture among various
  subgroups in the society.

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E. Moderate Effects Perspective

• The moderate media effects perspectives support
  the idea of communication science, social
  semiotics media literacy.
• That is research that integrates all research
  approaches grounded in qualitative, empirical
  behavioral research methods.

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• Social Semiotics theory attempted to integrate
  communication science, critical cultural
  studies focusing on audience activity to
  understand how audience members make sense of
  media messages.
• Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze
  evaluate communicate media messages.

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Different school of thoughts define theory
differently ?

• Different schools of thoughts will define theory
  in different ways depending on the needs of the
  theorist and the beliefs about the social world
  and the nature of the knowledge.
• In short theory is a conceptual representation or
  explanation of a phenomena e.g. television,
  aggression and linked with social phenomenon.

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• Conclusions
• That there is no one definition or the right
  definition of theory.
• Theory is define based on different schools of
  thoughts.

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• Severin Tankard (1997) argued the following
  ideas
• As we moved to an information age the
  challenges facing the field of communication seem
  greater than before. More questions were raised.
  e.g
• Does mass communication contents have an effect
  on societys values?
• If so what kind of effect?
• How does it takes place?

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• How do people learn from mass media?
• How do people develop their basic attitudes
  toward the world around them?
• Does mass media play the roles in this processes
  if any? How?

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• Changes taking place in media environment are
  many.
• Media industry in Malaysia is expanding within
  short period of time. E.g. In 1963 viewers
  received the first TV1 black/white channel. Today
  with ASTRO / satellites we get more than 50 TV
  channels worldwide. What about tomorrow?

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• One of the changes the new technologies are
  bringing is that every definition of mass
  communication is coming into question.
• Severin Tankard (1997) argued that any
  definition of mass communication must include
  three characteristics

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• Mass communication should be
• 1. Directed towards large, heterogeneous
  anonymous audience.
• 2. Message are transmitted publicly often time to
  reach most audience members simultaneously.
• The communicator tend to be a complex
  organization that involved large expanse.

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Changing Communication Environment

• To date it is difficult to predict the form of
  new communication system in the society. Because
  the delivery of information, entertainment
  other services get more complex. Changes are
  fast. In short scholars term this development as
  Information superhighways. Like roads, the
  network of information activities get thicker
  thicker. It becomes an important communication
  tool for many individuals, education institutions
  business.

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• On-line services (e.g. ads, PR, banking,
  marketing, news, information), internet, e-mail,
  www (in April 1994 www sites is 1,000, in October
  1995 the number is 110,000 ) all these are in
  the increase.
• As the flow of information increases , people
  need some assistance in sorting out the available
  information.

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The Role of Theory

• Theories are general statements that summarize
  our understandings of the way the world works.
• In communication, much of our theory in the past
  has been implicit. We relied on folklore,
  traditional wisdom, common sense, to guide our
  practice. We make assumptions these assumptions
  are not written anywhere. And yet we follow them
  relegiously.

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• In developing theory we often try to explain
  something that is difficult to understand.
• Therefore the goal of the theory is to provide or
  formulate statements that have some explanatory
  power. And these theoretical statements can be
  written in the following forms

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• 1. If-then e.g. If young people watches a great
  deal of violent television, then he will commit
  aggressive act.
• 2. Is more likely to statement. E.g. A person who
  watches violent TV is more likely to behave
  aggressively than a person who watches nonviolent
  TV.

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• 3. The greater the X the greater the Y. e.g the
  greater the violent TV viewing, the greater the
  aggressiveness behavior.
• Statements using phrase like leads to. E.g.
  Watching violent TV leads to more aggressive
  behavior than watching nonviolent TV.
• Communication theory is aimed at improving our
  understanding of the process of mass
  communication.

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He Goals of Mass communication Theory

• 1. To explain the effects of mass communication.
  These effects can be intended (e.g. political
  campaigns) of intended (e.g. increasing violence
  in society)
• 2. To explain the uses to which people put on
  mass communication.

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• 3. To explain the learning from mass media. (how
  do people learn from mass media)
• 4. To explain the role of mass media in shaping
  peoples values and views. (e.g. inculcating the
  perceived values such as a sense of
  responsibility, civic consciousness, patriotism,
  accountability, hard working, level of tolerance,
  sensitiveness, respect etc.

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The effects of mass communication.

• The effects of communication has been a major
  concern in the 20th century.
• Studies on strong, moderate some effects are
  common interest in mass communication.
• Creating models such as awarenessgtknowledgegtlikin
  ggtpreferencesgtconvictiongtpurchase. (related to
  psychomotor, affective. Cognitive domains)

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Changes in mass communication theories

• Over the years the noticeable changes are as
  follows
• 1. Now there is a greater emphasis on uses on
  mass communication than before. The importance of
  audience becomes clearer.
• 2. There is now a shift to cognitive science or
  information processing approaches.
• 3. rapid changes in communication technology
  suggest that researches would try to formulate
  communication theories that go beyond the detail
  of the medium or technology.

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Some theoretical questions by changes in media
environment.

• 1. How are the new communication media changing
  the nature of knowledge.
• 2.How are the new communication media changing
  the nature of human thinking?
• 3.What are the uses of print giving way to others
  means of communication.
• What form should electronic communication take
  shape.

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Second section starts here.
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Categories of Theories

• 1. Social Scientific Theory
• 2. Normative Theory
• 3. Operational Theory
• 4. Everyday Theory
• 5 . Critical Theory

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Categories of Theories

• 1. Social Scientific Theory
• These theories are based on empirical
  research i.e. statements about the nature,
  workings, effects of mass communication.
  Perdition and control.

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• 2. Normative Theory
• This type of theory explains how ideal media
  ought to operate within a specific system of
  social values e.g. the four theories of
  the press.

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• 3. Operational Theory
• This type of theory is normative, with a
  practical bent. It involves not only how the
  media should operate but also how can they
  operate to meet specific ends.
• e.g. advertising, PR, consumers behavior
  theories

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• 4. Everyday Theory
• This refers to the knowledge / ideas /
  explanations that all of us have by simple
  virtue that we engage in communication process.

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• 5 . Critical Theory
• This theory consisted the notion of a loose
  confederation of ideas held together by a common
  interest in quality of communication and human
  life. They not only observe but also criticize.
  They are concerned with the conflict of
  interests in the society the ways
  communication perpetuates domination of one
  group over another.