Deck 16: Concept of Communication Accommodation Theory

Question 1

Compare and contrast the ways in which Eastern and Western thoughts have contributed to the intellectual tradition of relational dialectics theory.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Identify and briefly describe four key concepts embedded within relational dialectics theory.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Define three types of dialectical tensions that all relationships experience. Then, select a relationship that you are currently participating in and provide examples of times when you experienced each of the three tensions.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

How does communication privacy management theory incorporate ideas about rules, boundaries, and turbulence into its explanation of how people manage privacy?

Question 5

Identify and briefly describe five assumptions of interactional/systems theory.

Question 6

Compare and contrast relational dialectics theory with communication privacy management theory. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory? And what paradigm does each theory emanate from?
b. How, if at all, are these two theories similar? How are they distinct?
c. How do both theories incorporate self-disclosure and privacy into their explanations of social interactions?
d. How adequate is the scope of each theory? Briefly compare both theories in terms of scope.

Question 7

From what you have learned about communication paradigms this semester, differentiate relational dialectics theory, communication privacy management theory, and interactional/systems theory using the ontological and epistemological assumptions of each theory. What is the primary goal of each theory? And how is the communication process portrayed within each theory?

Question 8

Identify and briefly describe three conditions under which people are motivated to reduce uncertainty.

Question 9

Think of a situation where you recently met someone new. Using your knowledge of uncertainty reduction theory, illustrate three of the axioms of the theory using examples from your interactions with this new acquaintance.

Question 10

Explain how relational uncertainty extends the tenets of uncertainty reduction theory to communication in romantic relationships.

Question 11

Think of a recent conversation you had with a friend or romantic partner in which you and your conversational partner self-disclosed information about yourselves to each other. Analyze the conversation using the concepts of breadth, depth, and the norm of reciprocity.

Question 12

Briefly summarize the basic tenets of equity theory (i.e., one of two social exchange theories discussed in Chapter 8). Compare and contrast what partners are likely to feel when they are over-benefited or under-benefited.

Question 13

Compare and contrast uncertainty reduction theory with social penetration theory. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory?
b. How, if at all, are these two theories similar? How are they distinct?
c. How do both theories incorporate self-disclosure into their explanations of social interactions and relational change?
d. How well do both theories explain relational change as a function of communication behaviors?

Question 14

Evaluate uncertainty reduction theory, social penetration theory, and social exchange theories using the four criteria for evaluating good theories: scope, verifiability, heuristic value, and parsimony. Construct an argument for your assessment of each theory using evidence from the text or from other sources you may know.

Question 15

Identify and briefly describe two types of knowledge that structuration theory seeks to explain. How are both types of knowledge tied to human agency?

Question 16

What does structuration theory assume about time? Why is it important to account for time and space in a theory of social change?

Question 17

What is the duality of structure? And how does structuration theory incorporate ideas about power?

Question 18

Identify and briefly describe five types of adopters in diffusion of innovations theory.

Question 19

Explain how convergence and divergence create different types of accommodation practices in social interaction.

Question 20

Compare and contrast diffusion of innovations theory with communication accommodation theory. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory?
b. How, if at all, are these two theories similar? How are they distinct?
c. How do both theories incorporate convergence and divergence into their explanations of social change?
d. Compare both theories in terms of their scope and level of analysis. How broad or narrow are both theories, and what levels of analysis would be most conducive to testing hypotheses derived from both theories?

Question 21

Explain how power and influence are embedded within structuration theory, diffusion of innovations theory, and communication accommodation theory. For each theory, evaluate the degree to which power is implicitly or explicitly addressed, and discuss how processes of persuasion and social influence tie organizations, groups, and individuals together through their social interactions.

Question 22

How does attribution theory reflect Heider's concerns with a common-sense theory of psychology? In other words, how does attribution theory incorporate the roles of phenomenal and causal perceptions into an explanation of human behavior?

Question 23

Identify and briefly describe five assumptions of attribution theory.

Question 24

Define internal and external attributions. Provide an example of each to help illustrate both concepts. Then, discuss how both function within the fundamental attribution error.

Question 25

When we are trying to figure out the reason behind someone else's behavior, what three questions should we consider according to attribution theory? How are these three questions tied to each other and to our explanations for other people's behaviors?

Question 26

Briefly describe a situation when someone violated your expectations. Then, analyze your response using the following concepts from EVT: arousal, communicator reward valence, and violation valence.

