theory, which should help students understand theories by applying their explanations and predictions to real-life situations. Ethics are covered in a special chapter and throughout the text, helping students to focus on the ethical implications of communication theories. Each chapter concludes with a critique of the theory, summarizing its strengths and weaknesses and raising critical questions to encourage analysis and give students an appreciation of the on-going process of communication research. Cartoons are also included to illustrate important concepts. Chapter One provides criteria for determining what makes a communication theory good, encouraging critical thinking from the start. This edition features a new chapter on the history of the communication discipline and a chapter that explains and illustrates two different approaches to communication research and theory: social scientific and humanistic. Totally new sections on intercultural communication and gender communication are also included. Ten new theories are presented, including William Gudykunst's anxiety/uncertainty management theory, Stella Ting-Toomey's face-negotiation theory and Deborah Tannen's genderlect styles.

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