Decoding Convergence-Divergence: A Methodological Intervention Towards Theoretical Unification

• In Event: ICA Interactive paper/Poster Session I
  In Interactive Paper Session: Mass Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Throughout the history of communication studies, competing theories have been suggested to explain the process of decoding (namely, the interpretation or perception of a message) and in particular the phenomenon of multiple decodings to the same message. However, a basic question has not been systematically addressed – why do media audiences diverge into distinct decodings of some media messages but converge along similar understandings and evaluations of others? Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that combines cognitive, cultural and speaker-centered theories of decoding, this paper offers an analytical model to address this question. The model synthesizes the theoretical and methodological strengths of different approaches, offering a set of principles and procedures for an analysis of decoding along a convergence-divergence spectrum. I demonstrate a use of the model on a case study of audience responses to a news story about the economy, and discuss its applicability to other research programs within the discipline.

Author

• Lillian Boxman-Shabtai, Northwestern U