Gerry Philipsen's Critique and My Research of

The Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory
of Pearce, Cronen and Associates






About my Research


In my research of the Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory (CMM) of Pearce, Cronen and Associates, by Gerry Philipsen, I found that there are four key concepts and related terms that goes along with the theory. These four are:

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Of the four main points of this theory that Philipson focuses on in his writing, I have chosen to discuss the coordination aspect of the theory.

The central concern of the theory is the interaction between people in a conversation. When two people interact with one another, there is always some level of coordination. Philipsen states that coordination refers to the degree to which persons perceive that their actions have fitted together into some mutually intelligible sequences or pattern of action (Philipsen, 18)

Are the two parties able to predict the other's response? If the two are married or closely related, this is a question that one would be able to answer with a hearty YES! Actually, it does not even have to been in a marriage situation. What it boils down to is this - the more time you spend with a person, the more you are going to be able to identify with them. You are going to be able to predict their next response. Two people can be talking at the exact same time and they still know what the other is speaking about. An example that come to mind is the from the popular 70's/80's television show M*A*S*H. Corporal O'Reilly is able to know and sense things before they happen. On a communication level, he would be able to say what Col. Blake or Col. Potter wanted before they even asked for it. On most occasions, they would speak the same words at the same time. Not only does this happen on TV, but it happens in everyday life as well.
Philipsen also points out that there is a particular shape and degree of coordination that varies on all interpersonal levels of communication. The way in which people respond to one another depends on the degree of closeness that is present between the two. It is important that behavioral indicators of coordination are present in order to be able to tell if the connection between the persons involved fit well together. Pearce and Cronen conducted on this. They observed whether two people successfully completed a game that required them to predict each others' actions and required them to be willing to cooperate with each other so that each person could contribute to a successful outcome (Philipsen, 18). The purpose of this test was to determine the exact level of coordination by the predictability of the other's actions and also seeing how well the two fit together.

While some may believe that all of social life is coordinated together, it is quite the opposite. It is true that many people are able to know what the other person is thinking or what their next plan of action will be, but at the same time, people can be very different and often times predict the wrong outcome. Sometimes a person's nonverbal behavior might reflect something totally opposite of what they are verbally saying. But that is a whole other theory that deals with social penetration. Pearce and Cronen are more concerned with how human interactions are "more messy than clean, and more awkward than elegant" (Philipsen, 19).

Coordination is not about the blending of perfectly shared meanings. Instead, it is about the meshing together of actions that is perceived. What this means is that, the perception of the actions being carried out might mesh together, however, that does not mean that the producers of those actions agree to the meaning of them. When two people live together, for example, they may coordinate their actions together perfectly, however, how the way in which they carry them out might be different.

In conclusion, in addition to being a theory, CMM is also a widespread display of studies and many examples of the applications made during human interaction. I hope I have been able to offer some further insight to only one of the four key points of the Coordinated Management Theory of Pearce, Cronen, and Associates.

Check my bibliography



Chuck's application of this theory

Kimberly's critique of the reading

Click here to go back to the title page.

Marion Dudas', title page to the Interactional View Theory explains the 5 axioms that help explain the study of interpersonal relationships and how people are able to communicate with each other.