It seems that many things in this world are common sense, until we stumble upon some guy somewhere that invented a name and formal definition for it. I've taken some theories from human communication and (briefly) applied them to pick up.
Within communication there is an Encoder and a Decoder. The encoder sends the message, and the decoder receives it. Now think of the encoder as having a little thought bubble over his head titled: Shared Meaning. The point of the interaction is to get the Shared Meaning (the picture in the encoder's thought bubble) to be exactly the same in the decoder's thought bubble. So the encoder has an idea, a specific vision in his head of what he wants to communicate, and he's trying to get the decoder to see that same vision in his own head.
So I'm thinking that in order to be alpha, you have to be able to create very CLEAR shared meaning. That is, make the other person see what you're seeing.
So delving deeper...understand in this context the definition of Fantasy.
Fantasy – The creative and imaginative interpretation of events that fulfills a psychological or rhetorical need.
Basically, it seems that fantasy is the same thing as shared meaning. Get a fvcking thought into someone elses head that is the same as yours. BUT, the thought has to be meaningful, it has to fulfill a psychological need. Which we'll assume to be most basically...good feelings!
Symbolic Convergence – The linguistic process by which group members develop a sense of community or closeness; cohesiveness, unity, solidarity.
So, you use symbolic convergence (talking) to get your fantasy across to other people and spread it around so that they see the same thing as you and you all connect on the same page. The theory is that when you think and feel something great, and can then get other people to feel it, they will associate that good feeling with you.
Rhetorical Vision – A composite drama that catches up multiple groups of people into a common symbolic reality ( so when they share a fantasy, their view of social reality is rhetorical vision). If every person's thought bubble is the same, then it is said that they are all sharing the same rhetorical vision.
So the process goes something like this:
*You are the Encoder to a group
*You develop a Shared Meaning, a Fantasy
*You share that Fantasy through Symbolic Convergence (talking)
*Through Symbolic Convergence the group enters into a Rhetorical Vision (a shared idea of a common thought)
*You become the Alpha for introducing and providing that Rhetorical Vision that has given the group good feelings and discussion.
In Conclusion:
By sharing fantasies with symbolic convergence, a collection of individuals is transformed into a cohesive group, connected through a rhetorical vision. If you are the one responsible for creating the rhetorical vision, you will be perceived as the ALPHA.
---
However, I'm stumped as to what is the most powerful (most influential) rhetorical vision. Is it past, or present? In other words, is it better to introduce a completely new, and exciting idea, or draw upon past experiences of good feelings and reintroduce them to the group? Which one will have a more powerful effect?
Within communication there is an Encoder and a Decoder. The encoder sends the message, and the decoder receives it. Now think of the encoder as having a little thought bubble over his head titled: Shared Meaning. The point of the interaction is to get the Shared Meaning (the picture in the encoder's thought bubble) to be exactly the same in the decoder's thought bubble. So the encoder has an idea, a specific vision in his head of what he wants to communicate, and he's trying to get the decoder to see that same vision in his own head.
So I'm thinking that in order to be alpha, you have to be able to create very CLEAR shared meaning. That is, make the other person see what you're seeing.
So delving deeper...understand in this context the definition of Fantasy.
Fantasy – The creative and imaginative interpretation of events that fulfills a psychological or rhetorical need.
Basically, it seems that fantasy is the same thing as shared meaning. Get a fvcking thought into someone elses head that is the same as yours. BUT, the thought has to be meaningful, it has to fulfill a psychological need. Which we'll assume to be most basically...good feelings!
Symbolic Convergence – The linguistic process by which group members develop a sense of community or closeness; cohesiveness, unity, solidarity.
So, you use symbolic convergence (talking) to get your fantasy across to other people and spread it around so that they see the same thing as you and you all connect on the same page. The theory is that when you think and feel something great, and can then get other people to feel it, they will associate that good feeling with you.
Rhetorical Vision – A composite drama that catches up multiple groups of people into a common symbolic reality ( so when they share a fantasy, their view of social reality is rhetorical vision). If every person's thought bubble is the same, then it is said that they are all sharing the same rhetorical vision.
So the process goes something like this:
*You are the Encoder to a group
*You develop a Shared Meaning, a Fantasy
*You share that Fantasy through Symbolic Convergence (talking)
*Through Symbolic Convergence the group enters into a Rhetorical Vision (a shared idea of a common thought)
*You become the Alpha for introducing and providing that Rhetorical Vision that has given the group good feelings and discussion.
In Conclusion:
By sharing fantasies with symbolic convergence, a collection of individuals is transformed into a cohesive group, connected through a rhetorical vision. If you are the one responsible for creating the rhetorical vision, you will be perceived as the ALPHA.
---
However, I'm stumped as to what is the most powerful (most influential) rhetorical vision. Is it past, or present? In other words, is it better to introduce a completely new, and exciting idea, or draw upon past experiences of good feelings and reintroduce them to the group? Which one will have a more powerful effect?