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Theory
A theory is a unified, or coherent, body of propositions that provide a philosophically consistent picture of a subject. Indeed, our knowledge of communication is largely packaged into theories of various types. This entry explores the nature of theory and its key components—concepts ...
- Applications and Contexts
- Advertising Theories
- Argumentation Theories
- Broadcasting Theories
- Campaign Communication Theories
- Communication Across the Life Span
- Communication in Later Life
- Communication Skills Theories
- Community
- Competence Theories
- Computer-Mediated Communication
- Conflict Communication Theories
- Corporate Campaign Theories
- Cultivation Theory
- Cultural Theories of Health Communication
- Deliberative Democratic Theories
- Entertainment-Education
- Environmental Communication Theories
- Ethics Theories
- Family and Marital Schemas and Types
- Family Communication Theories
- Film Theories
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Theories
- Globalization Theories
- Group Communication Theories
- Groupthink
- Health Communication Theories
- Humorous Communication Theory
- Informatization
- Intercultural Communication Theories
- International Communication Theories
- International Development Theories
- Journalism and Theories of the Press
- Learning and Communication
- Legal Communication Theories
- Media and Mass Communication Theories
- Medium Theory
- Negotiation Theory
- Ordinary Democracy
- Organizational Communication Theories
- Political Communication Theories
- Religious Communication Theories
- Visual Communication Theories
- Critical Orientations
- Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis
- Activity Theory
- Americanization of Media
- Archeology and Genealogy
- Autoethnography
- Black Feminist Epistemology
- Chicana Feminism
- Citizenship
- Co-Cultural Theory
- Complexity and Communication
- Critical Communication Pedagogy
- Critical Constructivism
- Critical Discourse Analysis
- Critical Ethnography
- Critical Organizational Communication
- Critical Race Theory
- Critical Rhetoric
- Critical Theory
- Cultural Studies
- Deconstruction
- Diaspora
- Digital Divide
- Discourse Theory and Analysis
- Existentialism
- Feminist Communication Theories
- Feminist Rhetorical Criticism
- Feminist Standpoint Theory
- Flow and Contra-Flow
- Frankfurt School
- French Feminism
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Theories
- Gender and Media
- Genderlect Theory
- Hermeneutics
- Hybridity
- Identity Theories
- Ideological Rhetoric
- Ideology
- Interracial Communication
- Intersectionality
- Marxist Theory
- Materiality of Discourse
- Media Sovereignty
- Medium Theory
- Muted Group Theory
- Neocolonialism
- New Media Theory
- Positioning Theory
- Postcolonial Feminism
- Postcolonial Theory
- Postmodern Theory
- Poststructuralism
- Power and Power Relations
- Privilege
- Propaganda Theory
- Public Sphere
- Queer Theory
- Racial Formation Theory
- Silence, Silences, and Silencing
- Social Justice
- Spectatorship
- Structuration Theory
- Transculturation
- Vernacular Discourse
- Whiteness Theory
- Womanism
- Cultural Orientations
- Afrocentricity
- Asian Communication Theory
- Black Feminist Epistemology
- Buddhist Communication Theory
- Chicana Feminism
- Chinese Harmony Theory
- Chronemics
- Co-Cultural Theory
- Community
- Community of Practice
- Confucian Communication Theory
- Contextual Theory of Interethnic Communication
- Critical Ethnography
- Critical Race Theory
- Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory
- Cultivation Theory
- Cultural Contracts Theory
- Cultural Performance Theory
- Cultural Studies
- Cultural Theories of Health Communication
- Cultural Types Theories
- Culture and Communication
- Diaspora
- Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory
- Ethnography of Communication
- Ethnomethodology
- Face Negotiation Theory
- Fans, Fandom, and Fan Studies
- Feminist Standpoint Theory
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Theories
- Gender Role Theory
- Genderlect Theory
- Hindu Communication Theory
- Hybridity
- Identity Theories
- Indian Rasa Theory
- Informatization
- Intercultural Communication Competence
- Intercultural Communication Theories
- Interpretive Theory
- Interracial Communication
- Intersectionality
- Japanese Kuuki Theory
- Latino Perspectives
- Linguistic Relativity
- Medium Theory
- Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA)
- Myth and Mythic Criticism
- Neocolonialism
- Organizational Culture
- Performance Ethnography
- Performance Theories
- Popular Culture Theories
- Postcolonial Theory
- Privilege
- Proxemics
- Racial Formation Theory
- Religious Communication Theories
- Silence, Silences, and Silencing
- Social Identity Theory
- Social Justice
- Speech Codes Theory
- Taoist Communication Theory
- Transculturation
- Values Theory: Sociocultural Dimensions and Frameworks
