Theories has different definitions to it such as, "Theory is a coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena", as well as "Theory Is a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual facts".
("theory', n. D. ).Theories In communication are essential because it is part of a tool as those who apply It In their daily life could engage In confident and meaningful conversations bout communication with scholars, those who applies it could address challenges In communication in the everyday level more creatively and effectively. With the understanding of the importance of theories, our life would be more meaningful and with what is happening around us, we could have better understanding of life.
The theories that I have captured my Interest would be Cognitive Dissonance Theory and the uncertainty Reduction Theory. I like the fact that both of them are something, which I could be able to relate too quite easily. Both theories have efferent features to be used as part of our daily lives but both equivalently important. Leon Festering developed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance in the asses. This theory states that when we receive something that disagrees with our beliefs or actions.We feel psychologically uncomfortable and are motivated to take actions to overcome It.
We could avoid It, change our beliefs to match our actions (or vice verbal and/or seek reassurances after making a difficult decision. An example would be Person A is okay with same sex marriage whilst Person B is totally against same sex marriage, if Person A were to talk about his friends of the same sex getting married In the weekend, Person 8 would go through Cognitive Dissonance whereby he would feel uncomfortable knowing that particular information.Thus, he would either try to change the topic of the conversation that Is to avoid the topic or he could try to accept that information and try to change his beliefs of against same sex marriage. Person B could also try to voice out his opinion which would get them to get into a conflict and then later, Person B would seek assurances after voicing out his opinion which has caused them to get into a conflict. On the other hand, there are certain assumptions made about the theory.According to the assumptions, as human beings, we desire consistency in our beliefs and behaviors, dissonance is created by psychological inconsistencies which are not logical, dissonance is something that we want to avoid, thus motivating Is to act upon it and we act to achieve consonance and to reduce dissonance.
However, this assumptions are purely statements Ana teen ay not apply to all man Decease unmans are not the same and some people do not feel the comfortableness of people having different beliefs instead they appreciate difference and enjoy having debates as well as sharing and exchanging ideas regarding certain views.On the other hand, Charles Berger and Richard Calaboose developed the Uncertainty Reduction theory in 1975. This theory claims that when we meet stranger, our main focus is to reduce our uncertainty about the stranger because uncertainty is uncomfortable; we thus seek out more information. Behavioral uncertainty occurs when we are unsure about the stranger actions. Cognitive uncertainty on the other hand occurs when we are unsure about the stranger's beliefs or views.
In example, if a boyfriend were to meet the family of the girlfriend for the very first time, the boyfriend's main focus would be to reduce the uncertainty and he will try to get rid of whatever thought that he has of how the girlfriend's family will react when they meet him. In this case, he could be having the cognitive uncertainty by which he does not know how to go about if the family has different beliefs and views compared to his. Prior to that, he could ask questions to the girlfriend about how the aren't are and what are their likings also what they dislike.In other words, he could make the effort to ask questions regarding the parent's' beliefs and views.
He could for instance, bring a basket of fruits when meeting the parent's because the girlfriend's parent's are healthy people. There are certain assumptions regarding this theory as well which are we experience uncertainty in interpersonal situations, uncertainty is something we desire to avoid, when we meet strangers, our main concern is to reduce our uncertainty and when we meet strangers, our main concern is to reduce our uncertainty.Then, there's also, interpersonal communication is the primary meaner of uncertainty reduction, the quantity and nature of information that people share change through time and it is possible to predict human behavior in a alike fashion. Again, these assumptions might not apply to some man because some people do enjoy meeting new people and instead of feeling uncomfortable, they feel excited. Apart from that, it is rather hard to predict human behavior because not all human acts the same way.
Uncertainty Reduction Theory also applies to developed relationships or interactions with someone who we headed known for quite sometime. Uncertainty does not simply disappear once the relationship with a particular person starts to grow. Uncertainty from a developed relationship is known as relational uncertainty whereas uncertainty from an initial interaction is known as individual uncertainty. Uncertainty Is want splices Tie up tons, It Is unnecessarily a good thing to Aviva all t uncertainty because uncertainty makes life interesting.
