Contexts of Communication

Humans communicate with each other across time, space, and contexts. Those contexts are often thought of as the particular combinations of people comprising a communication situation. For example, theories of interpersonal communication address the communication between dyads (two people). Group communication deals with groups, organizational communication addresses organizations, mass communication encompasses messages broadcast, usually electronically, to mass audiences, intercultural communication looks at communication among people of different cultures, and gender communication focuses on communication issues of women and between the sexes. Newer contexts include health communication and computer-mediated communication.

Contexts of communication are best thought of as a way to focus on certain communication processes and effects. Communication context boundaries are fluid. Thus, we can see interpersonal and group communication in organizations. Gender communication occurs whenever people of different sexes communicate. We can have mass communications to individuals, group, and organizations.

Using communication contexts as a means to help us study communication helps us out of problems some people associate with the intrapersonal context (some say the "so-called" intrapersonal context). Some people facetiously say intrapersonal communication exists when someone talks to themselves. It's more accurate to define intrapersonal communication as thinking. While thinking normally falls within the purview of psychology we can recognize that we often think, plan, contemplate, and strategize about communication past, present, and future. It is legitimate to study the cognitive aspects of communication processes. So, even if some people call those cognitive aspects of communication thinking, it can be helpful to allow the context of intrapersonal communication to exist, thereby legitimating an avenue of communication research.

Theories related to how humans create meaning:

• Coordinated Management of Meaning
• I. A. Richards on Meaning
• Signs
• Symbolic Interactionism

Theories related to interpersonal communication:

• Attribution Theory
• Constructivism
• Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Social Judgment Theory
• Social Penetration Theory
• Uncertainty Reduction

Group Communication:

• Groupthink

Organizational Communication:

• Karl Weick on Organizing

Gender Communication:

• Muted Group Theory

Intercultural Communication:

• Issues of Face

Mass Communication:

• Cultivation Theory
• Spiral of Silence

For detailed information read:

Casmir, F. L. (Ed.). (1994). Building communication theories: A socio/cultural approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dahnke, G. L., & Clatterbuck, G. W. (1990). Human communication: Theory and research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Griffin, E. (1994). A first look at communication theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Heath, R. L., & Bryant, J. (1992). Human communication theory and research: Concepts, contexts, & challenges. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Littlejohn, S. W. (1996). Theories of human communication (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Trenholm, S. (1991). Human communication theory (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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