Communication is used everywhere, every day, in everyone’s lives. Because it has such an important role within cultures across the board, it is vital to understand the act of communication to better understand those around you. Authors of A First Look at Communication Theory Griffin, Ledbetter and Sparks explain communication by breaking it into separate theories throughout the book. I have chosen just a few that were personally impactful and are the most relatable of all the communication theories. The first portion that I personally connected most with is symbolic interactionism. This theory basically states that all meaning in communication is created through language and by people interacting with each other. The authors stress the importance
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Social penetration theory according to the creators “explains how relational closeness develops” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 97) and how people begin personal relationships. The best and most effective way to describe social penetration theory and self-disclosure is by comparing it to an onion. The authors claim that people, like onions, have different layers. Each layer represents a different “structure of personality” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 97). When you first meet someone, you would only be exposed to the external layer which includes their appearance and their general information upon first meeting. As you talk to one another, the deeper layers start to become exposed. These layers would consist of information that isn’t common knowledge like fears, political views, religious beliefs, goals and finally the deepest level: concept of self. The depth all depends on the relationship between the individuals that are engaging in communication. It’s likely that someone won’t reveal their entire life story and every fact about themselves because it typically takes time and trust. The deepest level of penetration is something that is slowly exposed between two people in conversation. This is accomplished by reaching an intimate personal level which often requires a lot of trust leading up to …show more content…
The central route of persuasion involves elaborations and “the extent to which a person carefully thinks about issue-relevant arguments contained in a persuasive communication” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 189). Each and every day we are exposed to so much information on subjects that we have strict opinions on like political views, religious beliefs, etc. Everyday there is information that comes out about these beliefs however, according to Griffin et al. (2015) we have learned to pay close attention to those that support our individual beliefs to better persuade others towards our opinion. A person who chooses the central route of communication choose to treat all arguments fairly only if it is germane to the topic. On the opposing side, the peripheral route chooses to pay little attention to the larger arguments and focuses on the miniscule things that often have nothing to do with the argument at all like what the speaker is wearing, worrying about speech errors, or if they looked silly talking. There two routes differ in many ways however I find the central route a lot more relatable in terms of my own
Social penetration theory according to the creators “explains how relational closeness develops” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 97) and how people begin personal relationships. The best and most effective way to describe social penetration theory and self-disclosure is by comparing it to an onion. The authors claim that people, like onions, have different layers. Each layer represents a different “structure of personality” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 97). When you first meet someone, you would only be exposed to the external layer which includes their appearance and their general information upon first meeting. As you talk to one another, the deeper layers start to become exposed. These layers would consist of information that isn’t common knowledge like fears, political views, religious beliefs, goals and finally the deepest level: concept of self. The depth all depends on the relationship between the individuals that are engaging in communication. It’s likely that someone won’t reveal their entire life story and every fact about themselves because it typically takes time and trust. The deepest level of penetration is something that is slowly exposed between two people in conversation. This is accomplished by reaching an intimate personal level which often requires a lot of trust leading up to …show more content…
The central route of persuasion involves elaborations and “the extent to which a person carefully thinks about issue-relevant arguments contained in a persuasive communication” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 189). Each and every day we are exposed to so much information on subjects that we have strict opinions on like political views, religious beliefs, etc. Everyday there is information that comes out about these beliefs however, according to Griffin et al. (2015) we have learned to pay close attention to those that support our individual beliefs to better persuade others towards our opinion. A person who chooses the central route of communication choose to treat all arguments fairly only if it is germane to the topic. On the opposing side, the peripheral route chooses to pay little attention to the larger arguments and focuses on the miniscule things that often have nothing to do with the argument at all like what the speaker is wearing, worrying about speech errors, or if they looked silly talking. There two routes differ in many ways however I find the central route a lot more relatable in terms of my own