Communication theory explains how humans communicate meaningfully. It can come from various fields, including psychology, biology, and philosophy. Theories focus on the process of conveying meaning or the cultural effects of communication. The purpose of communication varies among theorists, with some viewing it as an exchange of ideas and others examining the flow of information. Theories may also differ on whether communication is an exchange between social beings or biological organisms. Views of language include the mechanistic, psychological, and social implications.
A “communication theory” is an attempt to explain how and why humans communicate meaningfully with each other. Such theories can come from a variety of different fields, including psychology, biology, and philosophy, although the actual study of the nature of communication is a field in and of itself. At its core, a communication theory is generally dedicated to providing an explanation of how, exactly, one individual is able to communicate meaning to another and the degree to which the speaker and listener can understand each other. Other theories are more focused on the historical and ritual significance of communication as an essential element of culture. Such theories may focus on the broad cultural effects of communication instead of the specific process of conveying meaning.
The particular purpose of communication is often very important to a given communication theory, but different theorists often support different primary purposes of communication. A theory of communication, for example, may be based on a fundamental understanding of communication as, first and foremost, the practical way people can exchange ideas. Other theories, on the other hand, will be able to examine communication itself as an idea detached from the communicators, and will study the flow of information without specific regard for the exchange between two individuals. Furthermore, some theories take a multifaceted approach to the purpose and basis of communication, while others look at it from only one point of view.
An important division between the different theories is between the idea of communication as an exchange between social beings and communication as an exchange between biological organisms. Theorists on the one hand argue that man is a social being that is fundamentally different from other organisms, therefore an appropriate communication theory need not be rooted in biology. Theorists on the other hand argue that, since man is a biological organism, a communication theory can only be complete and useful if it can be firmly rooted in biology. Such theorists often examine the connections between human communication through language and non-linguistic animal communication.
The general field of communication theory tends to focus on a few possible different views of language. The mechanistic view, for example, is based on the idea that one person communicates a message and the other person receives that message exactly as intended. Psychological models, on the other hand, take into account the psychological effects of communication and examine the way in which the received message differs from the communicated one. A theory of communication based on social ideas, however, examines the broader social implications of a message and can examine how ideas change as they travel from person to person. Such viewpoints may also examine language as a tool for manipulating and gaining power over others.
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