The premises of PI are based on the view that message processing, specifically the development of probabilistic and evaluative orientations (our perceptions of something's likelihood of occurring and its value, respectively), is a social and cultural construction.
This disharmony leads to conflict and discomfort, which can manifest itself as cognitive, communicative, affective, and/or motivational.
Babrow brought together a diverse and interdisciplinary literature (from the field of communication and related disciplines, like psychology, sociology, and philosophy) to serve as building blocks for his new theory.
Uncertainty occurs when an unknown factor obscures or complicates the development of one's orientation (probability and evaluation) toward an outcome.
As conflict between probability and value develops around a focal point (or topic), it can lead to conflict regarding a new topic (e.g., stress and anxiety about earning an end-of-year bonus at work can lead to new worries about personal finances, sense of self-worth, and/or one's status and career prospects at work).
Problematic integration becomes shared (or chained) through layers of experience when people discuss and relate their struggles with others.
[14] Problematic Integration Theory (PI) falls under the socio-psychological and socio-cultural communication traditions.
[16] Ashley Archiopoli applies Problematic Integration Theory in her research to examine how pregnant women have been able to cope and build resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
[17] Kami A. Kosenko uses Problematic Integration Theory to explore the various ways that individuals experience infertility and the impact this has on their sense of identity and belonging.
She examines the various forms of integration that can be experienced in the context of infertility – including positive, negative and ambivalent – and the various factors which shape the integration process, such as the couple relationship, social environment, the medical system, and the individual's own beliefs and values.
In 2003, Babrow received the prestigious Woolbert Award for scholarship of exceptional originality and influence from the National Communication Association [1] for his work with PI.
Communication, negotiation, and understanding between family members may require outside help such as professional counseling or spiritual guidance to facilitate the process.
Successful integration of perspectives is essential for families to reach a decision about end-of-life care.
[21] Elisia L. Cohen applies PI to her research to understand the complexities of the experience of African American women to are treated for cancer.
Through this study, Cohen provides an important insight into the complexities of cancer and the role of identity in the healing process.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory is a psychological concept that explains how individuals attempt to reduce the discomfort they experience when they are presented with conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values.
It suggests that people will attempt to make things consistent in order to reduce the dissonance they feel.
[23] The complexity of PI and the multiplicity of its manifestations makes it difficult to operationalize, measure, and apply.
Research in this area has revealed that information is used to decrease and increase uncertainty, depending on the situation.
Organizations, comprising networks and hierarchies of individuals, by their very nature, create complex webs of various dynamic social and cultural relationships.
Moreover, most organizations do not exist for themselves, but for an external audience, client, or consumer; thereby, increasing the nature, types, and numbers of relationships.
In the context of such complex systems of communication, PI takes on a much different appearance than intrapersonal situations.
An organization's structure, system design, and strategy can create, maintain, or help reduce problematic integration.
[31] One area of this study has been problematic integration arising from internal bureaucracy or organizational rules or objectives and how this conflict involves matters of formal rationality (a quantitative calculation of an action or choice) or substantive rationality (a value judgment of consequences of an action or choice).
[32] In examining marketing strategies for tourism, PI has been used to suggest methods for decreasing uncertainty for potential customers and thereby increasing transactions from the on-line shoppers for the related retail businesses ("converting lookers to bookers").
Communication and problematic integration: Understanding and diverging probability and value, ambiguity, ambivalence, and impossibility.
West, Richard and Turner, Lynn; Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application, McGraw Hill, 2010, Print.