COMMUNICATION THEORIES

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY: The psychological turmoil that occurs from holding two
conflicting or incompatible ideas or attitudes is known as cognitive dissonance. For instance,
one might admire someone yet dislike their habits. According to the theory, people seek
equilibrium in their views. To minimize dissonance, people will either avoid hearing conflicting
perspectives or adjust their beliefs to fit their behaviors.

AGENDA SETTING THEORY: News organizations determine what is considered newsworthy by

determining how much attention and curiosity a news item or an issue receive. The word
"salience transfer" refers to the media's capacity to convey its agendas to the general populace.

COMMUNICATION ADAPTATION THEORY: When people adapt or change their communication

methods and style to adapt to others, this is known as Communication Accommodation Theory.
Divergence and convergence are two approaches to changing verbal and nonverbal styles.
Divergence is a technique for emphasizing group identification by emphasizing the group's
disparities. Divergence is frequently employed by ethnic or racial pride organizations.
Convergence, which focuses on matching the communication patterns of the person with
whom they are communicating, is more commonly adopted by powerless persons for social
approval.

Cultivation Theory: Media influences a person's perception of reality. Because many people
obtain knowledge through mediated sources rather than direct experience, these sources
shape their worldview. Cultivation Theory, for example, says that heavy television watchers
perceive the world to be more violent than it actually is.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY: People learn from one other by observing, copying, and modeling
the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. The social learning hypothesis
describes how the ongoing reciprocal interplay and interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and
environmental variables may affect human behavior.