Comprehensive Exam - Theory
In order to graduate with my Masters of Science in Communication, I was required to successfully pass my comprehensive exams: three essays covering theory, methods, and applications of my learnings. Completed Spring 2021.
Theory prompt: For this question, first define what a theory is, what they help us accomplish, and what makes for a “good” theory.
Next, identify three theories. For each theory you’ve selected, describe the theory’s key concepts and relationships, assumptions, principles, scholars, seminal works, and intellectual traditions.
Next, discuss some of the benefits and constraints associated with each communication theory you mentioned. In particular, what is the value of these theories in informing your work in social media?
What is a Theory
Theories are a body of propositions and assumptions that provide us a consistent picture of a particular phenomenon. Theories help us understand and give meaning to aspects of human experiences. Theories can have an objective approach to research or interpretive approach to research.
Objective: Objective theories believe that the truth is singular. These are typically cause-and-effect relationships that explain why something happens and helps make predictions. Objective theories typically align well with quantitative research. In order to be a good objective theory, the theory must predict the future, include data, have a hypothesis, and be practical enough to apply again. Some theories that fall into this category include Social Penetration Theory, Face-Negotiation Theory, and Agenda-Setting Theory, and more. We see in all these theories that truth is singular.
Interpretive: Interpretive theories help assign meaning or values to communication. These theories are typically qualitative in nature. In order to be considered a good theory, interpretive theories must have clear values, provide a new understanding of people, have aesthetic appeal, and help reform society. A few interpretive theories include Communication Privacy Management, Muted Group Theory, Relational Framing Theory, and more. We see that in these theories, “truth” is flexible and can have multiple meanings.
My next few sections will highlight some of the theories I have learned during my time in the NC State MS Communication program: Social Penetration Theory, Relational Framing Theory, and Communication Theory of Identity.
Theory 1: Social Penetration Theory (SPT)
Social Penetration Theory derived from Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor in the 1970’s after their interest in understanding relationship development between individuals. Originating in the field of psychology, SPT is an objective theory from the socio-psychological perspective, meaning that it focuses on psychological variables like individual effects, traits, and perceptions. It makes predictions the process interpersonal relationships go through. The post-positivist roots in this theory aim to hypothesize about the cause and effects of interpersonal communication.
This theory explains the process of developing deeper relationships with another person through mutual self-disclosure. It explains this through the key concepts of breadth and depth.
Breadth is the range of areas and topics one discloses to another person (i.e., pancakes or waffles, favorite color, political affiliation, etc.). Depth is how deep a topic is with disclosing. If we are picturing an onion, the breadth is the range of topics, and depth is how deep to the center of the onion we are going with that topic. As we move through the model, we move through different stages of the theory: orientation, exploratory-affective, affective, stable exchange, and (unofficially) depenetration.
Orientation: this is the introduction phase (i.e., I’m Danielle and I am the WW Social Media Manager at Nutanix. I’m currently getting my masters at NC State and I’m from Raleigh, NC).
Exploratory-Affective: Mutual disclosure about attitudes, beliefs, and personal experiences. Information isn’t too deep yet, as that information is still private and guarded (i.e., Some activities I like to do include cycling, yoga, craft beer/cider, and spending time with my dog).
Affective: More personal conversations as barriers have been removed , such as those had with a close friend or romantic partner. (i.e., I had a hard day at work today because of XYZ; I love you.)
Stable: Not many relationships reach this layer. All matters are shared regularly and emotions are predicted.
Depenetration: When costs exceed benefits, the relationship ends. Not all relationships go through depenetration.
Theory 2: Relational Framing Theory (RFT)
Relational Framing Theory explains how we make sense of ambiguous messages about our relationships with others. It was developed by Jim Dillard, Denise Solomon, and Jennifer Samp to help draw inferences about relationships from their interactions. This theory emerged from the post-positivist paradigm, meaning it is rationally deduced and informed by facts. Essentially, people rely on cognitive structures (frames) in order to disseminate meaning from communication messages. The theory explains that people either interpret messages as dominance-submissiveness or affiliation-disaffiliation, while evaluating their involvement in the message itself.
● Dominance-submissiveness: Degree of control, power, or status one has over the other
● Affiliation-disaffiliation: Appreciation one person has for the other. Do the people communicating like or dislike each other?
● Involvement: Measures how involved and intimate people are in this interaction.
People use knowledge and assumptions about relationships to then connect that information to one of the three dimensions above (dominance-submissiveness, affiliation-disaffiliation, involvement). These dimensions are leveraged based on how we organize and perceive information. Dillard has said that people relate dominance-submissiveness frames to compliance goals and affiliation-disaffiliation frame as more relatable to affinity goals.
RFT has two sets of claims. The first set addresses the evaluations made when people make assumptions about relationships. The second describes how the context of the message and the cognitive process (frame) contribute to relational judgement.
