The pragmatic perspective

The pragmatic perspective looks at patterns of interaction between people. People communicate by making individual “moves” like a game.
Communication clearly includes aspects that are like a game and that result in patterns of interaction. In communication, like a game, every move generates verbal or nonverbal responses. For example, physical appearance, facial expressions or gestures can trigger thoughts that lead to specific verbal responses.
However, this model only explains some aspects of communications. The pragmatic approach focuses on the moves and structure of the game itself. Other aspects are ignored, such as the personality of the people playing the game. Communication is also influenced by outside factors and is much more complex than a game based only on “moves” between participants. Psychological and cultural factors also play a major role. The emotional and verbal responses that are triggered by a “move” depend on the psychological profile of the participants and the cultural rules. For example, in the Polish culture, people kiss each other during greetings. It is considered a friendly gesture. In American culture, kissing may trigger a different, possibly negative, response. The pattern of behavior is difficult to understand without knowing why people react the way they do and the social and cultural context in which they are reacting. In communication the players and rules are constantly changing and it is hard to really understand what game is being played. Also, many aspects of communication, like mass communication and advertising, seem more difficult to model as a game based on individual “moves” and are more easily understood in terms of the psychological and cultural factors that influence the reaction of the audience.