Chantika Putri Cahya Islami

E021231016
Core Theory of Communication

1. Expectancy Violations Theory

The Expectancy Violations Theory by Burgoon focuses on how human react
when a communicative norms violated happened, especially through nonverbal messages.
The meaning of “violation” here means the violation of our each expectation. Every
human has their own expectation, all the expectation can be different depends of three
things such as Individual communicator factors,Relational Factors, and context factor. It
related on how people react whether in a positive or negative way. If the violated
happened beyond the expectation it would be positive and vice versa. Beside that, the
expentancy can also be seen as a strategy of communication. It just can’t be seen that
naturally happened.

For example , I have a friend who recently moved to my school. I formed certain
pre-interactional expectations about her. For instance, I assumed she wouldn’t be a fun
person to be friends with because someone mentioned she is from Japan and her father
holds a significant position in a big company in Indonesia. These assumptions shaped my
initial expectations about her behavior and personality. One day, I observed her
interacting with others. To my surprise, she was laughing, engaging in friendly
conversations, and even joking around with the group. Her behavior violated my initial
expectations in a positive way, as I had assumed she would be rigid and formal due to her
background. This unexpected behavior made me reevaluate my perception of her, and I
began to see her as approachable and fun to be around. According to EVT, this situation
reflects how expectancy violations can lead to either positive or negative evaluations,
depending on how the behavior is perceived. In this case, her actions were perceived
positively, prompting me to reconsider and improve my attitude toward her.
2. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
This theory simply explains about how people have experience of "Dissonance".
Dissonance refers to an uncomfortable feeling that arises from a mismatch between one's
beliefs and actions. Dissonance is created by psychological inconsistencies. people do not
enjoy being in a state of dissonance . So that the people will attend to reach consistency
by changing one of it. Wheter to change your belief or change your action so it can match
the belief and trust.

It can be seen when Chyntia loves to learn languages. She believes that studying
literature would make her happier. However, when she got into university, she chose
communication studies because of better job opportunities, even though she didn’t feel
comfortable or confident there. In the end, it was her choice, so she decided to fit in and
try to live happily. She made friends and convinced herself that she could still learn
languages outside the university. In this case, she chose to change her belief rather than
her actions. For example, if she wanted, Chyntia could have switched to studying
literature. But instead, she adjusted her principles and beliefs to feel “consistent” and
avoid the discomfort of dissonance.
3. Uncertainty Reduction Theory
The Uncertainty Reduction Theory focuses on reducing uncertainty about another
person by seeking information and engaging in interpersonal communication to build
confidence, understanding and comfort. People tend to have predictions, expectations, or
even nervousness before meeting someone for the first time. This is called uncertainty
because we don’t actually know the reality of the person. When we meet, people might
also be unsure about how the other person thinks and behaves. To reduce this uncertainty,
they might start a small conversation and ask questions to gather information, such as
“How is your day?” or “Is that your sister?” Interpersonal communication occurs in
stages and improves over time. People might become more at ease or even distance
themselves after forming a clearer perception of the other person’s traits and thoughts.

Consider the case of Axel, who has a crush on Sendy. Instead of talking to her
directly, Axel talks to her friend and asks questions like “What’s her favorite thing to do?”
or “What places does she like to go?” as a way of seeking information and reducing the
uncertainty about whether his presence would be accepted. Once he gathers this
information, Axel starts talking to her and looks for similarities. As their communication
progresses, non-verbal expressions from Sendy, such as smiling, eye contact, or even
laughter, help reduce Axel’s uncertainty about her feelings. The level of intimacy
increases, and Sendy becomes more open, with the quantity and quality of the
information shared improving since their first interaction. Eventually, Axel creates a
sense of comfort in their interaction.
4. Social Information Processing Theory
Social Information Processing Theory explains how individuals can establish
online relationships through Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and Social
Networking Sites (SNS). This theory highlights the significant role of CMC in supporting
relational growth between individuals. Although it may take more time, CMC provides a
space to develop, maintain, and engage in interpersonal relationships. Even without
nonverbal communication, these unique opportunities can be as meaningful as, or even
greater than, face-to-face communication. Through CMC, people can experience
happiness, social support, jealousy, love, and other emotions similar to those found in
face-to-face interactions. The theory also states that individuals tend to present
themselves strategically. They might portray their true selves or manage impressions to
conceal certain aspects of their identity.

