Discussion Guide on Communication Theory

By: Racidon P. Bernarte

THEORY
Any attempt to explain or represent an experience.
An idea of how certain events happened.
An extended explanation of the relationships among phenomena, which
incorporates concepts, constructs, and empirical observations.
Nature of Theory

All theories are abstraction.

All theories must be viewed as constructions.

Importance of Theory

Theories guide us in making decisions and taking actions. They change from
time to time as we observe new things and acquire new perspective.
Theories identify patterns of events in the environment so we know what to
expect.
They draw our attention to important aspects of everyday life.
They help us decide what is important and what is not.
They enable us to predict what will happen next.

Communication Theory
Refer to a single theory, or it can be used to designate the collective wisdom
found in the entire body of theories related to communication process.
Functions of Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Organize and Summarize

Focusing
Clarify
Observational Aid
Predict
Heuristic Function
Communicative Function
Control
Generative Function

COMMUNICATION
Information-Based View

Meaning-Based View

Communication means that

information is passed from one
place to another (Miller, 1951,p.6)

Communication occurs whenever

an individual assigns significance
or meaningful to an internal or external
stimulus (Thayer, 1981,p.43)

Characteristics:

Characteristics:

1. Communication is a message
2. Communication is an act
3. Communication is intentional
4. Researchers typically study
verbal communication and
intentional non-verbal comm.
5. Communication is optional
6. Communication is source-oriented
7. The goals of communication are
to exchange information and to
persuade others

1. Communication is a meaning
2. Communication is a processual
3. Communication is unintentional
4. Researchers study unintentional
nonverbal communication
5. Communication is unavoidable
6. Communication is receiver-oriented
7. The goals of communication are to
attribute meaning and to understand
one another

Thus, communication is defined as the management of messages for the purpose of creating
meaning.
Key Characteristics of Communication
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Message and Meaning

Communication Acts and Processes
Intentional and Unintentional Communication
Verbal and Nonverbal Message Systems
Information and Meaning
Content and Relationship Dimensions

The Context of Communication

Context refers to the environment in which human communication takes place.
1. Time at which it takes place.
2. Setting in which it takes place.
3. Levels of communication at which it takes place.

Levels of Communication
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Intrapersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Group Communication
Organizational Communication
Societal Communication
a. Public Communication
b. Mass Communication
6. Intercultural Communication
7. International Communication

Development of Communication Research as a Field of Study from a Historical

Perspective (Global and Philippines Experience)

The earliest study of communication can be traced back to the fifth century B.C,
during the classical period of communication inquiry. Philosophers like Plato and
his student Aristotle studied the public-speaking strategies of Greek orators,
naming this area of inquiry rhetoric (Paulson, 1980). In this period includes the
works of Greek poets Homer, his Iliad and the Odyssey, which are especially
fruitful for the study of heroic speeches. Also the Pre-Socratic Philosophers like
Parmenides and Heraclicus, the sophist (teachers of practical knowledge) who
was someone knowledgeable or especially clever about effective speaking or
arguing like Protagora, Gorgias and his pupil Isocrates and Aspasia, the
concubine of Pericles who founded a school of Philosophy and rhetoric for men
and women.
During the Roman Empire, statesmen like Cicero and Quintillian studied the role
of public communication in Roman society (Ruben, 1988).Hellenistic and Roman
Rhetoric includes the works of Cicero, the greatest Roam orator and the most
important Latin writer on rhetoric, Quintilian who wrote the longest existing
Latin works on rhetoric Education of the Orator and Augustine, the most
important Christian rhetoric theorist who revived the rhetorical teaching of
Cicero and reestablished the pursuit of Truth as the guiding principle of public
speaking.
The period A.D 400 to 1050 has been called an age of transition. Martianus
Capella, in The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, introduced the Roman
curriculum, which in the Middle Ages became the seven liberal arts, which
include grammar, logic and rhetoric. Also, on this period, rhetoric consisted
primarily of the study of the arts of preaching, reflecting the tradition of
Augustine, and letter-writing, reflecting an emphasis on style and figures of
speech. The seven liberal arts, including rhetoric, continued to influence

