Formation of Communication Theory - Book Report/Review Example

Formation Of Communication Theory There are two ways in which a theory is formed. Firstly, when certain ideas and thoughts produce consistent successful results in a particular field, then these ideas and thoughts tend to become ‘must follow rules’ of that particular field (Chaffee, 1996, p.16). The ‘rules’ of that particular field then becomes a theory. Secondly, when the researchers are able to predict the result of a research on the basis of some past findings, then the past finding is called as the ‘theory’ (Chaffee, 1996, p.16). The past finding becomes a ‘theory’ as the results and the conclusions of past researches are applicable in future researches also. On the basis of these results, the researchers are able to predict how people will behave, react, communicate or take decisions. Hence, as the past findings help researchers in predicting and understanding the present and future behavior pattern of people, they become the ‘theories’ of human behavior and communication. The ‘past findings’ become a ‘theory’ as the findings remain consistently applicable to current patterns of human life. However, according to the author, these two ways of forming a theory are not sufficient (Chaffee, 1996, p.16). He feels that the past findings of communication cannot be called as theories as they are formed on the basis of observations and manipulations of human behavior to indicate variations in the ideas which were assumed at conceptions (Chaffee, 1996, p.17). Hence, any findings that involve ‘manipulation’ of the behavior cannot be called as theories. Communication research involves human behavior and hence, when conducting communication research, the researcher has to consider the abstract concepts like beliefs, attitudes, values and faith (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). However, the interesting thing is that different people have different ‘ideas’ and understanding of these concepts. Hence, it becomes important on the part of the researcher to theoretically define these terms in specific manner in order to avoid negative reaction and confusion in the mind of people (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). These definitions are called as operational definitions and they help in measuring and observing the variables involved in research (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). After defining the variables, the researcher studies the relevant literature and past researches to understand what the communication theorists have concluded on the same topic in the past (Chaffee, 1996, p.17). Hence, no research can be called as totally independent research. It always involves the study and influence of past studies related to the elements and conclusions of the current research. Hence, formation of theory does not depend only on the research conclusions but also on ideas, bringing down the research topic to a ‘specific element’, research, hypothesis, assumptions and literature review (Chaffee, 1996, p.20). Hence, the process involves removing the various different aspects of the research topic and identifying one specific aspect of the topic for research. The author Chaffee has done an excellent job in touching and explaining every possible aspect of the research process. According to the author, theorizing needs great amount of focus and sharp intellect as it involves analysis of every aspect related to the research topic, time and effort. Importance Of Research Question Communication researchers have the ability to manipulate the target audience into agreeing to the message or idea they are proposing. Hence, to avoid manipulation, it is important that the ‘research question’ should have benefit and goodness of the society at its core (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). The research questions are extremely important part of the research process as they analyze and help the researcher in deciding the value, aesthetics, appropriateness, and benefit of the communication research (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). Hence, the concept of ‘questions of policy’ comes into existence. Questions of policy help people working in mass communication field to conduct the research in ethical manner (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). The purpose of the research question is to stop people working in mass communication and media from communicating a harmful idea or thought in order to gain profits for themselves (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.8). Communication research is not something that is done for individual satisfaction or for personal interest (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.12). The information learnt or the observations made during the research should help people to improve the quality of their interaction and communication. It should help people to lead a better life and enhance their communication skills. All this is possible only when the researcher begins a research with a ‘good’ question in mind (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.12). A good research question comes into researcher’s mind only when his theoretical approach towards human communication is well conceived (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.12). Hence, a good research question always makes the researcher to adopt appropriate method to find an answer to the question (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.12). A good research question is important as it leads to other good questions during the process of research and hence, improves the quality of the research (Stacks & Salwen, 1996, p.12). In this way, a good research question builds the foundation of a good theory. The other important aspect of communication research is the model of communication. Convergence Model Of Communication The linear model of communication, i.e. source-message-channel-receiver, is insufficient model to explain the dynamism of human communication (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.31). Communication is not just a one way process but involves the sharing of information between two or more participants in order to achieve a common goal of mutual understanding or collective