Title

Competence to Perform in a Communications Event

Description

Let us now turn to the question of how people develop the competence to assess and interpret symbolic intent. The distinctions in [the Figure] are meant to explain, not an ideal state of knowledge or competence, but the actual use of certain abilities in the articulation and interpretation of meaning in communication situations.
We learn to articulate in a variety of symbolic modes and codes, as we similarly learn to interpret in an appropriate set of ways. As Gross has shown, the competence to perform (either as creator or interpreter) is dependent upon the acquisition of at least minimal articulatory ability in that mode (1974).[The Figure] diagrams what we are hypothesizing as a model of the levels of articulatory and interpretive abilities and indicates a series of recognition stages that people apply to sign-events. These stages or levels are seen as both developmental and hierarchical. … The process we envisage is one of elaboration rather than replacement, much like the progression from crawling to walking. Once we learn to walk, we do not lose the ability to crawl. Once we have learned to recognize at all levels, we can choose our strategies depending upon our assessment of the sign-event situation.

Designer

Worth, Sol

Gross, Larry

Date

1974

Source

"Symbolic Strategies"

Bibliographic Citation

Worth, Sol and Larry Gross. 1974 "Symbolic strategies." In Studying Visual Communication (1981), by Sol Worth. Edited, with an Introduction, by Larry Gross. University of Pennsylvania Press. Figure 5-2. page 138-139.

Worth, Sol and Larry Gross. 1974 "Symbolic Strategies." Journal of Communication. 24:27-39.

is depiction of attribute

English Square

has attribute

English Arrow

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use feature

English Brace

depict things of type

English Sequence or Process

English Typological or Classification

Coverage

communication

semiotics