PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS: WHAT IS THEORY?

Chapter Two

What is Communication?
y Definition: The process through which messages,

both intentional and unintentional, create meaning (Metts, 2004, p. 5). y Aspects:
 

Dialectical nature Strategic and Consequential

Perceptual consequences Behavioral consequences Relational consequences

What happens on a first date that will lead people to go on a second date?

How can a student be successful?

What leads one broadcasting agency to become successful in a market?

What would make employees in a given organization more productive?

What is Theory?
y Nave or lay theories y There is no single correct definition of

theory y Definitions depend on assumptions and needs/goals of theorist y But all agree that theory if fundamentally an abstraction

Theory is not behavior but an abstract representation of behavior

Metaphors might help Theories are a Reduction of details to patterns of associations A map A fishing net Spectacles

Difference between nave theories and scientific theories

y Both lay theories and scientific theories function to

organize information, describe phenomena, explain how communication works, and sometimes predict future occurrences. y However, the important difference between lay theories and scientific theories is that scholars must be able to argue for the validity (truth or correctness) of their theoriesthey do this empirically, statistically, and/or logically

More Formal Definitions of Theory?

y Abstractions of the social worldthat

explain how, when, or why something happens, and exist at varying levels of generality (Miller, 2005) y A description of concepts and specifications of the relationships between or among these concepts (Metts, 2004, p. 9)

What Theories Are Not

y Theories should be distinguished from hypotheses,

typologies, taxonomies, and models.

Hypothesis: A single statement about the relationship between two concepts  Typology: Thematic categories (e.g., types of immediacy cues in the classroom or types of power)  Taxonomy: Categories that are arranged hierarchically (types of animals)  Models: usually concerned with processes; draw on typologies, taxonomies, and theories but describe without predicting or explaining. Ex.: the stages of relationship development and deterioration


What a theory is not

y A hypothesis y A model y A taxonomy y A paradigm
As depth of self-disclosure increases, relationships will grow

Compliance Gaining Strategies REWARD APPEALS 1. Ingratiation 2. Promise 3. Debt 4. Esteem 5. Allurement PUNISHMENT APPEALSetc.

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?
y The more people from groups that do not

like each other have contact or talk with each other, the more they will grow to like each other.
(Contact more Intergroup liking)

What are the parts of a theory?

Miller (2005): y (1) description of phenomena, y (2) relationships among these phenomena, y (3) an underlying storyline that describes mechanisms at work, and y (4) links between the abstract theory and observed phenomena

Firstsome review!

What are the parts of a theory?

Metts (2004): y (1) concepts y (2) relationships among these concepts

 Propositions

OR Other statements

y Propositions  Temporal  Correlational  Causal

What does a theory do?

(Metts, 2004, p. 14)

Function Organize Describe Explain Predict

What the Theory Does

Functions of theories
y To provide answers to interesting questions

and/or solutions to important problems

 Theories

address empirical problems in which something about the observed world is puzzling  Theories address conceptual problems in which there are inconsistencies within a theory or with other theories  Theories address practical problems of daily life

How are theories developed?

y Deductive approach to theory building:

Abstract theories are developed early in process, then tested with empirical observations y Inductive approach to theory building: Theoretical abstractions are grounded on extensive empirical observation

Actual practice

Deductive

Inductive

Inductive

Deductive

How can I tell if a theory is good?

Metts y Utility
y

Miller (Ch. 3; p. 44)

y Accuracy (entails
falsifiability)

scientific & practical

y Consistency
(internal and external)

y Scope  Breadth (range of applicability)

y Scope y Simple (Parsimony)

Parsimony
y Heurism y Falsifiability

y Fruitful (Heurism)

Paradigms & Theories

y Kuhn on Paradigms y Paradigms > Theories y The Paradox of Paradigms y Revolution versus accumulation

Paradigm shift as Revolution

Normal Science Revolution Crisis Anomalies

Paradigms & Theories

Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm

Theory Type

Theory Type

Theory Type

Theory

Theory

Theory

Metatheoretical Commitments
y Metatheory: theory about theory --

philosophical commitments y Metatheoretical commitments define different approaches to theory development and research practices y Three important aspects of metatheory are ontology, epistemology, and axiology

Ontology: The Nature of the Social World

y Realist stance: The

social world is seen as consisting of real entities, independent of an individuals perception y Nominalist stance: The social world consists of names and labels we use to structure reality y Social constructionist stance: We create the social world through symbols and interaction but it then becomes a reality constraining our behavior

These positions are on a continuum

Realist Social Nominalist

Constructionist

Where do you fall on this continuum?

Epistemology: The creation and growth of knowledge (Table 2.1, p. 29)

y Objectivist stance: Causal explanations of the

social world are developed through separation of knower and known and use of the scientific method (observation, search for regularities in behavior; generalizable knowledge) y Subjectivist stance: Emergent and local understandings of the social world are developed through situated knowledge and reports of cultural insidersresearcher often becomes part of the group y Intersubjectivist stance?

Paradigms: Burrell & Morgans View

y Burrell and Morgan outline sociological

theories, many of which also appear in communication research, on two continua. y These are continua, rather than simple categories (though they do inform Millers discussion). y The two are as follows:
 1)

Ontology/Epistemology (x-axis)  2) Axiology (y axis)

The Subjective-Objective Dimension

Ontology/ Epistemology

Subjective

Objective

(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

The Subjective-Objective Dimension

The subjectivist approach to social science Nominalism ontology The objectivist approach to social science Realism

Voluntarism

human nature

Determinism

Anti-positivism

epistemology

Positivism

Ideographic

methodology

Nomothetic

(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

Scientific key words

y Cause Effect, influence, affect, lead to y Factors, variables y Predict y Generalizable y Analytic/reductionistic y Quantitative (or qualitative)

Humanistic key words

y Contextual y Interpretive y Social construction y Holistic y Subjective y Qualitative (usually)

Axiology: The role of values in theory development

y Most theorists now reject the idea that

values can be totally eliminated from the research process y Three positions are still evident:
 values

only play a role in parts of the research process  values permeate the research process  values should direct the research process

Rephrased as questions:
y Can research be value-free? y Should research be value-free? y What do you think?

The Social Change/Status Quo Dimension

Radical Social Change

Axiology

Regulation/Status Quo/Observation
(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 3)

Critical key words

y Power (struggles, etc.) y Production and reproduction of social

structures (like sexism, racism, classism) y Empowerment, emancipation, resistance y Social relations y Ideology, hegemony y Social change y NOTE: May be qualitative or quantitative

A very important note: Critical theory, at least in communication, is not a question of method or ontological/epistemological assumptions, but of the purpose of research: y Study 1: Does exposure to pornography lead men to see women in more objectified terms? y Study 2: In what ways does the movie, Thelma and Louise provide new (and empowering) narratives for womens relationships?

Three (socially constructed) paradigmsnin communication!

RADICAL CHANGE

CRITICAL: Social change SUBJECTIVE HUMANISTIC: Observe/ Interpret SCIENTIFIC: Predict/ Control OBJECTIVE

REGULATION

(Source: Burrell and Morgan, 1979: 22)

Building Communication Theory Chapter 3

Two debates in Communication

y 1977: Laws, Rules Systems y 1983: Scientific, Humanistic, Critical y Todays debates? y 1989: Rethinking Communication y What would you find at a communication

conference today? y What do you find in the School of Communication at Illinois State University?