Question and Answer
1. Key Concepts of Symbolic Interactionism According to Meads
The main concepts in Mead’s symbolic interactionism theory are the a) self, b) mind, and society, d) I and, e) me. The self and mind are directly related, because a ‘self’ is needed to accommodate the mind, in the same way that a ‘mind’ is required to think about one’s self. Consequently, both the mind and self are needed to be able to integrate in the society. Moreover, the mind and self are highly influenced by the elements that exist in the society. In addition to the self, mind and society, Meads also included the concept of me and I which are the two components of ‘self’.
2. Altman and Taylor’s Social Penetration Theory
Two of the terms used to explain how the human personality is explored through self-disclosure are: a) orientation of interaction, and b) exploratory affective change. The orientation of interaction refers to the stage when one starts to make a minimal part of themselves known to others. An example of this initial stage is when one interacts with others in a public setting, such that they will only be able to open up a little about themselves to others. The exploratory affective change refers to the stage when an individual decided to let his or her guard down to get to know others better. This is demonstrated when two people started to exchange more personal information about each other.
3. Baxter and Montgomery Relational Dialectics
This concept explains the occurrence of relationship tension in an instance when people who were considerably different from each other decided to commit in a relationship. Relationship tension can be internal and external; the internal tension arises from factors within the relationship, such as personality differences. On the other hand, external tensions are the outside factors that affect the relationship, such as the type of neighborhood where the couple resides.
This theory explains the how computer-assisted interaction is used by people to create interpersonal assumptions and to encourage relational communication in a computerized environment. The interaction and information processing may take place within a considerable time before the parties will be able to achieve a mutual level of interrelationship development. The challenge presented in this theory is the assumption that the communicators must be able to pass through the difficulty of communicating without nonverbal cues.
In reference to the six criteria of evaluation, the Social Information Theory is consistent with the comprehensive theory which posits about the breadth of explanation about different phenomena. The social information theory provides a viewpoint about the assumptions underlying the online interactions. Moreover, the SIPT can also be considered to adhere to the parsimony, and heuristic because the SIPT is simple enough to understand and devoid of complex assumptions. In addition to that, this theory is also in line with the heuristic value as it allows people to generate further thoughts about its importance, especially so during this time of high use of technology in communication.
However, the SIPT appears not to adhere to the other concept of viable theory because the theory is not yet fully tested for precision and testability. It has not yet achieved the level where it can withstand scrutiny by other theories and scientific analysis. Moreover, the SIPT has to be tested for its applied value; that is, it is remains to be a challenge to appreciate its value by just looking into the assumption presented through this theory.
