The identification of differences in patterns of content and functional organization of expressive, conventional and rhetorical messages in three message genres
Paulson, Lynn Edith
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22848
Description
Title
The identification of differences in patterns of content and functional organization of expressive, conventional and rhetorical messages in three message genres
Author(s)
Paulson, Lynn Edith
Issue Date
1990
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
O'Keefe, Barbara J.
Department of Study
Communication
Discipline
Communication
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Speech Communication
Language, General
Language
eng
Abstract
O'Keefe's (1988) model of message design logic represents a rational, goals-based approach to message production which focuses on the ways individuals differ in their implicit beliefs about the functional possibilities of language. She argues that three such concepts, the expressive, conventional and rhetorical design logics, differ in terms of the patterns of message contents and the functional organization of messages.
This study seeks first, to substantiate O'Keefe's claims about key differences between the contents and structure of messages produced under these three message design logics, and second, to extend current research by examining performance of 235 male and female college students on message design logic in response to five complex stimulus situations, instantiating three different communication task types (regulative, responding to a request, and making a decision) and two message response modalities (quasi-oral and written).
A series of coding schemes was developed to classify message elements (t-units) for: ideational contents; temporal focus; core action, supporting actions; face considerations; and principle of coherence. O'Keefe's prototypical system for classifying regulative messages into global categories of design logic and functionality was elaborated to classify messages produced for decision-making and request-response tasks.
A series of multivariate analyses of variance was performed to assess the effects message design logic (three levels), message response mode (two levels) and message functionality (three levels: minimally-functional, unifunctional and multifunctional) on properties of message content and structure. A series of 3 x 2 x 2 repeated measures analyses of variance was performed to examine the generalizability of performance on message design logic for the regulative, quasi-oral communication task to performance on the request and decision-making tasks, and to a written response modality.
The results from this study provided partial support for O'Keefe's claims about differences in the contents and structure of expressive, conventional and rhetorical messages, as well as for the generalizability of message design logic across communication task types.
Recommendations for future research focused on: (1) the refinement of t-unit coding schemes developed for this project, and; (2) investigation of an unexpected, negative relationship found between message design logic and functionality in this study.
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