Week
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Topics
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Readings
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Key Concepts
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1 (9/3)
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Introduction
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2 (9/10)
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What is a theory?
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Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2021). Theories of human communication. Waveland press. (Chap 2: The idea of theories)
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What is a theory and how to evaluate a theory?
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3 (9/17)
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Agenda-setting & Priming
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- Althaus, S, & Tewksbury, D. (2002) Agenda setting and the “new” news: Patterns of issue importance among readers of the paper and online versions of the New York Times. Communication Research, 29, 180-207.
- Krosnick, J. A. and Kinder, D. R. (1990). Altering the foundations of support for the president through priming. American Political Science Review, 84, 497-512.
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Different levels of agenda-setting theory
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4 (9/24)
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Framing
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Scheufele, D. A. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication, 49, 103-122.
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Comparing framing with agenda-setting and priming
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5 (10/1)
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Information processing/ Mental models
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Petty, R. E., & Briñol, P. (2011). The elaboration likelihood model. Handbook of theories of social psychology, 1, 224-245.
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Elaboration Likelihood Model
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6 (10/8)
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Motivated reasoning
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- Kunda, Z. (1990). The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological bulletin, 108(3), 480.
- Kraft, P. W., Lodge, M., & Taber, C. S. (2015). Why people “don’t trust the evidence” motivated reasoning and scientific beliefs. The ANNALS of the American Academy of political and social science, 658(1), 121-133.
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Exploring topic: Is correction an effective approach to reducing the impact of false information?
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7(10/15)
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Deliberation/ Discussion
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Scheufele, D. A. (2000). Talk or conversation? Dimensions of interpersonal discussion and their implications for participatory democracy. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(4), 727-743.
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Understanding the concepts of deliberation, discussion, and heterogeneous talk
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8 (10/22)
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Communication mediation model
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Cho, J., Shah, D. V., McLeod, J. M., McLeod, D. M., Scholl, R. M., & Gotlieb, M. R. (2009). Campaigns, reflection, and deliberation: Advancing an OSROR model of communication effects. Communication theory, 19(1), 66-88.
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OSOR model and OSROR model as an extension of the communication mediation model
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9 (10/29)
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Guest lecture + final paper idea presentation
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Prof. Hsuan-Ting Chen, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Current research
- Online political expression
- Selective Exposure
- Cross-Cutting Exposure
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Online
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10 (11/5)
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Social capital
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Gil de Zúñiga, H. & Valenzuela, S. (2010.) Weak Ties, and Civic Engagement: The Mediating Path to a Stronger Citizenship: Online and Offline Networks. Communication Research, 20, p. 1-25.
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Two types of social capital and links
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11 (11/12)
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Cultivation
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Dudo, A., Brossard, D., Shanahan, J., Scheufele, D. A., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (2011). Science on television in the 21st century: Recent trends in portrayals and their contributions to public attitudes toward science. Communication Research, 38(6), 754-777.
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Where is our impression of the social actors from?
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12 (11/19)
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Self-efficacy
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Tabernero, C., & Hernández, B. (2011). Self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation guiding environmental behavior. Environment and Behavior, 43(5), 658-675.
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Social cognition theory
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13 (11/26)
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Theories about emotions
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Witte, K. (1992). Putting the fear back into fear appeals: The extended parallel process model. Communications Monographs, 59(4), 329-349.
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EPPM, Affect heuristic
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14 (12/3)
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Final poster presentation
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15 (12/10)
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Final poster presentation
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16 (12/17)
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Final paper due
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Due on Moodle by 5:00 pm
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- Attendance, 10%
- Class participation, 10%
- Discussion leading, 40%
Class participants will select a topic and serve as discussion leaders for a week of their choice. This is assignment is designed to be a collaborative group activity. The readings outlined in the weekly schedule represent the foundational works in their respective fields. However, as discussion leaders, it is expected that you supplement these seminal readings with at least two more recent and relevant studies. These additional studies should be shared with the class one week prior to the presentation.
- Final paper, 40% (Late submission will not be considered)
The key capstone of this course will be a theoretical paper, which is comprehensive literature review. The theoretical paper focuses solely on the exploration of a research topic through an in-depth examination of existing literature, without involving any methodology. This is also a collaborative group activity. The length of the final paper is 3,000-3,500 words.
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