COMMUNICATION MODES
Models of communication are conceptual models used to explain the human communication process. The first model of communication was proposed before 300 B.C. It is also considered the most widely accepted among all communication models, is called Aristotle's Model of Communication. A linear model of communication for oral communication developed by Aristotle.
The first major modern model for communication was developed in 1948 by Claude Elwood Shannon and published with an introduction by Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories.
Lasswell's communication model was developed by communication theorist Harold D. Lasswell (1902-1978) in 1948. Lasswell's model of communication (also known as action model or linear model or one way model of communication) is regarded as one the most influential communication models.
Schramm's Model of Communication was postulated by Wilbur Schramm in 1954, where he suggested that communication is a two way process where both sender and receiver take turns to send and receive a message.
Berlo's SMCR Model of Communication. In 1960, David Berlo postulated Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model of communication from Shannon Weaver's Model of Communication (1949). He described factors affecting the individual components in the communication making the communication more efficient.
[1] Aristotle’s Model of Communication
Aristotle (384-322 B.C) was a Greek philosopher and writer born in Stagira, Northern Greece. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. He studied physics, logic, mathematics, etc. While exploring the human nature scientifically, Aristotle developed a linear model of communication for oral communication known as Aristotle's Model of Communication. This is considered as the first model of communication and was proposed before 300 B.C. It is also the is most widely accepted among all communication models.
Aristotle Model is mainly focused on speaker and speech. It can be broadly divided into 5 primary elements: Speaker, Speech, Occasion, Audience and Effect.
The Aristotle's communication model is a speaker centered model as the speaker has the most important role in it and is the only one active. It is the speaker's role to deliver a speech to the audience. The role of the audience is passive, influenced by the speech. This makes the communication process one way, from speaker to receiver.
The speaker must organize the speech
beforehand, according to the target audience and
situation (occasion). The speech must be prepared so that the
audience be persuaded or influenced from the speech. He believed "Rhetoric" is the study of communication and
persuasion and different message or speech should be made for different
audiences at different situations to get desired effects or to establish a
propaganda. This model was highly used to develop public speaking skills and create
a propaganda at that time so, it is less focused on
intrapersonal or interpersonal communication. Even if the model is speaker
oriented and focuses on audience interaction in communication, there is no
concept of feedbacks. For instance, a politician teacher
(speaker) facilitates teaching to the students (audience) during the
classroom session (occasion). The students only be aspired and influenced by
the presentation by the teacher if and only if is relevancy and plausible to the
mass and the speaker must design the message (lesson contents) very carefully.
The concepts presented must be clear as well as the speaker must have a very
good non-verbal communication with the audience like
eye contact.
This example is a classic case of Aristotle Model of Communication depicting
all the elements in the model.
Critical Elements of a Good Communicator
Aristotle has given 3 elements that must be present in a good communicator or public speaker. These elements are related to each other and they reinforce the other elements.
Ethos
Ethos is the characteristic which makes you credible in front of the audience. If there is no credibility, the audience will not believe in you and will not be persuaded by you. Expertise and positions also give credibility to a person. For instance, the class/students will not listen to the counselling guide of a corrupt teacher, but if a teacher is known for his good deeds, there's a high chance his advice to considered.
Pathos
If what you say matters to them and they can connect with it, then they will be more interested and they will think you are more credible. Emotional bonds will make the audience captivated and they feel the speaker is one of their own people. For instance, if people of a village needs water and the politician tells them that he will help in building roads, the people will not get influenced but might be more influenced if he says he'll build a dam for drinking water and irrigation. And if students per class timetable expect to learn geography lesson but you enter and teach them history they will have less attention to your teaching.
Logos
Logos is logic. People believe in you only if they understand what you are trying to say. People find logic in everything. If there is no logic behind the speaker's work or time, they do not want to get involved. Everybody has a sense of reason. You must present facts to the audience for them to believe in you. For example, a presenter using factual data in an awareness program will attract the audience's attention and will make them believe in the need of awareness in the particular matter. The teacher with appropriate teaching method, well prepared and teach with sound evidence will attract students mind to the learning.
Criticisms of Aristotle's Model of Communication
There are few criticisms around this model. Some of them are
· There is no concept of feedback, it is one way from speaker to audience.
· There is no concept of communication failure like noise and barriers.
· This model can only be used in public speaking.
[2] Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication
Shannon Weaver model of communication was created in 1948 when Claude Elwood Shannon wrote an article "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" in Bell System Technical Journal with Warren Weaver.
Shannon was an American mathematician whereas Weaver was a scientist. The Mathematical theory later came to be known as Shannon Weaver model of communication or “mother of all models." This model is more technological than other linear models.
Concepts in Shannon Weaver Model
Sender (Information source) – Sender is the person who makes the message, chooses the channel and sends the message.
