Jamming

Abstract

Modern communication theory focuses to a disproportionate degree on the cultivation of shared meanings, interpretations, and emotions, and insufficiently on how coordinated action may occur under conditions of minimal self-disclosure and limited consensus. Borrowing a term from music and sports, this article describes characteristics of “jamming” experiences, instances of fluid behavioral coordination that occur without detailed knowledge of personality. Two biases in prior work—individual bias and strong culture bias—are cited as reasons why experiences like jamming have been ignored in the literature. Examples are given of how these experiences strike a balance between autonomy and interdependence, and can even be transcendent. Four preconditions for jamming—skill, structure, setting, and surrender— are also provided. Finally, possibilities for jamming in formal organizations and society are explored.