I.

DEFINING THE (Berlo’s Model of Communication)

COMMUNICATION  SOURCE
 MESSAGE
“sending” or “receiving” -connotes something one
 CHANNEL
person does or give to someone else.
 RECEIVER
“sharing” -connotes something that two or more  EFFECT
people do together.  FEEDBACK

Black and Bryant (1922) define communication as: Source

 the process by which individuals share meaning.  refers to a person or a group of persons “with a
 the process by which an individual (the purpose, a reason for engaging in
communicator) transmits stimuli (usually verbal communication” (Berlo, 1961).
symbols) to modify the behavior of other  The source initiates the communication process.
individuals (communicatee).  Also referred to as the encoder, sender,
 occurring whenever the information is passed information, source or communicator.
from one place to another. Not simply the
Receiver
verbal, explicit, and intentional transmission of
message; it includes all those processes by  refers to the person or group of persons at the
which people influence one another. other end of the communication process.
 He or she is the target of the communication
Communication is…
(Berlo, 1961).
 transmission of information, ideas, attitudes or  The receiver listens when the source talks; the
emotion from one person or group to another receiver reads what the source writes.
(or others) primarily through symbols
Message
(Theodorson and Theodorson, 1969).
 may be defined as “social interaction through  A source must have something to transmit.
messages” (Gerbner, 1967)  His or her purpose is expressed in the form of a
 a process by which a source sends a message to message.
a receiver by means of some channel to  The message may be an idea, purpose or
produce a response from the receiver, in intention that has been translated into a code
accordance with the intention of the source or a systematic set of symbols (Berlo, 1961).
(SRA, Sourcebook, 1996)
A message has three factors:
According to Kincaid and Schramm:
1. Message code – any group of symbols that can be
 Not all communication has to be human structured in a way that is meaningful to some person.
communication. Thus, language (sounds, letter and words) is a code
 Not all participants in a communication process because its contains elements that are arranged in
have to be present at the same time. meaningful orders.
 Communication can take place over large
distances of space and time. 2. Message content – is the material in the message
 Not all communication takes place in words. selected by the source to express his/her purpose. Ex:
 Communication not always require two or more research report (included writers assertion’s,
participants. information presented, conclusions drawn.
 Thinking is a form of communication 3. Message treatment – decisions that the
Communication as a process and its four attributes: communication source makes in selecting and arranging
both code and content. Ex: A journalist writes an article
DYNAMIC - On-going; ever-changing, with no clear (what information to include, the angle of the story, the
beginnings and endings. words he will use.)
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION - Language is a form of Channel
symbol. “The medium shapes the message.”
 modes of encoding and decoding the messages
SYSTEMATIC - Consist of group of elements which  (e.g. speaking)
interact to influence each other and the system as a  message vehicles (sound waves)
whole.  vehicle carriers (air)
MEANING IS PERSONALLY CONSTRUCTED - Meanings
are in people, not in words.
Channel
II. ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS
  determined by: availability, money, source Laswell’s Model
preferences,which channels are received by
 Harold D. Laswell, an American political
most at the lower cost, which channels have
scientist.
the most impact; which channels are adaptable
 Limitations: omits the elements of feedback;
to the purpose of the source; which channels
the model took for granted that the
are most adaptable to the content of the
communication is mainly a persuasive process.
message.
 S-WHO
Effect  M-SAYS WHAT
 C-IN WHICH CHANNEL
 The outcome of a communication or the
 R-TO WHOM
response of the receiver to the message of the
 E-WITH WHAT EFFECT
source.
 Sometimes it adheres to the desired outcome of Shannon and Weavers “Mathematical” Model
the source, sometimes the effect is not the
 Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver were
desired outcome.
engineers working for Bell Telephone Company.
 Overt Effect – obvious or visible; responses
 the model answered the questions
include non-verbal cues (nodding of head,
 one-way linier model
signing of a contract).
 introduced the element of noise – in technical
 Covert Effect – non-observable but sometimes
aspect, noise is anything that disrupts the
they are the most important.
transmission of a signal; in human
* Communication can result in motivation or communication context, noise is anything that
persuasion. It may lead to awareness, interest, decision, disrupts the smooth flow of communication.
or action.
Newcomb’s Model
Feedback
 Introduces the role of communication in a
 When an individual communicates with himself, society or social relationship.
the messages he encodes are fed back into his  Communication maintains equilibrium within a
system by his decoder (Berlo, 1960). social system
 A communication response is feedback to both  If A and B have similar attitudes about X, then
source and receiver. the system is in equilibrium. Should their
 Feedback could take form of non-verbal or attitudes differ, then there is no equilibrium and
verbal cues. A and B must communicate to find a way to put
their system in balance.
III. LEVELS OF
COMMUNICATION Osgood and Schramm’s Model

 Wilbur Schramm and Charles Osgood

 INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 Compares their model to Shannon and
 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Weaver’s (focus on channel)
 MASS COMMUNICATION
 Schramm and Osgood model focuses on the
Intrapersonal Communication - communication with actors in the communication to be equal in
oneself. performing the tasks of encoding, interpreting,
and decoding messages.
Interpersonal Communication - often defined as face-
to-face communication person-to-person Osgood and Schramm Model
communication – communication between one person,
 Cyclical representation
a group, or a room full of people at one time but still on
 “…it is misleading to think of communication
a person-tO person basis.
process as starting somewhere and ending
Mass Communication - A communication that employs somewhere. It is really endless (Schramm, 1954)
technological devices (radio, television, films) to
Westley and MacLean’s Model
disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous,
and widely dispersed audiences (Janowitz, 1968 and  David Berlo
McQuail, 1981).  SMCRE Model
- Communicating with large group of people at one time
through the use of social media.

