Communication models

Main article: Models of communication

Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication

Communication major dimensions scheme

Interactional Model of Communication

Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of Communication

Transactional model of communication

Communication code scheme

Linear Communication Model

The first major model for communication was introduced by Claude Shannon and Warren
Weaver for Bell Laboratories in 1949[26] 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 emitter (emisor in the picture)/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. Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this
model based on the following elements:

1. An information source, which produces a message.

2. A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals.
3. A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission.
4. A noise source, which distorts the signal while it propagates through the channel.
5. A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
 6. A destination, where the message arrives.

Shannon and Weaver argued that there were three levels of problems for communication within
this theory.

The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted?

The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning conveyed?
The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behavior?

Daniel Chandler[27] critiques the transmission model by stating:

It assumes communicators are isolated individuals.

No allowance for differing purposes.
No allowance for differing interpretations.
No allowance for unequal power relations.
No allowance for situational contexts.

In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver's (1949) linear model of communication
and created the SMCR Model of Communication.[28] The Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver
Model of communication separated the model into clear parts and has been expanded upon by
other scholars.

Communication is usually described along a few major dimensions: message (what type of
things are communicated), source/emisor/sender/encoder (from whom), form (in which form),
channel (through which medium), destination/receiver/target/decoder (to whom). Wilbur Schram
(1954) also indicated that we should also examine the impact that a message has (both desired
and undesired) on the target of the message.[29] 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 with three levels of

semiotic rules:

1. Pragmatic (concerned with the relations between signs/expressions and their users).
2. Semantic (study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent).
3. Syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols).

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.
In light of these weaknesses, Barnlund (2008) proposed a transactional model of communication.
[30]
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.

Theories of coregulation describe communication as a creative and dynamic continuous process,

rather than a discrete exchange of information. Canadian media scholar Harold Innis had the
theory that people use different types of media to communicate and which one they choose to use
will offer different possibilities for the shape and durability of society.[31][page  needed] His famous
example of this is using ancient Egypt and looking at the ways they built themselves out of
media with very different properties stone and papyrus. Papyrus is what he called 'Space
Binding'. it made possible the transmission of written orders across space, empires and enables
the waging of distant military campaigns and colonial administration. The other is stone and
'Time Binding', through the construction of temples and the pyramids can sustain their authority
generation to generation, through this media they can change and shape communication in their
society.[31][page  needed]

As academic discipline with distinct fields of study

Main article: Communication studies

The academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication is communication
studies. The discipline encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation to mass
media outlets such as television broadcasting. Communication studies also examines how
messages are interpreted through the political, cultural, economic, semiotic, hermeneutic, and
social dimensions of their contexts. Statistics, as a quantitative approach to communication
science, has also been incorporated into research on communication science in order to help
substantiate claims.[32]

Organizational communication
Main article: Business communication

Business communication is used for a wide variety of activities including, but not limited to:
strategic communications planning, media relations, internal communications, public relations
(which can include social media, broadcast and written communications, and more), brand
management, reputation management, speech-writing, customer-client relations, and
internal/employee communications.

Companies with limited resources may choose to engage in only a few of these activities, while
larger organizations may employ a full spectrum of communications. Since it is relatively
difficult to develop such a broad range of skills, communications professionals often specialize
in one or two of these areas but usually have at least a working knowledge of most of them. By
far, the most important qualifications communications professionals must possess are excellent
writing ability, good 'people' skills, and the capacity to think critically and strategically.

Business communication could also refer to the style of communication within a given corporate
entity (i.e. email conversation styles, or internal communication styles).

Political communication

Communication is one of the most relevant tools in political strategies, including persuasion and
propaganda. In mass media research and online media research, the effort of the strategist is that
of getting a precise decoding, avoiding "message reactance", that is, message refusal. The
reaction to a message is referred also in terms of approach to a message, as follows:

 In "radical reading" the audience rejects the meanings, values, and viewpoints built into
the text by its makers. Effect: message refusal.
 In "dominant reading", the audience accepts the meanings, values, and viewpoints built
into the text by its makers. Effect: message acceptance.
 In "subordinate reading" the audience accepts, by and large, the meanings, values, and
worldview built into the text by its makers. Effect: obey to the message.[33]

Holistic approaches are used by communication campaign leaders and communication strategists
in order to examine all the options, "actors" and channels that can generate change in the
semiotic landscape, that is, change in perceptions, change in credibility, change in the "memetic
background", change in the image of movements, of candidates, players and managers as
perceived by key influencers that can have a role in generating the desired "end-state".

The modern political communication field is highly influenced by the framework and practices
of "information operations" doctrines that derive their nature from strategic and military studies.
According to this view, what is really relevant is the concept of acting on the Information
Environment. The information environment is the aggregate of individuals, organizations, and
systems that collect, process, disseminate, or act on information. This environment consists of
three interrelated dimensions, which continuously interact with individuals, organizations, and
systems. These dimensions are known as physical, informational, and cognitive.[34]
Interpersonal communication

Main article: Interpersonal communication

In simple terms, interpersonal communication is the communication between one person and
another (or others). It is often referred to as face-to-face communication between two (or more)
people. Both verbal and nonverbal communication, or body language, play a part in how one
person understands another, and attribute to one's own soft skills. In verbal interpersonal
communication there are two types of messages being sent: a content message and a relational
message. Content messages are messages about the topic at hand and relational messages are
messages about the relationship itself.[35] This means that relational messages come across in how
one says something and it demonstrates a person's feelings, whether positive or negative, towards
the individual they are talking to, indicating not only how they feel about the topic at hand, but
also how they feel about their relationship with the other individual.[35]

There are many different aspects of interpersonal communication including:

 Audiovisual Perception of Communication Problems.[36] The concept follows the idea that
our words change what form they take based on the stress level or urgency of the
situation. It also explores the concept that stuttering during speech shows the audience
that there is a problem or that the situation is more stressful.
 The Attachment Theory.[37] This is the combined work of John Bowlby and Mary
Ainsworth (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991) This theory follows the relationships that builds
between a mother and child, and the impact it has on their relationships with others.
 Emotional Intelligence and Triggers.[38] Emotional Intelligence focuses on the ability to
monitor ones own emotions as well as those of others. Emotional Triggers focus on
events or people that tend to set off intense, emotional reactions within individuals.
 Attribution Theory.[39] This is the study of how individuals explain what causes different
events and behaviors.
 The Power of Words (Verbal communications).[40] Verbal communication focuses heavily
on the power of words, and how those words are said. It takes into consideration tone,
volume, and choice of words.
 Nonverbal Communication. It focuses heavily on the setting that the words are conveyed
in, as well as the physical tone of the words.
 Ethics in Personal Relations.[41] It is about a space of mutual responsibility between two
individuals, it's about giving and receiving in a relationship. This theory is explored by
Dawn J. Lipthrott in the article What IS Relationship? What is Ethical Partnership?
 Deception in Communication.[42] This concept goes into that everyone lies, and how this
can impact relationships. This theory is explored by James Hearn in his article
Interpersonal Deception Theory: Ten Lessons for Negotiators.
 Conflict in Couples.[43] This focuses on the impact that social media has on relationships,
as well as how to communicate through conflict. This theory is explored by Amanda
Lenhart and Maeve Duggan in their paper Couples, the Internet, and Social Media.