L. David Ritchie

Family Communication Patterns: An Epistemic Analysis and Conceptual Reinterpretation

This article addresses a recurring inconsistency in the epistemic interpretation of the Family Communication Patterns scales, widely used by mass communication researchers interested in the family. The traditional linkage to coorientation is reviewed, and a more direct interpretation is proposed, beginning with a face-valid reading of items commonly used in the scales. Results from a survey of 161 adolescents and their parents confirm that subjects associate the scales with underlying dimensions of conformity or control and openness or supportiveness. Subjects also associate objectives of interpersonal harmony with concept orientation rather than socio-orientation, as has been previously claimed. These findings provide a basis for clarifying and expanding theory and improving research methods.

Parents' Workplace Experiences and Family Communication Patterns

Data gathered from 178 parents of adolescent children are used to elucidate observed relationships between social class and family communication patterns. The results—that parents generalize from their own life experiences, particularly in the workplace—are consistent with Kohns theory of learning generalization: Conversation orientation is positively associated and conformity orientation is negatively associated with the degree of openness and autonomy in workplace communication. In this sample, the effect is stronger among women than among men.

Communication Theory and the Family

Communication is a “god” term in our society because it is viewed as a panacea for ailing human relationships. Communication has moved from the periphery to center stage as the sine qua non of family life. Communication is central to family life today because the expectations for personal relationships have changed slowly but inexorably in this century. Although many of the traditional functions of the family have been delegated to other social agencies (e.g., care of the aged, education of the children, and so forth), the nurturance function remains. And, the nurturance of family members takes place primarily through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages (Fitzpatrick & Badzinski, 1985).

X IS A JOURNEY: Embodied Simulation in Metaphor Interpretation

This essay compares simulation-based accounts of metaphor processing recently proposed by Gibbs (2006a) and Ritchie (2006), using examples of metaphors based on the metaphor vehicle “journey” from four different texts. From analysis of these different examples, it is concluded that simulation may come into play at different levels, depending on the metaphor and the context in which it is used. Further, it is suggested that the imaginative simulation of the object or action named by a metaphor vehicle, proposed by Gibbs, incorporates a partial subset of detail-level perceptual simulators. This leads to the proposal that the two models describe cognitive processes that operate at different levels or stages in the metaphor interpretation process, and that they might usefully be merged into a single more comprehensive model of embodied metaphor interpretation. The more comprehensive model provides a richer theoretical context for understanding how reuse and modification of a particular metaphor (Cameron, 2007) as well as the use of apparently different metaphors that activate similar simulations can influence comprehension, and how skilled orators can use these effects to accomplish complex communicative objectives (e.g., Blair, 2005; Obst, 2003).

The Concept of Shinyuu in Japan: A Replication of and Comparison to Cole and Bradac’s Study on U.S. Friendship

Using data collected from a total of 513 Japanese college students, this study explored relational satisfaction with shinyuu(best/close friends) in Japan and provided a crosscultural comparison to the series of studies conducted by Cole and Bradac (1996). Study 1 identified 39 words and phrases related to satisfaction with shinyuu.In Study 2, participants sorted these 39 words and phrases into groups. A multidimensional scaling analysis was used to identify three underlying dimensions: (1) light-hearted–solidarity versus serious–rational,(2) acceptance–reliability versus independent–positive,and (3) frank–supportive versus modest– selfcontrolled.These dimensions appear to align themselves on a continuum with interpersonal quality on one end and social quality on the other. Study 3 supported our interpretation of the first two dimensions and moderately supported the last dimension. Finally, Study 4 demonstrated that two of the dimensions are similar to dimensions identified in Cole and Bradac’s (1996) study. The third dimension, frank–supportive versus modest–self-controlled,was not found in Cole and Bradac’s study, whereas the first dimension of their study,spontaneous–active versus stable–passive,was not found in the Japanese data. These differences are discussed in terms of cultural differences in individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance between the U.S. and Japan.

Cross-Level Challenges for Communication Research Epilogue

The articles appearing in this special issue illustrate both the opportunities and the difficulties involved in cross-level communication theory and research.1 They highlight many of the key concepts and questions that surface in discussions of levels of analysis, and extend our thinking about several topical domains within the field by exploring cross-level relationships. The articles also present a variety of arguments, criticisms, and often conflicting suggestions. In short, these essays faithfully reflect the complexities and confusions that attend efforts to close what has been termed “the micro-macro gap” (Eulau, 1986, chap. 3). In this epilogue, we offer our own reflections on some of the issues raised and positions taken in the articles. Because the notion of crossing levels in research implicates both our methods of inquiry and the structure of our theories in various ways, our outline is twofold. First, we discuss some basic conceptual and methodological considerations for cross-level research. Next we turn to matters of theory construction, discussing more generally the ways in which communication researchers can achieve better cross-level theory and research. Along the way, we hope to illustrate some key points of convergence among the articles.

“Everybody goes down”: Metaphors, Stories, and Simulations in Conversations

Recent work has shown that many problematic aspects of metaphor use and comprehension can be resolved through an account that includes both relevance and perceptual simulation. It has also been shown that metaphors often imply stories, and that stories are often metaphorical. Previous research on narratives has focused primarily on stories that appear either in formal literature or in structured interviews; this essay focuses on stories that occur as an integral part of conversation. It extends recent work on metaphor comprehension to show how use and comprehension of stories in natural, informal conversations can be usefully analyzed in terms of perceptual simulations. Conversely, it extends previous work on storytelling to reveal the metaphorical element in many stories, and to emphasize the social (bonding through shared enjoyment) as well as informative and persuasive functions of storytelling.

Relevance and Simulation in Metaphor

Recent writings have done much to develop and extend relevance theory as an account of metaphors and other “loose” language use. However, it is argued in this essay that relevance theory still leaves important gaps in its explanation and does not adequately address the “circularity” issue that has been raised. It is proposed that perceptual simulation theory usefully extends relevance theory by providing a detailed cognitive mechanism for the “broadening” and “narrowing” specified by relevance theory. Extending relevance theory to include the cognitive mechanisms posited by perceptual simulation theory also extends the reach of relevance theory and enhances its ability to explain previously unattended examples of metaphor, including metaphorical stories, strings of interacting metaphors, and humorous and playful distortions of metaphors.

Categories and Similarities: A Note on Circularity

Theories of metaphor comprehension that rely on category assignment based on common characteristics (Keysar & Glucksberg, 1992), a comparison between characteristics or relationships of source and target (Chiappe & Kennedy, 2001), or a mapping of characteristics or relationships from source to target (Gentner & Bowdle, 2001) are inherently circular, since these comparisons, mappings, or categories usually make sense only after the underlying metaphor has already been understood. This inherent circularity is avoided by approaches such as conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and conceptual blending theory (Fauconnier & Turner, 1998) that seek to explain metaphors in terms of underlying cognitive concepts or schemas.

The concept of trustworthiness: A cross‐cultural comparison between Japanese and U.S. business people

Abstract A card sorting procedure was used to explore the structure of Japanese and American business peoples concept of trustworthiness. Each of115 Japanese and 121 U.S. respondents was asked to sort thirty trust‐related words. Hierarchical cluster analyses and multidimensional scaling indicated that Japanese emphasize organizational commitment, while Americans emphasize personal integrity in judging anothers trustworthiness. These differences between the two cultural groups were interpreted as evidence of an “interdependent”; versus an “independent”; view of trustworthiness in an organizational setting, and may help explain persistent miscommunication about trustworthiness between Japanese and U.S. colleagues.