Communication and Affective Relations

,Research on attitudes and attitude change has a special significance to the communication researcher because his area of concern is that which precedes or substitutes for directed behavior. Communication is important because the individual can decide to act or not to act. For society, and for the individual himself, communication provides a unique means of coping in many situations. Although the area of affective relations is congenial to the communication researcher, the current theoretical a p proaches are not. The aim of the communicator is to transmit-and in the social context, exchange-information about how one sees the world about him. Preferably this would be before action, that is, before directed behavior toward one or more objects. The point of view that the communication researcher wants to take is one which allows him to see the “how” of information processing, that part of behavior in which he is particularly concerned. The view of affective relations that he wants must necessarily be