This document introduces communication theory and how to evaluate theories. It defines communication and communication competence. Communication theory provides systematic explanations of communication processes and can focus attention, clarify observations, predict behavior, and enable change. There are three types of theory: commonsense theory based on experience, working theory used in professions, and scholarly theory undergoing research. Effective theories are accurate, practical, succinct, consistent internally and externally, and provide insight. The document evaluates criteria like groupthink and asks how well it fits these standards.

1. Chapter 1
Introduction to Communication Theory

2. Definitions of Communication
 Everyday view of communication is the flow
of information from one person to another.
 Communication: the process by which people
interactively create, sustain, and manage
meaning.

3. As a group, set course
Ground Rules

4. Communication Competence
 Communication competence: balancing
effectiveness and appropriateness.
 Effectiveness: extent to which you achieve
your goals in interaction.
 Appropriateness: fulfilling social expectations
for a particular situation.
 Understanding theory will allow for a proper
balance of effectiveness and appropriateness

5. What is Theory?
 Abstract understanding of communication process.
 Move beyond describing a single event by providing a
means by which all like events can be described.
 Defined: systematic summary about the nature of the
communication process.
 Functions include:
 Focusing attention on particular concepts
 Clarifying our observations
 Predicting communication behavior
 Generating personal and social change

6. Types of Theory
 Commonsense theory
 Theories-in-use
 Created through personal experiences
 Are often the basis for our decisions on how
to communicate
 E.g.: Never date a colleague; it always ends
up badly

7. Types of Theory
 Working theory
 Generalizations made in particular professions
about the best technique for doing something
 More systematic than commonsense theory
represent agreed-on ways of doing things in
professions.
 E.g.: Audience analysis should be done prior
to presenting a speech.

8. Types of Theory
 Scholarly theory
 Has undergone systematic research
 Provide more thorough, accurate, and abstract
explanations for communication
 Typically more complex and difficult to
understand
 E.g.: The media do not tell us what to think,
but what to think about (agenda-setting theory)

9. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
 Accuracy
 Correctly summarizes the way communication
actually works
 Look at research studies that use the theory
and see whether the research supports the
theory or fails to support it.

10. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
 Practicality
 How well the theory can be used to address
real-world communication problems
 A theory with more applications is better than
a theory without practical uses
 Look for how the theory has been used in the
research literature as well as a theory’s
professional application

11. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
 Succinctness
 Is the theory formulated as simply as
possible?
 Compare how much of communication is
explained by the theory versus how many
concepts are being used to explain it

12. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
 Consistency
 The most useful theories have internal and
external consistency
 Internal consistency means that the ideas of
the theory are logically built on one another
 External consistency refers to the theory’s
consistency with other widely accepted
behaviors

13. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
 Acuity
 The ability of a theory to provide insight into an
otherwise intricate issue
 You need to think, “Wow, I never realized
that!”

14. Application: Case Study
 Case Study 1: Evaluating Groupthink
 How accurate is groupthink?
 How practical is groupthink?
 Is the theory appropriately succinct? Or is it
overly simple or overly complex?
 Is groupthink consistent with other theories
about group communication? Does it
demonstrate internal consistency?
 Does groupthink demonstrate acuity?

15. Criteria for Evaluating Theory
Accuracy
AcuityPracticality
Succinctness Consistency