Jessica LeMire
COM 661
October 1, 2014
Theoretical Paper Proposal
Ever since delving deeper into the theory during Dr. Weber’s interpersonal communication seminar, I have been fascinated with the theory of constructionism. Clearly, my enthrallment stems from my roots as a psychology scholar during my days as an undergraduate. Because of my background in psychology, naturally, I enjoy studying cognitive processing. For me, exploring constructionism satisfies the thirst for both of my passions: communication and psychology.
“Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” This unpretentious avowal, by an unknown author, exemplifies the most basic claim of constructivism which contends that thoughts play a significant effect on people’s actions. Stated differently, constructivism theorists examines how cognitive processes influence communicative behavior.
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“The primary task for a constructivist theory of social communication is to provide an explication of behavior in terms of shared knowledge, the linguist system, and the individual interpretative processes by which the perspective of the group or other is represented as part of each interactant’s cognitive organization of the social event” (Delia, 1977). In other words, constructionism explains how individuals interpret the social world and how the interpretation influences communicative behavior. It draws attention to a link between cognitive complexity and skillful