UNIT 2 LESSON 1 COMMUNICATIIVE FUNCTIONS OR PURPOSES OF COMMUNICATION

INTENTIONALITY AS THE CORNERSTONE OF AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

In the previous lessons Communication is defined as a dynamic process of transmitting and

sharing information through the use of different media platforms to a wide range of audiences in
different places at the same time. Nowadays, we all have different perspectives in because we are
unique individuals. Therefore, most of the communication activities that takes place in our
environment are far from being intentional.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, “intentional” is a conscious activity or action

that is done with a purpose, or simply put, “deliberate”. In layman’s tern intentional actions are the
ones we have planned to do. This paradigm produces intentionality.

Based on its Latin root word, “intendere”, intentionality is the mental state or fact being
directed towards some goal or thing.

Now, the questions are;

1. Are we always doing our activities or actions purposively ( I,e,) intentionally?

2. Are we cognizant enough to know which language of communication we are going to use
for every conversation that we have?

ROLE OF INTENTIONALITYIN COMMUNCATION:

Intentionality is an integral part of our human social life. Scientifically based research papers
on the topic concluded that intentionality plays a vital role in the field of communication and
Psychology. In the field of Psychology intentionality is a foundation of social cognition of every human
being. According to Zelaso (2011) Social cognition is an aptitude wherein individuals become aware
of their own and other people’s emotions, motive, desires, and feelings.

Moreover, this skill may be able to understand, describe and predict people’s mental states,
thoughts, wants and feelings. About the field of communication, social cognitive skills help every
individual to develop stronger language abilities making them better communicators. Language in this
context includes written, a verbal and non-verbal form of communication.

As Malle et. al (2011) agreed that intentionality is a diverse topic which tackles the different
levels of communication, ranging from conceptual to the interpersonal to the social dimension. It also
assesses every individual’s perception of every interaction that is made by the communicator.

ELEMENTS OF INTENTIONALITY:

Contemporary researches have concluded that intentionality have 2 different meanings.

1. According to Brentano (1874) intentionality is a Philosophical term that could be used to refer
to the property of all mental states as being directed toward things, objects, states of affairs
or events. Example desire.
2. On the other hand, intentionality it is the property of actions that make ordinary people and
scholars alike call purposeful, meaningful, or done intentionally, which is the focus of the
lesson.
 In Logical investigations, Husserl analyzed intentionality in three central ideas:
1. Intentional Act-
This Psychological mode of thought is a mental state of perceiving, believing, evaluating, or
remembering something else. The intentional act can be distinguished from its object, which
is the topic, thing or state of affairs that the act is all about.
2. Intentional object-
Intentional act and intentional object are distinct since it is possible for the same kind of
intentional act to be directed at different objects (perceiving a tree vs perceiving a human), in
the same way they may have different intentional acts to be directed at the same object
(perceiving vs. thinking).
3. Intentional content
It is the way in which the subject thinks about or presents to be himself the intentional object.
This means that the communicator does not just think about an intentional object but rather
the communicator always think of the object or experiences it from a certain perspective.

COMMUNICATION THEORIES BEYOND INTENTIONALITY:

Conclusively, the systematic analysis of these elements of intentionality lies at the heart of the
theory of consciousness, logic, language and epistemology. The following communication theories
will help you understand the foundation of intentionality.

1. Theory of Mind-
The theory of mind suggests that an individual has a belief or theory about the mind of
another. It involves the understanding of the other’s intention. It means that because of the
patterned actions of an individual, the communicator may be able to act according to the
observed signals or cues.
2. Semiotics Theory
The semiotics theory is the study of signs and symbols especially as elements of language or
other system of communication such as gestures, facial expressions, rituals, clothes, foods,
music etc. The receiver might interpret the signs and symbols either as denotation or
connotation.

-Denotation- in this theory means the literal meaning or association of the object to be
interpreted.

-Connotation-refers to the underlying meaning of the object.

In addition to that, three elements require understanding in interpreting the signs and
symbols.

a) The icon is a pictorial representation of a subject, such as photographs, miniature, star

chart, etc. These are all icons because they imitate or copy aspects of their subjects.
b) An index is a factual or causal connection that points towards its objects. Example dark
clouds in the west are an index of impending rain, Smoke signifies fire.
 c) A symbol is an arbitrary relationship between the signifier and the signified. The receiver
understand the symbols through previous knowledge and experience, and it must be
learned and agreed upon.
3. Speech Act Theory
This theory emphasizes that utterances have different or specific meanings to its user and
listener other than its definition according to the language. It explains the production and
interpretation of the meaning by the receiver of the message. According to Austin and Searle
(1969) language is not only used to inform or to describe things; it is often used to do things
to perform acts. In other words, actions are performed through utterances.

The action performed by producing an utterance will consist of 3 related acts.

a) Locutionary act is the fundamental act of declaration or creating a meaningful linguistic
expression.
b) Illocutionary act is an utterance conducted through communicative force.
c) Perlocutionary act is creating an utterance with a function intending it to affect. Students
might react based on the uttered words of the teacher by submitting their papers in five
Minutes or less.
4. Theory of Planned Behavior
This theory predicts an individual’s intention to engage in behavior at a specific time and
place. According to this theory, the best predictor of behavior is the intention. The intention
is considered to be the immediate antecedent of behavior. Intention is determined by the 3
factors according to the article posted by LaMorte (2016)

a) Attitude toward the behavior

Attitude refers to the degree to which a person has favorable or unfavorable evaluation of
the behavior of interest. It entails consideration of the outcomes of performing the
behavior.
b) People’s subjective norms
Subjective norms refer to the belief about whether most people approve or disapprove of
the behavior. It relates to a person’s beliefs about whether peers or of people of
importance to the person think he or she should engage in the behavior.
c) Perceived behavioral control
Behavioral control refers to a person’s perception of the ease or difficulty of performing
the behavior of interest. It also varies across situations and actions, which results in a
person having varying perception of behavioral control depending on the set of
circumstances which one finds oneself.

INTENTIONAL ACTS OF COMMUNICATION

Based on Leavens (2004) and Leavens, Russel & Hopkins (2005) the following criteria are used
to identify intentional acts of communication.

1. Social use- refers to the sender’s sensitivity to the presence or absence of other people since
communication requires an audience.
2. Visual orienting behavior or gaze alternation-this happens when the sender monitors the
recipient visually and looks back and forth between the social and a distant object or event.
 3. Influence of attentional state- pertains to the sender adjusting his or her signals depending on
whether the recipient is attending or not visually.
4. Attention-getting behaviors- this happens when the sender uses specific signals to attract the
recipient’s attention if the recipient is not visually attending.
5. Persistence- refers to the act of repeat signals by the sender in case of failure of its initial
communicative attempts.
6. Elaboration- this happens when the sender is using multiple signals in case of failure of initial
communicative efforts.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Intentional Communication is used to describe purposeful, goal-directed behaviors in an even

narrower sense, controls voluntary actions (Benga, 2005) . It can be defined merely as the smartest,
nicest more effective way to interact with other people. As a proactive communicator he or she must
evaluate first what is the given situation. From there he or she may be able to apply the best strategy
in order to achieve his or her goal in communicating with his audience.