THE PALO ALTO GROUP: DIFFICULTIES AND DIRECTIONS OF THE INTERACTIONAL VIEW FOR HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH.

During the past two decades the network of communication researchers known informally as the 'Palo Alto Group' has published several hundred articles and more than 20 books on what has been variously termed the 'New Communication' and the 'Interactional View.' The work of this group, however, has been largely neglected in human communication research. The objectives of this essay are: (1) to summarize the theoretical and epistemological bases of the Interactional View, noting the pragmatic instances for which this framework is invoked as explanation and justification; (2) to introduce some of the conceptual and methodological difficulties which need be addressed in formulating appropriate research; and (3) to suggest several general and specific directions for research in human communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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