MODELS OF COMMUNICATIONe

Models of communication refers to the conceptual model used to explain the

human communication process. Th first major model for communication came in 1949 by Claude Elwood
Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories. Following the basic concept, communication is the
process of sending and receiving messages or transferring information from one part (sender) to another
(receiver).
Shannon and Weaver. The original model was designed to mirror the functioning of radio and
telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted of three primary parts: sender, channel,
and receiver. The sender was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone
itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and
Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes with one listening to a telephone
conversation, which they deemed noise. The noise could also mean the absence of signal. In a simple
model, often referred to as the transmission model or standard view of
communication, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in some form
(as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/ decoder. This common
conception of communication views communication as a means of sending and receiving information.
The strengths of this model are simplicity, generality, and quantifiability.

David Berlo. In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) linear model of
communication and created the SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-Message-Channel-
Receiver Model of communication separated the model into clear parts and has been expanded upon by
other scholars.

Schramm. Communication is usually described along a few major dimensions: Message (what
type of things are communicated), source / emisor / sender / encoder (by whom), form (in which form),
channel (through which medium), destination / receiver / target /decoder (to whom), and Receiver.
Wilbur Schramm (1954) also indicated that we should also examine the impact that a message has (both
desired and undesired) on the target of the message. Between parties, communication includes acts that
confer knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may take
many forms, in one of the various manners of communication. The form depends on the abilities of the
group communicating. Together, communication content and form make messages that are sent towards
a destination. The target can be oneself, another person or being, another entity (such as a corporation or
group of beings). Communication can be seen as processes of information transmission governed by
three levels of semiotic rules: Syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols), Pragmatic (concerned
with the relations between signs/expressions and their users) and Semantic (study of relationships
between signs and symbols and what they represent). Therefore, communication is  social
interaction where at least two interacting agents share a common set of signs and a common set
of semiotic rules. This commonly held rule in some sense ignores autocommunication,
including intrapersonal communication via diaries or self-talk, both secondary phenomena that followed
the primary acquisition of communicative competences within social interactions.

Barnlund. In light of these weaknesses, Barnlund (2008) proposed a transactional model of

communication. The basic premise of the transactional model of communication is that individuals are
simultaneously engaging in the sending and receiving of messages. In a slightly more complex form a
sender and a receiver are linked reciprocally. This second attitude of communication, referred to as the
constitutive model or constructionist view, focuses on how an individual communicates as the
determining factor of the way the message will be interpreted. Communication is viewed as a conduit; a
passage in which information travels from one individual to another and this information becomes
separate from the communication itself. A particular instance of communication is called a speech act.
The sender's personal filters and the receiver's personal filters may vary depending upon different
regional traditions, cultures, or gender; which may alter the intended meaning of message contents. In
the presence of "communication noise" on the transmission channel (air, in this case), reception and
decoding of content may be faulty, and thus the speech act may not achieve the desired effect. One
problem with this encode-transmit-receive-decode model is that the processes of encoding and decoding
imply that the sender and receiver each possess something that functions as a codebook, and that these
two code books are, at the very least, similar if not identical. Although something like code books is
implied by the model, they are nowhere represented in the model, which creates many conceptual
difficulties.

Psychology of communication. Bernard Luskin, UCLA, 1970, advanced computer assisted

instruction and began to connect media and psychology into what is now the field of media psychology.
In 1998, the American Association of Psychology, Media Psychology Division 46 Task Force report on
psychology and new technologies combined media and communication as pictures, graphics and sound
increasingly dominate modern communication.

