Theories of Effective Communication
Tactics used by the media, organizations or individuals can have a powerful effect on how information is understood. Carefully prepared communication is a strong tool to change peoples' thoughts and actions. Understanding the theories behind effective communication can allow you to utilize them for your own gain or become aware when they are being used on you.
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Attribution Theory
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Human beings naturally try to figure out why people -- including themselves -- do things. Fritz Heider, who developed the attribution theory in 1958, thought that people attribute behavior to either internal constructs (like attitude, character or personality) or external constructs (like a person's environment or situation). Emotion and motivation play heavily into the attributions that a person makes. Humans like to see justice and do not like to ascribe self-blame. People also think that they are more complicated or unique that other people. When a person believes that an event happened because of internal events, rather than external, it empowers him, and makes him feel that certain acts are within his realm of control. When a person receives validation about his internal attribution, he will actually modify his behavior to keep in line with these beliefs -- even if they have been suggested by another person.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
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A theory originating in 1951, cognitive dissonance is a theory based in social psychology. Leon Festinger theorized that people become uncomfortable holding incompatible beliefs in their mind and will relieve this internal conflict as quickly as possible. Often, a person will ignore information that might support the conflicting ideas. According to this theory, if you change a person's behavior, the inconsistent beliefs and ideas relevant to this behavior will drop away. Therefore, changing a person's behavior will also change her thinking and vice versa.
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Social Identity Theory
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Social identity theory seeks to explain intergroup discrimination by saying that every individual ascribes to a single personal identity, as well as multiple group identities. Perceived social membership to a certain group will cause someone to see people in terms of in-group or out-group membership. A person will favor in-group members at the expense of perceived out-group members. Group favoritism causes people to see their group as having a distinct identity, and they will view in-group members more positively than out-group members. Playing into a social group's us-versus-them mentality can be useful tool for persuasion.
Framing Theory
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The theory of framing says that perception of a message, based on the way that it's communicated, influences how a person will react to it. Instead of assuming that all people make rational decisions, framing theory assumes that context -- especially by using language to make a frame seem positive or negative -- has an effect on decision making. For example, when a choice is given a positive slant, where people must decide between a sure gain or an uncertain gain, they will select the sure gain. When the same choice is presented as being a sure loss versus an uncertain loss, people will usually choose the uncertain loss. The way that information is presented leads to how it's interpreted.
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References
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