Problematic Integration Theory is a theory of communication that addresses the processes and dynamics of how people receive, evaluate, and respond to information and experiences. The premises of PI are based on the view that message processing, specifically the development of probabilistic and evaluative orientations (our perceptions of something's likelihood of occurring and its value, respectively), is a social and cultural construction. In situations where there is agreement between probabilistic orientation (a person's constructed belief about an object's likelihood, i.e., how likely something is to occur) and evaluative orientation (a person's constructed belief about an object's value), integration is in harmony, i.e., not problematic. However, when there is disagreement between these orientations about an object (i.e., an event, thing, person, idea, outcome, etc.), then integration becomes problematic. This disharmony leads to conflict and discomfort, which can manifest itself as cognitive, communicative, affective, and/or motivational.
History Austin BabrowAustin Babrow, Ph.D., Ohio University (archived) first introduced the theory of Problematic Integration (PI) in 1992. Babrow brought together a diverse and interdisciplinary literature (from the field of communication and related disciplines, like psychology, sociology, and philosophy) to serve as building blocks for his new theory. Among the theoretical underpinnings that support PI are: uncertainty reduction theory; the theory of belief in a just world; analysis of decision-making; the theory of motivation and self-esteem; and cognitive dissonance. However, despite integrating elements from these theories, PI has striking differences (e.g., unlike URT, PI does not assume that uncertainty is an undesirable situation, nor does it suggest that resolution of uncertainty is always necessary or desirable).Bradac, James J.; “Theory Comparison: Uncertainty Reduction, Problematic Integration, Uncertainty Management, and Other Curious Constructs”, Journal of Communication, September 2001, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 456-476.
Concepts
Problematic Integration is a type of message-processing communication theory that relates to theories of decision making and persuasion. Problematic Integration Theory (PI) proposes that: (1) people orient themselves to the world by forming both probabilistic and evaluative orientations; (2) that probability and evaluation are not independent from one another; (3) that probability and evaluation are socially based and socially constructed, and that probability and evaluation are integral to our daily experience; and, (4) that integration of these orientations can be problematic.Babrow, Austin S.; “Uncertainty, Value, Communication, and Problematic Integration”, Journal of Communication, September 2001, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 555. Probabilistic orientation is an assessment of the likelihood of an event or outcome. Evaluative orientation is an assessment of the favorability of an outcome. Often, assessments of probability and value are cooperative and easily integrated. However, as the theory's title implies, there are occasions when integration becomes problematic. PI proposes that integration becomes more difficult as: clarity of object probability decreases object value conflicts increase or, there is an increase in the divergence between object expectation and desireBabrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 285.
Essentially, problematic integration is what we experience when our probabilistic and evaluative orientations conflict with one another, causing instability and disharmony.Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 284. Conflict arising from problematic integration may or may not be significant. The more important a value and the more central an issue (or object, to use PI terminology) is to one's beliefs or cultural values, the more likely that problematic integration will cause greater discomfort.Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 287-8.
Assumptions of problematic integration theory
Babrow identified four distinct manifestations, or forms, of problematic integration: Divergence - occurs when there is a difference between reality and our desired outcome, and refers to a situation in which the outcome is uncertain or unknown Ambiguity - occurs when it is unclear or highly uncertain what the probability or value of an object is. Babrow stated that in such situations, the outcome is unknown, and the probability of the outcome is restricted. Ambivalence - occurs when an individual has to choose between two similarly valued or mutually exclusive alternatives. Impossibility - has a firm outcome. A response of denial can occur, and this can lead to conflict.
