Symbolic Convergence Theory
Encyclopedia
Symbolic convergence theory (SCT) is a general communication theory
that offers an explanation for the appearance of a group consciousness, consisting of shared emotions, motives, and meanings . SCT explains that meanings, emotions, values, and the motives for action are in the rhetoric co-created by people trying to make sense out of a common experience. SCT was first proposed by Ernest G. Bormann in the Quarterly Journal of Speech in 1972.
Symbolic convergence is related to attribution theory in that it deals with the human tendency to attribute meaning to signs and objects in order to make sense of them. The process of symbolic convergence resembles empathic communication.
SCT has a three-part structure:
SCT argues that people inherently co¬create their own symbolic reality (in the Lacanian sense) into a stable rhetorical form that can be studied and understood. SCT calls these stable forms of viewing the world (that evolve through human talk), rhetorical visions. These rhetorical visions contain one of three underlying or under-girding master analogues (Righteous, Pragmatic, and Social).
predict future events, or illustrate present events that are chronologically or spatially removed from the actual activities of the group. Bormann sees these fantasy themes fulfilling a psychological or rhetorical need through creative and organized interpretations of events. Fantasy theme analysis is a humanistic method of rhetorical criticism.
Fantasy themes are broken down into the following three forms:
A rhetorical vision has five elements:
bail out the bankrupt, private school
, the University of Kansas City. The dominant rhetorical vision of your university started with a rich "genesis" story. Do you know what it is?
their behavior changes. New members of existing visions often go through this stage in a formal, prescribed way. "Pledge" classes for fraternities and sororities
, "boot" camp for Marine recruits, and "retreats" for novices of religious order
s are typical examples. The first week or two of college for new students can have a consciousness¬raising effect if the university plans ritualistic events designed to assimilate the students into the university's vision. Can you identify any college rituals in which you participated that heightened your sense of belonging to your school or some sub-group, like the band, a debate team
, or a sport?
in 1964. Today, only ten-percent of 18,000 students are education majors. Starting in 1964, the faculty and students began participating in new rhetorical dramas that would give meaning to their place in higher education
. Has your university gone through a similar identity crisis
as one rhetorical vision declined and a new one began to emerge?
. It was a struggle for the hearts and minds of people on a worldwide stage. In 1990, the drama imploded with the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union
. The Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. lasted for 100 years with the slogan: "Keep The Quality Up." In the space of two years, Upjohn merged with another century-old Swedish company only to see the new merged company purchased and dissolved by a third drug company
, Pfizer. In the first case, the Cold War warriors could declare victory and look for a new vision of America's role in the world. In the second example, the loyal Upjohn employees felt stripped of their symbolic identity. Have you ever been in a rhetorical vision when it imploded? For example, maybe your old high school closed or merged with another. Maybe your favorite sport was dropped by the university or your major was eliminated. The felt loss is real in terms of meaning, emotion, and motive for action.
built on the method of natural sciences, it can be applied to many different cultures and timelines. It has been used to account for the communicative processes, created by a group, used to foster the creation and sustenance of the group's so-called "consciousness." SCT has been used to study movements such as the Puritans , the Knights of Columbus, American communism, and the Women's movement. It has been used to study political visions such as the Cold War , the New South , and Vietnam decision making , amongst others.
Communication theory
Communication theory is a field of information and mathematics that studies the technical process of information and the human process of human communication.- History :- Origins :...
that offers an explanation for the appearance of a group consciousness, consisting of shared emotions, motives, and meanings . SCT explains that meanings, emotions, values, and the motives for action are in the rhetoric co-created by people trying to make sense out of a common experience. SCT was first proposed by Ernest G. Bormann in the Quarterly Journal of Speech in 1972.
Symbolic convergence is related to attribution theory in that it deals with the human tendency to attribute meaning to signs and objects in order to make sense of them. The process of symbolic convergence resembles empathic communication.
SCT has a three-part structure:
- elucidation of the recurring forms of communication involved in a shared group consciousness
- illustration of why group consciousness begins, rises, and is maintained
- explanation of the process of how an individual begins to share (or stops sharing) a common symbolic reality
SCT argues that people inherently co¬create their own symbolic reality (in the Lacanian sense) into a stable rhetorical form that can be studied and understood. SCT calls these stable forms of viewing the world (that evolve through human talk), rhetorical visions. These rhetorical visions contain one of three underlying or under-girding master analogues (Righteous, Pragmatic, and Social).
Fantasy themes
Fantasy themes are used to construct a rhetorical vision. They are the means through which interpretation is accomplished through communication. Fantasy themes exist in the form of a word, a phrase, or a statement, which attempt to define past events,predict future events, or illustrate present events that are chronologically or spatially removed from the actual activities of the group. Bormann sees these fantasy themes fulfilling a psychological or rhetorical need through creative and organized interpretations of events. Fantasy theme analysis is a humanistic method of rhetorical criticism.
