Abstract
At first glance, the title of this essay seems to be more than just a little bit tautological. Obviously, communication is a social process that needs at least one agent, usually called communicator, who acts with regard to another agent, the recipient. In the Encyclopedia Britannica on the internet communication is described as a social behavior and defined as “the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols”. The word communication is derived from the latin verb communicare which means to share things or to make things common. All of this makes totally clear that communication is a social process. My argument is, indeed, that we all know this, but tend to ignore this fact in our daily routines as researchers and scholars.
Highlights
At first glance, the title of this essay seems to be more than just a little bit tautological
In the different fields of communication research, we will find some rare examples with a developed sociological perspective
The social character of communication processes can be analyzed from two different perspectives
Summary
The title of this essay seems to be more than just a little bit tautological. In the different fields of communication research, we will find some rare examples with a developed sociological perspective. There are three reasons for that: the organization of research, the limitation of the methods, especially surveys, and the dominance of psychological approaches in the field of reception studies. The social character of communication processes can be analyzed from two different perspectives.
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