The first of these integrative predicaments, divergence, arises when there is a discrepancy between what we believe to be true or to be likely to occur and what we want to be true (the desired outcome). Ambiguity arises when the probability or value of an object (i.e., situation, outcome, thing, etc.) is unclear or highly uncertain. Babrow explained that "in ambiguous situations, neither the outcome, nor the probability of the outcome is known, though the latter has restrictions" (Babrow, 1992, p. 112). Uncertainty occurs when an unknown factor obscures or complicates the development of one's orientation (probability and evaluation) toward an outcome. Ambiguity has also been described as uncertainty about what is unknown. Ambivalence is borne from one of two conditions: (1) an individual is forced to choose between two similarly valued alternatives; or (2) an individual is forced to choose between mutually exclusive alternatives. The last form of PI, impossibility, occurs upon the realization or belief that an outcome will not happen. Impossibility is recognized as different from a form of divergence, because only impossibility denotes a sense of certainty.Babrow, Austin S.; "Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera's "Lost Letters" in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting", Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 285-6. Responses to impossibility can range from a sense of futility to one of increased motivation to deny the impossibility. All of these situations give rise to conflict.
The role of communication in problematic integration theory
Communication is both a source of, a medium, and a method for resolving conflict.Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 286. Communication is a source of problematic integration in that knowledge and evaluative orientations are the result of communication, probabilistic and evaluative orientations are based on and developed through message and meaning-making (forms of communication), and communication is itself "an object of thought" and is therefore an object "of probabilistic and evaluative orientations."Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 286-7. It is also possible that a person experiencing problematic integration will seek new information or new sources of information to bolster or reinforce a desired probabilistic or evaluative orientation. This could also be seen as engaging in a form of cognitive dissonance. Communication is seen as a medium of problematic integration because communication inherently involves or is based on probabilistic and evaluative orientations, or communication is about probability and value. Communication is influenced by and formed from culture; thus, communication is a medium of PI, and the formation of probabilistic and evaluative orientations derives from cultural frameworks. Lastly, communication is a resource for PI as we try to resolve and manage conflict caused by problematic integration through communication (internal, interpersonal, etc.).Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 286.
Because communication may be a source, medium, and/or method for resolving problematic integration, it is possible for conflict to manifest as "extended chains" of problematic integration. Such extended chains occur through forms, foci, and layers of experience.Bradac, James J.; “Theory Comparison: Uncertainty Reduction, Problematic Integration, Uncertainty Management, and Other Curious Constructs”, Journal of Communication, September 2001, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 461-2. By extended chains, it is meant that experiences of problematic integration and efforts to resolve problematic integration may lead to development of a new form of PI. As conflict between probability and value develops around a focal point (or topic), it can lead to conflict regarding a new topic (e.g., stress and anxiety about earning an end-of-year bonus at work can lead to new worries about personal finances, sense of self-worth, and/or one's status and career prospects at work). Problematic integration becomes shared (or chained) through layers of experience when people discuss and relate their struggles with others. In this process of communicating our conflicts, others may share in our problematic integration through empathy and sympathy.Babrow, Austin S.; “Communication and Problematic Integration: Milan Kundera’s “Lost Letters” in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, Communication Monographs, 1995, Vol. 62, pp. 287 Babrow proposed that communication becomes more important to resolve problematic integration as the conflict or integration becomes more difficult.Bradac, James J.; “Theory Comparison: Uncertainty Reduction, Problematic Integration, Uncertainty Management, and Other Curious Constructs”, Journal of Communication, September 2001, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 463.
Critique and analysis
As mentioned above, Problematic Integration Theory is a type of communication theory that examines how we make meaning of information and experiences, and how we handle uncertainty. PI differs from Uncertainty Reduction Theory and other axiomatic and predictive communication theories in a number of ways. PI proposes that there are numerous and varied meanings of the term uncertainty. Unlike URT, PI predicts that experiencing uncertainty does not automatically lead to a desire to reduce the uncertainty. Further, PI proposes that: (1) uncertainty is not always "bad; (2) uncertainty has a single or narrow meaning; (3) reduction of uncertainty is not always possible; (4) any resolution of uncertainty is not necessarily final; and (5) integrative dilemmas do not necessarily have an identifiable or singular cause.Babrow, Austin S.; “Uncertainty, Value, Communication, and Problematic Integration”, Journal of Communication, September 2001, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 562-4.