However, there's a fine line of having uncertainty to Jazz up the relationship and keeping to much to yourself as ding a lot of things could lead to Jealousy and no trust. The differences between the theories of Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Uncertainty Reduction theory is Cognitive Dissonance theory takes place when anyone whether stranger or not disagrees with our beliefs and value. Whereby an Uncertainty Reduction theory takes place upon meeting a stranger whom we have never met before which would lead us to feel uncertainty which meaner most of the time applies mainly to strangers.The other difference is that in Cognitive Dissonance theory, due to the fact that we feel psychologically uncomfortable, we are titivated to take actions to overcome it whether it is avoiding, changing our beliefs to match our actions or seeking reassurance after making difficult decision while in Uncertainty Reduction theory, due to feeling uncomfortable because of the uncertainty, we will seek out more information regarding the stranger instead of taking an action to avoid the uncomfortable feeling.In Cognitive Dissonance theory, the main focus is on dissonance which is the feeling of psychological discomfort whereas in Uncertainty Reduction theory, it focuses on the feeling of uncertainty guarding the stranger which causes the feeling of uncomfortable.
Also, Cognitive Dissonance theory has the assumptions whereby dissonance is created by psychological inconsistencies, which are not logical and hard to predict while one of the assumptions of the Uncertainty Reduction theory is it, is possible to predict human behavior in a law like fashion.Personally, I think both theories are very interesting, realistic and relatable in the sense that I had gone through both theories as both of them are under interpersonal communication. For Cognitive Dissonance theory, I went through the situation hereby my friend, A said if a Muslim women were not wearing Hajji, they are the bad kind of women which I find it weird and I felt the psychological uncomfortable for I believe that all human are not defined by what's covering their head, it's all about the heart.Thus, I was motivated to take action and voice out my opinion about how it is wrong to simply Judge people based on whether they have scarf on their head or not.
After doing so, I asked other friends of mine whether getting into a little conflict with A was the rational thing to do because I find it necessary for him to listen to a omen who are Judged based on whether or not wearing a head scarf.For Uncertainty Reduction theory, I was in the situation whereby I was meeting my friend's parent's for the very first time and I felt so uncomfortable as I was uncertain of how their parent's would act once they see me or how their views would be upon meeting me. I also went through proactive uncertainty reduction whereby I asked my friends of how his parent's are, what they like and even brought a little gift for them. I would agree with the main claim of the both theories because I feel the exact same way as ten tonsures' claims.
I went tongue Telling campanological uncommon rattle Ana motivated to take actions to overcome it as stated in the Cognitive Dissonance theory as well as seeking for more information to feel less uncomfortable due the uncertainty upon meeting a stranger. It happens in our daily life, it is Just that we do not realize until we get to know these two theories. I had learnt that these theories happens almost everyday in our daily life to almost anyone, it is Just that we do not realize so as we do not know the existence of this theory.We do take the steps to reduce the dissonance and uncertainty but with owing both of these theories, we will know and be able to expect and how to react to the situation. Even though as human, we will take steps to overcome it, with knowing this theory, we can also consider other methods of reducing the dissonance and uncertainty.
With having this two theories in our minds, we will know how to tackle the situation. We can follow the various type of strategies to avoid the dissonance and uncertainty and perhaps have a better outcome from the decision made.To sum it all up, knowing about these two theories are important indeed but it is also best if we learn about other theories because it is essential to our life. Theories are important and a practical tool to guide us in our daily life because it gives us the idea of how a particular situation is and what are the ways we can take to overcome the situation. If we learn about theories and we understand them well, we can actually make better decisions and we can have better results in our life.
Reticence: "Theory'. (n. D. ). Dictionary.
Com Unabridged. Retrieved May 14, 2012, from http:// dictionary. Reference. Com/browse/theory
