Chapter 1-4 Flashcards
Theory
A set of systematic, informed hunches about the way things work
Communication
The relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response
Text
A record of a message that can be analyzed by others; for example, a book, film, photograph, or any transcript or recording of a speech or broadcast
Behavioral Scientist
A scholar who applies the scientific method to describe, predict, and explain recurring forms of human behavior
Rhetorician
A scholar who studies the ways in which symbolic forms can be used to identify with people, or to persuade them toward a certain point of view
Objective Approach
The assumption that truth is singular and is accessible through unbiased sensory observation; committed to uncovering cause-and-effect relationships
Interpretive Approach
The linguistic work of assigning meaning or value to communicative texts; assumes that multiple meanings or truths are possible
Humanistic Scholarship
Study of what it’s like to be another person in a specific time and place; assumes there are few important panhuman similarities
Epistemology
The study of the origin, nature, method, and limits of knowledge
Determinism
The assumption that behavior is caused by heredity and environment
Empirical Evidence
Data collected through direct observation
Emancipation
Liberation from any form of political, economic, racial, religious, or sexual oppression; empowerment
Metatheory
Theory about theory; the stated or inherent assumptions made when creating a theory
Rule of Parsimony (Occam’s Razor)
Given two plausible explanations for the same event, we should accept the simpler version
Falsifiability
The requirement that a scientific theory be stated in such a way that it can be tested and disproved if it is indeed wrong
