Theories Flashcards
Contingency Theory
There is a continuum between accommodation and advocacy. There is never a balance between the two, every relationship falls on the continuum
Situational Theory of Publics
Factors contribute to creating active publics based on their situation. First is awareness (problem recognition) second is how the issue effects you (constraint recognition) and the third step is the ability to do something (the level of involvement)
Relationship Management Theory
Relationships are crucial and must be mutually beneficial. Communication strengthens relationships
Situational Crisis Theory
Crisis response strategies vary depending on the threat. Protects an organizations reputation. Puts he focus on the problem, not the company.
Systems Theory
Organizations are not alone. What happens to or with an organization effects others(customers, stakeholders, employees & gov regulators). PR monitors it in an open or closed system
Agenda Building Theory
Organization based. They build agenda through information dissemination. Reaching publics with transparency.
Agenda Setting Theory
News media sets agenda to focus attentions get key public issues. Mostly in political cases.
Indirect Effects Theory
Media can have effects on people, but the message is “filtered”
Limited Effects Theory
Media gave little effect because factors mitigate the message. Media is not as powerful as it was once thought.
Framing Theory
Communication source defines and constructs any piece of information. We all bring our own frames to our communication. Choice of words, how we depict ourselves and organization.
Media Uses & Gratification Theory
People use media for their own needs, such as finding info to make purchases. From the audiences point of view.
Two-Step Flow Theory
Individuals called opinion leaders can have an effect on their followers. Oversimplifies the complexity of communication and influence.
Multi-Step Flow Theory
They are many individuals who can serve to influence opinion leaders.
Social Learning Theory
People use information processing to explain and predict behavior. We learn from other people’s mistakes.
Elaborated Likelihood Model
When people make decisions based on involvement. Some messages contain a lot of info, some only associate negative/positive attributes