On conceptual, theoretical and empirical treatments of feedback in human communication: Fifteen years later

Abstract

Although feedback originally played a key role in communication theory and research, in recent years its popularity has waned compared to what it enjoys in other social sciences. Persistently, this concept has been defined and treated in conflicting ways. Moreover, in their attempts to resolve these conflicts by reviewing literature on feedback, theorists and analysts have not considered the interface of theory and research from a systems point of view. This study employs a systems perspective, informed by Bailey (1983, 1985, 1987), to assess progress in incorporating feedback into a coherent theory of communication in social interaction.