A. Some Theoretical and Research Orientations to Communication

Abstract

These assumptions may be general or specific, correct or incorrect. Assumptions are also made about the needs, motives, interests, opinions, and values of those whose behavior the communicator is trying to change. (4) There is a wide spectrum of communication channels and media available to those involved in changing health behavior. The roles played by these different media will have varying importance and impact from one social or cultural group to another.(5) Each communication channel codifies reality differently and thus influences the content of the intended message. Indeed, the medium itself is a major part of that message.Very little research has been focused until recently on the improvement of educational media themselves. More often research on media has been aimed at one of two objectives: either to justify the inclusion of media of a particular type in some relatively ill-defined larger system; or to show to some extent what kind and quantity of impact a given piece of educational material or a particular method may have. (6) The need for a systems analysis approach that defines all influential or potentially influential factors in the total communication process is obvious. Hochbaum, Godfrey M. "Learning and Behavior-Alcohol Education for What?" in