For instance, Tia enjoys using a random chat application where she can connect
with new people. In this app, she doesn’t need to reveal her real identity. When Tia has a
bad day or feels the need to share her thoughts, she opens the app to find someone to talk
to, often forming connections with people from faraway places. Over time, she and her
online friends exchange personal stories and opinions, gradually becoming closer. Tia
feels more comfortable expressing her feelings and opinions in this environment
compared to face-to-face communication because she can take her time to craft her
messages and share only what she feels safe sharing. This shows how CMC, with its
anonymity and flexibility, provides a safe space for people like Tia to form meaningful
relationships. Without nonverbal cues, Tia can focus more on verbal communication,
making her conversations clearer and deeper. Digital platforms can meet emotional and
social needs, often in ways that face-to-face interactions cannot.
5. Groupthink
Groupthink is a phenomenon or condition where a group of people prioritizes
cohesiveness and harmony, often at the expense of considering complex factors that
could impact the quality of their decisions. Cohesiveness refers to a cultural value that
emphasizes the needs of the group over individual needs. In this situation, the group tends
to stick to a single belief, avoids giving unpopular opinions, ignores alternative options,
and makes premature decisions. All of this happens to avoid conflict and maintain
harmony within the group.
Nad is a member of the finance division for a large concert event. With only a few
weeks remaining, the organization decided to quickly set up a café bazaar as part of their
fundraising efforts. During a full team meeting about the event, the chairperson primarily
focused on the concert’s concept and security management for the event day. Nad
believed the bazaar also needed urgent attention, as its preparation and promotion were
severely lacking. However, she felt that expressing this might seem subjective or disrupt
the meeting's flow. To avoid conflict and help the meeting conclude quickly, she chose to
stay silent. On the day of the bazaar, numerous issues arose due to poor preparation,
including logistical chaos and financial mismanagement. These mistakes resulted in
significant losses and penalties, which ultimately impacted the concert's budget. This
example illustrates how groupthink can lead to poor decision-making. The group's strong
desire for unity and quick agreement discouraged Nad from sharing her concerns, even
though her input could have addressed critical issues. By prioritizing harmony over
thorough discussion, the organization failed to identify and resolve key problems, leading
to preventable setbacks.
6. Structuration Theory
Structuration Theory views social institutions within organizations as a set of
rules and resources that can be created, reproduced, and transformed by members of the
organization depending on the situation. This theory explains that structures provide
guidelines and tools to achieve consistent behaviors within a group or organization, often
referred to as a “system.” These systems are formed through the application of structures
in real practices, such as decision-making processes or group communication. The theory
also emphasizes that structures not only guide but also enable the achievement of
organizational goals. In other words, organizations gain "life" from the way their
members utilize and modify these structures. Through daily interactions, members
contribute to either reinforcing or transforming the structures, ultimately shaping the
organization's practices and behaviors as a whole.
For instance, Key had just joined her first college organization and quickly
realized that the system there was different from what she had experienced in high school.
To implement a program, there was a lengthy process with several approval stages, from
division heads to central management. At first, Key tried to accept the rules, but she felt
the process was inefficient and slowed down program execution. As explained by
Structuration Theory, organizational structures are not entirely rigid. In some meetings,
Key began proposing ideas to speed up the process, such as using a digital approval
system. Some members supported her, while others were comfortable with the old way.
Through this experience, Key realized that structures, although seemingly limiting, are
the result of collective actions and can change over time if there is enough support for
improvement.
7. Organizational Informatin Theory
Organizational Information Theory focuses on how organizations solve or
manage ambiguous and complicated information. Human organizations depend on
information to achieve their goals effectively. Information might be overwhelmed from
differet sources. The difficulty of understanding information can vary depending on its
equivocality( organizational messages that unpredictable or ambiguous). So that the
Experienced members process this information and try to make sense of it. They use
several principles when dealing with equivocality. An organization must analyze the
relationship among the equivocality of information, the rules the organization has for
removing the equivocality, and the cycles of communication that should be used.
An organization that holds a campus festival tour every year faced challenges due
to changes in the curriculum at each campus. Many members were confused about task
assignments, what needed to be done, and how the event would be carried out. To address
this, the organization began applying the principles of Organizational Information Theory
(OIT) to ensure that important information was received and understood clearly by all
members, reducing uncertainty, and improving the efficiency of the event.With OIT, the
organization filtered relevant information and shared it according to each member’s role.
They also used various communication channels, such as email and WhatsApp groups, to
ensure that all information was conveyed clearly and on time. This approach helped
reduce confusion and improve coordination, allowing the event to run more smoothly.
8. The Rhetoric
