Intro to Communication 101

Intro to Communication 101

1. Week 2 - Module 2

   • The Communications Fields
     • Conversation analysis: reveals communication patterns, and tells us what kind of people are likely to communicate a certain type of way.
     • Symbol interaction: the analysis of symbol use in different cultures and the role they play in communication
     • Attribution analysis: sheds light on personality traits based off of communication patterns
     • Performance analysis: analyzes how people pick and choose their identities from day to day
     • Audience analysis: used to see whether messages are viewed differently by different groups of people
     • Media studies: examine how communication through different media platforms can alter the message flow
   • Communication theory
     • Behavioral paradigm: focuses on predicting and controlling communication behaviors
     • Interpretive paradigm: focuses on understanding and explaining communication styles
     • Critical paradigm: focuses on critiquing or changing communication styles
   • Behavioral theories
     • Seeks generalizable knowledge about communication patterns
     • Small groups are usually examined and analyzed
     • A hypothesis about communication styles is tested
   • Interpretive theories
     • Not generalized
     • Often times attempt to understand specific cultures from a naturalistic setting
     • Some of the fields that use interpretive theory are art history, sociology, folklore and many more
   • Critical theory
     • Includes both inductive and deductive reasoning
     • Aim for "action-oriented" research
     • These theorists tend to critique race, class, gender or sexual orientation