6m Communication Model
Versie Rons
Models of communication are simplified representations of the process of communication. Most models try to describe both verbal and non-verbal communication and often understand it as an exchange of messages. Their function is to give a compact overview of the complex process of communication. This helps researchers formulate hypotheses, apply communication-related concepts to real-world cases, and test predictions. Despite their usefulness, many models are criticized based on the claim that they are too simple because they leave out essential aspects. The components and their interactions are usually presented in the form of a diagram. Some basic components and interactions reappear in many of the models. They include the idea that a sender encodes information in the form of a message and sends it to a receiver through a channel. The receiver needs to decode the message to understand the initial idea and provides some form of feedback. In both cases, noise may interfere and distort the message.
Models of communication are classified depending on their intended applications and on how they conceptualize the process. General models apply to all forms of communication while specialized models restrict themselves to specific forms, like mass communication. Linear transmission models understand communication as a one-way process in which a sender transmits an idea to a receiver. Interaction models include a feedback loop through which the receiver responds after getting the message. Transaction models see sending and responding as simultaneous activities. They hold that meaning is created in this process and does not exist prior to it. Constitutive and constructionist models stress that communication is a basic phenomenon responsible for how people understand and experience reality. Interpersonal models describe communicative exchanges with other people. They contrast with intrapersonal models, which discuss communication with oneself. Models of non-human communication describe communication among other species. Further types include encoding-decoding models, hypodermic models, and relational models.
Models of communication are representations of the process of communication. They try to provide a simple explanation of the process by highlighting its most basic characteristics and components. As simplified pictures, they only present the aspects that, according to the model's designer, are most central to communcation.[2][3] Communication can be defined as the transmission of ideas. General models of communication try to describe all of its forms, including verbal and non-verbal communication as well as visual, auditory, and olfactory forms.[4] In the widest sense, communication is not restricted to humans but happens also among animals and between species. However, models of communication normally focus on human communication as the paradigmatic form.[5] They usually involve some type of interaction between two or more parties in which messages are exchanged.[6][7] The process as a whole is very complex, which is why models of communication only present the most salient features by showing how the main components operate and interact.[8] They usually do so in the form of a simplified visualization and ignore some aspects for the sake of simplicity.[9][10][11]
Some theorists, like Paul Cobley and Peter J. Schulz, distinguish models of communication from theories of communication. This is based on the idea that theories of communication try to provide a more abstract conceptual framework that is strong enough to accurately represent the underlying reality despite its complexity.[11] Communication theorist Robert Craig sees the difference in the fact that models primarily represent communication while theories additionally explain it.[12] According to Frank Dance, there is no one fully comprehensive model of communication since each one highlights only certain aspects and distorts others. For this reason, he suggests that a family of different models should be adopted.[13]
Models of communication serve various functions. Their simplified presentation helps students and researchers identify the main steps of communication and apply communication-related concepts to real-world cases.[8][9] The unified picture they provide makes it easier to describe and explain the observed phenomena. Models of communication can guide the formulation of hypotheses and predictions about how communicative processes will unfold and show how these processes can be measured.[14][10] One of their goals is to show how to improve communication, for example, by avoiding distortions through noise or by discovering how societal and economic factors affect the quality of communication.[4]
Many basic concepts reappear in the different models, like "sender", "receiver", "message", "channel", "signal", "encoding", "decoding", "noise", "feedback", and "context". Their exact meanings vary slightly from model to model and sometimes different terms are used for the same ideas. Simple models only rely on a few of these concepts while more complex models include many of them.[8][9][10]
The sender is responsible for creating the message and sending it to the receiver. Some theorists use the terms source and destination instead. The message itself can be verbal or non-verbal and contains some form of information.[9][15] The process of encoding translates the message into a signal that can be conveyed using a channel. The channel is the sensory route on which the signal travels. For example, expressing one's thoughts in a speech encodes them as sounds, which are transmitted using air as a channel. Decoding is the reverse process of encoding: it happens when the signal is translated back into a message.[16][17][18]
Noise is any influence that interferes with the message reaching its destination. Some theorists distinguish environmental noise and semantic noise: environmental noise distorts the signal on its way to the receiver, whereas semantic noise occurs during encoding or decoding, for example, when an ambiguous word in the message is not interpreted by the receiver as it was meant by the sender.[9][19] Feedback means that the receiver responds to the message by conveying some information back to the original sender.[9] Context consists in the circumstances of the communication. It is a very wide term that can apply to the physical environment and the mental state of the communicators as well as the general social situation.[20]
Models of communication are classified in many ways and the proposed classifications often overlap. Some models are general in the sense that they aim to describe all forms of communication. Others are specialized: they only apply to specific fields or areas. For example, models of mass communication are specialized models that do not aim to give a universal account of communication.[21] Another contrast is between linear and non-linear models. Most early models of communication are linear models. They present communication as a unidirectional process in which messages flow from the communicator to the audience. Non-linear models, on the other hand, are multi-directional: messages are sent back and forth between participants. According to Uma Narula, linear models describe single acts of communication while non-linear models describe the whole process.[22][10][23]
Linear transmission models describe communication as a one-way process. In it, a sender intentionally conveys a message to a receiver. The reception of the message is the endpoint of this process. Since there is no feedback loop, the sender may not know whether the message reached its intended destination. Most early models were transmission models. Due to their linear nature, they are often too simple to capture the dynamic aspects of various forms of communication, such as regular face-to-face conversation.[9][24] By focusing only on the sender, they leave out the audience's perspective. For example, listening usually does not just happen, but is an active process involving listening skills and interpretation.[25] However, some forms of communication can be accurately described by them, such as many types of computer-mediated communication. This applies, for example, to text messaging, sending an email, posting a blog, or sharing something on social media.[9][24][26] Some theorists, like Uma Narula, talk of "action models" instead of linear transmission models to stress how they only focus on the actions of the sender.[27] Linear transmission models include Aristotle's, Lasswell's, Shannon-Weaver's and Berlo's model.[23][28][29]
For interaction models, the participants in communication alternate the positions of sender and receiver. So upon receiving a message, a new message is generated and returned to the original sender as a form of feedback. In this regard, communication is a two-way process. This adds more complexity to the model since the participants are both senders and receivers and they alternate between these two positions.[9][24]
For interaction models, these steps happen one after the other: first, one message is sent and received, later another message is returned as feedback, etc. Such feedback loops make it possible for the sender to assess whether their message was received and had the intended effect or whether it was distorted by noise.[30] For example, interaction models can be used to describe a conversation through instant messaging: the sender sends a message and then has to wait for the receiver to react. Another example is a question/answer session where one person asks a question and then waits for another person to answer. Interaction models usually put more emphasis on the interactive process and less on the technical problem of how the message is conveyed at each step. For this reason, more prominence is given to the context that shapes the exchange of messages. This includes the physical context, like the distance between the speakers, and the psychological context, which includes mental and emotional factors like stress and anxiety.[9][24] Schramm's model is one of the earliest interaction models.[31]