COM 421 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Talcott Parsons, Interpersonal Communication, Nonverbal Communication
Document Summary
Communication is serving some function, and has a purpose. One of the best known proponents of functional approaches was talcott parsons. What do functional approaches attempt to do. Explains why people communicate with each other and why they communication becomes patterned. When we interact with somebody, communication can fulfill a vital. Principle of multi-functionality function for the system. Any communicative act may function in more than one way. In large part the function / consequence of a communicative act is dependent on context. The same function may be brought about through different communicative acts. Study of interpersonal communication, not all communication. Humming, crying, laughing, sirens, traffic lights, emojis, facial expressions, gestures without shared understanding. Speech, talk, written word, morse code, braille, and gestures with shared understanding. Vocal: sounds produced by vibration of the vocal cords. Sign = used to represent something else. Discipline study of the use of signs. Bares no resemblance to the item it represents.
