I wanted to comment on the self-image section found in chapter 36. Griffin identifies self-image as, “Identity; a mental picture of who I see myself to be – greatly influenced by the way others respond to me”. The threads to this theory are symbolic interactionism, coordinated management of meaning, and cognitive dissonance. Also to address culture and identity there are the theories of face-negotiation, communication accommodation, and speech codes. There is a chart on page 484 that displays the threads of each theory and it really makes it easier to see the threads that integrate the theories. For instance, if you looked at the chart you would be able to determine that all six of the theories listed above fall under self-image. You should take a look, if you haven’t already.
2 comments:
That chart made my understanding of the threads a lot better; you can tell that Griffin put some thought into it and realy cares about relating and conveying Comm theory to the reader in an engaging way rather than just spewing information. Aside from the chart, I appreciated his personal anecdotes at the end of each "thread" entitled "Cause for pause."
my identity and self image is indeed influenced by how others respond to me, which in turn affects how I communicate, which in turn affects how others respond to me, etc, etc.
Quite a number of people blogged about self image this week, including me. I guess you could say that we're all a bit narcissistic. Or maybe it's just a very human response to be interested in the self and how it developed. What I find so illuminating about a communication perspective on the self is the role others play in its creation, development, and maintenance. And not just in the sense of the importance of significant others in the early years of life. I'm more interested in how people have to cooperate with each other in the self presentation process. That is, if I present myself as an innovative teacher but others don't respond to me that way (e.g., saying I'm old fashioned or behind the times), then I'd have to engage with those people and examine how I'm presenting myself and what I'm communicating that runs counter to what I'm trying to portray.
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