Social Communication

Barbara Pogonowska

Department
of Sociology and Philosophy

Social Communication
The first wisdom of sociology is this things are not
what they seem Social reality turns out to have many
layers of meaning. The discovery of each new layer
changes the perception of the whole.
Peter L. Berger
Invitation to Sociology, 1963

Social Communication
Communication (latin: communicare to be in relation with )

Social communication
process of sharing, transmiting and learning cultural beliefs,
ideas, values, meanings, symbols
process of acquiring of cultural beliefs, ideas, values,
meanings, symbols
these common elements (ideas ) of any given culture
are necessary factor for existing the society/ communitie

Social Communication
Social communication is a basic means of sharing/
transmitting a common experience: primary and secondary
stage of socialization
Human beings are the communicating animal
Human groups are based upon interaction involving
meaningfull communication
Essential place of communication in social life
Important factor of social/ axiological order

Social Communication
When did the sociale communication begin?
*when man was able to assign agreed-upon meaning to symbols
gestures and objects
*when man was able to convey meaning to another man
symbol:
any given phenomenon/ data which acts as a sign of another
phenomenon [e.g. banner symbolizes the nation]
the culturally/ socially (arbitrary) relative character of the
relations between these phenomena

Social Communication
Ethnical language
An abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all
aspects of culture
Includes speech, written characters, numerals, symbols
People invariably depend upon language for the use and
transmission of the rest of a culture

Social Communication
menora as a symbol of Judaism
crown as a symbol of royal power [west culture]
cross (crucifix) as a symbol of Christianity et caetera

Indian symbol

A Wiccan / Pagan symbol, the pentacle represents 5 points (the

four elements and the self, or the four corners of North, South,
East and West, and the self)

The bowl of Hygeia

The Bowl of Hygeia symbol is the most widely recognized
international symbol of pharmacy

Celtic symbol: Triple Spiral: represents the drawing of the three

powers of maiden, mother and crone. It is a sign of female
power and especially power through transition and growth.

This symbol is widely used in Turkey as an amulet against the evil eye. It may
be incorporated into jewelry, or hung in a home, office, or car. In Turkish, the
name for this amulet is nazar boncuk.

Africa: SANKOFA
return and get it
symbol of importance of learning from the past

European Unionbanner

Social Communication
Forms of natural social communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication
verbal communication
speech/ spoken tongue (ethnical, natural language)
[probably Cro-Magnon Man, 90-40 thousands years BC]
writting, written marks [probably 3 thousands years BC,
Eufrat&Tygrys river-basin]

Social Communication
Forms of natural social communication
non verbal communication [from the begining of social life]
body language (poisture and positioning), physical
distance, gestures
mimics: facial expression, eye contact
objects [things, arts: painting, pictures, sounds, music,
street arts ]
power relation
space [natural environment, home, church, theatre,
university, office, street, bus ]
dress codes et ceatera

Social Communication
Forms of technic social communication
the invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg in 1448
press, XVII century
process of telecomunication and informatization from the end
of XIX century

telegraph, Guglielmo Marconi and Aleksander Popov, 1895-1897

(tele)phone
film/ cinema invented by Lumieres in 1894
radio
television, Vladimir Zworkin and John Baird, 1923-1926

mass communication

Social Communication
process of computerization [the end of XX century]
process of globalization of social communication

Webnet
Cell phone, smartphone
virtual reality
email
virtual social media et ceatera

Types of social communication

Types of social communication:

verbal vs nonverbal
verbal vs written
direct vs nondirect
symetric vs nonsymetric (the differences of status/ power
relations)
formal vs nonformal

Theories of social communication

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
Individuals derive their feelings about self from their
interactions with others. Cooley (1902) labelled this initially
the "looking glass self
The self is the product of our interaction and
- social communication as well with other people
The looking glass self is not equally influenced by each
person that we meet
Significant others: those individuals who are most important
to the development of self [parents, friends, social media?]

