Communication Theory - Essay Example

 Theory has been important to people as it is the product of the thinking of various experts as men try to look for answers to a certain phenomenon. It may have some level of truth in it as the explanations or statements produced to become a theory have some bases. It is necessary to be understood before it can be transformed into application. It may also serve as a guideline during the process of application. When it comes to communication theories, there are various forms that exist. They vary in terms of context, explanations, content and the people involved in the formulation of those theories. All of them are important so it is not a good idea to pinpoint one communication theory as more superior to the other theories. They have their own context so they are difficult to compare. For the paper, one of the three communication theories must be chosen and as a writer I must reflect upon it based on his experience. The choice may come from the given three theories which are symbolic interactionism, semiotics and social penetration. I have chosen symbolic interactionism for the paper and would relate it to my personal experience. Before anything else, it would be proper to know the meaning of symbolic interactionism first before reflecting upon it. The meaning of the theory would serve as the guiding light in understanding and applying it to real life. It would be difficult to reflect upon the experience and relate it to the theory without thorough understanding how the theory works. The theory of symbolic interactionism had been started informally by George Herbert Mead. He had created it based on his interests in philosophy and language. He had not created a book or a formal working theory. The theory became systematic or formulated after his death when his students like Herbert Blumer had encouraged his fellow students under Mead to collect their notes and publish a book about it. When it was published, it came out with the title Mind, Self, and Society (Griffin, 2012, p. 54). As the writer had viewed it, the three elements in symbolic interactionism are the ones seen in the title of the mentioned book published by the students of Mead. Probably mind is essential in the picture because it is the dynamic form of the thinking of people. One must have a mind to think, analyze and act. He can also reflect upon his actions because he can think. All thanks to the power of the mind. Self is another important concept in symbolic interactionism as the writer had viewed it. The self is the one that acts in the name of the mind. It is the physical individual combined with the mind that has the capacity to think. Then, the individual would interact with the other individuals and forms a group which later on becomes the society. As the writer views the theory, it is all about the connections and relationships among the three elements. Symbolic interactionism involves its root word which is symbol. Symbol may mean representation or meaning given to an object or person. When it is added to the concept of interaction which consists of connections and communication among individuals, a new meaning comes out. It would deal with the interpretation of people based on the actions and relationships that they have with the object or person being talked about (Griffin, 2012, p. 55). It is somehow related to generalization that people hold for a particular group of persons or things. It may start discriminations as people categorize them into a set with the same characteristics instead of knowing the thing or person better. According to behaviorists, it is natural because people behave in three steps as the theory of symbolic interactionism points out: a person senses a stimulus, interprets the stimulus and acts based on his interpretation (Griffin, 2012, p. 55). People just respond to what they see, hear and feel based on the judgment that they have for the particular stimulus. A good example would be my personal experience. I have actually experienced the theory of symbolic interactionism from other people when I went out of Saudi Arabia to become an international exchange student. In the unfamiliar environment, I have a culture shock despite of my preparations regarding the local culture in the school where I am currently studying. People behave and act somewhat different from those around in my own country. People speak in a different manner and they dress a little differently from those people way back home. Probably they do so because they live in a different environment. When I first immersed himself in the new environment as an international student, some may have misinterpreted me. Being an Asian especially from the Middle East where the climate is hot, my appearance, clothing and culture is a lot different from the local people in the school. Foreign people may be viewed as “inferior” by those people who have superiority complex or racial issues. They have not taken the time to know me or to put them in the place where then can understand me. That situation is a good application of the theory because it shows how the local people deal with me without knowing him. They have perceived a stimulus so they made their interpretation of the stimulus (stereotyping and generalization). The interpretation led to the action of actually misinterpreting the international student (response). The theory also points out that meaning does not occur naturally. It is synthetic because it is a product of the human interaction. People label particular objects or things based on the interaction that they have and they agree upon the meaning (Griffin, 2012, p. 56). It is more of a product of convention. Language through communication is used to talk about the meaning and make it as the standard definition for the particular thing. In the case of stereotyping, it has been the meaning placed by people for particular elements that they group based on a set of predefined characteristics. It has been the cause of discrimination which has been reflected in history. Despite of the efforts in the modern times to remove discrimination, people still experience it just like my personal experience. I have been living in a foreign place to finish my studies and am surrounded with people who have shared different views as compared to the insights I personally have. Being different may spark discrimination when viewed in a negative way. Another premise for the theory would be the process called minding. It is the so-called self-reflection based on the interactions that an individual has. I have realized in his mind through interactions with other people as test the validity and meaning of those stimuli (Griffin, 2012, p. 58). I can relate to the premise of the theory of social interactionism when I tried to understand the initial reactions of the people around me when I first came as an international student. The process may be figurative (not physical) as I tried to place my thoughts in the perspective of the local people. Later on I found out what had driven the misconception between my own race and culture and the way the foreign people view me. At first, my own origin may become a hindrance to learning as an international student because I could not easily connect to the environment and culture of the people in my current school. Through my efforts in understanding them and applying the theory of social interactionism, I gained the insight on how to connect to his new environment. Those efforts paved off as I am currently in the third year of stay in the school as an international student. The theory of social interactionism does exist as a product of connections that people have as they talk to one another and build social meanings. It can be one of the factors that have driven the development of human civilization until the present time. Reference Griffin, E. (2012). A first look at communication theory (8th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Read More