Term
| Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) |
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Definition
Law-Governed Approach: Seeks to explain and predict interpersonal communication at the beginning of an interaction
-Enter interaction with uncertainty; natural tendency to reduce uncertainty
1) Entry—reflects initial phase of relationship; first impression (age, sex, status)
2) Personal—reflect and share attitudes, beliefs, and values; get to know you
3) Exit—Communicators decide to interact in the future |
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Term
| (1) Interpersonal Goal-Oriented Theory of Attraction |
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Definition
a. Relationship can help accomplish goals
b. Attitude and information in early stage of relationship
c. Actual conversation can determine what goals can be satisfied
d. Stability + Control = Attraction |
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Term
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Definition
a. We tend to like and build relationships with people who are similar to us
b. Perceived in initial stages |
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Term
| Theory of Interpersonal Communication Motives |
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Definition
1. Affection
2. Control
3. Escape
4. Inclusion
5. Pleasure
6. Relaxation |
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Term
| Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory |
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Definition
Concerned with how people interpret message during an interaction and how people act upon those interpretations using rules
o Coordination: how people organize their meanings and actions in order to communicate; allows us to be consistent
o Meaning: the process by which individuals interpret and decode messages of others
o Action: behaviors individuals engage in as a result of interpretation
Constitutive Rules: define or create speech acts by specifying what counts as a command or a request (What does this action mean?)
Regulative Rules: rules of action that help individuals determine how to respond or behave (“You look nice today,” automatic response is thank you). |
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Term
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Definition
| communication between 3 to 15 people; members are able to switch roles between source and receiver with relative ease |
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Term
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Definition
o Task Oriented Group: has a goal to accomplish;
• Problem solving group
• Decision-making group
• Idea generating group
o Therapy Group: help individuals solve personal problems, led by a professional.
o Consciousness Raising Group: increase awareness of shared characteristics or concerns.
o Learning Group: help a person or group acquire more information on a subject. |
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Term
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Definition
| leaders develop the traits needed to accomplish the goal of a group; anyone can be a leader. |
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Term
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Definition
a unique set of leadership behaviors that emphasize a different way of leading
a. Authoritarian: occurs when a leader is very directive; solely responsible for the group’s outcome; mostly necessary when members cannot agree.
b. Democratic: one views all issues to be discussed by the group and decided upon together
c. Laissez-Faire: minimal involvement; lack of general direction; only gives necessary information when requested. |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs when members of a group begin thinking similarly and reduce probability of reaching an effective decision from lack of conflict |
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Term
| Scientific Management Theory |
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Definition
assumes any worker can be effective if given a scientifically efficient task;
Three assumptions of the theory:
1. Any worker can be effective if given a scientifically efficient task;
a. Efficient if its analyzed, scrutinized, and made optimally efficient
b. Time motion study—process that reflects the analysis of any given task in an effort to make that task optimally efficient
2. Workers are motivated by money, and will only perform if paid
a. Dangling Carrot Approach: approach to performance that assumes people only work for tangible rewards
3. Any task assigned to workers should be simply an unambiguous
a. Upward communication—messages that flow from the worker up to the supervisor
b. Downward communication—messages that flow from the supervisor down to the worker |
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Term
| Bureaucracy Management Theory |
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Definition
—(Weber) Management perspective that advocates a tight structure with many levels in the hierarchy as well as control over employees
Assumptions
Bureaucratic structure each hierarchal level regulates the level beneath it
Depersonalization—the process of focusing all interaction in the workplace on task completion and discouraging interactions that are relational in nature; separation between personal and business matters |
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Term
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Definition
represents bi-polar assumptions of employee behavior
X—employees are lazy; have little ambition; motivated by coercion and threats; generally employees dislike working; strive for a world free of uncertainty; only motivated by money
Y—workers have internal motivation to be productive and excel; managerial control is only one of many devices to encourage production; pursuit of satisfaction and maximized potential is the most valued reward for an employee; employees can be taught to actively seek opportunities to gain satisfaction |
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Term
| Theory of Independent Mindedness |
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Definition
Dr. Infante; people have a tendency to have their own individual thoughts and opinions rather than accepting the opinions of other; choose to advocate and express these views within the organization;
