MODULE 1: Communication in the Twenty-First Century

UNIT 1
Lesson 1: Communication models

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this module, you will be able to:
 Discover the importance of communication in society;
 Analyze the principles and processes of communication as embodied in the
communication models provided; and
 Relate the communication models to their experiences and apply them to
their own communication processes

Activity
Directions: Explain the pictures below the way you understood it. Fill in
Your answer on the box below.

1.

2.

3.

Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care
 Abstraction:

Communication Study
ARISTOTLE THE COMMUNICATION RESEARCHER

Aristotle said, “Rhetoric falls into three divisions, determined by the three classes of listeners to speeches.
For of the three elements in speech-making — speaker, subject, and person addressed — it is the last
one, the hearer that determines the speech’s end and object.”

For Aristotle it was the “to whom” that determined if communication occurred and how effective it was.
Aristotle, in his study of “who says what, through what channels, to whom, and what will be the results”
focused on persuasion and its effect on the audience. Aristotle thought is was extremely important to
focus on the audience in communication exchanges.

What is interesting is that when we think of communication we are often, “more concerned about
ourselves as the communication’s source, about our message, and even the channel we are going to use.
Too often, the listener, viewer, reader fails to get any consideration at all (Lee).

Aristotle’s statement above demonstrates that humans who have been studying communication have had
solid ideas about how to communicate effectively for a very long time. Even though people have been
formally studying communication for a long time, it is still necessary to continue studying communication
in order to improve it.

Lee, Dick. Developing Effective Communications. University of Missouri Extension. 31 March 2008. Web.
Dec. 2014.

We recognize that there are countless good definitions of communication, but we feel it’s important to
provide you with our definition so that you understand how we approach each chapter in this book. We
are not arguing that this definition of communication is the only one you should consider viable, but you
will understand the content of this text better if you understand how we have come to define
communication. For the purpose of this text we define communication as the process of using symbols to
exchange meaning.

Let’s examine two models of communication to help you further grasp this definition. Shannon and
Weaver proposed a Mathematical Model of Communication (often called the Linear Model) that serves as a
basic model of communication. This model suggests that communication is simply the transmission of a
message from one source to another. Watching YouTube videos serves as an example of this. You act as
the receiver when you watch videos, receiving messages from the source (the YouTube video). To better
understand this, let’s break down each part of this model.

The Linear Model of Communication is a model that suggests communication moves only in one direction.
The Sender encodes a Message, then uses a certain Channel (verbal/nonverbal communication) to send it
to a Receiver who decodes (interprets) the message. Noise is anything that interferes with, or changes,
the original encoded message.

• A sender is someone who encodes and sends a message to a receiver through a particular channel. The
sender is the initiator of communication. For example, when you text a friend, ask a teacher a question,
or wave to someone you are the sender of a message.

• A receiver is the recipient of a message. Receivers must decode (interpret) messages in ways that are
meaningful for them. For example, if you see your friend make eye contact, smile, wave, and say “hello”
as you pass, you are receiving a message intended for you. When this happens you must decode the
verbal and nonverbal communication in ways that are meaningful to you.

• A message is the particular meaning or content the sender wishes the receiver to understand. The
message can be intentional or unintentional, written or spoken, verbal or nonverbal, or any combination
of these. For example, as you walk across campus you may see a friend walking toward you. When you
make eye contact, wave, smile, and say “hello,” you are offering a message that is intentional, spoken,
verbal and nonverbal.

Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care
Illustration showing two round smiley-faces. An arrow leads from the left face to the right one. The left is
labeled "Sender" and has "Encoding" on its head. The right is labeled "Receiver" and has "Decoding" on its
head. Two stars appear near the arrow, labeled "Noise." The arrow is labeled "'Hello!' = Message/
Channel."
Linear Model of Communication by Andy Schmitz

• A channel is the method a sender uses to send a message to a receiver. The most common channels
humans use are verbal and nonverbal communication which we will discuss in detail in Chapters 2 and 3.
Verbal communication relies on language and includes speaking, writing, and sign language. Nonverbal
communication includes gestures, facial expressions, paralanguage, and touch. We also use
communication channels that are mediated (such as television or the computer) which may utilize both
verbal and nonverbal communication. Using the greeting example above, the channels of communication
include both verbal and nonverbal communication.

