Theory in Communication Studies
The ability to articulate and use theory is central to the Communication Studies major at San Francisco State University. Theories are ideas that are connected in order for us to understand why something happens. Two of the most important components that makes up a theory are concepts and relationship. Understanding the concept and relationship in a theory will help us understand the purpose behind an event that occur. Theories discussed throughout Communication Studies major usually looks at the process of human communication.
Communication theories gives us a good overview of how communication between people occur. Theories are important for understanding the human communication process because it can prevent misunderstandings and help us get a better view of why certain people behave a certain way when communicating. Knowing communication theories will help us be better at communicating with more diverse group of people since not everyone has the same communication style. Therefore, different theories can be used to understand why certain people communicate a certain way and it will help us be able to accommodate to different communication styles.
An assignment that I completed in my Communication Studies major that involves articulating and using theory to analyze human communication is a writing assignment I did for my Interpersonal Communication GWAR class. I had a persuasive writing assignment where I have to find a theory that I think is the most effective for maintaining friendship over time and compare it with two other theories and explain why it is better.
The theory that I focused on was the Relational Dialectics theory and the two theories I compared it to was the Social Penetration theory as well as the Communication Accomodation theory. Relational dialectics is a theory about the contradictions we face in a relationship due to varying differences between you and the other person. The reason why relational dialectics is the best theory to maintain a friendship is because the theory keeps the friendship interesting and prevents falling out between friends. When dealing with relational dialectic, you compromise with your friend, which is a very important thing to do in any relationship. The three primary relational dialectics are autonomy-connectedness, openness-closedness and novelty-predictability. Autonomy-connectedness is about how in a relationship, you have to balance personal space and also spend time together. Openness-closedness is about knowing how much information you share with the other person as well as knowing what information you don’t have to share or want to keep to yourself. Novelty-predictability is being able to have a comfortable routine but also making sure that you do something different once in a while to keep the relationship exciting. Most relationships are built upon common grounds but over time, you will most likely notice that you and the other person might have differences as well. Relational dialectics talk about these differences and how you can manage them.
Cyclic alternation is one way in which you can manage those differences. This is when you create space where one dialectic is used at a time. For example, if you are the type of person who needs personal time but your friend is the type of person to always want to hang out together, you can manage this by asking her to give you your space when you are at school or work and then after that you can dedicate time to spend with them at home.
Another way to deal with relational dialectic is when you choose one dialectic and say that it serves the other one. For example, if you are constantly hanging out with your friend everyday, there might be trouble because you could get annoyed or bored with each other so it’s important to take some days off as personal time in order to strengthen the friendship because then you will be looking forward to the day that you guys get to meet and hang out again.
Relational dialectics is an important theory to know because learning to manage it will help make your relationship with other people better by keeping it balance. Not knowing how to manage relational dialectics or not being aware that such thing exist can create problems due to boredom in the relationship. If you can’t manage autonomy and connectedness, you will either get bored, annoyed or start to drift apart. If you can’t manage novelty and predictability, you will get bored of the same routine or you will get tired of always having to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. If you can’t balance openness and closedness, you will either get into a fight because you might hurt the other person’s feelings, or you might feel like the relationship lacks trust. This is why being aware of the relational dialectics theory is very important in maintaining friendship.
In comparison to relational dialectics, I also wrote in my paper that social penetration theory and communication accommodation theory are very important in maintaining friendships but I did not think that it was as important as relational dialectics. Social penetration theory states that as you get closer to someone, you start to disclose more and more information about yourself, which can also lead to revealing your vulnerabilities but increases trust in the friendship. This is a theory that I definitely experienced with all my best friends throughout the year. However, I think that disclosing too much information, which is addressed by the relational dialectics theory of openness and closedness, can end up being a negative thing. Some people can be taken aback if you disclose too much information or they can get their feelings hurt if you are too honest about your opinions. The social penetration theory is a good theory in regards to growing a stronger bond in you friendship but the relational dialectic theory is a better theory for maintaining that friendship.
As for communication accommodation theory, it talks about how you start to change your behavior when communicating with people in order to minimize or emphasize your differences depending on the situation. There are two accommodation process which are convergence and divergence. Convergence is when you accommodate in order to minimize your social differences with the other person, usually either because you want to fit in or you are interested in the other person. An example of convergence would be using slangs that your friends use in order to fit in. On the other hand, divergence is when you emphasize your social difference with the other person, usually in order to show authority over the people around you. An example of divergence would be professors speaking in a way that lets the students know that he/she is in charge and has authority. This theory is useful for knowing ways to fit in with a group of people and build friendship but does not really address how to maintain the friendship. Therefore, the relational dialectic theory is a better theory for addressing ways to maintain a friendship over time.