Berlo’s Model
MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
 David Berlo
  SMCRE Model 3. You’re explaining a procedure to a group of new
 In his book Process of Communication (1961), freshmen who look like nothings you’ve said so
he also discusses the element of feedback. far has made sense to them.

Dance’s Helical Model NOISE- any interference with the message travelling
along the channel…which may lead to the signal
 Portrays the communication process as moving.
received being different from that sent (Chandler,n.d.)
 Shows the dynamism of the communication
process  Static over telephone lines
 May be used to illustrate information gaps and  Blaring of the radio
the thesis that knowledge tends to create more  Car horns outside your window
knowledge.  Negative impressions
 Cultural differences
Kincaid’s Convergence Model
 Undiagnosed learning deficiencies
 D. Lawrence Kincaid
CLASSIFYING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
 Shows a process of convergence to which
participants share information so that mutual TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
understanding is reached. Once mutual
- How accurately the message can be
understanding is reached, there is mutual
transmitted. (e.g. radio static; bad cellular
agreement, then collective action can be taken.
signal.
IV. ENVIRONMENT OF SEMANTIC PROBLEMS
COMMUNICATION
- How precisely the meaning is conveyed. (e.g.
Even the most experienced communicators among us translating a publication from one language to
have been misunderstood at one time or another. another.
 Distortions in message EFFECTIVENESS PROBLEMS
 Misinformation
 Lack of information - How effectively does the received message
affect behavior. (e.g. editor makes comments
A second look at effective communication… for the purpose of making a piece of writing
more concise or precise.
Berlo explained: Effect is the difference between what a
receiver thinks, feels, and does before and after CLASSIFYING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
exposure to a message. Thus, effect is best expressed in
behavioral terms. A group of scientists classify barriers of communication
into three: physical barriers, psychological-cultural
The communicator has one or more purposes: barriers, and social barriers.
to gain attention, understanding, or acceptance, or to Channel Noise
elicit action.
 e.g. static, wrong spelling, letters too small to
Jamias used the following formula to explain the factors read, dead air on the radio.
that contribute to effective communication:  these affect the channel, medium, or
instrument used in transmitting a message. in
E= Sc + Mc + Cc + Rc + Re
turn, they affect the fidelity of the message.
Where:  Fidelity means that the message received is
faithful to the one sent.
 E is effect
 Sc is characteristic of source Environmental Factors
 Mc is characteristic of channel
 e.g. uncomfortable sitting arrangements, rooms
 Cc is characteristic of receiver
that are too hot, wall paper is too bright,
 Re is resources available to the receiver
meeting right after lunch.
Noise  barriers that are present in the environment in
which a communication takes place.
1. In the middle of an important meeting, the
 they are external to the communication process
phone rings insistently.
but may create conditions under which
2. While rushing to revise a paper whose deadline
communication effectiveness is hampered.
was yesterday, the electricity goes off and you
lose half of what you have already typed in the
computer.
Semantic Noise
  it happens when the message received as sent - a competent communicator must have a sense
but the meaning received was different from of context.
the meaning sent. - “avoid violating social or interpersonal norms,
 Occurs when we use, hear, or read words with rules or expectations” (Spitzberg and Cupach,
double meanings. 1989 in Rothwell, 1992)
 E.g. gay meant happy or joyful
Four basic components of communication
 Language serves as a bridge between peoples
competence, Littlejohn and Jabusch (1982):
and culture, however, it can also serve as a
barrier. 1. Understanding
2. Communication skills
Socio-Psychological Barriers
3. Interpersonal sensitivity
 e.g. emotional blocks, charisma, stereotyping, 4. Ethical responsibility
first impressions, and absent-mindedness
Shockley-Zalabak (1988) modified these into four
 Stereotyping – means judging people before
easily remembered elements:
you know all the facts about them; believing
that they have common characteristics common A - KNOWLEDGE
among members of each group.
B - SKILLS
Other Barriers
C - SENSITIVITY
Ethnocentrism – in viewing a group or culture as
superior to all others. D – VALUES

E.g. we interpret messages from the context of our KNOWLEDGE

experiences. Most of the time it help us respond  Knowing what to do, when to do, and how to do
appropriately to stimuli, however at times, negative it.
experiences makes us dysfunctional (disbelief, rejection,  Know when to keep quiet and know when to
distortion, or misinterpretation). stop.
 Knowledge of how to communicate with
V. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
different kinds of people.
Communication Competence
SKILLS
Rothwell(1992) noted that knowing what constitutes
 Ability to demonstrate your knowledge in actual
human communication does not automatically make
situations (Rothwell, 1992).
you an effective communicator. He points out that one
 Communication skills, both verbal and on-
must first understand what it means to communicate
verbal, are intrinsic to the success of any
competently.
individual.
Qualities of a Competent Communicator
SENSITIVITY
1. They have a We-not-Me Orientation.
 Competent communicators must be sensitive to
2. They understand communication effectiveness.
the consequences of the communication
3. They have a sense of appropriateness.
choices they make.
1. They have a We-not-Me Orientation  Situation requirements: relationships they have
with others in a group; goals of the
- People who work well in a group are often more communicator in light of the group’s goals.
competent in achieving communication goals
than those who do not. VALUES

2. They understand communication effectiveness  The desire to avoid previous mistakes and find
better ways of communicating with group
- “someone who knows what changes in members (Rothwell).
communication behavior need to be made,  Commitment to better communication.
want to make these changes, but never does,
can hardly be deemed a competent
communicator” (Rothwell, 1992).

3. They have a sense of appropriateness