ABSTRACT
The dark side perspective toward communication scholarship proposes that most social and symbolic processes are morally and functionally ambivalent. Behavior that is presumed to be morally good is often functionally destructive to individual or group thriving, and behavior that is presumed to be morally objectionable is often functionally valuable to individual or group thriving. The history and nature of this perspective are examined, and its heuristic implications are illustrated across a wide variety of research pursuits.
