ROBERT CRAIG'S SEVEN TRADITIONS OF COMMUNICATION THEORY
The communication is quite a complicated process which has many particles, many variables, and many
parts which we have to consider. Let's now focus on the communication theory itself and to talk about
Robert Craig's seven traditions of communication theory. He starts with the notion that many, many
definitions of communication exist.
Craig divides seven traditions:
1) cybernetic,
2) socio-psychological,
3) socio-cultural,
4) critical,
5) rhetorical,
6) phenomenological,
7) semiotic.
Cybernetic tradition is communication as a sort of information process. So here, we focus on the
system, we focus at individuals or organizations and the channels which are used in order to transmit the
message. Communication within this tradition is always goal-oriented. And the sender has an initial goal
before he creates the message and utilizes particular communication channel to transmit it or send it. Still,
what is received by the receiver and decoded initially is different from the sender's message.
Socio-psychological tradition sees communication as interpersonal interaction. It lies under this
umbrella of behavioural approach, focusing on stimuli and reaction. So here, we speak about cause and
effect relationships within the communicative process. It's all about expression, interaction, and
influence. It originates in psychology and sociology, it tends to be quite objective. And the theorists from
the socio-psychological tradition are quite objective.
Socio-cultural tradition sees communication as symbolic process in reproduction or production of social
order. It's all about context, culture, and social practices. So, if we were focusing in the previous tradition
at the level of an individual or a group in the way how would they respond to the different stimuli. Here,
we place an enormous importance on the context, and the way how the society operates itself. So, the
social practices which are our everyday routines and the way how we understand and see the world, they
are created due to the interaction. So, individuals tend to talk to each other and while they are
communicating, they create the shared meaning and the shared understanding on what the world is and
what this particular situation is.
Language and ideology are two main focuses of the critical tradition, as scholars believe that the group
who controls the language can actually be dominant within the given society. Ideology for critical scholars
is very important, as it's embedded and that it also reproduces through the different tools and through the
different forms of media. That's why critical scholars are focusing on media itself as mass form of
communication which transmits the ideology to the broader publics. And after all, this ideology through
media becomes a part of the overall discourse.
When you come to the public presentations, you use all your public speaking. This is rhetorical tradition,
and it originates in ancient Greece as we know that the most of the important steps and
important suggestions on the way how to structure your public speech were developed. It's all about
rhetoric, and the way how we can influence through verbal and nonverbal communication.
The phenomenological tradition, says that communication process can be seen and perceived
differently by different people. So, communication as experience of self and others through the dialog is
a key focus of this tradition. We consider stem points and perceptions of different people in different
situations within the given context. So, if we try to understand how the minority group, understand the
reality and how do they conduct their communication? We would better understand the consequences of
side interactions.
Phenomenological traditions questioning rhetoric and semiotics. As the signs and symbols can be seen
differently by people with different backgrounds and rhetoric as the art of public speaking
