Introduction To Communication Studies (L_AABACIW102)
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Intro to Communication Studies
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Course
Introduction To Communication Studies (L_AABACIW102)
Institution
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)
Inside the document include the notes which are written and arranged by the order of which we studied the course (chapter 1 following from the first week, chapter 6 in week 4 and so on.)
Introduction To Communication Studies (L_AABACIW102)
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Chapter 1: “communication theory”
Defining “communication” and “theory”; Theory as a lens, a web, etc
Theory is a set of systematic hunches. Theories evolve over time.
● Creating a message requires making choices. Silence is also necessary for
communication to occur
● There are effects involved: cognitive, behavior, and emotional
- theories as nets:
Philosopher of science Karl Popper said that “theories are nets cast to catch what we call the world”.
Theories are the tools of the trade. The term the world can be interpreted as everything that goes on under
the sun, requiring a grand theory that applies to all communication, all the time. Catching the world could be
constructed as calling for numerous special theories of different kinds of small nets to capture different types
of communication in local situations.
The idea that theories could be woven so tightly that they’d snag everything humans sink, say or do seems
naive. The possibility also raises questions about our freedom to choose some actions and reject others.
Collect everything. Scientists are collectors. Whatever they find they try to describe. If you collect
everything but don’t try to look for an explanation of what you describe, then the theory is quite
useless.
- theories as lenses:
Many scholars see their theoretical constructions as similar to the lens of a camera or a pair of glasses, as
opposed to a mirror that accurately reflects the world out there. Theories shape our perception by focusing
attention on some features of communication while ignoring other features.
A danger of the lens metaphor is that we might regard what is seen through the glass so dependent on the
theoretical stance of the viewer that we abandon any attempt to discern what is real or true.
Find hidden facts. It’s something that makes you look more far at certain things and see things
that you could not see before. It prevents you from seeing other things that may be irrelevant but
maybe are relevant. Could be a limitation.
- theories as maps:
Communication theory is a kind of map that’s designed to help you navigate some part of the topography of
human relationships. The map is not the territory. No theory can fully portray the richness of interaction
between people that is constantly changing, always varied, and inevitably more complicated than what any
theory can chart.
make representations (facts and interpretations). You are trying to describe the facts in such a
way that you make interpretations.
Chapter 2: objective vs interpretive approaches
Persuasion; figures on the marketing strategies (academic study)
E.g,. Clydesdale Budweiser commercial
Objective
- To measure the positive reaction to the commercial
- The effect of the commercial to the consumers
- E.g, questionnaire
, - Researchers then figure out what creates the effect; e.g. resonance theory of
communication
- Images produced and evoke memories or experience to the viewers
- Idea of separation
- In general, theories are drawn
Interpretive
- Start by analyzing the commercial (what interpretations can be imposed from the
commercial); multiple meanings of the commercial
- Interpretation of the general plot/story of the commercial and how the brand plays a role
Objective vs interpretive approaches
Objective:
- Homogenous; certainty in which is true or not (in terms of theories); provided evidence
- Objective epistemology: There is a single truth or core version of events (when they are
exposed to the same experiences or culture)
- Determinism: People’s behavior is already predetermined (result of biology or genetic
make-up); behavior is a response to a stimulus
- Value-devoid: Their values do not influence their scientific process; scientists would work
hard for their values to not skew their research
- Discovering universal laws: They try to produce theories that describe the large
members of a culture; essential and generic human behaviors and tendencies
Interpretive
- Heterogenous; theories within this approach are diverse, could even be incompatible
with each other. Cannot conclude a restricted view towards a certain theme, identity, etc.
- Interpretive epistemology: The truth does not matter; what matters is one certain
interpretation and the truth is made. Focus on the interpreter instead of the truth itself
- Constructionist epistemology: In the “middle” of the objective and interpretive
epistemology yet it is actually reality constructed through the use of language
(experiences constructed from different interpretations)
- Free-will: Some flexibility of response to stimulus; people are in control of their behavior
- Value-laden: Researchers cannot completely bracket their values; the values are
acknowledged by the researchers and they require to address issues related to power
and inequalities
- Understanding single instances: How a particular interaction/behavior/relationships are;
In-depth understanding of a particular communicative instance
Objective and interpretive approaches
- Both aren’t a dichotomy, they are a continuum
- Classification needed to judge the theories
, - Problematic as it oversimplifies the differences in assumptions between theories
- Research do not agree on classifying theories; they might not fall on either categories
- Theories evolve over time
Judging theories
Objective criteria
- Prediction should be made (cannot be 100% accurate)
- The theory should provide an explanation (WHY did it happen?)
- Simplicity (the simpler, the more valuable)
- To be testifiable (evidence should be able to be obtained to prove/disprove it)
- Practical utility (what is the impact of the research on other people or how it is useful)
- Quantitative research: works with numbers (?), scales on a survey
Interpretive criteria
- Not a lot of consensuses in comparison to the objective criteria
- Researchers need to be transparent and should focus on exposing ideologies
- New understanding of people (zooming on a particular group of people)
- Aesthetically appealing (concise and have originality)
- Community of agreement
- Improves society, call out communities
- Qualitative research: analysis of text or ethnographies
Seven traditions
What is their history?
Seven traditions: social psychology
- Typically objective; experiments and surveys
- Social/psychological processes involved in communication
- Universal laws or ways of behaving
- Example: is a credible source more or less persuasive than a non-credible source?
- Two groups of samples and expose either with credible or non-credible sources
- Which elicit a positive response to the sources (one different variable)
- Causal statement can be made
Seven traditions: Cybernetics
- Objective approach
- Studies how info is processed, the role of feedback and control in comm systems
- Shannon and Weaver model (1949)
- Information source (message) → Transmitter (signal) → (signal
received) Receiver → Destination
- E.g., which exert the most influence?
, Seven traditions: Rhetoric
- Between objective and interpretive
- Study of persuasion (e.g. a political speech)
- Objective (maybe inducing fear or happiness?)
Seven traditions: Semiotic
- Between objective and interpretive
- Studies of verbal and non-verbal signs and how they are interpreted
- Cat vs cat symbols
- E.g. A visual advertisement and analyze what meaning is being conveyed
Seven traditions: socio-cultural tradition
- Interpretive
- How people in a particular culture can shape behavior (Eskimos and 40 different words
of snow)
- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- E.g. How do people’s linguistic choices construct a particular version of reality?
Seven traditions: Critical tradition
- Interpretive
- Reveals power imbalances and social inequalities
- CDA
Seven traditions: Phenomenology
- Not interpretive, but exactly subjective
- Nothing can be generalized (people are too different)
Quantitative vs qualitative research
Quantitative (objective)
Textual analysis and ethnography
Textual analysis: analyzing text or messages and what they imply
Ethnography: Researcher immersing themselves in a culture; participant observation and write
notes in systematic ways; interviews
Mass media communication and its effects
Chapter 28: Uses and Gratifications Theory
People will use media to gratify their certain means
E.g different users will use same mediums for different reasons or purposes
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