Theory 3: Communication Theory of Identity (CTI)
Communication theory of identity was created by Michael Hecht to articulate a layered perspective of identity based on social and individual constructs. This framework derives from the socio-psychological tradition meaning that it originates from the field of psychology and focuses on individual traits, personalities, and perceptions. This theory shines light on the competing tensions surrounding identity. The theory helps us see communication as identity and vise versa.
The Communication Theory of Identity says there are four frames of identity that we interpret reality from: personal, relational, enacted, and communal.
● Personal: How an individual defines themselves (includes ethnic and gender roles)
● Relational: B&S explains this as “through the looking glass.” Meaning relations like parents, friends, boss.
● Enacted: How behavior expresses who we are or what kind of person you are.
● Communal: This layer comes from external perceptions like the media, organizations we are a part of, religion, education, politics, etc.
In the chapter about Communication Theory of Identity, B&S explains that there are many applications of this theory, including work-life balance. These conflicting identities of being a good, hard worker and being committed to family, tend to result in an identity gap. CTI has also been used to study first-generation college students, substance abuse, health communication, and more.
Theories and their Value in Social Media/My Career
Social Penetration Theory
I first learned this theory in Kami’s undergraduate Intro to Communication Theory course in 2013. I was obsessed with “The Onion Model” and dissecting how people move through the onion to its innermost core. I would later come to learn of other theories that also help understand interpersonal relationships like Relational Dialectics Theory and Communication Privacy Management. In everyday life, I leverage this theory of “getting to know someone” and like to view many relationships, both personal and professional, through its axes of depth and breadth. I even created a Spotify playlist (which ultimately turned into a break-up playlist) titled “The Onion Model.” Now we are here, in the midst of my comprehensive exams for my Masters degree and we’ve come full circle. It would be a disservice to my education if I didn’t focus on this theory at least once in my masters program!
Other than my love for SPT, how does it relate to my career and social media? I kind of see SPT like the marketing funnel. Social media is TOF (top of funnel) marketing technique where we leverage brand awareness as the main source of our content mix. Similarly to interpersonal relationships, you would not jump deep into the third or fourth stage of the Social Penetration Theory when first meeting someone, there is also low ROI in doing that with promotional activities like social media. The more people see and engage with our TOF content, the more likely they will move down the funnel.
Relational Framing Theory
Some of my takeaways from RFT include being self aware of what you are saying and how you are saying it. I gave an example of this in my COM 598 class where my manager does not like it when I use the word “educate” because it sounds demeaning. It’s important to highlight the main features of a message and review it’s history prior to releasing that message. In this example, if my goal is to educate someone of our new program, but I know from historicals that “education” and “educate” is not proper to use as it comes off demoralizing, I might frame my message in another way.
For social media, the framing of the message is EVERYTHING. Earlier this week, Burger King was put on blast for their International Women’s Day campaign gone wrong. Their tweet “women belong in the kitchen” was meant to announce their campaign for promoting their new HER (Helping Equalize Restaurants) women culinary scholarships. BK is a prime example of the importance of reviewing the features of a message and the history behind that message. The fact that “women belong in the kitchen” is a long standing misogynistic joke, and that their campaign to support equity in the workplace was built off of this….I’m very confused how no one at their company and agency did not catch this before it went up in flames! After immense backlash, Burger King UK deleted their tweet and issued an apology. Their apology is also being analyzed because it included a “but.” Many reports from INC and AdAge are claiming that by including “but” in an apology, it erases all the words before it.
Communication Theory of Identity
It’s important to note that people with less power tend to suppress their identity, creating a gap between their identities (i.e., working professionals and mother). This can lead to ineffective communication and discomfort. There have been many studies to show that these gaps can lead to negative outcomes such as depression. If these identity gaps exist, one might try to change something about themselves (actions, thoughts, behaviors) in order to mend the gap in identities. Identity gaps can also provide a sense of growth and change, like a snake shedding it’s skin. I think that a level of Imposter Syndrome can occur if there are identity gaps in existence. I highlighted this theory for this project to showcase that aside from the function of my role, these identities are something that many struggle with. Work-life balance issues, working parents, professionals that are also full-time caregivers, etc.
From a social standpoint, we build these aesthetics and highlight reels of our lives on social media. What happens when the identity you’ve built for yourself online doesn’t align with you who really are? It makes me think about how companies project their company culture onto social media through “life” and “culture” pages (@LifeAtNutanix, @WeAreCisco, @WeAreLenovo, @RedHatJobs). My company wins a lot of culture awards for it being a GPTW, but when we look at the number of minorities working there, it’s dismal (less than 1,000 women; less than 70 black). In order to market to a diverse group of applicants, we are encouraged to continue to show these marginalized groups on social and tokenize them. So there’s actually a divide between who we say we are on the internet and who we are internally.
