The Lasswell Formula (1948)

Pleasenote:TheLasswellFormulaistypicalofwhatareoftenreferredtoas
transmissionmodelsofcommunication.

Thesociologist,HaroldLasswell,tellsusthatinstudyingcommunicationwe
shouldconsidertheelementsinthegraphicabove.
Lasswellwasprimarilyconcernedwithmasscommunicationandpropaganda,so
hismodelisintendedtodirectustothekindsofresearchweneedtoconductto
answerhisquestions('controlanalysis','effectsresearch'andsoon).Infact,
though,itisquiteausefulmodel,whatevercategoryofcommunicationweare
studying.Note,incidentally,thattheLasswellFormulaconsistsoffivemajor
components,thoughthisisbynomeansobligatory.Youmightbeinterestedto
lookatthecommentsonMaletzke'smodeltoseewhichcomponentsaselectionof
otherresearchershaveconsideredessential.
Lasswell:Communicator
Lasswellwasprimarilyconcernedwithmasscommunication.Ineveryformof
communication,though,theremustbesomeone(orsomething)that
communicates.
Howappropriateisthetermcommunicator?Youmightsaythatyoucan'treally
talkaboutcommunicationiftheaudienceforthemessagedon'trespond
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appropriately.Maybethat'sareasonthatmanycommunicationspecialistsreferto
thecommunicatorassourceortransmitterorsenderofthemessageatleastthat
doesn'tpresupposethatcommunicationdoesactuallytakeplace.
Controlanalysis
BecauseoftheapplicationofLasswell'sFormulatothemedia,hisquestionWho?
hascometobeassociatedmainlywithcontrolanalysis:

whoownsthisnewspaper?
whataretheiraims?
whataretheirpoliticalallegiances?
dotheyattempttosettheeditorialpolicy?
doesthefactthattheyarearepublicanaccountforthenewspaper'srepeated
attacksontheRoyalFamily?
aretheysubjecttoanykindoflegalconstraints?
howdoestheeditordecidewhattoputinthepaper?
Lasswell:TheMessage
Beingconcernedwiththemassmedia,Lasswellwasparticularlyconcernedwith
themessagespresentinthemedia.Thisrelatestoanareaofstudyknownas
Contentresearch
Typically,contentresearchisappliedtoquestionsofrepresentation,forexample:
howarewomenrepresentedinthetabloidpress?or:howareblacksrepresented
ontelevision?or:howisoursocietyrepresentedtousinthemovies?Content
researchwilloftenbeamatterofcountingthenumberofoccurrencesofa
particularrepresentation(forexample,thehousewifeandmotherwhodoesnot
workoutsidethehome)andcomparingthatwithsomekindof'objective'measure,
suchasofficialstatistics.
Interpersonalcommunication
Whataboutoureverydaycommunication,though?Doyouspendmuchtime
thinkingabouthowbesttoformulateyourmessages?Inmuchofoureveryday
interpersonalcommunicationwithourfriends,weprobablyarenotallthat
consciousofthinkingmuchaboutourmessages.Still,youcanprobablythinkof

certainmessagesyouarecommunicatingnowtoanyonepassingbyasyouread
throughthis.Thinkaboutitforaminute
*
*
*
*

whatclothesareyouwearing?
howisyourhairdone?
areyouwearingspecs?
whataboutthatdeodorant?

Theanswerstothosequestionsmaynotbetheresultofalotofthoughtbeforeyou
lefthomethismorning,buttheyaretheresultofavarietyofdecisionsaboutthe
imageyouwanttoprojectofyourselfthemessagesaboutyou,yourpersonality,
yourtastesinmusicetc.
Nodoubtalsoduringtheday,there'llbecertainmessagesyouwillthinkabout
morecarefullythatthankyouletteryou'vegottosend;thatexcuseyou'vegotto
findfornothandinginyouressay;thatwayoftellingthatpersonyouwishthey'd
reallyleaveyoualone.
Lasswell:Channel
Thechanneliswhatcarriesthemessage.IfIspeaktoyoumywordsarecarried
viathechannelofairwaves,theradionewsiscarriedbybothairwavesandradio
waves.IcouldtapoutamessageonthebackofyourheadinMorseCode,in
whichcasethechannelistouch.Insimpleterms,messagescanbesentinchannels
correspondingtoyourfivesenses.
Thisuseoftheword'channel'issimilartotheuseofthewordmediumwhenwe
talkaboutcommunication.Thewordsaresometimesusedinterchangeably.
However,strictlyspeaking,weoftenusethewordmediumtorefertoa
combinationofdifferentchannels.Televisionforexampleusesboththeauditory
channel(sound)andvisualchannel(sight).
Mediaanalysis
Thequestionofwhichchannelormediumtousetocarrythemessageisavitally
importantoneinallcommunication.Canyouthinkofanyexamplesofwhenyou
mighthavechosenthewrongchanneltocommunicatewithsomeone?Anobvious
exampleofthepossiblepitfallswouldbetryingtousethetelephoneto
communicatewithaprofoundlydeafperson.ForsometimeItaughtablindperson

howtouseacomputer.Asyoucanprobablyimagine,itwasincrediblydifficultto
usetheauditorychannelonly.
Lasswell:TheReceiver