Theories of social communication

Benjamin Lee Whorf and Edward Sapir
relationship between language and thought patterns
[Sapir-Whorf hypothesis]:
studies the Hopi and other desert Indian tribes (1956, Southwest of North
America)
language causes people to conceptualize nature and the world in different
ways:
for examples: to see nature as active or passive
In English: John is drowning. [activity performed by John]
In Navajo: Water is overcoming John. [John as a victim of active
natural forces]

language precedes thought

Theories of social communication

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)

Language as a game
Language and his rules is a autonomus product

Theories of social communication

Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009):

language is a main means/ medium of learning culture by
indywiduum
language is a main factor of culture system
kinship is a system of social communication
women as a signs of kinship system [marriage system]
the important role of myths in social communications

Theories of social communication

Roland Barthes (1915-1980):
denotation of sign/ symbol: clear, universal (in given culture)
relation between object [e.g. boquet of roses] and symbol
[love]
konotation of sign/ symbol: normative relation between
object [e.g. donkey] and symbol [stubbornness - in polish
culture]

Theories of social communication

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)
The medium is a message, 1964
McLuhans approach makes media and technology more
or less synonymous terms), are extensions of some physical,
social, psychological, or intellectual function of humans
the wheel extends our feet, the phone extends our voice,
television extends our eyes and ears, the computer extends
our brain, and electronic media, in general, extend our central
nervous system

Theories of social communication

Richard Harvey Brown
Society as Text (1987)
Social reality is a lanuage construction [symbolic realism]
Deconstruction of assumptions, ideology hidden by the
imaginations of social world
David Harvey
culture/ social communication is dominated by market
economy (1898)

Theories of social communication

Jean Baudrillard
the mass media destructive influence on culture (1972)
signs/ symbols are not refering to social reality
signs/ symbols are refering to themselves
simulacra: copies without real originals
Disneyland, advertisements,

The process of communication

The idea
becomes
a
message
The
message
is transmitted

The
sender
has an
idea

The
receiver
reacts and
sends
feedback

The
receiver
gets the
message

The process of communication

Harold Lasswellmodel, 1948

Who?
The
sender

What?
The
content

How?
What
medium

For
whom?
receivers

What
efects?

The process of communication

Roman Jakobson model, 1960

*Context
*Message
The
receiver

The
sender

*Contact
*Code

The process of communication

Roman Jakobson model, 1960
Functions of elements:
*cognitive
*poetique

*conative

*emotional

(imperative)

methalanguage
function

The process of communication

Roman Jakobson model, 1960
Any given message do not include all the meanings!
if the communication is focused on the context the cognitive function is
dominating [description of sth]
if the communication is focused on the sender - the emotional function is
dominating [its very important!]
if the communication is focused on the receiver - the imperative function
is dominating [do you hear me?]
if the communication is focused on the message - the petique function is
dominating [message as a value itself]
if the communication is focused on the the contact - the methalanguage
function is dominating [how do you do?, whats the nice weather!]

The process of communication

Paul Grice (1913-1988)
maxims of good conversation:
quantity,
quality,
relevance,
manner

Communication Barriers

Hostile, competitive or agressive attitudes

Ignorance of personal differences
Information overload
Lack of feedback
Lack of trust
Prejudice or bias
Tendency not to listen
Emotional reactions

The shaping power of language:

language is not a neutral means
sexist language: promoting gender-related stereotypes
term like a policeman, fireman are implying that these occupations
can be filled only by males
police officers, firefighters

language can transmit stereotypes related to race

positive associations with the adjective white (good, innocent)
negative associations with the adjective black (black cat bad fortune;
evil, hell)

A cultures most important norms, values and sanctions

are communicated to people through language.

Persuasive character
of social communication
John L. Austin (1911-1960)
speech act theory
speech as performance: every speaking act is a kind of
reality construction

how to do things with words

propaganda
demagogy
advertisement et ceatera

Persuasive or violent character

of social communication
Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)
Bourdieu sees symbolic capital (e.g., prestige,
honor, attention) as a crucial source of power
symbolic violence is fundamentally the imposition of categories of
thought and perception upon dominated social agents who then take the
social order to be just
symbolic violence is in some senses much more powerful than physical
violence in that it is embedded in the very modes of action and structures
of cognition of individuals, and imposes the spectre of legitimacy of the
social order

symbolic violence of social communication

Persuasive or violent character

of social communication
Michel Foucault (1926-1984)
theory of discourse: the vision of the social order
power relationships are expressed through language and
behavior, and the relationship between language and power
how figures in authority use language to express their
dominance, and request obedience and respect from those
subordinate to them (e.g. military officers towards conscripts)
some discourses are dominating [e.g. patrymonial, liberal in
economic sense] others are marginalised and subjugated
[e.g. feministic, ecologists]

Virtual reality
advantages and disadvantages
Advantages

unlimitted access to whole information

easy/ free contact with others people
virtual communities

Virtual reality
advantages and disadvantages
Disadvantages

social sanctions: I like it or I hate it

child and pornography
cybernetic addiction
dishumanization of social life/ social interactions
cybernetic violence/ abbuse
virtual surveillance
global criminality/ terrorism

Social communication

Thank you for your attention