Transcript Western theory

Contributions of Western Perspectives
to a Global Theory of Health Communication
Panel: Mainstreaming Global Theories
Douglas Storey, PhD
Director for Communication Science & Research
SBCC Summit
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
February 2016
Western Communication Theory
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Over-represented in the global literature
Most widely embedded in academic institutions
Most extensively tested, validated cross-culturally
Extensive empirical base of evidence, but…
3. Widely criticized as
• Individualistic
• Cognitive/rationalist
• Apolitical
• Top-down
• Hegemonic
Diverse roots in social sciences…
Intellectual origins in 4th century BC Greek philosophy?
(Peters, 1999)
Modern communication research from 1920s
• Persuasion theory (Festinger, Asch, McGuire, Fishbein,
Cialdini)
• Cybernetics (Wiener, Shannon)
• Social constructivism and empathic communication
and (Dewey, Cooley, Mead)
• Social learning theory (Bandura)
• Complex systems perspective of diffusion (Tarde,
Granovetter, Rogers)
…and critical cultural theory
• French social structural theory (Durkheim)—
industrialization and social relations
• Frankfurt and Birmingham Schools (Horkheimer,
Adorno, Marcuse, Hall)—cultural industries and power
• Critical scholarship in the 1970s
• From Europe (Giddens, Foucault)—modernity,
knowledge, social control
• From Latin America (Freire, Bordenave, Beltran)—
bottom up, horizontal communication
• Communication and legitimacy in civil society
(Habermas)
Evolution of media effects theory
Six stages (Neuman & Guggenheim, 2011)
1. Persuasion theories (1944-1963)
• simple attitude & behavior change, social learning
2. Active audience theories (1944-1986)
• motivated attention, uses & gratifications, cognitive
dissonance
3. Social context theories (1955-1983)
• Two-step flow, diffusion & social networks, knowledge gaps &
inequity, spiral of silence, 3pe
4. Societal & media theories (1933-1978)
• media hegemony, channel effects (McLuhan), social
construction of reality, cultivation theory
5. Interpretive effects theories (1972-1987)
• agenda setting, priming, framing
6. New media theories (1996 )
• computer mediated communication, uses & gratifications 2.0
Application to Strategic Communication
Modern Western communication research “…is about
effects. It could have been otherwise—consider the study
of art, for example—but it is not’’ (Katz, 2001)
Often this is a fruitful line of thinking that produces useful
solutions to immediate social challenges
Communication across ecological levels of
social aggregation
Empirical evidence of certain kinds of effects
Predictive power of theoretical constructs
• Diffusion
• Rational decision-making
• Social learning
• Perceived risk and efficacy
• Expectancy value
• Normative perceptions
Changes in these variables precede changes in behavior
in predicted directions
Replicated & validated in multiple sociocultural and
political settings
Development of predictive models
Personal
Advocacy
Knowledge
Attitudes
SelfImage
Social
Influence
BEHAVIOR
Perceived
Risk
Emotion
SelfEfficacy
Norms
Implies
simultaneous
effect of all
influences.
Implies that
communication
can affect all of
these factors.
Multivariate Ideational Model of Communication and Behavior
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INSTRUCTION
DIRECTIVE
Dissemination
Promotion
Prescription
NONDIRECTIVE
Dialogue
Counseling
Entertainment
Social Networks
SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
IDEATIONAL
FACTORS
COGNITIVE
Beliefs
Attitudes
Values
Perceived Risk
Subjective Norms
Self-Image
EMOTIONAL
Emotional Response
Empathy
Self-Efficacy
INTENTION
confirmation
BEHAVIOR
SOCIAL
Support & Influence
Personal Advocacy
PUBLIC
Advocacy
Regulation
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUPPORTS & CONSTRAINTS
Source:
Adapted from
Kincaid (2000)
Critiques of Western perspectives
• Relatively narrow range of social psychological
constructs
• Focus on mass communication (less on interpersonal
communication) as an agent of change
• Less attention to complex social systems, cultural
dynamics, emotion and power
• Deterministic, instrumental, control functions of
communication
What is missing?
Attention to
• Longer term structural change
• Cultural dynamics
• Resolving unequal power distribution
Communication is seen as largely external to people and
their immediate social environments (Lang, 2013)
Current perspective may constrain broader, more
organic understanding of communication in longer
term, social and structural change and cohesion
What does it contribute?
• Emphasis on empirical methods, including explication
and operationalization of concepts
• Embrace of multiple methods
• Belief in accountability (direct & indirect over time)
• Commitment to replicability and generalization
• Openness to critique and synthetic thinking
 Misunderstanding of probability vs determinism?