Encoder (Transmitter) –Encoder is the sender who uses machine, which converts message into signals or binary data. It might also directly refer to the machine.
Channel –Channel is the medium used to send message.
Decoder (Receiver) – Decoder is the machine used to convert signals or binary data into message or the receiver who translates the message from signals.
Receiver (Destination) –Receiver is the person who gets the message or the place where the message must reach. The receiver provides feedback according to the message.
Noise –Noise is the physical disturbances like environment, people, etc. which does not let the message get to the receiver as what is sent.
Explanation of Shannon Weaver Model
The sender encodes the message and sends it to the receiver through a technological channel like telephone and telegraph. The sender converts the message into codes understandable to the machine. The message is sent in codes through a medium.
The receiver has to decode the message before understanding it and interpreting it. The receptor machine can also act as a decoder in some cases. The channel can have noise and the receiver might not have the capacity to decode which might cause problems in communication process.
Here, for instance, brain might be the sender, mouth might be the encoder which encodes to a particular language, air might be the channel, another person’s ear might be the receptor and his brain might be the decoder and receiver.
Similarly, air is the channel here, the noise present in his environment that disturbs them is the noise whereas his response is the feedback. There were only 5 components when the model was made. Noise was added later.
As Shannon was an engineer, this model was first made to improve technical communication, mainly for telephonic communication. It was made to to maximize telephone capacity with minimum noise.
Later, Weaver applied it for all kind of communications to develop effective communicationand the model became famous as Shannon Weaver model. In engineering, Shannon’s model is also called information theory and is used academically to calculate transmission through machines and also has a formula.
Example of Shannon Weaver Model
A businessman sends a message via phone text to his worker about a meeting happening about their brand promotion. The worker does not receive the full message because of noise. It goes like this:
Businessman: We have a meeting at the office ("at 8 am" goes missing due to phone network disruption or noise)
Worker (feedback): At what time?
Here,
Sender: Businessman
Encoder: Telephone Network Company
Channel: Mobile network
Noise: Missing text due to disruption
Decoder: Mobile phone
Receiver: Worker
The transmission error is the noise in this case. The feedback lets the businessman know that the message reached incomplete. The receiver gets the chance to get the full message only after his feedback.
Levels of Communication Problems
There are three levels of problems of communication according to Shannon Weaver. They are:
1. Technical problem –How a channel causes a problem
2. Semantic problem –Is the meaning of message sent and received very different
3. Effectiveness problem –How effectively does the message cause reaction
Advantages of Shannon Weaver Model
· Concept of noise helps in making the communication effective by removing the noise or problem causing noise.
· This model takes communication as a two way process. It makes the model applicable in general communication.
· Communication is taken as quantifiable in Shannon Weaver model.
Criticisms of Shannon Weaver Model
· It can be applied more for interpersonal communication than group communication and mass communication.
· Receiver plays the passive part in the communication process as sender plays the primary role that sends messages.
· Feedback is taken as less important in comparison to the messages sent by the sender.
· The model is taken by some critics as a "misleading misrepresentation of the nature of human communication" as human communication is not mathematical in nature.
[3] Lasswell’s Communication Model
Lasswell's communication model was developed by communication theorist Harold D. Lasswell (1902-1978) in 1948. Lasswell’s model of communication (also known as action model or linear model or one way model of communication) is regarded as one the most influential communication models.
Components of Lasswell's Communication Model
Lasswell's communication model has 5 components which is used as an analysis tool for evaluating the communication process and components. The components are the questions to be asked to get the answers and keep communication going.
|
Components |
Meaning |
Analysis |
|
Who |
the communicator or sender or source of message |
Control Analysis |
|
Says What |
the content of the message |
Content Analysis |
|
In Which Channel |
the medium or media |
Media Analysis |
|
To Whom |
the receiver of the message or an audience |
Audience Analysis |
|
With What Effect |
the feedback of the receiver to the sender |
Effect Analysis |
Explanation of different Components of Lasswell's Model
· Control analysis helps the sender to have all the power.
· Content analysis is associated to stereotyping and representation of different groups politically. It is also related to the purpose or the ulterior motives of the message.
· Media analysis represents which medium should be used to exercise maximum power against the receivers.
· Audience analysis shows who are the target population to be manipulated or brain-washed.
· Effect analysis is done before the process starts. It is used to predict the effect of message over the target population to be exploited.
Explanation of Lasswell's Communication Model
Though Lasswell's model was developed to analyze mass communication, this model is used for interpersonal communication or group communication to be disseminated message to various groups in various situations.
Lasswell's model was developed to study the media propaganda of countries and businesses at that time. Only rich people used to have communication mediums such as televisions and radios back them. It was made to show the mass media culture.
