This document discusses conceptual foundations of communication theory. It defines communication as the passing of information from one place to another, as well as a social, symbolic, and intentional process. The document also discusses the nature and importance of theory, as well as different traditions and types of scholarship in communication theory, including scientific, humanistic, rhetorical, semiotic, phenomenological, cybernetic, sociopsychological, socio-cultural, and critical traditions. Key aspects of evaluating theory are addressed such as scope, appropriateness, heuristic value, validity, parsimony, and openness.

1. COMMUNICATION THEORIES &
MODELS
MODULE 1: THEORY
OVERVIEW

2. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication means that information is passed from
one place to another (Miller, 1951)
!
○ Communication is social interaction through symbols
and message systems (Gerbner, 1966)

3. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication is a process
○ Communication is transactional
○ Communication is symbolic
○ Communication is a social activity
○ Communication and intention

4. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication is a process
!
“dynamic, on-going, ever-changing, continuous. It
does not have a beginning , an end, a fixed
sequence of events. It is not static, at rest. It is
moving” (Berlo,1960).

5. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication is transactional
!
“people are simultaneously acting as source and
receiver in many communication situations. A
person is giving feedback…Each person is
participating in the communication
activity” (Ruffner, 1978).

6. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication is symbolic
!
“It requires signs and symbols that have relationships to
referents that are to some extent arbitrary.”
!
○ Communication is a social activity
!
“Serves as social vehicle”

7. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION ?
○ Communication and intention
!
“Communication occurs in those situations in
which a source transmits a message to a receiver
with conscious intent to affect behavior ”
(Miller, 1966)

8. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
WHAT IS THEORY ?
○ Any organized set of concepts and explanations
about phenomenon.
○ Any attempt to explain or represent an experience
(Littlejohn,2002)
○ An idea of how certain events happened

9. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
IMPORTANCE OF THEORY
○ Theories guide us in making decisions and taking actions. They
change from time to time as we observe new things and acquire
new perspective.
○ Theories identify patterns of events in the environment so we
know what to expect.
○ They draw our attention to important aspects of everyday life.
○ They help us decide what is important and what is not.
○ They enable us to predict what will happen next.
○ Littlejohn, 2002

10. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
NATURE OF THEORY
○ All theories are Abstractions
● Theory focuses on certain things and ignores others.
● No single theory will ever reveal the whole truth.
!
○ All theories are Constructions
● Theories are created by people
● Theory is the product of human judgment and social interaction
!
○ Littlejohn, 2002

11. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
BASIC MODEL OF INQUIRY
○ All inquiry involves three stages:
● Asking Questions
● Observation
● Constructing an Answer (theory)
!
○ Littlejohn, 2002

12. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
METAPHORS OF THEORY
○ Theories as NETS
● Theories are nets cast to catch what we call ‘the world’ (Popper, 1959)
● Theories are tools of the trade
!
○ Theories as LENSES
● Theories highlight the idea
● Theories shape our perception by focusing our attention on some
features
!
○ Theories as MAPS
● Theories are maps of the way to discover something
● Theories guide through unfamiliar territory
!
○ Griffin , 2009

13. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
HOW TO EVALUATE THEORY?
○ Theoretical Scope
● Refers to the comprehensiveness or inclusiveness.
● Relies on the principle of generality or the idea that a theory’s
explanation must be sufficiently general to cover a range of
events beyond a single observation.
○ Appropriateness
● Claims are consistent with their assumptions.
● Refers to the logical consistency between theories and
assumptions.
○ Heuristic Value
● Refers to the ability of the theory to generate new ideas for
research and additional theory.
● Theory acts as a springboard to develop new concepts.

14. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
HOW TO EVALUATE THEORY?
○ Validity
● Refers to the truth value of the theory.
○ Value or worth—whether the theory has value.
○ Correspondence or fit—concepts and relations specified by the theory can
actually be observed
○ Generalizability—the extent to which the tenets of the theory apply
across situations.
○ Parsimony
● Involves logical simplicity.
● If two theories are equally valid, the one with the simplest logical
explanation is said to be the best.
○ Openness
● It means that a theory is open to other possibilities.
● It is tentative, contextual and qualified.
● The theorist recognized that his or her construction is a way of looking
rather than a reproduction of reality.

15. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Rhetorical Tradition
● See communication as practical art.
● Communicators perceive problem or challenge that needs to
be dealt with through carefully design messages.
● Logical and emotional appeals are typically featured in
rhetorical theories.
● This tradition sees the work of communicator as governed by
art and method.
● It relies on a sense that words are powerful, that information
is useful in making judgments and that communication can
be evaluated and improved.
● Often challenge those views suggesting that words are not
action, that appearance is not reality, that style is not
substance and that opinion is not truth.

16. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Semiotic Tradition
● This tradition focus on signs and symbols.
● Treats communication as a bridge between the private worlds
of individuals and in which signs elicit meanings that may or
may not be shared.
● It is especially suited to address the problems of gaps,
misunderstandings and subjective responses.
● Include terms such as sign, symbol, meaning, referent,
code and understanding.
● Semiotic theories often lie in opposition to theories
suggesting that words have correct meanings, that signs
stand for objects, or that language is neutral.

17. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Phenomenological Tradition
● This tradition concentrates on personal experience, including
how individuals experience one another.
● Communication is seen as a sharing of personal experience
through dialogue.
● It responds to problems related to the erosion of strong
relationships.
● Include terms such as experience, self, dialogue, genuine,
supportiveness and openness.
● It resists discourses suggesting that communication is a mere
skill, that words and things are separate or that values are
separate from facts.

18. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Cybernetic Tradition
● Communication in this tradition is viewed primary as
information processing and the problem it addresses have
mostly to do with noise, overload, and malfunction.
● Include terms such as senders and receivers, information,
feedback, redundancy and systems.
● This tradition seems most plausible when issues relate to the
mind and brain, rationality and complex systems arise.
● This tradition challenges arguments that make a distinction
between machines and humans or that posit linear cause-effect
relationships.

19. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Sociopsychological Tradition
● This tradition concentrates primarily on those aspects of
communication that include expression, interaction and
influence.
● Address problems in which outcomes need to be manipulated.
● The discourse of this tradition accents behavior, variables,
effects, personalities and traits, perception, cognition,
attitudes, and interaction.
● Oppose to the claims that people are rational, that individual
know what they think and that perception is a clear route to
seeing what is real.

20. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Socio-cultural Tradition
● Social order as its centerpiece and sees communication as the
glue to society.
● The problems it addresses include conflict, alienation and
failure to coordinate.
● Features such as elements as society, structure, rituals,
rules and culture.
● Avoid arguments in favor of individual power and
responsibility, unitary self, or separation of human
interaction from social structure.

21. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
STANDPOINT OF THEORY?
○ The Critical Tradition
● This tradition see communication as a social arrangements of
power and oppression.
● Critical theories respond to the problem of ideology, power
and domination.
● Critical discourse includes such terms as ideology,
dialectic, oppression, consciousness raising, resistance,
and emancipation.
● Appeal in situation that include the self-perpetuation of
power, the values of freedom and equality and the importance
of informed discussion.

22. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
TYPE OF SCHOLARSHIP : SCIENTIFIC VS. HUMANISTIC
○ Scientific Scholarship
● Often associated with objectivity.
● Standardization and replications are important.
● Assume that the world has observable form, and they view
their task as seeing the world as it is.
● Believe that the world sits in wait of discovery. “out there”
activity.
● The goal of science is to observe and explain the world as
accurately as possible .
● They rely on agreement among observers.
○ If all trained observers report the same results, there is a
confident that the object has been accurately observed.

23. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS:
TYPE OF SCHOLARSHIP : SCIENTIFIC VS. HUMANISTIC
○ Humanistic Scholarship
● Often associated with subjectivity.
● Seek creative individuality.
● It aims to understand individual subjective response.
● Interested in individual cases than generalized theory.
● Stress the “in here” activity.
● Focus on discovering person.
● Seek alternative interpretations
● Especially well suited to problems of art, personal
experience and values.

24. QUESTIONS?

25. THANK YOU!!!
COMMUNICATION THEORIES &
MODELS
MODULE 1: THEORY
OVERVIEW
Racidon P. Bernarte, MA
PUP Open University and Graduate School