education. They formed the basis for French cathedral schools, especially the one
in Chartes, which became the predecessor of our modern universities.
With the Italian Renaissance, classical rhetoric again became a strong educational
and cultural influence during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. George Trebizond
introduced the Greek tradition of Aristotle to the West through his Five Books of
Rhetoric. Erasmus wrote works on letter writing and preaching which, were
influenced by Quintilian and Cicero.
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the beginning of the age of
science. During this time, French, British and American schools were strongly
influenced by the development of logical theory. There are four trends on this
period, the technical rhetoric, influenced by Cicero, the neoclassical rhetoric,
influenced by Fenelon, the Elocutionary Movement, which had some basis in
sophistic rhetoric, was begun by Thomas Sheridan, who founded a school to
teach correct English to pupils from various British dialect areas. And the trend
consisted of an effort to develop a new rhetoric based on the theory of human
nature and human knowledge being developed by British Empiricist
philosophers such as David Hume.
The oral tradition dominated communication inquiry for many years and led to
the study of public speaking and elocution. In 1882 the National association of
Elocutionists was formed to promote the study of peaking style, articulation and
gestures in public address, followed by the formation of the National Association
of academic Teachers of Public speaking in 1914. Establishing these professional
associations marked the first steps in early development of communication
discipline. In the 1800s colleges moved from a liberal tradition of education that
emphasized generalized knowledge to a disciplinary model of education that
emphasized specialized knowledge within specific academic disciplines. In the
early 1900s, speech and journalism scholars began breaking away to form their
own departments.
Intense interest in the academic study of communication began after World War
I, as increasing technology and literary made communication a topic of concern.
Several developments led to the early interest in communication. The political
influence of public messages spurred considerable research on propaganda and
public opinion. At the same time, the social sciences were development and both
sociology and social psychology emerged as leaders in the study of
communication. Much of the research in sociology in the 1930s investigated the
ways in which communication affects individuals and communities.
In the Philippines, University of the Philippines included psychology in their
curriculum in 1920. Three other universities pioneered the study sociology, UP,
Ateneo and UST. Most of the Filipino Social Researchers took their education and
expertise abroad especially in the US.
Prior to World War II, few scholars referred to their study as communication
research. In 1963 book, The Science of Human Communication, Wilbur Schramm,
Director of the Stanford Institute for Communication Research, referred to four

men as the founding fathers of communication research. Political scientist

Harold Lasswell, social scientist Kurt Lewin, sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld and
experimental psychologist Carl Hovland. By the end of the 1960s Schramm had
created the first doctoral program in mass communication (University of Iowa),
established the Institute of Communication Research. Social scientists on this
period were interested on media effects (Communication and Social Science
[1930-1960]: Media Effects)
In 1950 a group of communication researchers founded what is now the
International Communication Association (ICA) as a science-based professional
organization to rival the SAA. There was a radical transformation within the
communication discipline. The change was was undoubtedly speeded up by
Shannon and Weavers linear model of communication. (The Empirical
Revolution [1950-1970]: Theory in a Test Tube)
In 1960s, it was the time of civil wars confrontations, urban riots, US
involvement I Vietnam, the coming of Beatles, the hippie movements, the sexual
revolution, etc. Nowhere was the turbulence felt more than in the rocky
transition from a focus on public address to a concentration on interpersonal
communication. At many schools, interpersonal communication replaced public
speaking as the required course for all students. The curriculum centered on
dynamic interactions. Leading professors focused on non-verbal communication,
trust building, self-disclosure, conflict resolution and other interpersonal issues.
Behavioral scientists did the research, while humanists wrote the textbooks. The
focus of communication ethics switched from telling the truth to loyalty to your
communication partner. Interpersonal and media communication were hot. (The
Turbulent Sixties [1960-1970]: A Launching Pad for Interpersonal
Communication)
The age of critical theorists and the dismissal of television, radio and popular
music as mere entertainment but as medium that are shaping popular culture.
McLuhans The medium is the message. The shift of American studies on
communication with focused on European studies. (The New Rhetorics [19651980])
Social scientists successfully redefined the field of communication and
assuming leadership in the newly titled departments, they still couldnt claim a
unifying theory or approach that would guarantee academic respectability
among their colleagues in departments of psychology and physics. So
throughout the decade of the 1970s, empiricists pursued the dream of a
universally accepted communication model. (The Hunt for a Universal Model
[1970-1980])
College and university communication departments are more numerous than
ever before on this period. They often boast more majors and greater course
enrollments than any other department on campus. Twenty-five years ago
student began to flock to courses in interpersonal and mass communication, and
growth continued through new interest in organizational communication and

