Situational theory of publics

The situational theory of publics defines that publics can be identified and classified in the context to which they are aware of the problem and the extent to which they do something about the problem.

The situational theory of publics, developed by Professor James E. Grunig in University of Maryland, College Park, defines that publics can be identified and classified in the context to which they are aware of the problem and the extent to which they do something about the problem. This theory explains when people communicate and when communications aimed at people are most likely to be effective. The concepts in the theory parallel those with the Dewey and Blumer’s definition of publics.

Problem recognition is the extent to which individuals recognize a problem facing them. People do not stop to think about situations unless they perceive that something needs to be done to improve the situation (Grunig & Hunt, 1984, p. 149).

Constraint recognition is the extent to which individuals see their behaviors as limited by factors beyond their own control. Constraints can be psychological, such as low self-efficacy; self-efficacy is the conviction that one is capable of executing a behavior required to produce certain outcomes (Witte & Allen, 2000). Constraints can also be physical, such as a lack of access to protective gear.

Level of involvement is a measure of how personally and emotionally relevant a problem can be for an individual (Grunig & Hunt, 1984). Involvement increases the likelihood of individuals attending to and comprehending messages (Pavlik, 1988). Dervin (1989) stated that messages will be attended to only if the benefits or dangers associated with them have “taken on some kind of personal reality or usefulness for the individual” (p. 68). In general, persons with high involvement analyze issues more often, prefer messages that contain more and better arguments (Heath, Liao, & Douglas, 1995; Petty & Cacioppo, 1981, 1986), and attain greater knowledge levels (Chaffee & Roser, 1986; Engelberg, Flora, & Nass, 1995).

Information seeking can also be called “active communication behavior.” Actively communicating members of publics look for information and try to understand it when they obtain the information. Thus, publics whose members seek information become aware publics more often than publics whose members do not communicate or who only process information.

Information processing can be called “passive communication behavior.” Passively communicating members of a public will not look for information, but they will often process information that comes to them randomly, that is, without any effort on their part.

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