The communication theory of identity (CTI) was developed by Michael Hecht and colleagues; the theory emerged in the 1980s as part of a shift from considering identity a central element of human existence to identity as a social phenomenon. While earlier views emphasized the Western notion of “self” as a single, unified identity, this broader conceptualization argues that humans are inherently social beings whose lives revolve around communication, relationships, and communities and who operate from multiple and shifting identities. As a result, identities and identification are key processes through which people and groups orient themselves to each other and the world around them.

From this beginning, a framed or layered perspective emerged in the early 1990s that described identity as multifaceted, including personal, enacted, relational, and communal frames. Hecht and colleagues were studying interethnic communication with the expectation that identity would influence these processes and they, in turn, would lead to outcomes such as satisfying communication. However, the data did not fit this model. Instead, identity and communication influenced outcomes jointly. The need to explain these findings and emerging research on media representations of identity led to an examination of research conceptualizing identity as a social process and the CTI view of identity as consisting of four frames.

Littlejohn, Stephen W and Karen A.Floss. (2009). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory.USA:SAGE.654

Penanggungjawab naskah :

Gayes Mahestu
Edwina Ayu Kustiawan