COMM 502 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Behavioural Sciences, Scientific Method, Heredity

• School: Bloomsburg University
• Department: COMM - Communication
• Course: COMM 502
• Professor: La Valley, Angela

Document Summary

Theorists grounded in behavioral science approach communication using the scientific method. Theorists grounded in the humanities approach communication through interpreting texts. Communication theories reflect a variety of methodological approaches, desired outcomes or goals, and levels of investigation. The objective approach and the interpretative approach to communication study differ in starting point, method, and conclusion. Scholars who do interpretive study are concerned with meaning and reflect a range of ideological and methodological positions. As a result, there is no single unifying or accepted label, although griffin uses the term interpretive scholars. Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge. Good theories are mirrors of nature, true as long as conditions remain the same. Interpretive scholars also seek truth, but they are more tentative about the possibility of revealing objective reality. Truth is largely subjective; meaning is highly interpretive. The knower cannot be separated from the known.