Date of Award
1987
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Jon F. Schamber
First Committee Member
Linda L. Nolan
Second Committee Member
E. Eugene Rice
Abstract
In recent years the field of communication has been experiencing a movement toward newer non-tradtional approaches to the study of communication and information. Among these newer approaches is a growing body of research that focuses on interpretive behavior in the communication process.
Brenda Dervin's Sense-Making model of communication/information has been the most widely used interpretive theory of information to date. Sense-Making focuses primarily upon the role of the receiver in the communication process and how individuals construct meaning in specific situations. As a result, Sense-Making has not attended adequately to larger shared frameworks of meaning and the effects that they have upon information seeking and use.
It is the purpose of this thesis to strengthen Dervin's theory of Sense-Making by gaining a deeper view of the individual in the construction process and yet broadening the meaning making context to include structural concerns. The work of William Perry on cognitive and ethical development will be examined and applied to Sense-Making theory and data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how individuals construct meaning and use information. As a framework for examining shared structures of meaning, James Fowler's theory of faith development has also been applied to Sense-Making theory and data with particular emphasis on relational aspects. These theories are applied to Sense-Making in an effort to develop a more complete view of the individual in the communication process.
Pages
185
Recommended Citation
Fraser, Merri Lee. (1987). Communication theory and the construction of meaning : a constructive developmental approach. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/500
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