the applied skills of leadership, conflict negotiation, advertising and public

relations. Increasing interest in interpretive researchespecially cultural studies
and feminist critiques that seek to unmask and redness power imbalances. More
studies using ethnographic methods. Interpersonal scholarship converging on
the study of personal relationships. Wildly diverse interests and research
agendas within the field of communication. (Ferment in the Field [1980Present])

1. The Alpha and Omega of Communication

2. Christian Rhetoric
3. Renaissance of Communication
4. The Turning Point (The Dawn of Scientific Inquiry
and Twilight of Rhetoric)
5. The Beginning of Mass Concept
6. The Age of Communication Science

700 B.C- 399 A.D

11th 13th A.D
14th 17th A.D

1800 1900
19th 20th Century

@ Sensitivity Training
1960s
@Theoretical Debates
1965
@The New Act of Persuasion
1970
@Rise of New Studies in Communication
1980
@Information Technology
1990 Present
Terms Used in Theory Construction
Concept is the basic building blocks of theory. Consists of grouping things and events
into categories according to observed qualities.
Construct
Variables are logical set of attributes.
Assumption
Axiom fundamental assertions taken to be true on which theory is grounded.
Proposition conclusions drawn about the relationships among concepts derived from
the axiomatic ground.
Hypothesis specified expectations about empirical reality, derived from propositions.
Facts some phenomena that has been observed.
Law the universal generalizations about classes of facts.
Paradigm general framework or viewpoint.

Basic Model of Inquiry

1. Asking Question
a. Question of Definition
b. Question of Fact
c. Question of Value
2. Observation
3. Constructing an Answer (Theory)

Discussion Guide on Communication Research

By: Racidon P. Bernarte
Research:
Investigation or experimentation aimed to the discovery of facts, revision of accepted theories or
laws in the light of new facts or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws.
To find answer to questions through the process of applying scientific procedures. Research is the
best way to gather information systematically, accurately and with safeguards that permit one to
estimate how reliable the information is.
Basic Type of Research:

Pure Research

When research is done from a desire to know for the sake of knowing.

Applied Research

When research is academic in nature or for the purpose of acquiring knowledge for useful ends.

Research Can Be Accomplished Through:

Sampling
Adequate Research Design
Uniform asking of questions or Making Observation
Skillful Processing
Application of Statistics
Accurate Reporting of Findings

Communication Research:
Systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about problems relating to the
communication process and communication related activities.
How do we know things?
1. Tenacity
2. Authority
3. Intuition

4. Superstition
5. Logic
6. Science

Characteristics of Science:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A human enterprise.
Conducted within the community of practioners
Making sense of human experience
Authoritative, empirically grounded explanation
To serve human purpose

Others:
Objective
Measurable
Public
Tested through theories
Development of Communication Research as a Field of Study from a Historical Perspective (Global
and Philippines Experience)

