Communication Theory

(T) "How individuals establish rules for creating and interpreting meaning and how those rules are enmeshed in a conversation where meaning is constantly being coordinated."

(T) "People are motivated to act based on the meanings they assign to people, things, and events. These meanings are created in the language that people use both in communicating with others (interpersonal) and in self-talk (intrapersonal), or theirown private thought. Language allows people to develop a sense of self and to interact with others in the community."

(T) "People hold expectations about the nonverbal behavior of others. Unexpected changes in conversational distance between communicators are arousing and frequently ambiguous. Interpreting the meaning behind an expectancy violation depends on how favorably the 'violator' is perceived."

(T) "When people receive information, their mind organizes it into a pattern with other previously encountered stimuli. If the new stimulus does not fit the pattern, or is inconsistent, then people feel discomfort. So this theory is a state of psychological discomfort or tension which motivates efforts to achieve consonance. Dissonance is the name for a disequilibrium and consonance the name for equilibrium."

(T) "Explains how communication is used to reduce uncertainties (cognitive, behavioral) between strangers engagin in their first conversation together. Uncertainty exists whenever the number of possible alternative explanations in a given situation is high an the likelihood of their occurence is equal."

(T) "Illustrates a pattern of relationship development, whereby individuals follow a trajectory that moves from superficial communication to more intimate communication. Self-disclosure is the primary means."

(T) "Relational life is characterized by ongoing tensions between contradictory impulses. People wish to have both/and when talking about opposing goals. As people communicate, they attempt to reconcile these conflicting desires, but they never eliminate their need for both parts of the opposition."

(T) "Explains the process that people use to manager the relationship between concealing and revealing private information. Negotiation and coordination of boundaries is required."