- Vernacular Discourse
- Whiteness Theory
- Womanism
- Cybernetic and Systems Orientations
- Actor-Network Theory
- Autoethnography
- Complexity and Communication
- Convergence Theory
- Coordinated Management of Meaning
- Co-Orientation Theory
- Cybernetics
- Dual-Level Connectionist Models of Group Cognition and Social Influence
- Functional Group Communication Theory
- Information Theory
- Mathematical Theory of Communication
- Metacommunication
- Organizational Co-Orientation Theory
- Organizing, Process of
- Palo Alto Group
- Pragmatics
- Relational Control Theory
- Relational Dialectics
- Stakeholder Theory
- Structuration Theory
- System Theory
- Feminist Orientations
- Black Feminist Epistemology
- Chicana Feminism
- Feminist Communication Theories
- Feminist Rhetorical Criticism
- Feminist Standpoint Theory
- French Feminism
- Gender and Media
- Gender Role Theory
- Gender Schema Theory
- Genderlect Theory
- Intersectionality
- Invitational Rhetoric
- Muted Group Theory
- Postcolonial Feminism
- Power and Power Relations
- Queer Theory
- Womanism
- Group and Organizational Concepts
- Actor-Network Theory
- Bona Fide Group Theory
- Campaign Communication Theories
- Collective Information Sampling
- Community
- Community of Practice
- Co-Orientation Theory
- Corporate Campaign Theories
- Creativity in Groups
- Critical Organizational Communication
- Cross-Cultural Decision Making
- Dual-Level Connectionist Models of Group Cognition and Social Influence
- Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory
- Field Theory of Conflict
- Functional Group Communication Theory
- Group Communication Theories
- Groupthink
- Health Communication Theories
- Institutional Theories of Organizational Communication
- Interaction Process Analysis
- Leadership Theories
- Media Richness Theory
- Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA)
- Organizational Communication Theories
- Organizational Control Theory
- Organizational Co-Orientation Theory
- Organizational Culture
- Organizational Identity Theory
- Organizational Socialization and Assimilation
- Organizing, Process of
- Sense-Making
- Social Identity Theory
- Stakeholder Theory
- Symbolic-Interpretive Perspective on Groups
- Information, Media, and Communication Technology
- Activation Theory of Information Exposure
- Advertising Theories
- Affect-Dependent Theory of Stimulus Arrangements
- Agenda-Setting Theory
- Americanization of Media
- Audience Theories
- Broadcasting Theories
- Campaign Communication Theories
- Communication in Later Life
- Computer-Mediated Communication
- Corporate Campaign Theories
- Critical Theory
- Cultivation Theory
- Cultural Studies
- Diaspora
- Diffusion of Innovations
- Digital Divide
- Discourse Theory and Analysis
- Documentary Film Theories
- Entertainment-Education
- Environmental Communication Theories
- Expectancy Violations Theory
- Fans, Fandom, and Fan Studies
- Film Theories
- Flow and Contra-Flow
- Framing Theory
- Frankfurt School
- Gender and Media
- Globalization Theories
- Health Communication Theories
- Information Theory
- Informatization
- International Development Theories
- Interpretive Communities Theory
- Journalism and Theories of the Press
- Marxist Theory
- Materiality of Discourse
- Media and Mass Communication Theories
- Media Democracy
- Media Diplomacy
- Media Effects Theories
- Media Equation Theory
- Media Ethics Theories
- Media Richness Theory
- Media Sovereignty
- Medium Theory
- Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA)
- Motivated Information Management Theory
- Neocolonialism
- Network Society
- New Media Theory
- New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)
- Political Communication Theories
- Popular Culture Theories
- Postcolonial Theory
- Presence Theory
- Propaganda Theory
- Public Opinion Theories
- Public Sphere
- Social Action Media Studies
- Social Identity Theory
- Social Information Processing Theory
- Spectatorship
- Spiral Models of Media Effects
- Spiral of Silence
- Two-Step and Multi-Step Flow
- Uses, Gratifications, and Dependency
- Violence and Nonviolence in Media
- International and Global Concepts
- Interpersonal Concepts
- Accommodation Theory
- Accounts and Account Giving
- Action Assembly Theory
- Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis
- Agency
- Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory
- Argumentativeness, Assertiveness, and Verbal Aggressiveness Theory
- Attachment Theory
- Attribution Theory
- Chronemics
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
- Collective Information Sampling
- Communibiology
- Communication Goal Theories
- Communication in Later Life
- Communication Skills Theories
- Communication Theory of Identity
- Competence Theories
- Compliance Gaining Strategies
- Conflict Communication Theories
- Constructivism
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversational Constraints Theory
- Coordinated Management of Meaning
- Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory
- Cultural Contracts Theory
- Deception Detection
- Dialogue Theories
- Diffusion of Innovations
- Discourse Theory and Analysis
- Dyadic Power Theory
- Elaboration Likelihood Theory
- Emotion and Communication
- Empathy
- Ethnomethodology
- Expectancy Violations Theory
- Face Negotiation Theory
- Facework Theories
- Family and Marital Schemas and Types
- Family Communication Theories
- Field Theory of Conflict
- Genderlect Theory
- General Semantics
- Grounded Theory
- Hawaiian Ho'oponopono Theory
- Health Communication Theories
- Heuristic-Systematic Model
- I and Thou
- Immediacy
- Impression Formation
- Impression Management
- Inoculation Theory
- Interaction Adaptation Theory
- Interaction Involvement
- Intercultural Communication Competence
- Interpersonal Communication Theories
- Interpersonal Deception Theory
- Invitational Rhetoric
- Kinesics
- Learning and Communication
- Metacommunication
- Motivated Information Management Theory
- Negotiation Theory
- Nonverbal Communication Theories
- Palo Alto Group
- Paralanguage
- Persuasion and Social Influence Theories
- Politeness Theory
- Power, Interpersonal
- Privacy Management Theory
- Problematic Integration Theory
- Proxemics
- Reasoned Action Theory
- Relational Control Theory
- Relational Development
- Relational Dialectics
- Relational Maintenance Theory
- Rhetorical Sensitivity
- Rogerian Dialogue Theory
- Rules Theories
- Self-Categorization Theory
- Self-Disclosure
- Sense-Making
- Social and Communicative Anxiety
- Social Construction of Reality
- Social Exchange Theory
- Social Information Processing Theory
- Social Interaction Theories
- Social Judgment Theory
- Social Penetration Theory
- Social Support
- Speech Act Theory
- Stigma Communication
- Stories and Storytelling
- Style, Communicator
- Symbolic Convergence Theory
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Trait Theory
- Two-Step and Multi-Step Flow
- Uncertainty Management Theories
- Uncertainty Reduction Theory
- Non-Western Orientations
- Paradigms, Traditions, and Schools
- Afrocentricity
- Asian Communication Theory
- Buddhist Communication Theory
- Cognitive Theories
- Communibiology
- Communication Skills Theories
- Constitutive View of Communication
- Critical Theory
- Empiricism
- Feminist Communication Theories
- Humanistic Perspective
- Modernism in Communication Theory
- Philosophy of Communication
- Postmodern Theory
- Postpositivism
- Poststructuralism
- Pragmatics
- Rules Theories
- Scientific Approach
- Social Interaction Theories
- System Theory
- Traditions of Communication Theory
- Variable Analytic Tradition
- Philosophical Orientations
- Psycho-Cognitive Orientations
- Accommodation Theory
- Action Assembly Theory
- Activation Theory of Information Exposure
- Activity Theory
- Affect-Dependent Theory of Stimulus Arrangements
- Agency
- Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory
- Argumentativeness, Assertiveness, and Verbal Aggressiveness Theory
- Attachment Theory
- Attitude Theory
- Attribution Theory
- Audience Theories
- Chronemics
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
- Cognitive Theories
- Communibiology
- Communication Across the Life Span
- Communication and Language Acquisition and Development
- Communication in Later Life
- Competence Theories
- Compliance Gaining Strategies
- Constructivism
- Co-Orientation Theory
- Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory
- Cultivation Theory
- Diffusion of Innovations
- Dual-Level Connectionist Models of Group Cognition and Social Influence
- Dyadic Power Theory
- Elaboration Likelihood Theory
- Emotion and Communication
- Empathy
- Expectancy Violations Theory
- Face Negotiation Theory
- Family and Marital Schemas and Types
- Field Theory of Conflict
- Gender and Biology
- Gender Schema Theory
- General Semantics
- Heuristic-Systematic Model
- Humorous Communication Theory
- Immediacy
- Impression Formation
- Inoculation Theory
- Interaction Adaptation Theory
- Interaction Involvement
- Interaction Process Analysis
- Intercultural Communication Competence
- Interpersonal Deception Theory
- Intrapersonal Communication Theories
- Leadership Theories
- Learning and Communication
- Linguistic Relativity
- Meaning Theories
- Media Effects Theories
- Motivated Information Management Theory
- Negotiation Theory
- Nonverbal Communication Theories
- Persuasion and Social Influence Theories
- Politeness Theory
- Power, Interpersonal
- Privacy Management Theory
- Problematic Integration Theory
- Public Opinion Theories
- Reasoned Action Theory
- Religious Communication Theories
- Rhetorical Sensitivity
- Self-Categorization Theory
- Self-Disclosure
- Sense-Making
- Social and Communicative Anxiety
- Social Exchange Theory
- Social Information Processing Theory
- Social Judgment Theory
- Social Penetration Theory
- Spiral of Silence
- Style, Communicator
- Trait Theory
- Uncertainty Management Theories
