Communication Studies, Department of
First Advisor
Jack Kay
Date of this Version
1983
Citation
A project presented to the faculty of the Graduate College in the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: Interdepartmental Area of Speech and Dramatic Arts (Speech Communication)
Under the supervision of Jack Kay
Lincoln, Nebraska, July 1983
Abstract
The current study is grounded in the psychological approaches to the mechanics of communication, somewhere between cybernetics and attribution.
The integration of information available in different channels is the focus of the present study. To what extent do people rely on the different channels of communication to assign meaning to their world? More specifically, what is the relative importance of the verbal and nonverbal channels of communication in the meaning creation process?
This question of channel reliance is of central import to the study of the role of information in social/psychological systems. If it can be assumed that meaning is based, at least in part, on information received from other people, increased weight to specific channels is bound to influence the meaning that is produced in any given situation. To understand how people create meaning we need to understand what the basis is for that meaning. Scholars may wish to begin to integrate nonverbal information into a variety of currently verbal-oriented approaches to communication.
There appears to be some consistent patterns in the studies on the relationship between the verbal and nonverbal channels of communication. The present study finds significant effects the type of meaning conveyed, the age of the receiver, and the stimuli type used as an independent variable in the primary study. It seems clear that meaning is the product of both verbal and nonverbal information, apparently with little interaction between these channels. While the present study cannot claim to be a definitive end-point for research in this area, it should serve as impetus for further research into the patterns revealed here.
Advisor: Jack Kay
Comments
Copyright 1983, Jeffrey S. Philpott. Used by permission