This questions ask you to compare different theories\' approach to a concept. Th

Question

This questions ask you to compare different theories' approach to a concept. The question specifies the concept and the theories. You will be expected to compare and contrast, not just define a lot of information from each theo Don't just give me a dump of information, but try to think about what the questions is asking about. To study for this, consider points of comparison between theories that we've looked at and the potential usefulness or application of the different theories. There are no right or wrong answers per se to the essay questions, only better or worse answers. Poor answers will not answer the question or lack evidence that you understand the theories. Decent answers will indicate that you understand and can apply the theory. Good answers will demonstrate that you can see the relationships between the theories.

Explanation / Answer

The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of sociological theory. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. Subjective meanings are given primacy because it is believed that people behave based on what they believe and not just on what is objectively true. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. People interpret one another’s behavior and it is these interpretations that form the social bond. These interpretations are called the “definition of the situation.”

For example, why would young people smoke cigarettes even when all objective medical evidence points to the dangers of doing so? The answer is in the definition of the situation that people create. Studies find that teenagers are well informed about the risks of tobacco, but they also think that smoking is cool, that they themselves will be safe from harm, and that smoking projects a positive image to their peers.So, the symbolic meaning of smoking overrides that actual facts regarding smoking and risk.

Expectancy violations theory (EVT) is a theory of communication that analyzes how individuals respond to unanticipated violations of social norms and expectations.The theory was proposed by Judee K. Burgoon in the late 1970s and continued through the 1980s and 1990s as "nonverbal expectancy violations theory", based on Burgoon's research studying proxemics. Burgoon's work initially analyzed individuals' allowances and expectations of personal space and how responses to personal space violations were influenced by the level of liking and relationship to the violators.The theory was later changed to its current name when other researchers began to focus on violations of social behavior expectations beyond nonverbal communication. Because EVT is sociopsychological in nature and focuses on social codes in both intrapersonal and interpersonal communication, it is closely related to communication theories such as cognitive dissonance and uncertainty reduction theory.

This theory sees communication as an exchange of behaviors, where one individual's behavior can be used to violate the expectations of another. Participants in communication will perceive the exchange either positively or negatively, depending upon an existing personal relationship or how favorably the violation is perceived. Expectancies are primarily based upon social norms and specific characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the communicators.Expectancies can be derived directly from the current communication interaction but are often determined by a prexisting blend of person requirements (biological/survival needs), expectations (normative schemata) and desires (likes and dislikes) known as the mnemonic 'RED'. This is known as a person's interaction position (IP).Violations of expectancies cause arousal and compel the recipient to initiate a series of cognitive appraisals of the violation.The theory predicts that expectancies influence the outcome of the communication interaction as either positive or negative and predicts that positive violations increase the attraction of the violator and negative violations decrease the attraction of the violator.

Expectations are of two types: Predictive and Prescriptive.

Predictive expectations are behavior and communication happening according to the expectations in a particular environment, situation or context. Similarly, prescriptive expectations are the way people display their behavior and communicate in a particular environment, situation or context.

Feedback is determined by the initial message which is unexpected in this case. It happens in verbal as well as non-verbal communications. If the person who violates personal spaces is favorable then the violation is not taken as negative. Another aspect of personal space is territoriality or ownership, which can be of a place or a thing.

Other assumption of this theory is that people are driven by expectations. People learn from their fulfilled or broken expectations which develops their tendency to predict others behavior.

Communication privacy management (CPM), originally known as communication boundary management, is a systematic research theory designed to develop an evidence-based understanding of the way people make decisions about revealing and concealing private information. CPM theory suggests that individuals maintain and coordinate privacy boundaries (the limits of what they are willing to share) with various communication partners depending on the perceived benefits and costs of information disclosure. It was first developed by Sandra Petronio in 1991.

Petronio uses a boundary metaphor to explain the privacy management process. Privacy boundaries draw divisions between private information and public information. This theory argues that when people disclose private information, they depend on a rule-based management system to control the level of accessibility. An individual's privacy boundary governs his or her self-disclosures. Once a disclosure is made, the negotiation of privacy rules between the two parties is required. A distressing sense of "boundary turbulence" can arise when clashing expectations for privacy management are identified. Having the mental image of protective boundaries is central to understanding the five core principles of Petronio's CPM:

.People believe they own and have a right to control their private information. People control their private information through the use of personal privacy rules. When others are told or given access to a person's private information, they become co-owners of that information. Co-owners of private information need to negotiate mutually agreeable privacy rules about telling others. When co-owners of private information don't effectively negotiate and follow mutually held privacy rules, boundary turbulence is the likely result.The information we choose to disclose or keep private can bring about both risks and rewards. CPM is a very recent theory, unlike
many of the other theories we have discussed this semester. A woman named Petronio developed it the theory starting in 1991, but it truly came together as a theory in 2002 when she published her book, giving it its title. It is important to note that CPM is not a law theory, but a rule-based theory. Therefore there are no “assumptions” of the theory, but rather “suppositions,” which implies that there is guesswork/a hypothesis involved. The Suppositions of CPM are as follows: people have private information, private boundaries, control and ownership about the information, and we control it with rule based management and privacy management dialectics. Privacy rule characteristics have two main features: development and attributes. Rule development is guided by people's decision criteria for revealing or concealing private information. There are five criteria that are used for developing privacy rules: cultural criteria, gendered criteria, motivational criteria, contextual criteria, and risk-benefit ration criteria. The first criteria depends on the norms for privacy and openness in a given culture. The second refers to the differences that may exist between men and women in drawing their privacy boundaries. The third has to do with the idea that people make decisions about disclosing based on their motivations.

