Symbolic Convergence Theory: A Communication Formulation Jennifer Hall |
Fuente original. |
"Much of what has commonly been
thought of as persuasion can be accounted for on the basis of group and
mass fantasies. The fantasizing is accompanied by emotional arousal; the
dreams embodied in the fantasies drive participants toward actions and efforts
to achieve them; the sharing of fantasies provides a social reality peopled
by anthropomorphic forces and imagined and historical personages in confrontations"(135). Ernest G. Bormann states that symbolic convergence theory also known as fantasy theme theory is split up into a three-part structure. 1. Discovery and arrangement of recurring communicative forms and patterns that indicate the evolution and presence of a shared group decision. To put this into better terms or further explanation, this relates to a problem that we faced over the past few years, Y2K. We heard about it, but did we really understand what it was about? In recent years we had many questions like: is my money going to be there in the morning, is my electricity going to go out, do I need to go get a new computer, and should I stock up on food? As we got closer to the turn of the century we only had more questions. 2. Description of the dynamic tendencies within communication systems that explain why group consciousness’ arise, continue, decline, and disappear and the effects such group consciousness’ have in terms of meanings, motives, and communication within the group. Going along with the description above about Y2K, millions of dollars were spent on a way to fix it. Many people thought that there was nothing we could do about it. They would make themselves feel better by getting mass amounts of foods, water and even some sort of bomb shelter. The government was constantly reassuring us there was nothing to be worried about, but obviously with the amount of time and money they were putting into Y2K, people were getting concerned. 3. Why people share
fantasies when they do. |