-Communication based theory—encompasses all levels and contexts of communications;
-Seeks congruity between the organization and the larger culture in which it operates (organization draws influence and seeks to fit in with the members of the organization)
Traits that influence the degree of independent mindedness:
1. Argumentativeness
2. Verbal Aggressiveness
3. Communicator Style
a. Dominant
b. Dramatic
c. Contentious (challenge and argue)
d. Impression Leaving
e. Animated
f. Relaxed
g. Open
h. Attentive
i. Precise
j. Friendly |
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Term
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Definition
Fred Feebler; assumes the degree of success of any leader is contingent on the situational demands as to whether the leader should have a task or employee focus and the amount of influence and control the leader has over the situation
The amount of control/influence a leader has on his followers determines his success
Approaches:
1. Extreme in Nature = Task Focused
2. Moderate in Gravity = Employee Focuses
Everything is contingent upon the situation (task vs. employee focused) |
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Term
| Information Systems Theory |
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Definition
Weick; an information processing theory that seeks to explain how information and sense making is a perceptual process that varies from person to person
Assumptions:
1. Organizations operate within a physical and informational environment; should use verbs rather than nouns to reflect this process
2. The act of making sense of equivocal information is an enactment
a. Perpetual Schema—perceptual wiring of each person
b. Selective Perception—people perceive things differently resulting in different information environments
c. Low Equivocal Environment—made up of rules
i. Assembly Rules—standard process of making sense of information
ii. Sense Making—interpretation of information and generating idea (retention stage)
d. High Equivocal Environment—Communication Cycles (what actions to I take next?) People create and react to ideas (selection stage) |
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Term
| Human Relations Management Perspectives |
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Definition
| management should satisfy the interpersonal and emotional needs of workers (Hawthorne studies; spontaneous cooperation) |
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Term
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Definition
the way information flows through a system
Too many messages corrupts flow; information overload |
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Term
| Structural Functional Theory |
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Definition
| —(Farace, Monge, and Russell) communication occurs at 4 levels: individual, dyadic, small group, and organizational. Structured into both formal and informal networks. There are 3 primary functions of communication in an organization: innovation, maintenance, and production—all can happen informally or informally and at all 4 levels. |
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Term
| The Reflective Projective Theory |
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Definition
| mass media acts like a mirror for society; reflects society’s attitudes and values while simultaneously projecting a vision of what society should look like. |
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Term
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Definition
any powerful stimulus, such as a mass media message, can provoke a uniform response from a given organism such as an audience
Orson Wells’ “War of the Worlds” |
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Term
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Definition
information from the media moves in 2 distinct phases
1. First process by opinion leaders
2. Passed via interpersonal channels to others |
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Term
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Definition
| exert their influence on others regarding mass media messages |
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Term
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Definition
| control the flow of information; does not need any common interests with people they’re distributing information to |
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Term
| The Functional Approach to Mass Communication |
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Definition
there are 5 main functions of mass communication
1. Surveillance—information and news are provided as a function of mass communication; mass media gives us the information that we want
2. Correlation—concerns how mass media selects, interprets, and criticizes the information they present to the public
3. Cultural Transmission—concerns the media’s ability to communicate norms, rules, and values
4. Entertainment—helps fill our leisure time by presenting messages filled with comedy, tragedy, play, and performance
5. Mobilization—reflects the ability of the media to promote national interests; generally occurs during a crisis situation |
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Term
| The Agenda Setting Theory |
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Definition
| intense media attention increases the importance of topics, issues, and individuals |
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Term
| Uses and Gratifications Theory |
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Definition
a systems perspective theory; explains the uses and functions of media for individuals, groups, and society in general
Objectives
1. How individuals use mass communication to satisfy their needs
2. Discover underlying motives for individuals’ media use
3. Identify the positive and negative consequences of media use |
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Term
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Definition
| TV influences our perception of reality; laws theory; the greatest amount of cultivation affects will be exhibited to the audience exposed to the greatest number of messages |
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Term
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Definition
