Theories of communication,human nature,and the world: Associations and implications

Although much scholarly attention has been devoted to conceptualizing communication, few attempts have been made to examine the practical consequences of individuals’ beliefs about communication. This paper reports the results of an initial investigation into the relationships among personal theories of communication (or message design logics), privately held philosophies of human nature, and personal assumptions about the world. Results demonstrated significant differences in participants’ philosophies of human nature and assumptions about the world as a function of message design logic. Implications and directions for future research are addressed.