COMM 1302 Ch. 2

Practical Theory Explanations

Tend to be premised on practical necessity, rules and actions that are goal-oriented and pragmatic

Communication theory:

can refer to a single theory, or the collective wisdom found in the entire body of theories related to communication

Philosophical assumptions address:

...questions of 1) Epistemology 2) Ontology 3) Axiology

Concepts

Building blocks of theories; are the terms/definitions we use in theories; tell what the theorist is looking at/what is considered important

Dimensions of a theory include:

1) Philosophical assumptions: basic beliefs 2) Concepts: building blocks 3) Explanations: dynamic connections 4) Principles: guidelines for action

4 concerns of ontology:

1) To what extent do humans make real choices 2) Whether human behavior is best understood by states or traits 3) Whether human experience is primarily individual or social 4) To what extent is communication contextual

5 Tenets of Practical Theory

1. Action is voluntary, 2. Knowledge is socially created, 3. Theories are historical and ever changing, 4. Theories affect reality they are covering, 5. Theories are never neutral

Practical Explanation

Actions are considered to be goal directed and designed to achieve a future state. (e.g., I needed to increase my GPA, so I studied hard.)

Practical Theory Ontology

Assumes individuals create meanings, have intentions, make choices, and behave differently in different situations because rules and goals change

Practical Theory Epistemology

Assumes people take active role in creating knowledge; tend to be subjective too

Traditional Science

Based on four processes of (1) developing questions, (2) forming hypotheses, (3) testing hypotheses, (4) formulating theory- hypothetico-deductive method; sometimes called "variable-analytic tradition"; hypotheses must be falsifiable, and manipulation must occur

Value-free scholarship

Based on the assumption that theories can be objective and void of the scholar's personal views

Determinists & Pragmatists

Determinists: think that behavior is caused by prior conditions (humans are reactive)--ex. In high school I had bad teachers, so I haven't done well in college. Pragmatists: think that humans are people who plan their behavior to meet future goals--ex. I wanted to get a good grade, so I studied really hard. Middle ground: Humans make choices within a range...some behaviors determined, some free will.

Causal Explanation

Events are connected where one variable is an outcome or result of the other. (e.g., my teachers in high school did not provide enough background, so I couldn't learn enough to pass the test.)

Practical Theory Principles

Guidelines for reflection and action; when a theory includes them, it is practical

Principles

Guidelines included in only a selected class of theories that enables one to interpret an event, make judgements about what is happening and decide how to act

Constructivism/Relativism

Holds that people create knowledge in order to function in the world (they ain't nothing until I calls them)

Heuristic Value

How useful a theory has been in generating research and ideas; one of several criteria that can be used to evaluate communication theories

Holism

Idea that we should view knowledge in its wholly form, not in parts; part of the 4th concern of epistemology

Nomothetic Explanations

In this, explanations are almost exclusively causal; casual explanations posit linear relationship b/w cause and effect; expressed by covering laws that enable researchers to make predictions

Social constructionism

Knowledge is product of group and cultural experiences

Appropriateness

May also be evaluated by how consistent its assumptions are with its methods and questions; one of several criteria that can be used to evaluate communication theories

Epistemology

Nature of knowledge; concerns include 1) what extent can knowledge be known before experience (a priori), 2) what extent is knowledge certain, 3) the process by which knowledge arises, 4) is knowledge best conceived in parts or wholes, and 5) to what extent is knowledge explicit

Axiology

Part of philosophical pertaining to values; concerns include 1) whether theory can be value free 2) to what extent practice of inquiry influences what is studied, and 3) whether theory should be designed to achieve change or simply generate knowledge; value/value-free scholarship polarize these issues

Ontology

Philosophical assumption concerned with nature of being, goes hand in hand with epistemology (has 4 main issues)

Practical Theory

Represents the opposite endpoint from nomothetic theory, designed not to seek universal laws but to capture and understand the rich differences among situations in which people operate

Empiricsm

States that knowledge arises in sense experience, literally "see" what is going on (I calls them as I sees them)

Value-conscious scholarship

Study in which researchers recognize the importance of values and are careful to acknowledge their views; direct those values in positive ways

Universalists/Rationalism

Suggests knowledge arises out of the sheer power of the human mind (I calls them as they is)

Nomothetic Epistemology

Tends to espouse empiricist and rationalist ideas, treating reality as distinct from the human investigator (or the world is waiting for scientist to find it), privileging objectivity and proffering precise operational definitions or operationism, which means all the variables are precisely defined and stated in ways that explain how to observe them

Explanations

The best theories go beyond taxonomies and include explanations; Describes patterns and regularities and provides accounts for how the variables/concepts relate to one another; two types include causal and practical

Openness

The degree to which a theory is tentative and open to dialogue with other approaches

Validity

The degree to which an observation measures what it is supposed to measure

Reliability

The degree to which the construct is measured accurately and consistently

Nomothetic Theory

The dominant approach in the experimental natural sciences that has made sizable inroads in the social sciences, seeks universal or general or covering laws.

Theoretical Scope

The generality or comprehensiveness of a theory; one of several criteria that can be used to evaluate communication theories

Parsimony

The logical simplicity of a theory

Nomothetic Concepts

The quantifiable detection of differences is evaluated here in terms of 1. validity, and 2. reliability

Nomothetic Ontology

Theories tend to assume that behavior is determined by and responsive to biology and the environment

Taxonomies

Theories that stop at the conceptual level and provide just a list of the categories without explaining how they relate

Analysts

Those who believe knowledge consists of understanding how parts operate separately

Practical Theory Axiology

Value-conscious theories are included within this overarching theory's take on axiology

Nomothetic Axiology

Value-free; science is above value issues here

Theory:

an abstraction, focuses on certain things while ignoring others; no single theory is perfect, and no theory reveals "whole truth"; just one way to view it; all of them are constructions created by people (do not capture reality/nature like a mirror, but act as lens to view it)---Use theory because of it's usefulness, not truthfulness