1. Chapter 3
Explaining Theories of Cognition and
Intrapersonal Communication

2. BlackBoard Follow Up
 Introductions
 Who is Howard Gardner
 Changing Minds

3. Brian Solis
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3hi0V13o
ag
 Social listening
 Talking to you and through you
 Investing in social capital

4. Cognitive Process
 Communication has early roots in psychology
 Cognitive scholars are concerned with the
mental processes that are used to process
stimuli and generate particular effects
 Contrasts behavioral view that focuses solely
on external causes (or stimuli) and behavioral
effects

5. Cognitive/Intrapersonal Theories
 Message Design Logics
 Premise: Message Design Logics predicts
that people strategically design messages
sent to others

6. Message Design Logics
 Three types of Design
 Expressive design
 Conventional design
 Rhetorical design

7. Message Design Logics
 Problems interacting with different MDL styles
 When individuals share the same MDL:
 they are more likely to acknowledge
communication problems
 When individuals have different MDLs:
 they are more likely to blame their problems
on the other’s bad intentions, mistaken beliefs,
or undesirable personality characteristics

8. Cognitive/Intrapersonal Theories
 Message Design Logics
 Communication Accommodation Theory
 Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 Expectancy Violations Theory

9. Communication Accommodation
Theory
 Giles & Coupland
 Premise: when individuals interact with
others, they will:
 accommodate their speech and language
patterns
 by matching their partner’s speech
 by differentiating their speech and language use

10. Communication Accommodation
Theory
 Individuals belong to a wide variety of social
groups
 These groups shape each person’s collective
identity
 In-groups: social affiliations to which an individual
feels he or she belongs
 Out-groups: social affiliations to which a person
feels that he or she does not belong
 Language, speech, and nonverbal messages all
communicate one’s in-group and out-group status

11. What In-groups are you part of?
 Social affiliations to which an individual feels he
or she belongs
 What language, speech, and nonverbal
messages are you aware of?

12. What out-groups are you aware of?
 Social affiliations to which a person feels that he
or she does not belong
 What language, speech, and nonverbal
messages did you observe?

13. Communication Accommodation
Theory

14. Communication Accommodation
Theory
 Individuals adjust their speech and
conversational patterns either to assimilate
with or to deviate from others
 Convergence: altering your speech and
behavior so that it matches that of your
conversational partner
 Divergence: rather than match your partner’s
communication patterns, you seek to make your
speech different

15. Communication Accommodation
Theory
 Predictions
 When a person wants to be viewed as part of an
in-group, s/he will accommodate by convergence
 When a persona wants to be viewed as distinct
from a certain group, s/he will alter your speech
through divergence
 In addition to expressing disagreement or rejection
of a speaker, divergence also illustrates one’s
cultural identity or differences in one’s status.

16. Communication Accommodation
Theory
 Accommodation is not always appropriate or
effective
 When in doubt, individuals rely on social
norms to inform their decision to
accommodate (or not)

17. Scenario #1

18. Convergence
 Pros  Cons

19. Divergence
 Pros  Cons

20. Communication Accommodation
Theory
Positive Effects
 Increased attraction,
social approval, and
increased persuasion
Negative Effects
 Incorrect stereotypes of
out-group, perceived
condescension, loss of
personal identity

21. Communication Accommodation
Theory
Positive Effects
 Protects cultural
identity, asserts power
differences, and
increased sympathy
Negative Effects
 Perceived disdain for out-
group, perceived lack of
effort, and increased
psychological distance

22. Uncertainty Reduction
Theory

23. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 Berger & Calabrese
 Premise: URT explains and predict when,
why, and how individuals use communication
to minimize their doubts when interacting with
others

24. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 URT functions based on three assumptions
 Primary goal of communication is to minimize
uncertainties that we have about the world
 Individuals experience uncertainty regularly;
the experience of uncertainty is unpleasant
 Communication is the primary vehicle for
reducing uncertainty

25. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 Reducing uncertainty
 3 antecedent conditions: influence whether
we have the motivation to reduce uncertainty
 Anticipation of future interaction
 Incentive value
 Deviance

26. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 Two types of uncertainty
 Behavioral uncertainty
 Cognitive uncertainty

27. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
8 Axioms Explaining the Uncertainty Reduction Process
 Axiom 1: Verbal communication
 Axiom 2: Welcoming nonverbal communication
 Axiom 3: Information-seeking behaviors
 Axiom 4: Intimacy
 Axiom 5: Reciprocal communication strategies
 Axiom 6: Perceived similarities
 Axiom 7: Liking
 Axiom 8: Shared communication networks

28. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
 Berger (1995, 1997) noted that much of
social interaction is goal driven; we
communicate for a reason and we create
plans to guide interaction
 Uncertainty reduction strategies
 Passive strategy
 Active strategy
 Interactive strategy

29. Expectancy Violations
Theory

30. Expectancy Violations Theory
 Burgoon
 Premise: explains the meanings that people
attribute to the violation of their personal space
and predicts their response to such infringements
 Assumptions
 EVT builds on numerous axioms
 Primary assumption: humans have competing
needs for personal space and for affiliation

31. Expectancy Violations Theory
 EVT makes predictions as to how individuals
will react to a given violation
 Reciprocate: match someone’s behavior
 Compensate: counteract by doing the opposite
of your partner’s behavior

32. Expectancy Violations Theory
 Core Concepts
 Expectancy
 Context of the behavior
 Relationship with the person in question
 Communicator’s characteristics

33. BlackBoard Questions
 What cultural differences have you observed
related to any single theory we discussed?