Symbolic Convergence Theory:
A Communication Formulation
Created by Jennifer Hall
"Much of what has commonly been thought of as persuasion can be
accounted for on the basis of group and mass fantasies. The fantasizing is
accompanied by emotional arousal; the dreams embodied in the fantasies drive
participants toward actions and efforts to achieve them; the sharing of fantasies
provides a social reality peopled by anthropomorphic forces and imagined and
historical personages in confrontations"(135).
Ernest G. Bormann states that symbolic convergence theory also
known as fantasy theme theory is split up into a three-part
structure.
1. Discovery and arrangement of recurring communicative forms and
patterns that indicate the evolution and presence of a shared group decision.
To put this into better terms or further explanation, this relates to a
problem that we faced over the past few years, Y2K. We heard about it, but did
we really understand what it was about? In recent years we had many questions
like: is my money going to be there in the morning, is my electricity going to go
out, do I need to go get a new computer, and should I stock up on food? As we
got closer to the turn of the century we only had more questions.
2. Description of the dynamic tendencies within communication systems that explain
why group consciousness’ arise, continue, decline, and disappear and the effects
such group consciousness’ have in terms of meanings, motives, and communication
within the group.
Going along with the description above about Y2K, millions of dollars were
spent on a way to fix it. Many people thought that there was nothing we could do
about it. They would make themselves feel better by getting mass amounts of
foods, water and even some sort of bomb shelter. The government was constantly
reassuring us there was nothing to be worried about, but obviously with the amount
of time and money they were putting into Y2K, people were getting concerned.
3. Why people share fantasies when they do.
Not knowing what is going to happen to you is a very uneasy feeling. Many
people followed others and wanted to panic but that obviously was not the way to
go. A shared sense of fear is what fell upon the world. It is often easier for
people to come together as one than to be on their own. People were being flown
in from all over the world to try and make sure nothing happened. Most of the
fear came from the uncertainty not the real risk. With in the year the problem
was fixed.
For more information aboutY2K
My thoughts on the article
I felt that this article was very informative but hard to read. The reading
was similar to the one in the book but this article went into much greater
detail. Putting it into an example was the best way for me to understand it. The
example may help make things a little bit more clear. Y2K was a very serious
problem we faced in the New Year. The efforts of the millions of people seemed
to have worked. When the clock struck midnight no bombs or lights went off.
Luckily we fixed this before it was broken. A lot of these problems seemed to be
in peoples fantasies.
Back to the Title Page
For more research go to Sarah's page
For an application go to kellie's Page
For a critique go to Allison's Page
For more information go to Useful Links
To connect with the Winter 2000 Web Notebook click HERE
Another theory that further explains Fantasy Theme Theory is Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). This theory talks about people collaborating in an attempt to bring their visions together. For more information click HERE
Bormann, Ernest G. (1985). Symbolic Convergence Theory: A Communication
Formulation. Journal of Communication, 35, 128-138.
This page was last revised by Jennifer Hall on January
26,2000