Accommodation for Effective Communication: Practical Insights From CAT

• In Event: Back to Reality: Generating Theory-Based Practical Insights for Improving Intergroup Communication

Abstract

Communication accommodation theory (CAT) is an intergroup framework that explains and predicts how people adjust their communication for each other in interaction, and what consequences follow from this. One of CAT’s most important observations is that people use communication not just to exchange information, but also to manage their identity and social relationships—which can lead to communicative choices capable of either enabling or impeding positive interactions between members of different social groups. Building on recent work proposing that CAT could be seen as a theory of communication competence (Pitts & Harwood, 2015), this presentation discusses how CAT’s principles can be used to help scholars and practitioners construct messages that help them achieve their goals (i.e., be effective) in different contexts.

Author

• Jessica Gasiorek, U of Hawaii - Manoa