Lasswell also brought the concept of Effective Communication Process. He talked about the relation between presentation of facts and how it generates different effects. The use of the concept of effect makes Lasswell's model non-linear unlike its name. It's because effect can also be taken as feedback. Though, generally, the component of effect was made to be more about outcome of the message, the model is applied in different media and fields despite being developed specifically for mass communication.
This model is similar to the communication model proposed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. Their model is more graphical than Lasswell's. George Gerbner who is the founder of the cultivation theory, expanded Lasswell's model and included the concept of reaction of the receiver.
Disadvantages and Criticisms of Lasswell's Model
The major criticism of Lasswell’s Model is that it does not include feedback and it ignores the possibility of noise. Without feedback, a communication process cannot be fruitful. Lasswell's model is very linear and does not consider barriers in the communication process. The model is also criticized for being very general and only including very traditional topics. The model is very simplistic. The model is said to be propaganda based as it is more focused on the resulting outcome and generally used for media persuasion.
[4]Schramm's Model of Communication
Schramm's Model of Communication was postulated by Wilbur Schramm in 1954, where he suggested that communication is a two way process where both sender and receiver take turns to send and receive a message.
The message is only sent after encoding so the sender is also called Encoder and the encoded message is decoded under receipt by the receiver, making him the Decoder.
This model was adapted from the theories of another theorist Osgood, so is also known as Osgood and Schramm Model of Communication or Encode-Decode Model of Communication.
Osgood replaced the linear model of communication with the circular process of communication and Schramm added the concept of field of experience to it. This model is described in Schramm's book "The Process and Effects of Communication".
Different Components of Schramm's Model
Schramm's Model has different components for communications where
· Sender (transmitter) is the person who sends the message.
· Encoder is the person who converts the message to be sent into codes.
· Decoder is the person who gets the encoded message which has been sent by the encoder and converts it into the language understandable by the person.
· Interpreter is the person who tries to understand and analyze the message. Message is received after interpretation. Interpreter and receiver is the same person.
· Receiver is the person who gets the message. He/she decodes and interprets the actual message.
· Message is the data sent by the sender and information that the receiver gets.
· Feedback is the process of responding to the received message by the receiver.
· Medium or media is the channel used to send the message.
· Noise is the interference and interruptions caused during the process. It is also created when the intended meaning of the message sent by the sender and the meaning interpreted by the receiver is different which is known as Semantic Noise.
How Schramm's Model Works?
The model suggests that encoding and decoding are the two most important part of a communication process.
Encoding assumes a critical part in starting the procedure of correspondence by converting data into information. Encoding is done by a sender (transmitter) and sent to a receiver.
When data reaches to the receiver, receiver decodes and interprets the data. This data is called a message, and it is transmitted through a medium.
This model shows how meaning is transferred from one person or group to another. Schramm's model of communication is used in both Intrapersonal and Interpersonal communication.
The model takes communication as a never ending process which constitutes messages and feedbacks.
Each person is both sender and receiver, so there must be interpretation of the message on each turn. The interpreted data is known as information. This makes communication effective but might cause problems too as the message sent after encoding might not be the same when decoded by the receiver. So, this model is not conventional like other models that only talk about sender and receiver.
Feedback is also a very important component as it lets the sender know if the receiver has interpreted the message as required or not. The message becomes useless if the receiver does not understand it making feedback different than the expected outcome.
The communication is incomplete if there is no feedback. Deliberate articulation and passing on of message to others ensures communication.
For instance, a person is talking to someone who does not understand English. The person codes the message and writes the message in the form of language. The other person won't be able to decode it as the person cannot understand the language. The feedback is immediately passed to the sender acknowledging that the receiver hasn't interpreted the message as required making feedback an important component in the communication.
Schramm's model of communication originated from Shannon Weaver's model of communication. The Shannon-Weaver model is a more mathematical and technological, whereas Schramm's model is more psychological.
Concepts of Schramm's Communication Model
Schramm believed that the background of the individual who is involved plays an important role in communication. People with various knowledge, experience and cultural practices interpret message in a different way than other.
A sender passes on the information to the receiver. The receiver interprets it according to his/her knowledge, experiences and gives feedback to the sender. The main concepts behind his model were
Field of experience
Field of Experience are the things that influences the understanding and interpretation of message like culture, social background, beliefs, experiences, values and rules.
Same message can be interpreted differently by different people. If the words and signs they both (sender and receiver) use are common they communicate more efficiently.
For example, a person who always eats with spoon is informed that that he has to eat with hands in that place, the person will get offended because he will think it is impolite to eat that way. Socio-cultural gap will change the way a person interprets the message.
Context of the relationship
The people involved must have things in common to talk about. The message must be something important to both. Communication will be easier if the relationship between the sender and receiver is close.
For example, old friends will have many things to talk about in comparison to new ones as they will have a larger mutual social circle.