- Uncertainty Reduction Theory
- Uses, Gratifications, and Dependency
- Values Studies: History and Concepts
- Rhetorical Orientations
- Agency
- Argumentation Theories
- Classical Rhetorical Theory
- Critical Rhetoric
- Dramatism and Dramatistic Pentad
- Genre Theory
- Hermeneutics
- Identification
- Ideological Rhetoric
- Invitational Rhetoric
- Metaphor
- Myth and Mythic Criticism
- Narrative and Narratology
- Organizational Control Theory
- Political Communication Theories
- Religious Communication Theories
- Rhetorical Sensitivity
- Symbolic Convergence Theory
- Visual Communication Theories
- Semiotic, Linguistic, and Discursive Orientations
- Accounts and Account Giving
- Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis
- Activity Theory
- Actor-Network Theory
- Archeology and Genealogy
- Argumentation Theories
- Autoethnography
- Chronemics
- Classical Rhetorical Theory
- Constitutive View of Communication
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversational Constraints Theory
- Critical Discourse Analysis
- Cultural Studies
- Deconstruction
- Ethnomethodology
- Feminist Rhetorical Criticism
- Genderlect Theory
- General Semantics
- Genre Theory
- Hermeneutics
- Identification
- Ideological Rhetoric
- Interpretive Theory
- Intrapersonal Communication Theories
- Kinesics
- Language and Communication
- Linguistic Relativity
- Materiality of Discourse
- Meaning Theories
- Metacommunication
- Metaphor
- Narrative and Narratology
- Neocolonialism
- Nonverbal Communication Theories
- Paralanguage
- Politeness Theory
- Popular Culture Theories
- Positioning Theory
- Poststructuralism
- Proxemics
- Semiotics and Semiology
- Silence, Silences, and Silencing
- Speech Act Theory
- Speech Codes Theory
- Stories and Storytelling
- Symbolic Convergence Theory
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Visual Communication Theories
- Social-Interactional Orientations
- Accounts and Account Giving
- Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis
- Activity Theory
- Actor-Network Theory
- Agency
- Agenda-Setting Theory
- Audience Theories
- Autoethnography
- Bona Fide Group Theory
- Communication and Language Acquisition and Development
- Communication Theory of Identity
- Community
- Community of Practice
- Consequentiality of Communication
- Constitutive View of Communication
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversational Constraints Theory
- Coordinated Management of Meaning
- Co-Orientation Theory
- Cultural Performance Theory
- Dialogue Theories
- Diffusion of Innovations
- Discourse Theory and Analysis
- Dramatism and Dramatistic Pentad
- Ethnomethodology
- Facework Theories
- Framing Theory
- Functional Group Communication Theory
- Gender Role Theory
- Grounded Theory
- Hawaiian Ho'oponopono Theory
- I and Thou
- Identification
- Identity Theories
- Immediacy
- Impression Management
- Interpersonal Deception Theory
- Interpretive Communities Theory
- Intrapersonal Communication Theories
- Invitational Rhetoric
- Leadership Theories
- Meaning Theories
- Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA)
- Negotiation Theory
- Nonverbal Communication Theories
- Organizational Control Theory
- Organizational Co-Orientation Theory
- Organizational Culture
- Organizing, Process of
- Palo Alto Group
- Performance Theories
- Politeness Theory
- Positioning Theory
- Postmodern Theory
- Poststructuralism
- Privacy Management Theory
- Privilege
- Proxemics
- Relational Control Theory
- Relational Development Theories
- Relational Dialectics
- Relational Maintenance
- Rogerian Dialogue Theory
- Rules Theories
- Social Action Media Studies
- Social Construction of Reality
- Social Identity Theory
- Social Interaction Theories
- Social Penetration Theory
- Speech Act Theory
- Spiral of Silence
- Stories and Storytelling
- Structuration Theory
- Symbolic Convergence Theory
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Symbolic-Interpretive Perspective on Groups
- Values Studies: History and Concepts
- Values Theory: Sociocultural Dimensions and Frameworks
- Theory, Metatheory, Methodology, and Inquiry
- Autoethnography
- Conversation Analysis
- Critical Discourse Analysis
- Critical Ethnography
- Definitions of Communication
- Discourse Theory and Analysis
- Epistemology
- Ethics Theories
- Ethnography of Communication
- Ethnomethodology
- Evaluating Communication Theory
- Feminist Rhetorical Criticism
- Genre Theory
- Grounded Theory
- Hermeneutics
- Humanistic Perspective
- Inquiry Processes
- Interpretive Theory
- Metatheory
- Modernism in Communication Theory
- Myth and Mythic Criticism
- Ontology
- Performative Writing
- Phenomenology
- Philosophy of Communication
- Postpositivism
- Practical Theory
- Realism and the Received View
- Scientific Approach
- Stories and Storytelling
- Theory
- Traditions of Communication Theory
- Validity and Reliability
- Variable Analytic Tradition
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