Fantasy themes are broken down into the following three forms:
- Setting themes depicting where either the action takes place or where the characters act out their roles
- Character themes describing the agents or actors in the drama, assigning qualities and motives to them, implying that they have certain characterisitics
- Action themes or plot lines dealing with the action of the drama
Symbolic cues
A symbolic cue is a word, phrase, slogan, or a nonverbal sign or gesture that works to trigger previously shared fantasies and emotions. An example of a symbolic cue would be a bumper sticker, which actuates the observer into a larger shared reality.Fantasy types
A fantasy type is a fantasy theme that has currency across a large number of rhetorical visions. By providing known references they help make sense out of a new phenomena. An example of a fantasy type would be Watergate, which helps us make sense out of subsequent scandals, such as Iran-Contra affair (Irangate) and Anthony Weiner's sexting behavior (Weinergate).Saga
A saga is the telling and re-telling of the accomplishments and events in the life of an individual, group, organization, or larger entity such as a nation. For instance, examples of American sagas include "the spirit of entrepreneurship" and "the power of the ballot box." Symbolic convergence theorists argue that the Soviet Union had difficulty maintaining cohesion of the fifteen republics due to the weakening of the communist rhetorical vision and dwindling sagas.Rhetorical vision
A rhetorical vision is a composite drama that unifies people in a common symbolic reality.A rhetorical vision has five elements:
- Dramatis personae – the actors and players who give life to the rhetorical vision
- Plotline – provides the action of the rhetorical vision
- Scene – details the location of the rhetorical vision
- Sanctioning agent – legitimizes the rhetorical vision
- Master analogue – the reflection of a deeper structure within the rhetorical vision
Shared group consciousness
A shared group consciousness must exist within a rhetorical community in order for a fantasy theme to chain out, a rhetorical vision to develop, a saga to exist, or a symbolic cue to imbue meaning.Rhetorical vision reality link
A rhetorical vision reality link allows for a viable rhetorical vision that chronicles an authentic account of the phenomena along with tangible evidence. The lack of a rhetorical vision reality link, with no clear observational impressions of the facts, may lead to disprovable fantasies, characterized by rumor, innuendo, gossip, and even paranoia.Fantasy theme artistry
Fantasy theme artistry is the rhetorical ability to present situations in a form that appears attractive to people so that they will share them.Stage 1: Creation
The Gospel of John opens with: "In the beginning was the Word." For the University of St. Thomas, it was Bishop Ireland's dream of a Catholic Diocesan university. For the University of Missouri-Kansas City, it concerned the back room political deals necessary to get the legislative votes to have the State of MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
bail out the bankrupt, private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, the University of Kansas City. The dominant rhetorical vision of your university started with a rich "genesis" story. Do you know what it is?
Stage 2: Consciousness-raising
This is the stage where fantasies begin to chain out among a collectivity of people over a common interest. As they co-create a new vision, their lives take on new meaning and emotion andtheir behavior changes. New members of existing visions often go through this stage in a formal, prescribed way. "Pledge" classes for fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
, "boot" camp for Marine recruits, and "retreats" for novices of religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s are typical examples. The first week or two of college for new students can have a consciousness¬raising effect if the university plans ritualistic events designed to assimilate the students into the university's vision. Can you identify any college rituals in which you participated that heightened your sense of belonging to your school or some sub-group, like the band, a debate team
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, or a sport?
Stage 3: Consciousness-sustaining
A mature rhetorical vision seeks stability. New members are brought in, old members are retained. The vision must adapt to changing events and provide rebuttals to competing visions. Often, rhetorical visions can remain stable for 100 years or longer. Can you identify any other 100-year-old rhetorical visions?Stage 4: Vision-declining
Situations in a rhetorical community can change so rapidly that the vision cannot adapt successfully. After 100 years of being Illinois' oldest teacher-training college, Illinois State Normal Teacher's College changed its name to Illinois State UniversityIllinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
in 1964. Today, only ten-percent of 18,000 students are education majors. Starting in 1964, the faculty and students began participating in new rhetorical dramas that would give meaning to their place in higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
. Has your university gone through a similar identity crisis
Identity crisis
Identity crisis is an internal conflict of and search for identity.Identity crisis may also refer to:In comics:* Identity Crisis , DC Comics seven-issue limited series...
as one rhetorical vision declined and a new one began to emerge?
Stage 5: Vision implosion
Sometimes rhetorical visions instantly implode in the presence of a major event. At other times, the implosion can take years. The Cold War Rhetorical Vision (1947–1990) was a case of instant No implosion. The Righteous Cold War drama portrayed heroic Americans as being in a struggle against God-less CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. It was a struggle for the hearts and minds of people on a worldwide stage. In 1990, the drama imploded with the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union
History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
. The Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. lasted for 100 years with the slogan: "Keep The Quality Up." In the space of two years, Upjohn merged with another century-old Swedish company only to see the new merged company purchased and dissolved by a third drug company
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
, Pfizer. In the first case, the Cold War warriors could declare victory and look for a new vision of America's role in the world. In the second example, the loyal Upjohn employees felt stripped of their symbolic identity. Have you ever been in a rhetorical vision when it imploded? For example, maybe your old high school closed or merged with another. Maybe your favorite sport was dropped by the university or your major was eliminated. The felt loss is real in terms of meaning, emotion, and motive for action.
Heuristic Value of SCT
Because SCT is a general theoryGeneral Theory
General theory may refer to:*Generalized Theory of Gravitation*General Theory of Relativity*General Systems Theory*Generalized cohomology theory*General theory of collaboration...
built on the method of natural sciences, it can be applied to many different cultures and timelines. It has been used to account for the communicative processes, created by a group, used to foster the creation and sustenance of the group's so-called "consciousness." SCT has been used to study movements such as the Puritans , the Knights of Columbus, American communism, and the Women's movement. It has been used to study political visions such as the Cold War , the New South , and Vietnam decision making , amongst others.