• Noise is anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of a message. Noise is external (a jack
hammer outside your apartment window or loud music in a nightclub), and internal (physical pain,
psychological stress, or nervousness about an upcoming test). External and internal noise make encoding
and decoding messages more difficult. Using our ongoing example, if you are on your way to lunch and
listening to music on your phone when your friend greets you, you may not hear your friend say “hello,”
and you may not wish to chat because you are hungry. In this case, both internal and external noise
influenced the communication exchange. Noise is in every communication context, and therefore, NO
message is received exactly as it is transmitted by a sender because noise distorts it in one way or
another.

Models of Communication

Models of communication are conceptual models used to explain the human communication process. The
first major model for communication came in 1948 by Claude Elwood Shannon and published with an
introduction by 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).

Transmission Model of Communication

The transmission model of communication describes communication as a linear, one-way process in which
a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver (Ellis & McClintock, 1990). This model focuses on
the sender and message within a communication encounter. Although the receiver is included in the
model, this role is viewed as more of a target or end point rather than part of an ongoing process.

Interaction Model of Communication

The interaction model of communication describes communication as a process in which

participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending messages and
receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts (Schramm, 1997). Rather than illustrating
communication as a linear, one-way process, the interaction model incorporates feedback, which makes
communication a more interactive, two-way process.

Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care
Transaction Model of Communication

The transaction model of communication describes communication as a process in

which communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural
contexts. In this model, we don’t just communicate to exchange messages; we
communicate to create relationships, form intercultural alliances, shape our self-
concepts, and engage with others in dialogue to create communities. In short, we don’t
communicate about our realities; communication helps to construct our realities.

Key Takeaways
 Communication models are not complex enough to truly capture all that takes place in a
communication encounter, but they can help us examine the various steps in the process in order to
better understand our communication and the communication of others.
 The transmission model of communication describes communication as a one-way, linear process in
which a sender encodes a message and transmits it through a channel to a receiver who decodes it.
The transmission of the message many be disrupted by environmental or semantic noise. This
model is usually too simple to capture FtF interactions but can be usefully applied to computer-
mediated communication.
 The interaction model of communication describes communication as a two-way process in which
participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending and
receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts. This model captures the interactive
aspects of communication but still doesn’t account for how communication constructs our realities
and is influenced by social and cultural contexts.

Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care
  The transaction model of communication describes communication as a process in which
communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural contexts. This model
includes participants who are simultaneously senders and receivers and accounts for how
communication constructs our realities, relationships, and communities.

Analysis:

Directions: Answer the following questions. Write your answer on the space provide
below each item. Limit your answer to 100 words.
Rubrics :
Content - 10
Relevance -10
Organization -10
TOTAL – 30 points
1. Getting integrated: How might knowing the various components of
the communication process help you in your academic life, your
professional life, and your civic life? Explain.
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2. What communication situations does the transmission model best represent? The
interaction model? The transaction model?
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3. Use the transaction model of communication to analyze a recent communication

encounter you had. Sketch out the communication encounter and make sure to label
each part of the model (communicators; message; channel; feedback; and physical,
psychological, social, relational, and cultural contexts).
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Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care
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Application:

Directions: Differentiate the following. Fill in your answers on the table below.

Transaction Model of Interaction Model of

Communication Communication

References:
Barnlund, D. C., “A Transactional Model of Communication,” in Foundations of Communication
Theory, eds. Kenneth K. Sereno and C. David Mortensen (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1970), 83–
92.
Ellis, R. and Ann McClintock, You Take My Meaning: Theory into Practice in Human Communication
(London: Edward Arnold, 1990), 71
Schramm, W., The Beginnings of Communication Study in America (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997).

Prepared by: Galvez, Deo j.| Department of Education and Liberal Arts /SCC that Care