Question 27

Compare and contrast attribution theory with expectancy violations theory. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory?
b. How, if at all, are these two theories similar? How are they distinct?
c. How do both theories incorporate perception into their explanations for human interaction?
d. How psychological and how communicative are both theories? Is one theory more communicative than the other? If so, why? If not, why not?

Question 28

Explain the role of cognitive arousal in EVT. What is arousal and how does it influence our communication with other people? Why is the concept of arousal so central to EVT?

Question 29

What does schema theory assume? How do the assumptions of schema theory help us understand how people organize information from the environment?

Question 30

How might a critical scholar approach questions about perception and bias as they relate to the communication process?

Question 31

Identify and briefly describe four types of schemas. Provide an example of each schema to help illustrate the concept.

Question 32

Explain the relationship between cognitive complexity and the use of person-centered messages.

Question 33

Identify two factors that influence plan complexity. Then, briefly explain how plans become more or less complex depending upon these two factors.

Question 34

Compare and contrast schema theory with constructivism. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory?
b. How do both theories attempt to explain how humans organize information from the environment?
c. What do both theories assume about perception and communication?
d. How psychological and how communicative are both theories? Is one theory more communicative than the other? If so, why? If not, why not?

Question 35

Evaluate schema theory, constructivism, and planning theory using the four criteria for evaluating good theories: scope, verifiability, heuristic value, and parsimony. Construct an argument for your assessment of each theory using evidence from the text or from other sources you may know.

Question 36

Define consubstantiality and identification. Using the principles of dramatism, briefly discuss how Burke talked about both concepts as they relate to division.

Question 37

Identify and briefly describe five key concepts in symbolic interactionism.

Question 38

What are terministic screens? According to Kenneth Burke, how do terministic screens influence the various ways in which humans make sense of their experiences?

Question 39

According to dramatism, how does the problem of guilt trigger the guilt-redemption cycle?

Question 40

Identify and briefly describe three assumptions of the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory.

Question 41

Compare and contrast symbolic interactionism with dramatism. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing each theory?
b. How do both theories attempt to explain humans as symbol-using creatures?
c. What do both theories assume about the nature of language and the use of symbols?
d. How, if at all, do the theories differ from one another?

Question 42

Identify and explain the six levels of hierarchy embedded within the CMM. For each level, be sure to define the key concept that characterizes a given level and provide an example to help illustrate what the CMM is attempting to explain.

Question 43

Why is scholarly research considered to be more reliable than everyday research?

Question 44

Where does your knowledge about communication come from? Briefly describe the differences between knowledge that comes from authority, intuition, and personal experience, and knowledge that comes from research.

Question 45

Identify and briefly describe seven steps in the research process.

Question 46

Why is it important for researchers to replicate their studies?

Question 47

Compare and contrast deductive and inductive approaches to communication research.

Question 48

Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research methods. In your well-written essay, be sure to address the following:
a. What is the primary goal or purpose of each method? What types of data do both methods use to accomplish their goals?
b. Identify and briefly discuss three examples of each method.
c. Finally, clarify the difference between claims that are generalizable and claims that are transferable, and identify which method seeks to establish one type of claim over the other.

Question 49

Identify and describe four criteria researchers use to evaluate good research. Then, evaluate the degree to which the three schools of thought (i.e., post-positivists, interpretive, and critical scholars) in the communication field are more or less concerned with each criterion.

Question 50

Identify and briefly describe the four identifiable parts of every communication theory.

Question 51

How are communication models different from communication theories?

Question 52

Identify and describe three general functions that all good theories perform for the people who use them.

Question 53

List seven specific purposes that theories can have. Then, identify which purposes are most likely accomplished by post-positivist theories, by interpretive theories, and by critical theories, respectively.

Question 54

Compare and contrast a realist ontology with a social constructionist ontology. What implications does adopting one view of reality over the other have for our investigations of human communication?

Question 55

Identify and describe three paradigms that encompass the vast majority of theories in the communication field. In your well-written essay, be sure to address the following:
a. What are the ontological and epistemological positions of each paradigm?
b. How does each paradigm view the role of the researcher?
c. How does each paradigm view the role of communication?
d. Finally, if you were to become a communication theorist, which paradigm would you most likely adopt and why?

Question 56

Compare and contrast the term theory with the terms conceptual framework, model, and paradigm. Define each term and discuss why the first term is distinct from the other three terms. Then, explain how conceptual frameworks, models, and paradigms work in the development of a theory.