The earliest study of communication can be traced back to the fifth century B.C, during the
classical period of communication inquiry. Philosophers like Plato and his student Aristotle
studied the public-speaking strategies of Greek orators, naming this area of inquiry rhetoric
(Paulson, 1980). In this period includes the works of Greek poets Homer, his Iliad and the
Odyssey, which are especially fruitful for the study of heroic speeches. Also the Pre-Socratic
Philosophers like Parmenides and Heraclicus, the sophist (teachers of practical knowledge) who
was someone knowledgeable or especially clever about effective speaking or arguing like
Protagora, Gorgias and his pupil Isocrates and Aspasia, the concubine of Pericles who founded a
school of Philosophy and rhetoric for men and women.
During the Roman Empire, statesmen like Cicero and Quintillian studied the role of public
communication in Roman society (Ruben, 1988).Hellenistic and Roman Rhetoric includes the
works of Cicero, the greatest Roam orator and the most important Latin writer on rhetoric,
Quintilian who wrote the longest existing Latin works on rhetoric Education of the Orator and
Augustine, the most important Christian rhetoric theorist who revived the rhetorical teaching of
Cicero and reestablished the pursuit of Truth as the guiding principle of public speaking.
The period A.D 400 to 1050 has been called an age of transition. Martianus Capella, in The
Marriage of Philology and Mercury, introduced the Roman curriculum, which in the Middle
Ages became the seven liberal arts, which include grammar, logic and rhetoric. Also, on this
period, rhetoric consisted primarily of the study of the arts of preaching, reflecting the tradition
of Augustine, and letter-writing, reflecting an emphasis on style and figures of speech. The seven
liberal arts, including rhetoric, continued to influence education. They formed the basis for
French cathedral schools, especially the one in Chartes, which became the predecessor of our
modern universities.
With the Italian Renaissance, classical rhetoric again became a strong educational and cultural
influence during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. George Trebizond introduced the Greek
tradition of Aristotle to the West through his Five Books of Rhetoric. Erasmus wrote works on letter
writing and preaching which, were influenced by Quintilian and Cicero.
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the beginning of the age of science. During this
time, French, British and American schools were strongly influenced by the development of
logical theory. There are four trends on this period, the technical rhetoric, influenced by Cicero,
the neoclassical rhetoric, influenced by Fenelon, the Elocutionary Movement, which had some
basis in sophistic rhetoric, was begun by Thomas Sheridan, who founded a school to teach correct
English to pupils from various British dialect areas. And the trend consisted of an effort to
develop a new rhetoric based on the theory of human nature and human knowledge being
developed by British Empiricist philosophers such as David Hume.
The oral tradition dominated communication inquiry for many years and led to the study of
public speaking and elocution. In 1882 the National association of Elocutionists was formed to
promote the study of peaking style, articulation and gestures in public address, followed by the
formation of the National Association of academic Teachers of Public speaking in 1914.
Establishing these professional associations marked the first steps in early development of

