Introduction to Communication Theory COMM 230 - Resource Guide

In 1975 communications researchers Charles Berger and Richard Calebrese developed the uncertainty reduction theory (URT). Their objective was to understand how two individuals communicate with each other during an initial encounter.

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Relational dialectics is a concept related to communication in interpersonal relationships. Originating in the late 1980s, this concept identifies and examines patterns that form in relationships because of conflicting needs and desires.

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Social exchange theory contends that social behavior results from a process of exchange based on maximizing personal benefits and minimizing personal disadvantages. Individuals weigh the rewards against the costs to select the most beneficial social relationships in which to engage, according to the theory.

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Communication scholars use communication privacy management theory to explain when and why individuals reveal private information about themselves. Many scholars are conducting studies about communication privacy management as it applies to social media

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In 1973 psychologists Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor were interested in discovering how individuals become psychologically closer to each other. They believed that self-disclosure was the key to deepening interpersonal relationships, and that such relationships progressed through stages of "penetration" towards each person's inner self.

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SIP theory focuses on how people get to know each other and how relationships develop when the method of communication is via computer-mediated communication (CMC), i.e., email, instant messaging, text messaging, etc.

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