decision (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.31). Hence, the linear model of communication becomes useless when conducting a research in human communication. According to the authors, the model of communication which involves all the dynamic aspects of human communication is the convergence model (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.31). Hence, the convergence model and network analysis should be the approach in communication research (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.31). The authors have convincingly explained the reason behind this approach. According to the authors, human communication is not just a passing of information from one person to another, but is an ‘exchange’ of information (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). A communication model can be called as ‘complete’ only when it can be applied to the ‘real world’ situations (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). However, linear model does not apply to the real world situation as it implies that communication is just passing of information. However, the convergence model and the network analysis are based on the understanding that the information is ‘exchanged’ and it ‘flows in cycle’ among different participants (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). Hence, convergence model is the most complete and functional model of communication. The linear model is based on Aristotle’s understanding that the speaker, speech and the audience are the elements of communication (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). However, communication is much more than that. Hence, the communication researches which were based on the linear model ignored some of the most important aspects of human communication and hence, were incomplete and unreliable (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). Moreover, an interesting idea was proposed by Westley and McLean. According to them, the beginning of communication process is not ‘sending’ the message but is ‘receiving’ the message (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 42). Westley and McLean view that the communicator ‘receives the message’ from series of signals through different modalities like “sight, sound, and touch” or potential messages in the surrounding environment and then sends it to the receiver (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 42). Later, the receiver of the message tries to gain an insight of the message by interpreting it. However, in this part of communication, there are chances of distortion of the message as it can be misinterpreted by the receiver. The interpretation of message is an important aspect of the communication as according to Shannon and Weaver, the same message is interpreted differently by the sender and the receiver (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.32). It was Wilbur Schramm who first identified the problem in interpretation of the message by receiver (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). In his model of communication, called the Schramm’s model, Schramm introduced two new concepts. They were ‘filed of experience’ and ‘feedback’ (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). He called the process of receiving the information from the source and interpreting it as a ‘field of experience’ (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). Schramm’s Models According to Schramm, for a message to be interpreted without distortion, the sender and the receiver should have commonness among them (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). Schramm believed that without common aspects like common language, common culture, and common background, it was difficult for the message to remain undistorted (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). According to Schramm, communication was “a purposeful effort to establish commonness between the sender and the receiver” (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). Schramm believed that the one thing that can prevent the distortion of the meaning of the message is the feedback from the receiver of the message (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). When the sender receives the feedback from the receiver, he understands whether the message is interpreted correctly or not (Ruben & Stewart, 1988, p. 41). To avoid the confusion about the purpose of the message, the feedback and the two way communication is necessary. According to Deutsch (1963), the feedback helps improvement in behavior by providing input to the available information and producing action as a result of an input (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.61). This is how the communication network is formed. Communication circuit or a network of communication is the system through which the individuals in the society are interconnected (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.61). This network is circular loop and hence, exchange of information is continuous and two-way (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.61). Therefore, convergence model and network analysis are the most appropriate models of communication as they fulfill the purpose of communication, which is to reach a mutual understanding by creating and sharing of information with each other (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981, p.63). Conclusion The review of the chapters reveals that all the necessary aspects of formation of theory are involved in the convergence model of communication. Convergence model of communication considers the ‘exchange’ of information and two ways communication process and hence, is the most appropriate model to follow in communication research. References Chaffee, S.H. (1996). Thinking About Theory. In M. Salwen & D.Stacks (Eds.), An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research (pp.15-31). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Rogers, E. & Kincaid, D. (1981). Communication Networks: Towards a New Paradigm for Research. New York: The Free Press. Ruben, B. & Stewart, L. (1988). Communication and Human Behavior (5th ed.). Boston: Person. Stacks, D. & Salwen, M. (1996). An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More