Also see: How to get copies of the text (for students), Information for Instructors.

Em, Andrew, and Glenn describe changes in the 11th edition.

Major Changes

• In response to instructor feedback, the 11th edition features three new theory chapters:
• Family communication patterns theory (Ascan Koener & Mary Anne Fitzpatrick) explains and predicts how family-of-origin communication shapes outcomes throughout a person’s life.
• Afrocentricity (Molefi Kete Asante) rejects the dominance of Eurocentrism in communication theory, giving voice to the perspective of Africans and members of the African diaspora. We are grateful for Theon Hill’s (Wheaton College) work in writing this chapter.
• Context collapse (danah boyd and Alice Marwick) describes how the affordances of technology (particularly social media) flatten multiple audiences into one, making it more difficult to perform identity in an acceptable way.
• This edition features a significant restructuring of the chapters. We now group social scientific theories of persuasion with theories of public rhetoric, placing them in a division titled “Social Influence.”
• We’ve also swapped the order of the final two divisions, addressing cultural context prior to mass communication. This arranges the book in a rough order from contexts focusing on small numbers of people (interpersonal communication often includes just two) to larger numbers of people (many forms of mediated communication address people across the globe).
• The first chapter, Launching Your Study, has been restructured to first define communication and then define theory. We think this revision will stimulate students’ interest in learning more about communication.
• The second chapter bears the more descriptive title Objective and Interpretive Approaches to Communication Theory. The chapter features analysis of “Upstream,” a popular Super Bowl ad. The insights of Travis Dixon (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Kristina Scharp (University of Washington) reveal how objective and interpretive scholars differ in their approaches.
• Relational dialectics theory has been significantly revised and simplified with the aim of providing students with an accessible introduction to the theory.
• Media multiplexity theory has been restructured around recent research that clarifies the five core propositions of the theory, and now includes an ethical reflection on Sherry Turkle’s reclaiming conversation.
• Narrative paradigm focuses on how the theory provides insight into Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, an event that captured the attention of the nation.
• Cultural approach to organizations has been reworked with several new examples, including a transgender women’s center, flight attendants, and online work during COVID-19.
• Communicative constitution of organizations has been heavily revised by special consultant Kate Cooper (DePaul University), including several new examples focusing on nonprofit organizations.
• Critical theory of communication in organizations has been revised by Kate Cooper (DePaul University) for student clarity, highlighting the British royal family, the #MeToo movement, and corporate influence over work life during COVID-19.
• Co-cultural theory adds cutting-edge research on dominant group theory, which addresses how privileged members of society respond to co-cultural group communication practices.
• Feminist standpoint theory is now properly situated as a feminist theory, and includes examples drawn heavily from Shardé Davis’ research on the strong Black woman collective. The chapter also introduces a new ethical reflection on Miranda Fricker’s epistemic justice.
• Semiotics is now illustrated by the symbolic meaning of COVID-19 masks and the act of taking a knee, both current and powerful examples of semiotics in action.
• Cultural studies has been significantly revised to demonstrate Hall’s claim that media producers encode the dominant ideology, as well as the ways consumers decode those messages. This process is illustrated by Hall’s extensive study of the press-created panic of being “mugged.”
• Cultivation theory has been updated in light of technological changes, particularly the shift toward streaming video content.

Summary of other Changes to the Text

• Uncertainty reduction theory introduces students to three current-day approaches to studying uncertainty in interpersonal relationships.
• Social information processing theory’s revised critique section considers the applicability of the theory in our age of multimodality.
• Social judgment theory offers a fresh example of a college student trying to persuade her father regarding climate change.
• Elaboration likelihood model includes texting and driving as an ongoing example.
• Dramatism features an updated example from President Trump’s rhetoric during the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
• Symbolic convergence theory includes new research on fantasy themes among schoolteachers.
• Muted group theory features a revised section on “Men as the Gatekeepers of Communication Media,” which focuses on the presentation of race and gender in Marvel movies, bias against women in online spaces, and algorithmic oppression in the design of search engines.
• Examples have been revised throughout the text to provide students with diverse, vivid, and contemporary depictions of communication theory.
• The book’s cartoons have been vetted and updated, considering both relevance and representation.
• To make room for the new chapters on family communication patterns theory, Afrocentricity, and context collapse, the chapters on Pearce and Cronen’s coordinated management of meaning and Tannen’s genderlect styles have been moved to the Archives on this site.

Detailed description of other Changes

To help instructors who have taught with the 10th edition adjust their course, we’ve outlined the chapter-by-chapter changes in the 11th edition. The list can also help students who have opted to purchase the 10th edition identify sections that they otherwise might miss. These notes will be found in the “Changes” option in Theory Resources, which is available to all users.

Chnages to the Website

The 10th Edition brought a new look to the site. For the 11th Edition we have given greater attention to resources for instructors, rearranging menu options, adding more links, and making some options available in more places to reduce hunting for them. We have also made numerous tweaks to improve use of the site, some specific to the 11th Edition, others for all editions, and we have modified font styles to increase readability—some text was too small and appeared too faint (especially for those with older eyes!).

These notes will be found in the “Changes” option in Theory Resources, which is available to all users.

Also see: How to get copies of the text (for students), Information for Instructors.

updated June 21, 2022