Context of social environment influencing the field of reference
People communicate according to the situation they are in. People act and communicate according to the place, time, reason and settings they are facing. The same people will act differently when they meet casually or for official purposes.
Use of Metaphors
Metaphors are used from experiences and it makes communication easier. When a person relates one thing to another, explaining and interpreting it becomes easier.
For example, when relating the color blue to sea, the second person can form a proper picture if he/she is said that the color of the glass in which he/she is supposed to drink tea from is blue like sea.
Mental Models
Field of experience overlap due to mental conditioning and social conditioning of a person.
Advantages of Schramm's Model of Communication
· Circular communication gives opportunity to both parties to give their opinion.
· As it is dynamic and ever changing model, it is helpful in general practice.
· Sender and receiver interchanges and both are equally active.
· Semantic noise included as a concept helps in understanding problems that can occur during interpretation of message.
· Feedback makes it easier to know if the message is interpreted by the receiver as intended or not.
· Concept of interpretation makes the communication effective.
· Field of experience (psychological effect) helps to understand the communication process in many other ways than the traditional ones..
· Concept of context makes the environmental factor be included in interpretation of message and brings change in the message value.
Disadvantages of Schramm's Model of Communication
· This model cannot deal with multiple levels of communication and complex communication processes.
· There can only be two sources communicating, many sources complicates the process and the model cannot be implemented.
· Message sent and received might be interpreted differently than intended.
[5]Berlo's SMCR Model of Communication
In 1960, David Berlo postulated Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model of communication from Shannon Weaver's Model of Communication (1949). He described factors affecting the individual components in the communication making the communication more efficient.
The model also focuses on encoding and decoding which happens before sender sends the message and before receiver receives the message respectively.
Berlo's Model has mainly, four components to describe the communication process. They are sender, message, channel and receiver. Each of the component is affected by many factors.
Components of Berlo's Model of Communication
S -Sender
Sender is the source of the message or the person who originates the message. The person or source sends the message to the receiver. The following are the factor related to sender and also the same in the case of receiver.
·
Communication Skills
Communication skills of a person is a factor that affects the communication
process. If the sender has good communication skills, the message will be
communicated better than if the sender's communication skills are not good.
Similarly, if the receiver can not grasp the message, then the communication
will not be effective. Communication skills include the skills to speak,
present, read, write, listening, etc.
·
Attitude
The attitude of the sender and the receiver creates the effect of the message.
The person's attitude towards self, the receiver and the environment changes
the meaning and effect of the message.
·
Knowledge
Familiarity with the subject of the message makes the communicated message have
its effect more. Knowledge on the subject matter makes the communicator send
the message effectively.
·
Social Systems
Values, beliefs, laws, rules, religion and many other social factors affect the
sender's way of communicating the message. It creates difference in the
generation of message. Place and situation also fall under social systems.
·
Culture
Cultural differences make messages different. A person from one culture might
find something offensive which is very much accepted in another culture.
M-Message
A message is the substance that is being sent by the sender to the receiver. It might be in the form of voice, audio, text, video or other media. The key factors affecting the message are
·
Content
Content is the thing that is in the message. The whole message from beginning
to end is the content.
·
Elements
Elements are the non-verbal things that tag along with the
content like gestures, signs, language, etc.
·
Treatment
Treatment is the way in which the message is conveyed to the receiver.
Treatment also effects the feedback of the receiver.
·
Structure
Structure of the message or the way it has been structured or arranged, affects
the effectiveness of the message.
·
Code
Code is the form in which the message is sent. It might be in the form of
language, text, video, etc.
C-Channel
Channel is the medium used to send the message. In mass communication and other forms of communication, technical machines might be used as a channel like telephone, internet, etc. But in general communication, the five senses of a human being is the channel for the communication flow and it affects the effectiveness of the channel.
· Hearing - We receive the message through hearing.
· Seeing - We perceive through seeing. We also get non-verbal messages by seeing.
· Touching - Many of the non-verbal communication happens from touching like holding hands.
· Smelling - We collect information from smelling.
· Tasting - Taste also provides the information to be sent as a message.
R- Receiver
Receiver is the person who gets the message sent in the process. This model believes that the thinking pattern and all other factors mentioned above must be in sync to that of the sender for the communication to be effective. The message might not have the same effect as intended if the receiver and sender are not similar. The receiver must also have a very good listening skill. Other factors are similar to that of the sender.
· Attitudes
· Knowledge
· Social Systems
· Culture
Criticisms of Berlo's SMCR Model:
· There is no concept of feedback, so the effect is not considered.
· There is no concept of noise or any kind of barriers in communication process.
· It is a linear model of communication, there is no two way communication.
- Both of the people must be similar according to all the factors mentioned above. That’s needs people to be on same level for communication to occur but not true in real life
- Main drawback of the model is that the model omits the usage of sixth sense as a channel which is actually a gift to the human beings (thinking, understanding, analyzing etc).