| the more dependent a person is on the media for having his or her needs fulfilled, the more important media will be to that person; meets the needs/wants of society; develop dependency relationships for entertainment, information, and gaining understanding |
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Term
| Theory of Para-Social Interaction |
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Definition
| members of an audience view performers or the characters they play as belonging to their peer group |
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Term
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Definition
| people assess whether their opinions match those of the majority; use cues from the environment; fear of social isolation; mass media, interpersonal communication, public opinion. Tend to remain silence when it comes time to speak opinion to fit in with majority. |
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Term
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Definition
| multigenerational social system consisting of at least two interdependent people bound together by common living space, common history, shared emotional attachment and involvement. |
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Term
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Definition
a. Traditional
i. Conventional values (marriage); interdependence (rely upon one another), non-assertive communication
b. Independent
ii. Values individual freedom with less conventional male/female roles; may maintain separate physical space; no regular schedules or routine
c. Separate
iii. Conventional on marital and family issues, but maintain individual freedom; less companionship and sharing; assertive communication
d. Mixed
a. Any combination of the three can work |
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Term
| Four Functions of Communication in a Health Context |
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Definition
1. Diagnosis
a. Data gathering, interpretation, problem-solving
2. Cooperation
a. Communication that concerns the nature of the illness and the implication of measures prescribed for care
3. Council
a. The role of the provider as a “therapist”
4. Education
a. Disseminating information to individuals to attempt to reduce health risks and increase the effectiveness of health care |
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Term
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Definition
| signal avoidance and dislike; make client less willing to follow health care providers instructions |
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Term
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Definition
| Weick) how understandable, complex, ambiguous, or obscure a message may be; relaying symptoms accurately to provider (I don’t feel good vs. Sore throat, runny nose) |
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Term
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Definition
1. Perceived Susceptibility—perceived risk of contracting a disease or a condition (low → high)
2. Perceived Seriousness/Severity—evaluate the types of difficulties that come with certain health conditions
3. Perceived Benefits of Taking Action—if benefits outweigh negatives, likely to take action
4. Perceived Barrier to Taking Action—expensive, painful, etc.; look at negatives; if they outweigh positives, not going to take action
5. Cues to Take Action—specific ideas that motivate people to adopt or incorporate behaviors that can lead to a desired goal; preventatives |
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Term
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Definition
attempts to explain intercultural conflict and how people work through cultural and communicative obstacles
Face—our self-image and how we want others to see us
Facework—behaviors that we engage in to maintain or restore face
Threatening face = threatening our self-image
Losing face—people treat us in ways that our inconsistent with our self-image
Face gain—behaving in a way that reflects and enhances your self-image |
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Term
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Definition
1. Dominating Facework—conflict is seen as a competition where the most important goal is to win and maximize the reward
2. Avoiding Facework—focus on maintaining interpersonal harmony between the parties by not overtly addressing the conflict
3. Integrating Facework—focuses on the resolution of conflict issues as well as making sure the relationship remains positive and that both parties maintain face |
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Term
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Definition
| most information is encoded in physical contexts or in culturally prescribed roles; more formal, less ambiguous |
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Term
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Definition
| shares roles that are more apparent; contained in explicit verbal messages and are much more informal |
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Term
| Symbolic Convergence Theory |
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Definition
| analyzing fantasy themes; used to explain dimensions of political communication; must realize that they have to tap into the fantasies of several groups |
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Term
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Definition
| assumes that TV news is a powerful agenda setter because it provides vivid pictures and dramatic stories that evoke strong emotions in viewers |
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Term
| Constructivist View of Political Communication— |
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Definition
| voting behavior is an action based on voter’s beliefs about the political world; beliefs emerge as a result of our interpretation of political messages |
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Term
| Politically noncomplex perceiver |
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Definition
| rely on fewer and less differentiated political constructs to interpret candidates’ messages and images. |
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Term
| Politically complex perceiver |
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Definition
| highly differentiated construct systems and larger numbers of constructs |
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