Miller Chapter Seven

1. Miller Chapter Seven Adapted to: COM 422 Proseminar in Communication School of Communication Illinois State University Theories of Message Production

2. Background • Encoding research • Goals research (ex: compliance-gaining) • Traits research (ex: comm apprehension) Theories in this chapter move beyond this to consider explanations linking “what’s in the head” with “messages produced”

3. General Principles of Message Production (Table 7.1) • Speakers • draw on vast stores of knowledge • pursue a wide range of goals • coordinate their own behavior with that of interactional partners • produce messages within time constraints • produce messages with little conscious awareness

4. Constructivist Theory: Background • Developed by: Jesse Delia and colleagues • ontology is largely social constructionist • epistemology:?? • Emphasizes coding of open-ended responses from research participants • But is guided by theory • So constructivism is between objective and subjective (theory is link between knower and known)

5. The Construct System • Construct system = an interpretive scheme for understanding the world (construct=opposites like tall-short) • Construct systems differ in • Levels of differentiation • Organization • Abstraction • If a person has a construct system high in these qualities, he/she is cognitively complex

7. Construct Systems are Domain Specific • Domains can be cooking, cars, health, etc. • For constructivists, the most critical domain is the interpersonal construct system • Constructivists measure the complexity of the interpersonal construct system by using the Role Category Questionnaire (RCQ)

8. What the RCQ is like… • Write the initials of a friend on a blank piece of paper. Take 3 minutes to describe the friend in as much detail as possible. • Look at your answer in terms of • Number of constructs • Level of abstraction • Organization of ideas • What are some possible underlying biases that this research might include?

9. Person-Centered Communication • Constructivists consider messages produced in terms of the extent to which they are person-centered. • Person-centered people • Adapt to the needs of listeners (e.g., social support) • Account for the situation • Attend to multiple goals (e.g., conflict)

10. Linking Constructs and Messages • The link between what is in the head and messages produced is clear: People who are more cognitively complex will produce more person-centered messages • Why? The most promising suggests that cognitively complex individuals are better at attending to multiple goals in interaction • i.e., instrumental and relational goals

11. Message Design Logics • Designed by B.J. O’Keefe • Main Point: Different ways of managing multiple goals in interaction (instrumental & face needs) • 3 Message Design Logics: (Table 7.2) • Expressive Design Logic • Conventional Design Logic • Rhetorical Design Logic

12. How might design logics play out in an argument? Convincing Children?

13. Critique of Constructivism & Design Logics • Metts: (not in Miller) • Critiques note that these approaches have not yet assessed the extent to which motivation mediates the effect of cognitive structures. • Just because someone is cognitively complex or capable of rhetorical design logic does not necessarily mean that he or she will use those abilities.

14. Action Assembly Theory: Background • Developed by John Greene • Post-positivistic ontology of generative realism • emphasizes the interaction of social, physiological, and psychological components in the scientific explanation of human behavior • Epistemology is objectivist

15. Structures In AAT: Procedural Record • The cognitive component in AAT • Part of an individual’s memory system • Contains information that links action, outcomes, and situations Ex.: “If I yell at my roommate for being messy, she will refuse to cooperate.” Describe the procedural record for ordering at a restaurant

16. Structures in AAT: Output Representation • Behaviors produced from procedural • Output representations exist at four hierarchical levels (1) interactional representation (2) ideational representation (3) utterance representation (4) sensorimotor representation

17. Processes in AAT: Activation Processes • Activation is the process by which particular procedural records are selected • Activation is a function of matches between the current situation and goals and information on the procedural record • Activation speed will depend on the strength of the procedural record • (recency and frequency of activation)

18. Processes in AAT: Assembly Processes • Once particular procedural records are activated, they must be assembled into coherent behavioral representation • AAT sees assembly as a process of “coalition formation” of similar records. • “momentary assemblages of activated behavioral features that could be said to ‘fit’ together” • Process not always conscious, but takes time • Sets of procedural records can be efficient • Preparing in advance

19. Action Assembly Theory:Evidence and Extension • Tests of AAT have been based on the tenet that “assembly takes time.” • whether or not more complex message tasks take more time. • There has been general support for AAT from these tests. • AAT has also been developed further to deal with conceptual and empirical concerns

20. Theories of Planning and Goals:The Goal Construct • Primary goals in interaction define what a person is trying to accomplish • Secondary goals are typically concerned with relational issues in interaction • Identity goals • Interaction goals • Relational resource goals • Personal resource goals • Arousal management goals

21. Back to the dating scene… • What Primary and Secondary Goals might be active when asking for a date?

22. The Goal Construct, cont. • Can also consider “meta-goals” • Efficiency (or effectiveness) • How to meet primary goals without wasting time or resources • Appropriateness • Avoid offending or casting bad image of self • Politeness theory and face theory

23. Effectiveness and Appropriateness • How might effectiveness and appropriateness play out in correcting an employee (or grading a student’s speech)?

24. Theories of Planning and Goals:Planning Processes • Interaction plans provide the road map for achieving interaction goals • Plans are hierarchical and mental representations of goal-directed action sequences • The “hierarchy principle” suggests that when plans are thwarted, adjustments are made at low levels of plan abstraction

25. Berger’s Planning Theory as a model of a social scientific communication theory • Units/Concepts • Propositions/Laws of Interaction • System States • Boundaries IN THE STUDY • Operationalization variables • Hypotheses

26. Overall comparison and critique • What are some ways in which the theories in this chapter are alike? • What are some comparative strengths and limitations, in terms of theory evaluation terms or conceptual strength, of the theories presented in this chapter? • How might knowing some of the theories in this chapter make you a better teacher/ friend / parent / worker/ social change agent/ etc.?