Communication Theory

Description

Communication is the most complex and elevating achievement of human beings. Most people spend up to 70 percent of our waking hours engaged in some form of communication. Listening and responding to the messages of others occupies much of this time; the rest is taken up by talking, reading, and writing. An additional consideration is the rich assortment of nonverbal cues humans share, which also constitute a form of communication. All together, the stream of verbal and nonverbal information that bombards our senses is composed of as many as 2,000 distinguishable units of interaction in a single day. The kinds of interaction change constantly: morning greetings, cereal labels, bus signs, charts, traffic lights, hate stares, graffiti, coffee shop chat, gestures, laughter, and head nods: The themes are endless. All of this constitutes subject matter for the study of communication.The book seeks to acquaint students with a basic understanding of the process of human communication. The breadth and scope of subject matter is adaptable to a number of approaches to the first course in communication, whether theoretical, practical, contemporary, or traditional in orientation.The framework of this book introduces five topics of central interest to the field of communication theory. Part I describes the process of communication as it unfolds in face-to-face environments. Part II considers the symbolic significance of interpersonal behavior. Part III examines the organization of communicative acts and shows why human interactions tend to become more synchronous over time. Part IV explores the complex problem of understanding other people, demonstrating the tendency of understanding to become intersubjective. Part V accounts for the communicative significance of several basic human environments--communities, organizations, media, institutions, and culture. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Introduction to the Transaction Edition Preface Introduction PART I THE TRANSLATION OF HUMAN EVENTS 1. Communication: The Context of Change Dean C. Barnlund 2. The Mathematics of Communication Warren Weaver 3. Feedback Theodore Clevenger, Jr., and Jack Matthews 4. A Transactional Model of Communication Dean C. Barnlund 5. Social Perception and Appraisal George J. Simmons and J. L. McCal l 6. Some Tentative Axioms of Communication Paul Watzlawick, Janet Beavin, and Don Jackson PART II THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF BEHAVIOR 7. Social Interaction in Everyday Life Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann 8. The Nature of Symbolic Interactionism Herbert Blumer 9. Symbolic Strategies Sol Worth and Larry Gross 10. Facial Engagements Erving Goffman 11. When People Talk with People John C. Condon, Jr 12. Language Within Language Albert Mehrabian 13. Communication Without Words Albert Mehrabian 14. Defensive Communication Jack R. Gibb PART III THE STRUCTURE OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTS 15. Communication Boundaries Erving Goffman 16. Turn-taking in Conversations John M. Wieciaim and Mark L. Knapp 17. Visual Behavior in Social Interaction Phoebe C. Ellswort hand Linda M. Ludwig 18. Hand Movements Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen 19. The Significance of Posture in Communication Systems Albert Scheflin 20. Communicative Silences: Forms and Functions Thomas J. Bruneau PART IV THE INTERSUBJECTIVITY OF UNDERSTANDING 21. Understanding Ourselves Michael Polanyi 22. Interaction and Interexperience in Dyads R. D. Laing, H. Phillipson, and A.R. Lee 23. Intersubjectivity and Understanding Alfred Schutz 24. Elements of the Interhuman Martin Buber PART V THE ENVIRONMENT OF COMMUNICATION 25. Communication: The Flow of Information Daniel Katz and Robert L. Kahn 26. The Medium Is the Message Marshall McLuhan 27. Intercultural Communication Edward T. Hall and William Foote Whyte 28. Adumbration as a Feature of Intercultural Communication Edward T. Hall 29. Man at the Mercy of Language Peter Farb Postcript Index