10 PRINCIPLES IN
COMMUNICATION THEORY
From
Em Griffin, 7h ed.
1. MOTIVATION
• Communication is motivated by our basic
social need for affiliation, achievement, and
control, and our strong desire to reduce our
uncertainty and anxiety.
• Social exchange theory; social
penetraton;spiral of silence;constructivism;
groupthink;critical theory of org; uncertainty
reduction;agenda-setting;cognitive
dissonance;
2. IDENTITY
• Communication affects and is affected
by our sense of identity, which is
strongly shaped within the context of
our culture.
• Symbolic interactionism;cognitive
dissonance;face negotiaton theory;
3. CREDIBILITY
• Our verbal and nonverbal messages are
validated or discounted by others’
perception of our competence and
character.
• Rhetoric of Aristotle;dramatism; SIP
theory;expectancy violations;social
judgment theory;ELM;
4. EXPECTATION
• What we expect to hear and see will
affect our perception, interpretation, and
response during an interaction.
• Expectancy violations theory;social
exchange theory; uncertainty reduction
theory; SIP; cultivation theory;spiral of
silence;
5. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION
• By mindfully creating a person-centered
message specific to the situation, we
increase the possibility of achieving our
communication goals.
• Constructivism; social judgment
theory;ELM; expectancy violations;face
negotiation;
6. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
• Persons-in-conversation co-construct their
own social realities and are simultaneously
shaped by the worlds they create.
• Coordinated management of meaning;critical
theory of communication in org; symbolic
interactionism;
7. SHARED MEANING
• Our communication is successful to the
extent that we share a common
interpretation of the signs we use.
• Cultural approach to orgs;speech
codes; symbolic
interactionism;CMM;critical theory of
communicaton in orgs;semiotics;
8. NARRATIVE
• We respond favorably to stories and
dramatic imagery with which we can
identify.
• Narrative paradigm; CMM; cultivation
theory;symbolic convergence
theory;cultural approach to orgs;
genderlect styles;
9. CONFLICT
• Unjust communication stifles needed
conflict; healthy communication can
make conflict productive.
• Critical theory of communication in orgs;
cultural studies; interactional view;
CMM; relational dialectics;
10. DIALOGUE
• Dialogue is transparent (open) conversation
that often creates unanticipated relational
outcomes due to parties’ profound respect for
disparate voices.
• Relational dialectics; CMM;
phenomenological;social penetration;
genderlect; discourse ethics;critical theory of
com in orgs;