ABSTRACT
The major goal of science is to foster understanding of real-world phenomena through the development of coherent theories. Scientific theories must be evaluated by empirical data that reflect on the plausibility of the causal relations specified through interrelated hypotheses of the conceptual system. The requirement that there be intent to influence introduces the novel but complex empirical problem of determining the intentions and attributions of the participants before the presence of power manipulations can be determined. Although consensus among social scientists could be gained for the view that communication modes are environmental stimuli that a source produces and a target reacts to, little agreement can be discerned about the nature of the stimuli or the target reactions of interest. Promises could be defined in a manner consistent with the perception definition of threats. A critical factor in distinguishing a warning from a threat is that the source of a warning does not control the contingency consequences specified in the message.
