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Communication Process

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION LESSON STUDY

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marianne lualhati
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20 views3 pages

Communication Process

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION LESSON STUDY

Uploaded by

marianne lualhati
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Purposive Communication

The Communication Process

The definition of communication and its elements can also be further understood in the light
of a framework or model to see their interrelatedness. The common models of communication
that have been utilized over the years are as follows.

1. Linear Model Also called the transmission model, a linear model is based on the
assumption that communication is transmitted in a straightforward manner-from a
sender to a receiver. This clearly reflects that communication is a one-way process.
a. Laswell's Verbal Model

As mentioned earlier in the lesson, communication can be understood by


answering the five questions provided by Harold Laswell (1948).

Who? →Says what? → In what channel? → To whom →With what effect?

Laswell's verbal model appears to be the simplest model of communication. In


this model, communication flows in one direction from the sender (who?) with
a message (says what?) which is sent via a certain medium (in what channel?)
towards the receiver (to whom?) to bring about a certain result (with what
effect?).

b. Shannon and Weaver's Model

In 1949, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver modified Laswell's verbal


model by adding noise as a component. The model is shown in Figure 1.2.
Shannon and Weaver's model is still linear in nature. The eight components are
the source (the person whom the message comes from), message (content of
the transaction), transmitter (the instrument through which the message passes
like a telephone), signal (which flows through a channel), channel (a carrier or
medium such as air, light, electricity, radio waves, and postal system for
written communication), noise (interference that disrupts and distorts the
understanding of the message), receiver (refers to the receiving instrument
such as telephone lines, ears to see sounds, and eyes for gestures in face-to-
face communication), and destination (person/s who receive/s and process/es
the message).

2. Interactive Model

This model is in contrast with the linear one which considers communication as
flowing only in one direction, from a sender to a receiver (Gronbeck, 1999). In this
model, communication is a two-way process which involves an exchange or an
interaction between the sender and the receiver. This indicates that the receiver is not
just a mere absorber of the message from the receiver. As the receiver gets the
message, he or she processes it, provides his or her own interpretation of the message,
and delivers it back to the sender which makes the process a continuous one. The
message that is delivered back to the sender is called feedback which is depicted by
Wilbur Schramm (1955) as the second form of message in his model.

In this model, the personal fields of experience, whether shared or not by the
communicators, are very important. According to Schramm, the communicators' fields
of experience explain why misunderstanding occurs. For instance, you jokingly tell
your friend that your foot is already swollen because he has stepped on it several
times. As a result, he feels offended instead of realizing you are hurt. The
communication process is enhanced or weakened depending on the fields of
experience of the communicators. Schramm pointed out that when there are more
overlaps in the communicators' fields of experience (meaning they share the same
experience), the better they understand each other.

3. Transactional Model

This model was adapted from Wood (1997) in response to the failure of the interactive
model to portray the dynamism of human communication. The linear model is
sequential that it only looks into communication as a process in which one
communicates to another who then sends feedback to the former (Wood, 2014).
Likewise, it designates a person as a sender and a receiver when both communicators
can send and receive messages. Another shortcoming of the interactive model is that it
does not depict communication as changing over time as a result of the dynamism of
transactions among people.

The key features of the transactional model are as follows:


▸ It has a time element which influences how people communicate. For instance, freshmen
college students are more reserved at the start of the semester since they are still getting to
know their classmates. This will change over time as they become more comfortable with
their classmates due to their frequent interaction.

▸ It depicts communication as varying (not constant) and dynamic (not static).

▸The outer lines in the model indicate that communication occurs within systems that
influence what and how people communicate. This system may include culture, context, and
family background.
▸ Finally, the model does not label one as the sender and the other as the receiver.
Instead, are communicators who actively, equally, and simultaneously participate in the
communication process.

Task 1.
Check your knowledge on Communication Process. Answer the following questions:

1. How does Laswell's Verbal Model help in understanding the communication process?

2. In what ways does Shannon and Weaver's Model introduce the concept of "noise," and
why is this important?

3. What are the main differences between linear and interactive models of
communication?

4. How does time influence communication dynamics as described in the transactional


model?

5. Can you provide an example that illustrates how fields of experience affect
communication understanding in the interactive model?

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