communication discipline. In the 1800s colleges moved from a liberal tradition of education that
emphasized generalized knowledge to a disciplinary model of education that emphasized
specialized knowledge within specific academic disciplines. In the early 1900s, speech and
journalism scholars began breaking away to form their own departments.
Intense interest in the academic study of communication began after World War I, as increasing
technology and literary made communication a topic of concern. Several developments led to the
early interest in communication. The political influence of public messages spurred considerable
research on propaganda and public opinion. At the same time, the social sciences were
development and both sociology and social psychology emerged as leaders in the study of
communication. Much of the research in sociology in the 1930s investigated the ways in which
communication affects individuals and communities.
In the Philippines, University of the Philippines included psychology in their curriculum in 1920.
Three other universities pioneered the study sociology, UP, Ateneo and UST. Most of the Filipino
Social Researchers took their education and expertise abroad especially in the US.
Prior to World War II, few scholars referred to their study as communication research. In 1963
book, The Science of Human Communication, Wilbur Schramm, Director of the Stanford Institute for
Communication Research, referred to four men as the founding fathers of communication
research. Political scientist Harold Lasswell, social scientist Kurt Lewin, sociologist Paul
Lazarsfeld and experimental psychologist Carl Hovland. By the end of the 1960s Schramm had
created the first doctoral program in mass communication (University of Iowa), established the
Institute of Communication Research. Social scientists on this period were interested on media
effects (Communication and Social Science [1930-1960]: Media Effects)
In 1950 a group of communication researchers founded what is now the International
Communication Association (ICA) as a science-based professional organization to rival the SAA.
There was a radical transformation within the communication discipline. The change was was
undoubtedly speeded up by Shannon and Weavers linear model of communication. (The
Empirical Revolution [1950-1970]: Theory in a Test Tube)
In 1960s, it was the time of civil wars confrontations, urban riots, US involvement I Vietnam, the
coming of Beatles, the hippie movements, the sexual revolution, etc. Nowhere was the
turbulence felt more than in the rocky transition from a focus on public address to a
concentration on interpersonal communication. At many schools, interpersonal communication
replaced public speaking as the required course for all students. The curriculum centered on
dynamic interactions. Leading professors focused on non-verbal communication, trust building,
self-disclosure, conflict resolution and other interpersonal issues. Behavioral scientists did the
research, while humanists wrote the textbooks. The focus of communication ethics switched from
telling the truth to loyalty to your communication partner. Interpersonal and media
communication were hot. (The Turbulent Sixties [1960-1970]: A Launching Pad for
Interpersonal Communication)
The age of critical theorists and the dismissal of television, radio and popular music as mere
entertainment but as medium that are shaping popular culture. McLuhans The medium is the
message. The shift of American studies on communication with focused on European studies.
(The New Rhetorics [1965-1980])
Social scientists successfully redefined the field of communication and assuming leadership in
the newly titled departments, they still couldnt claim a unifying theory or approach that would
guarantee academic respectability among their colleagues in departments of psychology and
physics. So throughout the decade of the 1970s, empiricists pursued the dream of a universally
accepted communication model. (The Hunt for a Universal Model [1970-1980])
College and university communication departments are more numerous than ever before on this
period. They often boast more majors and greater course enrollments than any other department
on campus. Twenty-five years ago student began to flock to courses in interpersonal and mass
communication, and growth continued through new interest in organizational communication

and the applied skills of leadership, conflict negotiation, advertising and public relations.
Increasing interest in interpretive researchespecially cultural studies and feminist critiques that
seek to unmask and redness power imbalances. More studies using ethnographic methods.
Interpersonal scholarship converging on the study of personal relationships. Wildly diverse
interests and research agendas within the field of communication. (Ferment in the Field [1980Present])
1. The Alpha and Omega of Communication
2. Christian Rhetoric
3. Renaissance of Communication
4. The Turning Point (The Dawn of Scientific Inquiry
and Twilight of Rhetoric)
5. The Beginning of Mass Concept
6. The Age of Communication Science
@ Sensitivity Training
@Theoretical Debates
@The New Act of Persuasion
@Rise of New Studies in Communication
@Information Technology

700 B.C- 399 A.D

11th 13th A.D
14th 17th A.D

1800 1900
19th 20th Century
1960s
1965
1970
1980
1990 Present

Theory:
Any attempt to explain or represent an experience.
An idea of how certain events happened.
Important of Theory:
Theories guide us in making decisions and taking actions. They change from time to time as we
observe new things and acquire new perspective.
Theories identify patterns of events in the environment so we know what to expect.
They draw our attention to important aspects of everyday life.
They help us decide what is important and what is not.
They enable us to predict what will happen next.
Communication Theory:
Refer to a single theory, or it can be used to designate the collective wisdom found in the entire
body of theories related to communication process.