Models of communication are conceptual models used to explain the human communication process. The first model of communication was proposed before 300 B.C. It is also considered the most widely accepted among all communication models, is called Aristotle's Model of Communication. A linear model of communication for oral communication developed by Aristotle.
The first major modern model for communication was developed in 1948 by Claude Elwood Shannon and published with an introduction by Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories.
Lasswell's communication model was developed by communication theorist Harold D. Lasswell (1902-1978) in 1948. Lasswell's model of communication (also known as action model or linear model or one way model of communication) is regarded as one the most influential communication models.
Schramm's Model of Communication was postulated by Wilbur Schramm in 1954, where he suggested that communication is a two way process where both sender and receiver take turns to send and receive a message.
Berlo's SMCR Model of Communication. In 1960, David Berlo postulated Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model of communication from Shannon Weaver's Model of Communication (1949). He described factors affecting the individual components in the communication making the communication more efficient.
[1] Aristotle’s Model of Communication
Aristotle (384-322 B.C) was a Greek philosopher and writer born in Stagira, Northern Greece. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. He studied physics, logic, mathematics, etc. While exploring the human nature scientifically, Aristotle developed a linear model of communication for oral communication known as Aristotle's Model of Communication. This is considered as the first model of communication and was proposed before 300 B.C. It is also the is most widely accepted among all communication models.
Aristotle Model is mainly focused on speaker and speech. It can be broadly divided into 5 primary elements: Speaker, Speech, Occasion, Audience and Effect.
The Aristotle's communication model is a speaker centered model as the speaker has the most important role in it and is the only one active. It is the speaker's role to deliver a speech to the audience. The role of the audience is passive, influenced by the speech. This makes the communication process one way, from speaker to receiver.
The speaker must organize the speech beforehand, according to the target audience and situation (occasion). The speech must be prepared so that the audience be persuaded or influenced from the speech. He believed "Rhetoric" is the study of communication and persuasion and different message or speech should be made for different audiences at different situations to get desired effects or to establish a propaganda. This model was highly used to develop public speaking skills and create a propaganda at that time so, it is less focused on intrapersonal or interpersonal communication. Even if the model is speaker oriented and focuses on audience interaction in communication, there is no concept of feedbacks.
For instance, a politician teacher
(speaker) facilitates teaching to the students (audience) during the
classroom session (occasion). The students only be aspired and influenced by
the presentation by the teacher if and only if is relevancy and plausible to the
mass and the speaker must design the message (lesson contents) very carefully.
The concepts presented must be clear as well as the speaker must have a very
good non-verbal communication with the audience like
eye contact.
This example is a classic case of Aristotle Model of Communication depicting
all the elements in the model.
Critical Elements of a Good Communicator
Aristotle has given 3 elements that must be present in a good communicator or public speaker. These elements are related to each other and they reinforce the other elements.
Ethos
Ethos is the characteristic which makes you credible in front of the audience. If there is no credibility, the audience will not believe in you and will not be persuaded by you. Expertise and positions also give credibility to a person. For instance, the class/students will not listen to the counselling guide of a corrupt teacher, but if a teacher is known for his good deeds, there's a high chance his advice to considered.
Pathos
If what you say matters to them and they can connect with it, then they will be more interested and they will think you are more credible. Emotional bonds will make the audience captivated and they feel the speaker is one of their own people. For instance, if people of a village needs water and the politician tells them that he will help in building roads, the people will not get influenced but might be more influenced if he says he'll build a dam for drinking water and irrigation. And if students per class timetable expect to learn geography lesson but you enter and teach them history they will have less attention to your teaching.
Logos
Logos is logic. People believe in you only if they understand what you are trying to say. People find logic in everything. If there is no logic behind the speaker's work or time, they do not want to get involved. Everybody has a sense of reason. You must present facts to the audience for them to believe in you. For example, a presenter using factual data in an awareness program will attract the audience's attention and will make them believe in the need of awareness in the particular matter. The teacher with appropriate teaching method, well prepared and teach with sound evidence will attract students mind to the learning.
Criticisms of Aristotle's Model of Communication
There are few criticisms around this model. Some of them are
· There is no concept of feedback, it is one way from speaker to audience.
· There is no concept of communication failure like noise and barriers.
· This model can only be used in public speaking.
[2] Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication
Shannon Weaver model of communication was created in 1948 when Claude Elwood Shannon wrote an article "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" in Bell System Technical Journal with Warren Weaver.
Shannon was an American mathematician whereas Weaver was a scientist. The Mathematical theory later came to be known as Shannon Weaver model of communication or “mother of all models." This model is more technological than other linear models.
Concepts in Shannon Weaver Model
Sender (Information source) – Sender is the person who makes the message, chooses the channel and sends the message.
