Pragmatics of Human Communication
Watzlawich, Beavin, Jackson
W.W. Norton & Co., 1967
CHAPTER 1 - The Frame of Reference
Phenomenon remains unexplainable as long as the range of observation is not wide enough to include the context of the situation.
Synatactics - channelling, coding, capacity, noise
Semantics - meaning
Pragmatics - effects of communication on behavior
Since pragmatics is main subject communication & behavior
will be used interchangeably.
Focus in sender/receiver relation
Sensory perception band brain research has proved that
only relationships and patterns of relationships can be noticed
Cybernetics: orgasimal growth or structure allowing both positive and negative feedback
a. Negative characteristics homeostasis (steady state)
b. Positive leads to change
Negative feedback then is input reintroduced to a system
in order to decrease the output variation from some stated norm.
Stochastic process: chain where configurations or patterns
in random systems becomes apparent. Stochastic processes show redundancy
or constraint, two terms which can be used interchangeably with concept
of pattern
But they do not state that these patterns need to have
any symbolic meaning.
Metacommunication is communication system for discourse
about communication itself.
CHAPTER 2 - Some Tentative Axioms of Communication
2.2 The impossibility of not communicating
Message - single communique (unit)
Interaction - series of messages between
Patterns of interaction
2.3 "Every communication has a content and a relationship
aspect such that the latter classified the former and is therefore a metacommunication."
(page 54)
2.4 "The nature of a relationship is contingent upon
the punctuation of the communicational sequences between the communicants."
Dfn. analogic communication: it is virtually all nonverbal
communication. Note: man only animal to use digital and analogue communication.
"Human beings communicate both digitally and analogically.
Digital language has a highly complex and powerful logical syntax but lacks
adequate semantics in the field of relationship, while analogic language
possesses the semantics but has no adequate syntax for the unambiguous
definition of the nature of relationships." (page 66)