Comm Theory Blog

 1) In many ways, Deborah Tannen's theory of genderlect styles makes us better communicators . The central idea to Tanner's theory is that, "...masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 385). By being aware of genderlect , one would be knowledgable enough to recgognize the different conversation styles used by men and women. Therefore, by being aware of genderlect , one would be a better communicator because they would be able to communicate in the most efficient way possible when engaging in an interaction with individuals of the opposite gender. Generally speaking, men engage in report talk, while women engage in rapport talk . Report talk "seeks to command attention, convey information, and win arguments (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 386)." Rapport talk "seeks to establish connection with others (Griffin et a

 1) Generally speaking, I would describe myself as a heavy television watcher because I tend to spend less time on social media, and rely on television as my main source of entertainment and information. According to our textbook, there is a typology of eight motivations that describe why most people watch television (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 350). These motivations include: passing time , companionship , escape , enjoyment , social interaction , relaxation, information , and excitement (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 350). From this list of motivations, the escape typology best describes my heavy television viewing habits because I rely on television as a way to get my mind off of daily stressors. Whenever I am stressed about school work, I will utilize watching television as a way for myself to unwind and briefly forget about my responsibilities. The escape typology can be related to the safety need of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.  For example, feeling breifly escaped

1) When considering Marshall McLuhan claim, "the medium is the message," "...he wanted us to see that media -regardless of content-reshape human experience and exert far more change in our world than the sum total of the messages they contain (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 310)." In other words, the medium in which the message is communicated speaks louder than the message itself. In the case of the BMW advertisement that I am analyzing in this blog post, the medium impacts the content and meaning of its overall message. For example, because it is a print advertisement, one can only gain a limited amount of information it. This advertisement only provides its viewers with an image of the exterior of the vehicle, and a brief explanation of how there is an "exclusive drive-away offer," for those who purchase the car. This advertisement vaguely implies that the vehicle is fast because of the statement, "release the power within." Other th

 Link to advertisement being analyzed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18XnJ2J-NsI 1) A core assumption of social judgment theory is that your attitudinal anchor influences how you evaluate a persuasive message. For example, when viewing the Rolex advertisement that I am analyzing in this blog post, one might experience high or low ego-involvement . According to our textbook, ego-involvement refers to, "the importance or certainty of an issue to a person's life, often demonstrated by a membership in a group with a known stand (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 173)." In terms of this specific Rolex advertisement, those who are extremely wealthy and members of the upper class are likely to demonstrate high ego-involvement when viewing it, because they are the top one percent who can afford the product. Generally speaking, Rolex's symbolize wealth and elitism, which is why well off individuals may experience high ego-involvement when viewing this advertisement.

 1) Relational dialectics theory proposes several different  tensions that may influence any given relationship. These tensions can be both culturally and gender specific. Also, these tensions can either be internal or external . Internal tensions are, "discursive struggles played out within a relationship," while  external tensions are, "discursive struggles played out between a couple and their community (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks, 2019, pg. 134). One tension that specifically caught my eye was the stability-change tension because I feel like I can relate to it on a personal level, and it is very culturally specific. According to our textbook stability-change is, "a set of discursive struggles regarding routine versus spontaneity (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 136)." This tension is internally culturally specific in regards to certainty-uncertainty . For example, within our society, certainty is heavily emphasized in that most of us abide by a stric

 1) According to our textbook, uncertainty reduction theory, "focuses on how human communication is used to gain knowledge and create understanding (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks, 2019, pg. 105)." When strangers meet, their primary goal is to reduce uncertainty or increase predictability about the behavior of both themselves and the other person (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 105). Chuck Berger proposes eight axioms to explain the connection between the central concept of uncertainty reduction theory and the development of relationships (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 2015). All individuals rely on these axioms when meeting a new person in order to reduce their uncertainty about each other and to further develop the relationship. For example, when I first met my girlfriend, I relied on both verbal communication and information seeking to reduce my uncertainty about her. When my girlfriend and I initially met, I depended on verbal communication as a strategy in order to get to kn