Communication Theories

Communication is used on a daily basis in every person’s life in almost every situation. There are many theories on communication and the way humans communicate. Three theories that relate to my life in particular are social penetration theory, social exchange theory, and uncertainty reduction theory. These theories will be discussed in this paper along with examples of them and how they appeared in my life.

The definition of social penetration is “process of bonding that moves a relationship from superficial to more intimate” (West & Turner, 2004, para. 9). This process I have used in several different instances in my life. I have always been particularly careful about what I tell people when I am first getting to know them. Most of the time this precaution has never been I bad thing but of course with almost everything to much of a good thing can be bad.

The one time that I know social penetration was not a good thing is with superiors in the work place. In the work place it is particularly hard to know what is appropriate to share and what is not. However, in my experience I have learned that it is better to keep the person information to a minimum but to share what is important and conflicts with the job. Social penetration was effective for me because I was able to get my situation across without sharing more information than necessary which could have been inappropriate. I do not think that it could have been any more effective than it already was and in the future I would look back on the experience and remember that it worked and not change a thing.

Social exchange theory “perspective argues that people calculate the overall worth of a particular relationship by subtracting its costs from the rewards” (West & Turner, 2004, para. 10). This process is often used in a business setting among people trying to go further in their jobs. Many times in this situation people will develop relationships with others to advance in their careers. Of course a professional atmosphere is not the only place that this theory is used.

The only time that I can think I used this theory is when I was nice to someone that I did not like because of being in the work place. The positive of keeping things professional outweighed the negatives of not being able to speak my mind. This form of communication was effective because I kept a professional environment. It could have been more effective if I would have never made the other person aware of the fact that I did not like them. In the future I would have weighted the pros and cons in the beginning rather than speaking before thinking.

The last theory that will be discussed is the uncertainty reduction theory. This theory is very similar to the two theories discussed above. The one difference is in this theory is that in this theory the person is reluctant to share personal things with others. In this situation the person typically has things that they do not want others to know about and so they hide things from others that they do not know.

I had this personal situation with my husband. I had a secret that I had never told anyone. I did not tell my husband this secret until we had been married for three years. This theory was relevant to my situation because I was uncertain about what he would feel if I did tell him. This form of communication actually worked because he understood why I was reluctant to say anything and he was not angry. I do not think that it could have been more effective, it worked out well. I would not have done this different because it worked out good in the end.

These three theories all describe different forms of communicate. People learn to communication in a way that works best for them. People learn to communicate and when they learn about these theories

 

References

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2004). Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application, 2e. In  McGraw Hill (Ed.), Social Penetration Theory (para 9). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader.aspx?assetMetaId=56877778-94fd-4515-8d92-ea7e9874bae8&assetDataId=a6291bba-8807-4351-9212-be140b6a5d4b&assetpdfdataid=d6c0aa04-3cdd-4a69-9ccd-b0baa6e9da35

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2004). Social Exchange Theory. In  McGraw Hill (Ed.), Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application, 2e (papa 10). : .