Question 57

Define metacommunication. Then, briefly explain how Tannen's genderlects theory uses the concept of metacommunication to explain differences in how men and women communicate.

Question 58

What does Tannen mean when she compares report talk with rapport talk? And how do both forms of talk explain the socialization of men and women in Western society?

Question 59

How useful is face negotiation theory? Construct an argument for or against the use of this theory to understand intercultural conflict.

Question 60

What are self-construals? How do individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in individuals' self-construals?

Question 61

Identify and briefly describe three types of "reading" that cultural studies scholars study. Which type of reading would a cultural studies scholar advocate for?

Question 62

Think about one of your closest cross-sex friends, and recall a conversation in which one person was sharing about a problem and a misunderstanding occurred. Using Tannen's genderlects theory, analyze the conversation using the following concepts: metacommunication, report vs. rapport talk, troubles talk, and different ways of listening.

Question 63

Evaluate genderlects theory, face negotiation theory, and cultural studies using the four criteria for evaluating good theories: scope, verifiability, heuristic value, and parsimony. Construct an argument for your assessment of each theory using evidence from the text or from other sources you may know.

Question 64

How did scholarly concerns with the hypodermic needle paradigm prompt the development of agenda setting theory? Briefly explain how the former represents a "direct effects" explanation for media influence, whereas the latter represents more of an "indirect effects" explanation.

Question 65

Identify and briefly describe three key assumptions of agenda setting theory. Then, define three types of agendas and provide a current example of each.

Question 66

Select two different needs that you have that you satisfy through the use of different media. Using uses and gratifications theory, analyze how different media enable you to satisfy these two needs.

Question 67

What does media multiplexity theory assume about online and offline interactions? And how are both types of interactions tied to the strength of network ties?

Question 68

Identify and briefly discuss four claims advanced by media multiplexity theory.

Question 69

Compare and contrast agenda setting theory with uses and gratifications theory. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing both theories? What paradigm does each theory emanate from?
b. How does uses and gratifications theory seek to address the limitations of media effects theories, such as agenda setting theory?
c. What roles do the media and the audience play within each theory?

Question 70

How might one argue that media multiplexity theory represents an extension of uses and gratifications theory? In your response, be sure to address each of the following:
a. What types of needs are met via strong, weak, and latent ties?
b. How might an individual's media satisfaction be tied to the gratifications that are sought within a social network versus those that are gained?
c. How might media multiplexity be tied to the interactivity of social media and audience needs?
d. Evaluation

Question 71

According to uncertainty management theory, what types of information acquisition strategies do individuals use when they appraise uncertainty as danger? What types do they use when they appraise uncertainty as opportunity?

Question 72

Identify and briefly describe four forms of uncertainty that an individual might experience in the context of illness.

Question 73

According to Witte, how are threat and fear two related but distinct constructs? Briefly explain what the difference is between an actual threat and a perceived threat.

Question 74

Using the claims of the EPPM, compare and contrast danger control processes with fear control processes.

Question 75

In his efforts to extend the theory of reasoned action, what did Icek Ajzen add to the theory of planned behavior? And how important is this concept to explanations of how well people's intentions predict their behaviors?

Question 76

Compare and contrast uncertainty management theory with the extended parallel process model. In your well-written essay, be sure to address each of the following:
a. Who is primarily responsible for developing both theories? What paradigm does each theory emanate from?
b. How do both theories address appraisals of messages in the context of illness and healthcare?
c. How do both theories incorporate danger in their explanations of how people respond to health messages?
d. What role do emotions play in both theories?

Question 77

Select a New Year's resolution that involves some aspect of your health. Use the theory of planned behavior to analyze the following:
a. What behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs do you hold about this particular change to your lifestyle?
b. Evaluate and briefly discuss your general attitude toward this behavior.
c. How strong are (or were) your intentions to make this change? And how much perceived behavioral control do you have over this change?
d. Develop a plan of action and briefly assess your ability to follow the plan.

Question 78

What are zero-history groups? And what did Ernest Bormann observe in zero-history groups that led him to develop symbolic convergence theory?

Question 79

Briefly describe the symbolic convergence process. Include in your description the following terms: dramatizing message, fantasy, fantasy chain, and fantasy theme.

Question 80

Identify and briefly describe five functions that decision-making groups must meet in order to make the best decisions.