Encoder (Transmitter) –Encoder is the sender who uses machine, which converts message into signals or binary data. It might also directly refer to the machine.
Channel –Channel is the medium used to send message.
Decoder (Receiver) – Decoder is the machine used to convert signals or binary data into message or the receiver who translates the message from signals.
Receiver (Destination) –Receiver is the person who gets the message or the place where the message must reach. The receiver provides feedback according to the message.
Noise –Noise is the physical disturbances like environment, people, etc. which does not let the message get to the receiver as what is sent.
Explanation of Shannon Weaver Model
The sender encodes the message and sends it to the receiver through a technological channel like telephone and telegraph. The sender converts the message into codes understandable to the machine. The message is sent in codes through a medium.
The receiver has to decode the message before understanding it and interpreting it. The receptor machine can also act as a decoder in some cases. The channel can have noise and the receiver might not have the capacity to decode which might cause problems in communication process.
Here, for instance, brain might be the sender, mouth might be the encoder which encodes to a particular language, air might be the channel, another person’s ear might be the receptor and his brain might be the decoder and receiver.
Similarly, air is the channel here, the noise present in his environment that disturbs them is the noise whereas his response is the feedback. There were only 5 components when the model was made. Noise was added later.
As Shannon was an engineer, this model was first made to improve technical communication, mainly for telephonic communication. It was made to to maximize telephone capacity with minimum noise.
Later, Weaver applied it for all kind of communications to develop effective communicationand the model became famous as Shannon Weaver model. In engineering, Shannon’s model is also called information theory and is used academically to calculate transmission through machines and also has a formula.
Example of Shannon Weaver Model
A businessman sends a message via phone text to his worker about a meeting happening about their brand promotion. The worker does not receive the full message because of noise. It goes like this:
Businessman: We have a meeting at the office ("at 8 am" goes missing due to phone network disruption or noise)
Worker (feedback): At what time?
Here,
Sender: Businessman
Encoder: Telephone Network Company
Channel: Mobile network
Noise: Missing text due to disruption
Decoder: Mobile phone
Receiver: Worker
The transmission error is the noise in this case. The feedback lets the businessman know that the message reached incomplete. The receiver gets the chance to get the full message only after his feedback.
Levels of Communication Problems
There are three levels of problems of communication according to Shannon Weaver. They are:
1. Technical problem –How a channel causes a problem
2. Semantic problem –Is the meaning of message sent and received very different
3. Effectiveness problem –How effectively does the message cause reaction
Advantages of Shannon Weaver Model
· Concept of noise helps in making the communication effective by removing the noise or problem causing noise.
· This model takes communication as a two way process. It makes the model applicable in general communication.
· Communication is taken as quantifiable in Shannon Weaver model.
Criticisms of Shannon Weaver Model
· It can be applied more for interpersonal communication than group communication and mass communication.
· Receiver plays the passive part in the communication process as sender plays the primary role that sends messages.
· Feedback is taken as less important in comparison to the messages sent by the sender.
· The model is taken by some critics as a "misleading misrepresentation of the nature of human communication" as human communication is not mathematical in nature.
[3] Lasswell’s Communication Model
Lasswell's communication model was developed by communication theorist Harold D. Lasswell (1902-1978) in 1948. Lasswell’s model of communication (also known as action model or linear model or one way model of communication) is regarded as one the most influential communication models.
Components of Lasswell's Communication Model
Lasswell's communication model has 5 components which is used as an analysis tool for evaluating the communication process and components. The components are the questions to be asked to get the answers and keep communication going.
|
Components |
Meaning |
Analysis |
|
Who |
the communicator or sender or source of message |
Control Analysis |
|
Says What |
the content of the message |
Content Analysis |
|
In Which Channel |
the medium or media |
Media Analysis |
|
To Whom |
the receiver of the message or an audience |
Audience Analysis |
|
With What Effect |
the feedback of the receiver to the sender |
Effect Analysis |
Explanation of different Components of Lasswell's Model
· Control analysis helps the sender to have all the power.
· Content analysis is associated to stereotyping and representation of different groups politically. It is also related to the purpose or the ulterior motives of the message.
· Media analysis represents which medium should be used to exercise maximum power against the receivers.
· Audience analysis shows who are the target population to be manipulated or brain-washed.
· Effect analysis is done before the process starts. It is used to predict the effect of message over the target population to be exploited.
Explanation of Lasswell's Communication Model
Though Lasswell's model was developed to analyze mass communication, this model is used for interpersonal communication or group communication to be disseminated message to various groups in various situations.
Lasswell's model was developed to study the media propaganda of countries and businesses at that time. Only rich people used to have communication mediums such as televisions and radios back them. It was made to show the mass media culture.