All three of these theories are examples of some of the communication theories that I learned as a Communication Studies major in San Francisco State University that helps me better understand the human communication process. From this assignment alone, I was able to apply a theory to my own personal experiences and understand why some of my friendships lasts longer than the other. I was also able to apply these theories in my relationships to better understand the other person and be able to accommodate to our differences in communication. This goes back to the previous paragraph about why theory is important in understanding the human communication process. It is because without theory, we would not have a good understanding of the human communication process, which would prevent us from being able to reflect on our communication and make positive changes.
image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/connect-connection-cooperation-20333/
Communication theories gives us a good overview of how communication between people occur. Theories are important for understanding the human communication process because it can prevent misunderstandings and help us get a better view of why certain people behave a certain way when communicating. Knowing communication theories will help us be better at communicating with more diverse group of people since not everyone has the same communication style. Therefore, different theories can be used to understand why certain people communicate a certain way and it will help us be able to accommodate to different communication styles.
An assignment that I completed in my Communication Studies major that involves articulating and using theory to analyze human communication is a writing assignment I did for my Interpersonal Communication GWAR class. I had a persuasive writing assignment where I have to find a theory that I think is the most effective for maintaining friendship over time and compare it with two other theories and explain why it is better.
The theory that I focused on was the Relational Dialectics theory and the two theories I compared it to was the Social Penetration theory as well as the Communication Accomodation theory. Relational dialectics is a theory about the contradictions we face in a relationship due to varying differences between you and the other person. The reason why relational dialectics is the best theory to maintain a friendship is because the theory keeps the friendship interesting and prevents falling out between friends. When dealing with relational dialectic, you compromise with your friend, which is a very important thing to do in any relationship. The three primary relational dialectics are autonomy-connectedness, openness-closedness and novelty-predictability. Autonomy-connectedness is about how in a relationship, you have to balance personal space and also spend time together. Openness-closedness is about knowing how much information you share with the other person as well as knowing what information you don’t have to share or want to keep to yourself. Novelty-predictability is being able to have a comfortable routine but also making sure that you do something different once in a while to keep the relationship exciting. Most relationships are built upon common grounds but over time, you will most likely notice that you and the other person might have differences as well. Relational dialectics talk about these differences and how you can manage them.
Cyclic alternation is one way in which you can manage those differences. This is when you create space where one dialectic is used at a time. For example, if you are the type of person who needs personal time but your friend is the type of person to always want to hang out together, you can manage this by asking her to give you your space when you are at school or work and then after that you can dedicate time to spend with them at home.
Another way to deal with relational dialectic is when you choose one dialectic and say that it serves the other one. For example, if you are constantly hanging out with your friend everyday, there might be trouble because you could get annoyed or bored with each other so it’s important to take some days off as personal time in order to strengthen the friendship because then you will be looking forward to the day that you guys get to meet and hang out again.
Relational dialectics is an important theory to know because learning to manage it will help make your relationship with other people better by keeping it balance. Not knowing how to manage relational dialectics or not being aware that such thing exist can create problems due to boredom in the relationship. If you can’t manage autonomy and connectedness, you will either get bored, annoyed or start to drift apart. If you can’t manage novelty and predictability, you will get bored of the same routine or you will get tired of always having to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. If you can’t balance openness and closedness, you will either get into a fight because you might hurt the other person’s feelings, or you might feel like the relationship lacks trust. This is why being aware of the relational dialectics theory is very important in maintaining friendship.
In comparison to relational dialectics, I also wrote in my paper that social penetration theory and communication accommodation theory are very important in maintaining friendships but I did not think that it was as important as relational dialectics. Social penetration theory states that as you get closer to someone, you start to disclose more and more information about yourself, which can also lead to revealing your vulnerabilities but increases trust in the friendship. This is a theory that I definitely experienced with all my best friends throughout the year. However, I think that disclosing too much information, which is addressed by the relational dialectics theory of openness and closedness, can end up being a negative thing. Some people can be taken aback if you disclose too much information or they can get their feelings hurt if you are too honest about your opinions. The social penetration theory is a good theory in regards to growing a stronger bond in you friendship but the relational dialectic theory is a better theory for maintaining that friendship.
As for communication accommodation theory, it talks about how you start to change your behavior when communicating with people in order to minimize or emphasize your differences depending on the situation. There are two accommodation process which are convergence and divergence. Convergence is when you accommodate in order to minimize your social differences with the other person, usually either because you want to fit in or you are interested in the other person. An example of convergence would be using slangs that your friends use in order to fit in. On the other hand, divergence is when you emphasize your social difference with the other person, usually in order to show authority over the people around you. An example of divergence would be professors speaking in a way that lets the students know that he/she is in charge and has authority. This theory is useful for knowing ways to fit in with a group of people and build friendship but does not really address how to maintain the friendship. Therefore, the relational dialectic theory is a better theory for addressing ways to maintain a friendship over time.
All three of these theories are examples of some of the communication theories that I learned as a Communication Studies major in San Francisco State University that helps me better understand the human communication process. From this assignment alone, I was able to apply a theory to my own personal experiences and understand why some of my friendships lasts longer than the other. I was also able to apply these theories in my relationships to better understand the other person and be able to accommodate to our differences in communication. This goes back to the previous paragraph about why theory is important in understanding the human communication process. It is because without theory, we would not have a good understanding of the human communication process, which would prevent us from being able to reflect on our communication and make positive changes.
image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/connect-connection-cooperation-20333/
