Instructors who are familiar with A First Look at Communication Theory and understand the approach, organization, and features of the book, may want to jump ahead to the "Major Changes in the Sixth Edition" section. For those who are new to the text, reading the entire Preface will give you a good grasp of what you and your students can expect.

A Balanced Approach to Theory SelectionA First Look is written for students who have no background in communication theory. It's designed for undergraduates enrolled in an entry-level course, whatever the students' classification. The trend in the field is to offer students a broad introduction to theory relatively early in their program. A First Look is written for those beginning students. Yet if a department chooses to offer its first theory course on the junior or senior level, the class will still be the students' first comprehensive look at theory, so the book will meet them where they are.

The aim of this text is to present 33 specific theories in a way that makes them both interesting and understandable. By the time readers complete the book they should have a working knowledge of theories that explain a wide range of communication phenomena. My ultimate goal is to help students see the relationship between different theoretical positions. The final chapter offers an integrative synthesis. But before students can integrate the leading theoretical ideas in our field, they need to have a clear understanding of what those theories are. The bulk of the book provides that raw material.

With the help of journal and yearbook editors, and the feedback of hundreds of communication theory professors, I've selected a wide range of theories that reflect the diversity within the discipline. Some theories are proven candidates for a Communication Theory Hall of Fame. For example, Aristotle's analysis of logical, emotional, and ethical appeals continues to set the agenda for many publicspeaking courses. Mead's symbolic interactionism is formative for interpretive theorists who are dealing with language, thought, self-concept, or the effect of society upon the individual. The axioms of Watzlawick's interactional view continue to be debated by interpersonal scholars. And no student of mediated communication should be ignorant of Gerbner's cultivation theory that explains why heavy television viewing cultivates fear of a mean and scary world.

It would be shortsighted, however, to limit the selection to the classics of communication. Some of the discipline's most creative approaches are its newest. For example, Leslie Baxter and Barbara Montgomery's theory of relational dialectics offers insight into the ongoing tensions inherent in personal relationships. Joe Walther's social information processing is one of the few fully-developed and well-researched theories of computer mediated communication. And Gerry Philipsen's speech codes theory upgrades the ethnography of communication from a methodology to a theory that can be used to explain, predict, and control discourse about discourse.

Organizational Plan of the Book Each chapter introduces a single theory in 10-12 pages. I've found that most undergraduates think in terms of discrete packets of information, so the concentrated coverage gives them a chance to focus their thoughts while reading a single chapter. In this way, students can gain an in-depth understanding of important theories rather than acquire only a vague familiarity with a jumble of related ideas. The one-chapter-one-theory arrangement also gives teachers the opportunity to drop theories or rearrange the order of presentation without tearing apart the fabric of the text.

The opening chapter, "Talk About Theory," lays the groundwork for understanding the difference between objective and interpretive theories. Based on the overall conception of Robert Craig at the University of Colorado, Chapter 2, "Mapping the Territory," introduces seven traditions within the field of communication theory. Chapter 3, "Weighing the Words," presents two sets of criteria for determining a good objective or interpretive theory. I apply these standards to Bormann's symbolic convergence theory because he has dual scientific and rhetorical agendas.

Following this integrative framework, I present the 32 other theories in 32 selfcontained chapters. Each theory is discussed within the context of a communication topic: interpersonal messages, relationship development, relationship maintenance, cognitive processing, influence, group decision making, organizational communication, public rhetoric, media and culture, media effects, intercultural communication, and gender and communication. These communication context sections usually contain two or three theories. Each section has a brief introduction that outlines the crucial issues that the theorists address and places the subsequent chapters within that context. The placement of theories in familiar categories helps students recognize that theories are answers to questions they've been asking all along. The final chapter, "Order Out of Chaos," cuts across these contextual categories and integrates theories by the choices and commitments their authors have made.

Because all theory and practice has value implications, I've interspersed 11 one- to two-page "Ethical Reflections" throughout the text. Consistent with the focus of this text, each ethical principle is the central tenet of a specific ethical theory. I also raise ethical questions within many chapters. Other disciplines may ignore these thorny issues, but to discuss communication as a process that is untouched by questions of good and bad, right and wrong, virtue and vice, would be to disregard an ongoing concern in our field.