Lasswell also brought the concept of Effective Communication Process. He talked about the relation between presentation of facts and how it generates different effects. The use of the concept of effect makes Lasswell's model non-linear unlike its name. It's because effect can also be taken as feedback. Though, generally, the component of effect was made to be more about outcome of the message, the model is applied in different media and fields despite being developed specifically for mass communication.
This model is similar to the communication model proposed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. Their model is more graphical than Lasswell's. George Gerbner who is the founder of the cultivation theory, expanded Lasswell's model and included the concept of reaction of the receiver.
Disadvantages and Criticisms of Lasswell's Model
The major criticism of Lasswell’s Model is that it does not include feedback and it ignores the possibility of noise. Without feedback, a communication process cannot be fruitful. Lasswell's model is very linear and does not consider barriers in the communication process. The model is also criticized for being very general and only including very traditional topics. The model is very simplistic. The model is said to be propaganda based as it is more focused on the resulting outcome and generally used for media persuasion.
[4]Schramm's Model of Communication
Schramm's Model of Communication was postulated by Wilbur Schramm in 1954, where he suggested that communication is a two way process where both sender and receiver take turns to send and receive a message.
The message is only sent after encoding so the sender is also called Encoder and the encoded message is decoded under receipt by the receiver, making him the Decoder.
This model was adapted from the theories of another theorist Osgood, so is also known as Osgood and Schramm Model of Communication or Encode-Decode Model of Communication.
Osgood replaced the linear model of communication with the circular process of communication and Schramm added the concept of field of experience to it. This model is described in Schramm's book "The Process and Effects of Communication".
Different Components of Schramm's Model
Schramm's Model has different components for communications where
· Sender (transmitter) is the person who sends the message.
· Encoder is the person who converts the message to be sent into codes.
· Decoder is the person who gets the encoded message which has been sent by the encoder and converts it into the language understandable by the person.
· Interpreter is the person who tries to understand and analyze the message. Message is received after interpretation. Interpreter and receiver is the same person.
· Receiver is the person who gets the message. He/she decodes and interprets the actual message.
· Message is the data sent by the sender and information that the receiver gets.
· Feedback is the process of responding to the received message by the receiver.
· Medium or media is the channel used to send the message.
· Noise is the interference and interruptions caused during the process. It is also created when the intended meaning of the message sent by the sender and the meaning interpreted by the receiver is different which is known as Semantic Noise.
How Schramm's Model Works?
The model suggests that encoding and decoding are the two most important part of a communication process.
Encoding assumes a critical part in starting the procedure of correspondence by converting data into information. Encoding is done by a sender (transmitter) and sent to a receiver.
When data reaches to the receiver, receiver decodes and interprets the data. This data is called a message, and it is transmitted through a medium.
This model shows how meaning is transferred from one person or group to another. Schramm's model of communication is used in both Intrapersonal and Interpersonal communication.
The model takes communication as a never ending process which constitutes messages and feedbacks.
Each person is both sender and receiver, so there must be interpretation of the message on each turn. The interpreted data is known as information. This makes communication effective but might cause problems too as the message sent after encoding might not be the same when decoded by the receiver. So, this model is not conventional like other models that only talk about sender and receiver.
Feedback is also a very important component as it lets the sender know if the receiver has interpreted the message as required or not. The message becomes useless if the receiver does not understand it making feedback different than the expected outcome.
The communication is incomplete if there is no feedback. Deliberate articulation and passing on of message to others ensures communication.
For instance, a person is talking to someone who does not understand English. The person codes the message and writes the message in the form of language. The other person won't be able to decode it as the person cannot understand the language. The feedback is immediately passed to the sender acknowledging that the receiver hasn't interpreted the message as required making feedback an important component in the communication.
Schramm's model of communication originated from Shannon Weaver's model of communication. The Shannon-Weaver model is a more mathematical and technological, whereas Schramm's model is more psychological.
Concepts of Schramm's Communication Model
Schramm believed that the background of the individual who is involved plays an important role in communication. People with various knowledge, experience and cultural practices interpret message in a different way than other.
A sender passes on the information to the receiver. The receiver interprets it according to his/her knowledge, experiences and gives feedback to the sender. The main concepts behind his model were
Field of experience
Field of Experience are the things that influences the understanding and interpretation of message like culture, social background, beliefs, experiences, values and rules.
Same message can be interpreted differently by different people. If the words and signs they both (sender and receiver) use are common they communicate more efficiently.
For example, a person who always eats with spoon is informed that that he has to eat with hands in that place, the person will get offended because he will think it is impolite to eat that way. Socio-cultural gap will change the way a person interprets the message.
Context of the relationship
The people involved must have things in common to talk about. The message must be something important to both. Communication will be easier if the relationship between the sender and receiver is close.
For example, old friends will have many things to talk about in comparison to new ones as they will have a larger mutual social circle.
Context of social environment influencing the field of reference
People communicate according to the situation they are in. People act and communicate according to the place, time, reason and settings they are facing. The same people will act differently when they meet casually or for official purposes.
