Action Theory and Communication Research

Recent Developments in Europe. (Mouton Textbook)

Karsten Renckstorf, Denis McQuail, Judith E. Rosenbaum, Gabi Schaap, Karsten Renckstorf, Denis McQuail, Judith E. Rosenbaum, Gabi Schaap

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9783110180800
• eBook ISBN: 9783110197389
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The action theoretical approach has already proved its value as a framework for communication research, most especially in the study of media audiences and media use. It has deep roots in Weberian sociology, symbolic interactionism and phenomenology and it has been a robust survivor of the various storms that have beset the practice of the social sciences since the collapse of structuralist and social system paradigms.

The social action approach privileges the perspective of the acting individual but offers guidelines for connecting the subjective orientation with networks of social interaction and for treating 'behaviour' as a social process. Research within this framework takes account of the wider social context and calls for a careful combination of empirical observation and interpretation, with a corresponding diversity of methodologies. The appeal of the approach stems also from its flexibility, wide range of applications and sensitivity to cultural and social meanings.

The contributions assembled in this book, despite their diversity, can all be placed within the framework of social action theory. Some are reports of empirical inquiries, others reflections on theory but each one sheds some light on the significance of media use in everyday experience and contributes to an understanding of communication in society.

Table of contents

• Frontmatter
• Contents
• 1 Action theory and communication research: An introduction
• 2 Action theory as part of social science
• 3 With more hindsight: Conceptual problems and some ways forward for media use research
• 4 The ‘media use as social action’ approach: Theory, methodology, and research evidence so far
• 5 The foundation of communication and action in consciousness: Confronting action theory with systems theoretical arguments
• 6 Media communication and social interaction: Perspectives on action theory based reception research
• 7 Using protocol analysis in television news research: Proposal and first tests
• 8 Reconceptualizing media literacy
• 9 Elderly people’s media use in the context of personal meaning
• 10 ‘Para-social interaction’: Social interaction as a matter of fact?
• 11 Action theoretical approaches in organizational communication
• 12 Media use as an adaptation or coping tool in prison
• 13 Juxtaposing direct experience with media experience: Does reality really matter?
• 14 The home as a multimedia environment: Families’ conception of space and the introduction of information and communication technologies in the home
• 15 Patterns in television news use
• 16 Do well-balanced exemplars in news stories provide food for thought?
• 17 Between altruism and narcissism: An action theoretical approach of personal homepages devoted to existential meaning
• 18 Ownership and use of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media among ethnic minority youth in The Netherlands. The role of the ethno-cultural position
• 19 The stereotypical portrayal of Germans and its effects on a Dutch audience
• 20 Occupational practices of Dutch journalists in a television newsroom
• Backmatter