Perception.
A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

Why is it Important!!

Because people’s behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself. The world that is perceived is the world that is behaviorally important.

Factors Influencing Perception
a)The Perceiver – attitudes, motives, interests, experiences, expectations b) The Target – novelty, motions, sounds, size, background, proximity, similarityc) The Situation – time, work setting, social situation

Person Perception: Making Judgments About Others.
Attribution Theory - When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally (under the personal control of the individual) or externally (outside causes “force” you to behave a certain way) caused.

Sensation & Perception - When we smell a fragrant flower, are we experiencing a sensation or a perception? In everyday language, the terms "sensation" and "perception' are often used interchangeably.

However, as you will soon see, they are very distinct, yet complementary processes. In this section, we will discuss some concepts central to the study of sensation and perception and then move on to discuss vision and the perception of pain (it is not possible in the scope of these notes to discuss all the senses).

I. Sensations and Perceptions

Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information from the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive in the sense that we do not have to be consciously engaging in a "sensing" process.Perception can be defined as the active process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting the information brought to the brain by the senses.

A) HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER:

1) Sensation occurs:

a) sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment.

b) sensory receptors convert this energy into neural impulses and send them to the brain.

2) Perception follows:

a) the brain organizes the information and translates it into something meaningful.

Meaningful meaning.

1) Selective Attention - process of discriminating between what is important & is irrelevant (Seems redundant: selective-attention?), and is influenced by motivation.

For example - students in class should focus on what the teachers are saying and the overheads being presented. Students walking by the classroom may focus on people in the room, who is the teacher, etc., and not the same thing the students in the class.

2) Perceptual Expectancy - how we perceive the world is a function of our past experiences, culture, and biological makeup.For example, as an American, when I look at a highway, I expect to see cars, trucks, etc, NOT airplanes. But someone from a different country with different experiences and history may not have any idea what to expect and thus be surprised when they see cars go driving by.

Another example - you may look at a painting and not really understand the message the artist is trying to convey. But, if someone tells you about it, you might begin to see things in the painting that you were unable to see before.

The Link Between Perception and Individual Decision Making
Decisions = Choosing between 2 or more alternatives and Problems = A discrepancy between some current state of affairs and some desired state
How should we make decisions in organizations?
To maximize a particular outcome, try the “rational decision making model”
Steps in the Rational Decision-Making Model.

a) Define the problem b)Identify the decision criteria c)Allocate weights to the criteria d) Develop the alternatives.
e) Evaluate the alternatives f) Select the best alternative.

Assumptions of the Rational Decision-Making Model

- Problem Clarity-

– The problem is clear and unambiguous.

- Known Options-

– The decision-maker can identify all relevant criteria and viable alternatives.

- Clear Preferences-

– Rationality assumes that the criteria and alternatives can be ranked and weighted.

- Constant Preferences-

– Specific decision criteria are constant and that the weights assigned to them are stable over time.

- No Time or Cost Constraints-

– Full information is available because there are no time or cost constraints.

-Maximum Payoff-

– The choice alternative will yield the highest perceived value.

How can we improve creativity in decision making?

– You can produce novel and useful ideas by emphasizing the three component model of creativity: 1) expertise, 2) creative-thinking skills, and 3) intrinsic task motivation

So, how are decisions actually made in organizations?

· Bounded Rationality

- individuals make decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.

· Intuitive Decision Making

– Intuition = an unconscious process created out of distilled experience.

– Intuition is often used when there is a high level of uncertainty, there is little precedent to go on, when the variable in question are less predictable, when “facts” are limited, these facts don’t lead you in one particular direction, data is of little use, when there are several plausible choices, and there is time pressure

Problem Identification

- Problems that are visible tend to have a higher probability of being selected than ones that are important. Why?

– It is easier to recognize visible problems.

– Decision-Makers want to appear competent and “on-top of problems.”

– Decision-Makers self-interest affects problem selection because it is usually in the Decision-Maker’s best interest to address problems of high visibility and high payoff. This demonstrates an ability to perceive and attack problems.

Alternative Development

- Decision makers rarely seek optimum solutions but satisficing or “good enough” ones.

– Efforts made are simple and confined to the familiar.

– Efforts are incremental rather than comprehensive.

– Many successive limited comparisons rather than calculating value for each alternative.

– This approach makes it unnecessary for the decision maker to thoroughly examine an alternative and its consequences.

– Thus the decision makers steps are small and limited to comparisons of the current or familiar options.

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