Blackwell Reference Online

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A process of exchanging messages in a social environment entailing cognitive activity, affective states, and behavioral outcomes. This process is one of the fundamental components of social behavior; through nonverbal communication, language, social exchange , and the massmedia , communication is the central mechanism for social organization. Two broad and to some extent opposing conceptions of human communication have guided scholarly inquiry in this century. From one perspective communication entails transmission of information from a source to a receiver; thus, there is “information flow” through a channel or medium which can result in receiver “knowledge gain.” Information is a physical entity that can be subdivided into discrete “chunks” or “bits,” which are potentially quantifiable. The concern here is with how much information can be imparted and with what degree of efficiency or effectiveness. The second perspective suggests that communication is a process of symbolic exchange serving to stimulate or generate meanings. The emphasis here is upon symbols (arbitrary, conventional elements that refer to things, ideas, actions, etc.) and upon meanings (inferences about symbols and their referents). Although it is quite possible to conduct quantitative studies of the uses and effects of symbols, referential meanings are not easily broken into discrete “bits.” Moreover, the meanings ... log in or subscribe to read full text