ManyCommunicationscholarsusetherathertechnologicalsoundingterms:
sender,sourceortransmittertorefertotheCommunicator.You'llalsocome
acrossthetechnologicalreceivertorefertowhatwemightordinarilycallaudience
orreadership.Thiswholequestionofaudienceisvitallyimportanttosuccessful
communication.
Audienceresearch
ProfessionalbroadcastersusetheratingsfiguresandotherdatafromBARBand
advertisersintheprintmediauseinformationfromGallup,theTGIandarangeof
othersourcestofindoutasmuchastheypossiblycanabouttheiraudiences.
Audienceresearchandyourpracticalwork
Whenyoucometodoyourpracticalwork,you'llprobablyneedtodemonstrate
thatyouhavefoundoutasmuchasyoureasonablycanaboutyouraudience,using
theappropriatetechniques.Becauseit'ssoimportant,wehaveaunitdevoted
entirelytoResearchingYourAudience.
Interpersonalcommunication
It'snotonlythemassmedia,though,whereknowledgeofouraudienceisvitally
important.Thesameappliesineverydaylifeinourcontactwithotherpeople.In
manycases,wedon'thavetoknowalotaboutthepersonwe'redealingwith
becauseweeachactouttheappropriaterle.Idon'thavetoknowanythingabout
theshopassistantwhosellsmeapacketoffagsIaskforthefags,hegivesme
them,Igivehimthemoney,hegivesmethechange,wesmilebriefly,say
'Cheerio'andthat'sit.Idon'tneedtoknowanythingabouthim.
Buttherearenumerousoccasionswhenwedoneedtoknowmore,orwemake
unjustifiedassumptionsaboutwhatouraudiencearelike.Canyouthinkofany
examplesfromyoureverydaylifewherecommunicationhasbrokendownbecause
youdidn'tknowenoughaboutyouraudienceorbecauseyoumadethewrong
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guessastowhattheywerelike?Whatabouttheteacherwhowaffleson
incomprehensiblybecauseshemakestheassumptionthatyouknownearlyas
muchaboutthesubjectasshedoes?Orthatyouactuallyrememberwhatshetold
youlastlesson?Orthatyou'reactuallyinterestedinthesubject?

Lasswell:Effects
Lasswell'smodelalsointroducesustothequestionofmediaeffects.Wedon't
communicateinavacuum.Wenormallycommunicatebecausewewantto
achievesomething.Evenifwejustpasssomeoneinthecorridorandsay'hello'
withoutreallythinkingaboutit,wewanttohavetheeffectofreassuringthemthat
we'restillfriends,wearenicepeople,andsoon.
Practicalwork
Lasswellwasconcernednotwithinterpersonalcommunication,butwiththe
effectsofthemassmedia.Thequestionofwhetherthemediahaveanyeffector
notand,ifso,howtheyaffecttheiraudiences,isnotjustalargechunkofmost
communicationandmediacourses,it'salsoaquestionyouhavetoanswerabout
yourpracticalworkand,ofcourse,it'saconstantlytopicalissueinsociety.
Feedback
Tofindoutwhatkindofeffectourcommunicationhas,weneedsomekindof
feedback.IfIspeaktoyou,Ilistentoyourresponsesandwatchforsignsof
interest,boredometc.Inotherwords,Iusefeedbackfromyoutogaugetheeffect
ofmycommunication.Ifyougivemepositivefeedbackbyshowinginterest,I'll
continueinthesamevein;ifyougivemenegativefeedbackbyshowingboredom,
I'llchangethesubject,orchangemystyle,orstopspeaking.Whenbroadcasters
transmitaprogramme,theyusetheservicesofBARBtogainfeedbackintheform
ofratings.Advertisingagenciesuseavarietyofservices,suchasGallup,tofind
outwhethertheircampaignhasworked.Theseareallformsoffeedback.
FeedbackisnotshownspecificallyinLasswell'sformula,butverymany
communicationmodelsdoshowit.AsimpleonewhichdoessoistheShannon
WeaverModel.
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GB
February19,2016