IN DEFENSE OF SYMBOLIC CONVERGENCE THEORY - A LOOK AT THE THEORY AND ITS CRITICISMS AFTER 2 DECADES

This paper argues that not only is theory-building often unfashionable , but the spurious assumption that the presence of scholarly disputes signifies the need to abandon theory-building efforts adds to the diff iculties of those willing to develop and expand general theories of hu man communcation. We argue that the time is at hand to provide a new r esponse to the published criticism of the symbolic convergence theory (SCT) and its attendant method of fantasy theme analysis (FTA). Since 1977, critics have made a number of charges about the usefulness of th e symbolic convergence theory. We have collapsed the more frequently m entioned and argued points into four indictments of SCT: (1) SCT's pro ponents have not clarified the basic presuppositions that undergird th e theory; (2) SCT is Freudian-based and therefore applies only to smal l group communication; (3) SCT's insights are researcher-dependent not dependent on the theory; (4) SCT is a relabeling of old concepts with trivial jargon that lacks precision and clarity. This paper explains and refutes each indictment. The paper concludes with a discussion of constructive criticism and the harms resulting from indiscriminate and unjustified criticism on theory building in general.