Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Triadic communication as transactional participation

1996; Routledge; Volume: 13; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/15295039609366969

0739-3180

Wayne Woodward,

Management and Organizational Studies

Theoretical discussion of the “triad” has contributed significantly to this century's study of symbolic processes and communication; however, a systematic triadic theory has failed to emerge. Preliminary analysis suggests that such a theory could prove relevant to contemporary understandings of communication, particularly those views that emphasize the construction of symbolic worlds, as this occurs through collection, storage, augmentation, and retrieval of a common stock of information or knowledge. Review of the historical foundations of triadic theory identifies semiotic, sociological, and interactionist conceptions of the triad, all of which are shown to contribute significantly to the next appropriate stage of theoretical advance. The essay undertakes to outline a transactional‐participatory understanding of the triad, based on a mutual‐personal model of communication and community that is typically associated with theories of dialogue. This emergent triadic model provides in its details a basis for comprehending how the common stock of knowledge develops into symbolic worlds within a complex field of relations wherein communication takes the form of transactional participation.