The Communication Tradition

I. The study of communication has had a long history.

A. The Western study of communication begins in ancient Athens. The period extending from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD is called the classical period.

1. In this period the study of communication was called rhetoric and teachers of communication were called rhetoricians.

2. Aristotle's Lyceum is one of the most famous schools of the time.

3. The ancient Greeks were interested in rhetoric for several reasons. a. Greeks revered the spoken word.
b. Democracy depended on citizens who could express their opinions in public.
c. Athenians had to argue their own cases in courts of law.

4. One of the earliest models of communication-the canons of rhetoric-described steps in the process of public argumentation. a. The first step was invention, the discovery of ideas.
b. The second was style, the use of language to convey ideas.
c. The third was arrangement, the ordering of ideas.
d. The fourth was memory, remembering one's ideas.
e. The fifth was delivery, the actual presentation of one's ideas.

B. The study of communication continued, in diminished form, during the Medieval period (400-1400) and the Renaissance (1400-1600).

1. During this time, classical theories of rhetoric fell into disrepute.

2. The power of the Christian clergy helped shape the way rhetoric was studied.

3. The most important communication activities were letter writing and preaching.

4. St. Augustine's discussion of symbolic communication was the most important rhetorical theory of its day.

C. The three centuries from 1600 to 1900 comprise the modern period.

1. Rationalism and the rise of democracy encouraged the use of public debate and gave rise to a renewed interest in communication.

2. Four different approaches were used to study communication. a. The classical approach focused on reviving the insights of the Greek philosophers.
b. The psychological/epistemological approach saw rhetoric as a rational, scientific discipline.
c. The belletristic approach focused on aesthetics and style.
d. The elocutionary approach was concerned primarily with delivery and ways to convey emotions.

II. Today communication is still being studied.

A. Nowadays, two approaches are used.

1. Those who take a rhetorical approach see communication as a humanistic study.

2. Those who take a communication theory approach believe that communication should be studied using the scientific method.

B. Regardless of approach, students of communication can use what they learn in many contexts, both personal and professional.

Definitions, Models and Perspectives

I. Definitions help us understand concepts by delineating their boundaries.

A. There are two ways to think of definitions.

5. Those who view definitions as discoveries believe things exist apart from human perceivers. a. They believe that by carefully observing, we can discover the essential characteristics of things.
b. They feel, human observers can be objective.

6. Others view definitions as constructions. a. They view definitions as the subjective products of human thought.
b. They feel that there can be several equally valid definitions for a single thing.

B. Definitions of communication differ in terms of breadth, intentionality, locus of communication, and whether or not communication involves symbols.

5. Broad definitions of communication count many kinds of behaviors as communication; narrow definitions limit the domain of communication.

6. Intentional definitions of communication insist that communication occurs only when senders are aware of their messages and mean to send them; nonintentional definitions include messages that are not consciously intended.

7. Sender-based definitions locate communication in the sender; receiver-based definitions say communication occurs in the receiver as he or she assigns meaning to stimuli.

8. Some definitions say that communication involves the use of symbols; these exclude nonverbal behavior. Others include naturally occurring signs as well as symbols.

9. Rather than trying to fit all message making into a single definition of communication, we can recognize that there are a number of kinds of communication, forming a family of concepts rather than a single concept.

II. In addition to definitions, models can help us understand concepts by illustrating their structure or functions.

A. Models, regardless of the forms they take, fulfill several functions.

3. They explain processes by dividing the process into parts and showing us how these parts are connected.

4. They allow us to make predictions about what will happen in the future.

5. They show us ways to control the processes we model.

B. Despite their usefulness, models have drawbacks.

3. They are necessarily incomplete.

4. There are many ways to model a single process.

5. Models are based on assumptions.

III. The assumptions that support models are called perspectives. Models based on different perspectives look quite different.

A. The most familiar perspective is the psychological perspective; it assumes communication is a psychological process whereby individuals create and interpret stimuli.

1. Elements in models based on the psychological model include sender/receiver, message, channel, destination, and mental set.

2. Communication, according to the psychological perspective, fails when senders' and receivers' meanings don't match. a. Communication failure can be avoided if senders encode messages appropriately, use multiple channels, and avoid noise.
b. Communication failures can also be avoided if receivers try to see things from the sender's point of view and if they give the sender feedback.

3. Critics have attacked the psychological perspective. a. They say it ignores the social context of communication.
b. They say it is mechanistic.
c. They ask whether it is possible to transfer information from one mind to another.

4. Research based on the psychological perspective takes a laws approach.

B. Another perspective is the social constructionist perspective; it argues that communication is a process whereby groups of people create collective representations of reality.

1. Elements in models based on the social constructionist perspective consist of the cultural tools used to create worldviews: symbolic codes, cognitive customs, cultural traditions, and sets of roles and rules.

2. Communication can fail when people construct faulty realities or when people do not share cultural customs and values.

3. Critics argue against this perspective in several ways. a. Some accuse it of cultural relativism, saying it ignores objective truth.
b. Others say it places too much emphasis on social behavior and not enough on individual choice.

4. Researchers who are social constructionists take a rules approach to communication.

C. The third perspective is called the pragmatic perspective; it sees communication as a kind of game, a pattern of interlocking interdependent behaviors.

1. Elements in models based on the pragmatic perspective include acts, interacts, payoffs, and interdependence.

2. Communication can fail when people create unhealthy patterns. a. Dysfunctional patterns are often increased if parties blame each other.
b. To improve communication, people should focus on identifying interaction patterns and changing them rather than on personalities or past history.

3. Critics feel the problem with this perspective is that it ignores both personality and culture.

4. Pragmatic researchers use a systems approach to research.

D. Additional perspectives exist.

1. One is the semiotic perspective. It focuses on uncovering the symbolic meanings that exist in everyday practices.

2. Another is the feminist critical perspective. This perspective focuses on ways dominant communication practices marginalize and silence members of certain groups.

IV. Dell Hymes presents an ethnographic model that outlines systematic ways to observe communication.

A. Hymes locates communication in speech communities.

1. Speech communities, people who share norms and rules concerning communication, create speech situations.

2. Speech situations consist of several speech events.

3. There are appropriate speech acts for every speech event.

B. To understand communication in a given community, we should observe the following specific items: situations, participants, ends, act sequences, keys, instrumentalities, norms and genres.