MILLER CHAPTER SEVEN
Theories of Message
Production
Adapted to:
COM 422
Proseminar in Communication
School of Communication
Illinois State University
BACKGROUND
Encoding
research
Goals research (ex: compliance-gaining)
Traits research (ex: comm
apprehension)
Theories in this chapter move beyond
this to consider explanations linking
“what’s in the head” with “messages
produced”
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MESSAGE PRODUCTION
(TABLE 7.1)
 Speakers





draw on vast stores of knowledge
pursue a wide range of goals
coordinate their own behavior with
that of interactional partners
produce messages within time
constraints
produce messages with little conscious
awareness
CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY:
BACKGROUND
Developed
by: Jesse Delia and
colleagues
 ontology
is largely social
constructionist
 epistemology :??
Emphasizes coding of open-ended responses from
research participants
 But is guided by theory
 So constructivism is between objective and
subjective (theory is link between knower and
known)

THE CONSTRUCT SYSTEM
 Construct
system = an interpretive scheme for
understanding the world (construct=opposites
like tall-short)
 Construct systems differ in



 If
Levels of differentiation
Organization
Abstraction
a person has a construct system high in
these qualities, he/she is cognitively
complex
CONSTRUCT SYSTEMS ARE DOMAIN SPECIFIC
 Domains
can be cooking,
cars, health, etc.
 For constructivists, the
most critical domain is the
interpersonal construct
system
 Constructivists measure
the complexity of the
interpersonal construct
system by using the Role
Category Questionnaire
(RCQ)
WHAT THE RCQ IS LIKE…
 Write
the initials of a friend on a
blank piece of paper. Take 3
minutes to describe the friend in as
much detail as possible.
 Look at your answer in terms of



Number of constructs
Level of abstraction
Organization of ideas
 What
are some possible underlying
biases that this research might
include?
PERSON-CENTERED
COMMUNICATION
 Constructivists
consider messages
produced in terms of the extent to which
they are person-centered.
 Person-centered people
Adapt to the needs of listeners (e.g., social
support)
 Account for the situation
 Attend to multiple goals (e.g., conflict)

LINKING CONSTRUCTS AND MESSAGES
 The
link between what is in the head and
messages produced is clear: People who
are more cognitively complex will
produce more person-centered
messages
 Why? The most promising suggests that
cognitively complex individuals are better
at attending to multiple goals in
interaction

i.e., instrumental and relational goals
MESSAGE DESIGN LOGICS
Designed
by B.J. O’Keefe
Main Point: Different ways of
managing multiple goals in
interaction (instrumental & face
needs)
3 Message Design Logics: (Table 7.2)



Expressive Design Logic
Conventional Design Logic
Rhetorical Design Logic
HOW MIGHT DESIGN LOGICS PLAY OUT IN
AN ARGUMENT? CONVINCING CHILDREN?
CRITIQUE OF CONSTRUCTIVISM &
DESIGN LOGICS
 Metts:
(not in Miller)
Critiques note that these approaches
have not yet assessed the extent to
which motivation mediates the effect
of cognitive structures.
 Just because someone is cognitively
complex or capable of rhetorical
design logic does not necessarily mean
that he or she will use those abilities.

ACTION ASSEMBLY THEORY:
BACKGROUND
 Developed
by John Greene
 Post-positivistic ontology of generative
realism

emphasizes the interaction of social,
physiological, and psychological components
in the scientific explanation of human
behavior
 Epistemology
is objectivist
STRUCTURES IN AAT: PROCEDURAL RECORD
 The
cognitive
component in AAT
 Part of an individual’s
memory system
 Contains information
that links action,
outcomes, and
situations
Ex.: “If I yell at my roommate
for being messy, she will
refuse to cooperate.”
Describe the procedural record for ordering at a restaurant
STRUCTURES IN AAT:
OUTPUT REPRESENTATION
Behaviors
produced from procedural
Output representations exist at four
hierarchical levels
(1) interactional representation
(2) ideational representation
(3) utterance representation
(4) sensorimotor representation
PROCESSES IN AAT:
ACTIVATION PROCESSES
 Activation
is the process by which
particular procedural records are
selected
 Activation is a function of matches
between the current situation and
goals and information on the procedural
record
 Activation speed will depend on the
strength of the procedural record

(recency and frequency of activation)
PROCESSES IN AAT: ASSEMBLY PROCESSES
 Once particular procedural records are
activated, they must be assembled into
coherent behavioral representation
 AAT sees assembly as a process of
“coalition formation” of similar
records.
“momentary assemblages of activated
behavioral features that could be said to ‘fit’
together”
 Process not always conscious, but takes time
Sets of procedural records can be efficient

ACTION ASSEMBLY THEORY:
EVIDENCE AND EXTENSION
 Tests
of AAT have been based on the tenet
that “assembly takes time.”

whether or not more complex message tasks take
more time.
 There
has been general support for AAT
from these tests.
 AAT has also been developed further to
deal with conceptual and empirical
concerns
THEORIES OF PLANNING AND GOALS:
THE GOAL CONSTRUCT
 Primary goals in interaction define
what a person is trying to accomplish
 Secondary goals are typically
concerned with relational issues in
interaction





Identity goals
Interaction goals
Relational resource goals
Personal resource goals
Arousal management goals
BACK TO THE DATING SCENE…

What Primary and Secondary Goals might be active
when asking for a date?
THE GOAL CONSTRUCT, CONT.
 Can
also consider “meta-goals”
Efficiency (or effectiveness)
How to meet primary goals without wasting
time or resources
 Appropriateness
Avoid offending or casting bad image of self
Politeness theory and face theory

EFFECTIVENESS AND APPROPRIATENESS

How might effectiveness and appropriateness
play out in correcting an employee (or grading a
student’s speech)?
THEORIES OF PLANNING AND GOALS:
PLANNING PROCESSES
 Interaction
plans provide the road
map for achieving interaction goals
 Plans are hierarchical and
mental representations of goaldirected action sequences
 The “hierarchy principle”
suggests that when plans are
thwarted, adjustments are made at
low levels of plan abstraction
BERGER’S PLANNING THEORY AS A MODEL OF A
SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION THEORY
 Units/Concepts
 Propositions/Laws
of
Interaction
 System States
 Boundaries
IN THE STUDY
 Operationalization  variables
 Hypotheses
OVERALL COMPARISON AND CRITIQUE
 What
are some ways in which the theories
in this chapter are alike?
 What are some comparative strengths
and limitations, in terms of theory
evaluation terms or conceptual strength,
of the theories presented in this chapter?
 How might knowing some of the theories
in this chapter make you a better teacher/
friend / parent / worker/ social change
agent/ etc.?