Constructionist Model. There is an additional working definition of communication to consider

that authors like Richard A. Lanham (2003) and as far back as Erving Goffman (1959) have highlighted.
This is a progression from Lasswell’s attempt to define human communication through to this century
and revolutionized into the constructionist model. Constructionists believe that the process of
communication is in itself the only messages that exist. The packaging can not be separated from the
social and historical context from which it arose, therefore the substance to look at in communication
theory is style for Richard Lanham and the performance of self for Erving Goffman. Lanham chose to
view communication as the rival to the over encompassing use of CBS model (which pursued to further
the transmission model). CBS model argues that clarity, brevity, and sincerity are the only purpose to
prose discourse, therefore communication. Lanham wrote, “If words matter too, if the whole range of
human motive is seen as animating prose discourse, then rhetoric analysis leads us to the essential
questions about prose style” (Lanham 10). This is saying that rhetoric and style are fundamentally
important; they are not errors to what we actually intend to transmit. The process which we construct
and deconstruct meaning deserves analysis. Erving Goffman sees the performance of self as the most
important frame to understand communication. Goffman wrote, “What does seem to be required of the
individual is that he learn enough pieces of expression to be able to ‘fill in’ and manage, more or less,
any part that he is likely to be given” (Goffman 73) Goffman is highlighting the significance of
expression. The truth in both cases is the articulation of the message and the package as one. The
construction of the message from social and historical context is the seed as is the pre-existing message
is for the transmission model.

Linear Model. It is a one way model to communicate with others. It consists of the sender
encoding a message and channeling it to the receiver in the presence of noise. Draw backs – the linear
model assumes that there is a clear cut beginning and end to communication. It also displays no
feedback from the receiver. For example; a letter, email, text message, lecture.

Interactive Model. It is two linear models stacked on top of each other. The sender channels a
message to the receiver and the receiver then becomes the sender and channels a message to the original
sender. This model has added feedback, indicates that communication is not a one way but a two way
process. It also has “field of experience” which includes our cultural background, ethnicity geographic
location, extend of travel, and general personal experiences accumulated over the course of your
lifetime. Draw backs – there is feedback but it is not simultaneous. For example – instant messaging.
The sender sends an IM to the receiver, then the original sender has to wait for the IM from the original
receiver to react. Or a question/answer session where you just ask a question then you get an answer.

Transactional Model. It assumes that people are connected through communication; they engage
in transaction. Firstly, it recognizes that each of us is a sender-receiver, not merely a sender or a
receiver. Secondly, it recognizes that communication affects all parties involved. So communication is
fluid/simultaneous. This is how most conversation are like. The transactional model also contains
ellipses that symbolize the communication environment (how you interpret the data that you are given).
Where the ellipses meet is the most effect communication area because both communicators share the
same meaning of the message. For example – talking/listening to friends. While your friend is talking
you are constantly giving them feedback on what you think through your facial expression verbal
feedback without necessarily stopping your friend from talking.

Communication cycle. The first major model for communication came in 1949 by Claude
Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories. The original model was designed to mirror the
functioning of radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted of three primary parts:
sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel
was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other
person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes with one listening
to a telephone conversation, which they deemed noise. In a simple model, often referred to as the
transmission model or standard view of communication, information or content (e.g. a message
in natural language) is sent in some form (as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to a
destination/ receiver/ decoder. This common conception of communication simply views
communication as a means of sending and receiving information. The strengths of this model are
simplicity, generality, and quantifiability.

Communication noise. In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of
messages sent over a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of noise: Environmental
Noise: Noise that physically disrupts communication, such as standing next to loud speakers at a party,
or the noise from a construction site next to a classroom making it difficult to hear the professor.

                   1.   Physiological-Impairment Noise: Physical maladies that prevent effective communication,

such as actual deafness or blindness preventing messages from being received as they were intended.
                   2.   Semantic Noise: Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For example,
the word "weed" can be interpreted as an undesirable plant in a yard, or as a euphemism for marijuana.
                   3.   Syntactical Noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as abrupt
changes in verb tense during a sentence.
                   4.   Organizational Noise: Poorly structured communication can prevent the receiver from
accurate interpretation. For example, unclear and badly stated directions can make the receiver even more
lost.
                   5.   Cultural Noise: Stereotypical assumptions can cause misunderstandings, such as
unintentionally offending a non-Christian person by wishing them a "Merry Christmas".
                   6.   Psychological Noise: Certain attitudes can also make communication difficult. For
instance, great anger or sadness may cause someone to lose focus on the present moment. Disorders such
as Autism may also         severely hamper effective communication.