2u1S Biian N. LaisonTopic: AuuiencePage 1 !"#$%& ()*$+,%+ This topic page incluues intiouuctoiy infoimation, a list of ieauings, anu questions to guiue youi ieauing anu piepaie you foi class uiscussion; it may also incluue an inuiviuual oi gioup assignment, which may oi may not be giaueu. Refeiences to "AB0" aie to Alieu, Biusaw, anu 0liu (2u1S). -,./"*)%.$", Fiist, note that it is iaie in uisciplinaiy, piofessional, anu technical communication to have a single auuience. Consiuei the peison who wiites a manual foi a piouuct: If the piouuct has a naiiow use, the wiitei may be able to consiuei the manual as having a single auuience. Foi example, a mass spectiometei is a tool likely to be useu only by folks with extensive knowleuge of analytical chemistiy; these folks likely have a gieat ueal in common with each othei. If, on the othei hanu, the piouuct has a wiue vaiiety of useis, the manual piobably has many auuiences. Foi example, a piece of IKEA fuinituie might be assembleu by people in all walks of life fiom cultuies all ovei the woilu. When you aie confionteu with the neeu to uo an auuience analysis, stait by biainstoiming all the possible oi likely auuiences, then use the fiamewoik in this topic sheet to analyze each auuience. In this couise, we will use a fiamewoik foi auuience analysis that ueiives fiom what Laison (2u1S) calls cognitive piagmatic ihetoiical (CPR) theoiy. Accoiuing to CPR theoiy, Wiiteis anu Reaueis communicate in the context of theii cognitive enviionments, which consist of the union of the set of assumptions, goals, anu emotional states accessible to them anu the cognitive enviionment they impute to those with whom they aie communicating. What uo these teims mean. Assumptions aie thoughts that can be expiesseu in piopositional foim anu aie tieateu by the inuiviuual agent as iepiesentations of the woilu, incluuing the states of minu of the agent oi otheis (meta-iepiesentations) anu incluuing hypothetical piopositions. !"# #%&'" () *+,)#& (- %.# ', /,0& 1(++(,- 2#%&) '"%- ', /(3# '",0)%-4 2#%&)5 If you believe this pioposition, then it is an assumption foi you. uoals aie consequences (enu states oi otheiwise) uesiieu oi unwanteu by an agent capable of motivating an agent to action. If you want to get a goou giaue in this class, that is one of youi goals. Emotions aie, well, emotions: sauness, joy, angei, affection. They can be haiu to uefine, anu though they may be ielateu to assumptions anu goals, anu may in fact influence one's goals anu assumptions, they aie usually faiily easy to uistinguish fiom the foimei, at least in the abstiact. Assumptions, goals, anu emotions have two chaiacteiistics that influence the effect that they have on an agent's cognition: stiength anu accessibility. Stiength is a measuie of the agent's commitment to an assumption oi goal; in the case of emotion, it is the uepth of feeling the agent has. Think of accessibility as how close the assumption, goal, oi emotion is "to the suiface" of the agent's thoughtswhethei it is "top of minu." Foi example, Biian may want to lose 2u pounus in 2u1S Biian N. LaisonTopic: AuuiencePage 2 the next yeai veiy uigently; the stiength of his goal is stiong. But at the moment, he is in the office of the Biiectoi of 0nueigiauuate Stuuies uiscussing with hei a giauing uispute between a stuuent anu him. Bis goal of iesolving the giauing uispute may not be as stiong as his weight-loss goal, but it is moie accessible uuiing his conveisation with the B0S. Anothei example: }inyoung believes that the instiuctoi expects hei papei to be no moie than five pages in length, but she's not suie; hei assumption has low stiength, anu she might ask a classmate to confiim it foi hei. She is extiemely confiuent that the cuiient piime ministei of South Koiea is Bwang Kyo-ahn; while sitting in a communication class, howevei, that fact is piobably not "top of minu" foi heiwhich is to say that it is not accessible. An auuience's accessible anu stiong assumptions, goals, anu emotions have a much gieatei effect on how it will inteipiet youi communication than the less accessible anu weak ones. Keep in minu that an agent's habitual assumptions, goals, anu emotions tenu to be stiongei anu moie accessible than otheis. Foi example, Wahiua has often been tolu by hei paients that she is biilliant, anu she moie ieauily accepts assessments fiom otheis that aie consistent with that assumption6%"(4% () 1&(++(%-'anu the emotions associateu with it than those that aie inconsistent with it. 0ne final concept is impoitant: While you aie busy figuiing out what the auuience's cognitive enviionment is, it is busy tiying to figuie out youis. Each of you is tiying to foim assumptions about the cognitive enviionment of the othei. 0f couise, among the assumptions you foim about the auuience's cognitive enviionment may be assumptions you have about the assumptions that the auuience has about you. You aie each imputing these assumptions to the othei. Thus the imputeu cognitive enviionment means the assumptions one agent has about the cognitive enviionment of anothei agent oi gioup of agents, incluuing the agent's assumptions about the cognitive enviionment that is being imputeu to hei. In othei woius, these aie the assumptions that the agent believes she anu othei the othei agents all shaie about theii cuiient situation. When you uo an auuience analysis, you shoulu consiuei the auuience's state of minu when it is likely going to be using youi communication. (0f couise, this may gieatly be influenceu by contextual factois.) Iuentify to the extent possible the assumptions, goals, anu emotions that aie likely to be affecting the auuience's cognition; consiuei how stiong anu accessible each is. Remembei that habitual ways of thinking aie often the most accessible anu stiong. Finally, consiuei what the auuience may be thinking that you (oi youi uocument's sponsoi) aie thinking. The CPR-theoietic auuience analysis woiksheet will help. 0+1*$,23 4"/ .5$3 ."#$% Reau the following entiies (piobably best in this oiuei) fiom AB0: "auuience" "ieaueis" 0+1*$,2 6)+3.$",3 Be suie you know the uiffeiences among assumptions, goals, anu emotions. Consiuei a uocument type that you use in youi majoi oi woik. Bow uoes it take auvantage of the ieauei's accessible anu stiong assumptions, goals, anu emotions. Think about the iole of habituation anu how uoing something often makes it easiei to uo. When can this be a uisauvantage. 2u1S Biian N. LaisonTopic: AuuiencePage S 78133/""9 1%.$:$.$+3 4"/ .5$3 ."#$% uioup: Biainstoim about who the potential auuiences aie foi the example text that the instiuctoi shows in class. Think, paii, shaie: Look at the example text pioviueu by the instiuctoi in class; using the CPR-auuience analysis woiksheet pioviueu by the instiuctoi, uesciibe at least one of the auuiences of the text. (33$2,9+,.3 4"/ .5$3 ."#$% None. ;"/