Use of Metaphors
Metaphors are used from experiences and it makes communication easier. When a person relates one thing to another, explaining and interpreting it becomes easier.
For example, when relating the color blue to sea, the second person can form a proper picture if he/she is said that the color of the glass in which he/she is supposed to drink tea from is blue like sea.
Mental Models
Field of experience overlap due to mental conditioning and social conditioning of a person.
Advantages of Schramm's Model of Communication
· Circular communication gives opportunity to both parties to give their opinion.
· As it is dynamic and ever changing model, it is helpful in general practice.
· Sender and receiver interchanges and both are equally active.
· Semantic noise included as a concept helps in understanding problems that can occur during interpretation of message.
· Feedback makes it easier to know if the message is interpreted by the receiver as intended or not.
· Concept of interpretation makes the communication effective.
· Field of experience (psychological effect) helps to understand the communication process in many other ways than the traditional ones..
· Concept of context makes the environmental factor be included in interpretation of message and brings change in the message value.
Disadvantages of Schramm's Model of Communication
· This model cannot deal with multiple levels of communication and complex communication processes.
· There can only be two sources communicating, many sources complicates the process and the model cannot be implemented.
· Message sent and received might be interpreted differently than intended.
[5]Berlo's SMCR Model of Communication
In 1960, David Berlo postulated Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model of communication from Shannon Weaver's Model of Communication (1949). He described factors affecting the individual components in the communication making the communication more efficient.
The model also focuses on encoding and decoding which happens before sender sends the message and before receiver receives the message respectively.
Berlo's Model has mainly, four components to describe the communication process. They are sender, message, channel and receiver. Each of the component is affected by many factors.
Components of Berlo's Model of Communication
S -Sender
Sender is the source of the message or the person who originates the message. The person or source sends the message to the receiver. The following are the factor related to sender and also the same in the case of receiver.
·
Communication Skills
Communication skills of a person is a factor that affects the communication
process. If the sender has good communication skills, the message will be
communicated better than if the sender's communication skills are not good.
Similarly, if the receiver can not grasp the message, then the communication
will not be effective. Communication skills include the skills to speak,
present, read, write, listening, etc.
·
Attitude
The attitude of the sender and the receiver creates the effect of the message.
The person's attitude towards self, the receiver and the environment changes
the meaning and effect of the message.
·
Knowledge
Familiarity with the subject of the message makes the communicated message have
its effect more. Knowledge on the subject matter makes the communicator send
the message effectively.
·
Social Systems
Values, beliefs, laws, rules, religion and many other social factors affect the
sender's way of communicating the message. It creates difference in the
generation of message. Place and situation also fall under social systems.
·
Culture
Cultural differences make messages different. A person from one culture might
find something offensive which is very much accepted in another culture.
M-Message
A message is the substance that is being sent by the sender to the receiver. It might be in the form of voice, audio, text, video or other media. The key factors affecting the message are
·
Content
Content is the thing that is in the message. The whole message from beginning
to end is the content.
·
Elements
Elements are the non-verbal things that tag along with the
content like gestures, signs, language, etc.
·
Treatment
Treatment is the way in which the message is conveyed to the receiver.
Treatment also effects the feedback of the receiver.
·
Structure
Structure of the message or the way it has been structured or arranged, affects
the effectiveness of the message.
·
Code
Code is the form in which the message is sent. It might be in the form of
language, text, video, etc.
C-Channel
Channel is the medium used to send the message. In mass communication and other forms of communication, technical machines might be used as a channel like telephone, internet, etc. But in general communication, the five senses of a human being is the channel for the communication flow and it affects the effectiveness of the channel.
· Hearing - We receive the message through hearing.
· Seeing - We perceive through seeing. We also get non-verbal messages by seeing.
· Touching - Many of the non-verbal communication happens from touching like holding hands.
· Smelling - We collect information from smelling.
· Tasting - Taste also provides the information to be sent as a message.
R- Receiver
Receiver is the person who gets the message sent in the process. This model believes that the thinking pattern and all other factors mentioned above must be in sync to that of the sender for the communication to be effective. The message might not have the same effect as intended if the receiver and sender are not similar. The receiver must also have a very good listening skill. Other factors are similar to that of the sender.
· Attitudes
· Knowledge
· Social Systems
· Culture
Criticisms of Berlo's SMCR Model:
· There is no concept of feedback, so the effect is not considered.
· There is no concept of noise or any kind of barriers in communication process.
· It is a linear model of communication, there is no two way communication.
- Both of the people must be similar according to all the factors mentioned above. That’s needs people to be on same level for communication to occur but not true in real life
- Main drawback of the model is that the model omits the usage of sixth sense as a channel which is actually a gift to the human beings (thinking, understanding, analyzing etc).
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