Theory (communications)

The set of assumptions and rules that guide systematic research and define the boundaries of the discipline. It is a set of statements about how the world of communication and its messages is thought to work. A theoretical stance affects what is studied as well as how it is studied. Communi cation, however, does not have one cohesive stance on its subject. Its theories range from cultural studies approaches using mass media theories about power and ideology to psychological approaches that look for actions by humans during communication that reduce anxiety and uncertainty or introduce control and deception. Other theoretical stances assume the activity or passivity of the recipient of messages, focus on decision making, study the structure and meaning of interpersonal relationships, or look at the institutions that produce and disseminate mass communications. Generally, communication theories focus on one of four areas: (1) interpersonal relations and face-to-face communications, (2) group communications and the workings of communities, (3) mass media and mass communication and the implications of the global media, and (4) cultural approaches that can include any type of communication interaction but always involve direct observation and field research. Theories in communication studies are not necessarily tested using the scientific method and objective criteria, as required in the natural sciences. Instead, data are interpreted, and the meaning or significance of a communication becomes the goal. For more information, see Griffin (2006).