Creating and confronting social order: A comparison of rules perspectives

Two rules perspectives are compared — the coordinative approach articulated by Cushman and Pearce, and the interpretive approach represented by Hawes and Nofsinger. The main assumptions and the research issues each faces are detailed. Both positions are compared along five dimensions: awareness levels of the actors, the locus of rules, the investigator's stance, the value of rules for the actor, and the knowledge claims each forwards. The article concludes by discussing major criticisms and by identifying points of overlap.

Notes

Mr. Donohue is Assistant Professor of Communication, Michigan State University; Mr. Cushman is Associate Professor of Communication, State University of New York at Albany; and Mr. Nofsinger is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication, Washington State University.