Features of Each Chapter Most people think in pictures. Students will have a rough time understanding a theory unless they apply its explanations and interpretations to concrete situations. The typical chapter uses an extended example to illustrate the "truth" a theory proposes. I encourage readers to try out ideas by visualizing a first meeting of freshman roommates, responding to conflict in a dysfunctional family, trying to persuade other students to support a zero tolerance policy on driving after drinking, and many more. I also use the films Erin Brockovich, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, Children of a Lesser God, Blade Runner, Toni Morrison's book Beloved, as well as speeches of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to illustrate principles of the theories. Finally, I bring my own life to the pages with extended examples such as 20 years of teaching an off-campus group dynamics seminar on a remote island in Lake Michigan, my role as a voluntary mediator at a center for conflict resolution, and my stretching intercultural experience at a Belaan Indian school in the Philippine Islands. The case study in each chapter follows the pedagogical principle of explaining what students don't yet know in terms of ideas and images already within their experience.

Some theories are tightly linked with an extensive research project. For example, the impact of cognitive dissonance theory was greatly spurred by Festinger's surprising finding in his now classic $1/$20 experiment. Philipsen's speech codes theory began with a three-year ethnographic study of what it means to speak like a man in Teamsterville. And Delia's constructivist research continues to be dependent on Crockett's Role Category Questionnaire. When such exemplars exist, I describe the research in detail so that students can learn from and appreciate the benefits of grounding theory in systematic observation. Thus, readers of A First Look are led through a variety of research designs and data analyses.

Students will encounter the names of Baxter, Berger, Burgoon, Burke, Deetz, Fisher, Gudykunst, Kramarae, Pacanowsky, Pearce, Philipsen, Ting-Toomey, Walther, Wood, and many others in later communication courses. I therefore make a concerted effort to link theory and theorist. By pairing a particular theory with its originator, I try to promote both recall and respect for a given scholar's effort.

The text of each chapter concludes with a section that critiques the theory. This represents a hard look at the ideas presented in light of the criteria for a good theory outlined in Chapter 3. I usually provide a brief summary of the theory's strengths and then turn to the weaknesses, unanswered questions, and possible errors that still remain. I try to stimulate a "That makes sense, and yet I wonder..." response among students.

I include a short list of thought questions at the end of each chapter. Labeled "Questions to Sharpen Your Focus," these probes encourage students to make connections among ideas in the chapter and also to apply the theory to their everyday communication experience. As part of this feature, the words printed in italics remind students of the key terms of a given theory.

The end of every chapter also has a short list of annotated readings entitled "A Second Look." The heading refers to resources for students who are interested in a theory and want to go further than a 10- to 12-page introduction will allow. The top item is the resource I recommend as the starting point for further study. The other listings identify places to look for material about each of the major issues raised in the chapter. The format is designed to offer practical encouragement and guidance for further study without overwhelming the novice with multiple citations. The sources of quotations and citations of evidence are listed in an "Endnotes" section at the end of the book.

I believe professors and students alike will get a good chuckle out of the cartoons I've selected, but their main function is to illustrate significant points in the text. As in other editions, I'm committed to using "Calvin and Hobbes," "The Far Side," "Dilbert," "Cathy," "Zits," and quality art from the pages of The New Yorker and Punch magazines. Perceptive cartoonists are modern-day prophets—their humor serves the educational process well when it slips through mental barriers or attitudinal defenses that didactic prose can't penetrate.

In 14 of the chapters, you'll see photographs of the theorists taken from the CD/video "Conversations with Communication Theorists." The text that accompanies each picture previews a few intriguing comments that the theorist makes so that students will watch the interview with a specific purpose in mind.

While no author considers his or her style ponderous or dull, I believe I've presented the theories in a clear and lively fashion. Accuracy alone does not communicate. I've tried to remain faithful to the vocabulary each theorist uses so that the student can consider the theory in the author's own terms, but I also translate technical language into more familiar words. Students and reviewers cite readability and interest as particular strengths of the text. I encourage you to sample a chapter dealing with a theory you regard as difficult so that you can decide for yourself.