The current development of a communication theory known as coordinated management of meaning is presented in this report. The communication process is modeled as an open system; human actors constitute component subsystems with the ability to organize their cognitions into constitutive and regulative rules. The conjoining of individuals' rule sets…

A theory of interpersonal communication called "the coordinated management of meaning" (CMM) involves three propositions. (1) The fundamental unit of communication is the "speech act," something that the speaker does to the listener by making that particular message at that time. (2) The structure of communication is episodic, consisting of a…

Recurrent claims of ineffable experience and their importance for communication theory are analyzed in this paper. Four positions are identified: (1) the "complete effability/complete communicability" position is historically identified with Western culture but repudiated by modern thought; (2) the "complete ineffability/complete communicability"…

Presents a model of meanings in coherent conversation taking the form of a hierarchy of levels of cognitive interpolations between the stream of behavior and archetypal patterns in conversations. A study of indirect responses in conversation is reported which supports the hierarchical structure of the model. (JMF)