Rhetoric is seen as Aristotle’s way of explaining the art of speaking. What I mean
by the art of speaking is how public speakers can persuade the audience to take action,
listen, and sympathize with the topic being presented. Aristotle recommended that
speakers work beyond their initial instincts when attempting to persuade others. They
need to consider all aspects of crafting a speech, including their audience. Public speakers
need to be effective while delivering a speech. We should consider audience analysis as a
process to improve our speaking. We also need to make our speech trustworthy.
One senior high school is considered the best because it has many good rules in
place. It appears strict and helps build its students. However, the school also has a
principal who always emphasizes the importance of public speaking. After every prayer,
there is always a delivery of information or a reminder about the rules that have been set.
A student remembers how the principal explained to a 7-year-old child about the
importance of throwing trash away. It may sound simple, but the principal’s rhetorical
delivery made some students realize that they were no better than a 7-year-old in terms of
basic behavior.
9. Uses and Gratifications Theory
This theory explains that the audience actively chooses which media to use based
on their preferences and personal goals to fulfill their needs and wants. Researchers in
this theory focus on understanding what people do with media, rather than how media
influences them passively. The influence of media is now minimized by personal factors
(such as intelligence or self-esteem) and social affiliations (such as political groups).
Media compete with other sources to satisfy people's needs. Uses and Gratifications
theorists argue that because it is individual audience members who decide to use certain
content for certain ends, the value of media content can be assessed only by the audience.
Patricia is learning Chinese and feels that the best way to improve her skills is by
using the language in real-life situations. To achieve this, she actively looks for
opportunities to hear the language being spoken. One evening, she decides to watch a
Chinese-language TV show that features native speakers discussing everyday topics. By
listening closely, Patricia hopes to better understand the flow of conversation and
improve her pronunciation. She chose this medium over others, such as language learning
apps, because she believes that listening to native speakers in a natural context will
provide more realistic exposure to the language.According to Uses and Gratifications
Theory, Patricia actively selects media that meets her personal needs and goals. She is not
a passive consumer; instead, she chooses the TV show to fulfill her need to improve her
Chinese language skills. This decision shows how people use media purposefully,
selecting content that will help them achieve specific objectives, such as improving their
speaking ability in a foreign language.
10. Cultivation Theory
The cultivation theory by Gerbner believed that the violence showed in media
specially television have a big impact on the social reality. People tends to believe all the
thing that showed in the television is the same with the reality making them sense of the
world as a violent place. Television draws together dissimilar groups and can make them
forget their differences for a time by providing them with a common experience. The
repetitive pattern of television’s mass-produced messages and images forms the
mainstream of the common symbolic environment that cultivates the most widely shared
conceptions of reality. By mainstreaming (viewers see a similar pictured of culture in the
media) and resonance (viewer see what showed in the media is somehow similar with the
reality) , product effects on two level, The first one is when they pervasive the
information from media and the second effect is when they start to make hypotheses
about more general issues and assumptions abut the information they just got.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the media played a big role in shaping how
people saw the situation. Constant news about deaths, struggles in hospitals, and the
spread of the virus made many feel scared and uncertain. This nonstop reporting created
an atmosphere of fear, leading to behaviors like panic buying, staying away from others,
and feeling stressed. By repeatedly showing a world filled with anxiety, the media
influenced how people thought and acted, showing how watching the news for a long
time can change how we view and react to big events.
11. Muted Group Theory
Muted Group Theory explains a moment where some language can only be
understood and used by those who are related to it. Most of the theory focuses on how
females, such as single mothers or low-income individuals, are not allowed to express
their own voice or opinion. The language of a particular culture does not serve all
speakers equally. Members of subordinated groups are not as free or able as men to say
what they wish, when and where they wish, because the words and norms for their use
have been formulated by the dominant group. MGT argues that any speaker would be
inarticulate if there were no words in their language to describe their thoughts.
In the context of Muted Group Theory (MGT), a stay-at-home mother working as
an online seller faces linguistic challenges in expressing the complexity of her daily work.
When her husband returns home and complains about dinner not being to his liking, he
disregards the multifaceted tasks she has undertaken throughout the day managing online
sales, handling household chores, caring for their children, and maintaining the emotional
and physical infrastructure of their home. Her difficulty in articulating her exhaustion and
the complexity of her work stems directly from MGT's core premise that language is not
neutral but tends to reflect the perspective of dominant groups. In this case, the existing
language, often shaped by men, fails to fully capture women's experiences. Consequently,
domestic work and a mother's responsibilities are often oversimplified as merely "taking
care of the family," ignoring the hard work and meaningful labor that lie behind it.