Autocommunication

Autocommunication is a term used in communication studies, semiotics and other cultural studies to describe communication from and to oneself. This is distinguished from the more traditionally studied form of communication where the sender and the receiver of the message are separate. This can be called heterocommunication.

Where heterocommunication gives the receiver new information, autocommunication does not. Instead it enhances and restructures the receiver's ego. Both forms of communication can be found either in individuals or within organisations. When autocommunication is done by an individual it can be called intrapersonal communication.

Autocommunication is typical for religious or artistic works. Prayers, mantras and diaries are good examples. In organisations and corporations strategic plans and memos, for example, can function like mantras. But any text (or work) can become autocommunicational if it is read many times over.

See also

• Communication basic topics
• Communication theory
• Human communication
• Internal discourse

Sources

• Lotman, Y.M. 1990. Universe of the Mind. Translated by A. Shukman. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Broms, H. & Gahmberg, H. 1983. Communication to Self in Organizations and Cultures in Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3, Organizational Culture, pp. 482–495