MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

Chapter-5
• A model is a pictorial presentation to show the
structure of communication process in which
various elements are linked.
• It is an abstracted representation of a reality
• A good model comes as close to reality as clearly
possible.
• But being an abstraction, a model is not a reality ,
it only represents the reality of communication
for better understanding of the process of
communication
• Most of the models are linear, i.e one
directional
1.“Aristotle’s Model of Communication”.
• Aristotle, a great philosopher initiative the
earliest mass communication model called
“Aristotle’s Model of Communication”.
• He proposed model before 300 B.C who found
the importance of audience role in
communication chain in his communication
model.
• This model is more focused on public speaking
than interpersonal communication.
• Aristotle Model of Communication is formed
with 5 basic elements
• (i) Speaker, (ii) Speech, (iii) Occasion, (iv)
Audience and (v) Effect.
• Aristotle advises speakers to build speech for
different audience on different time
(occasion) and for different effects.
• Speaker plays an important role in Public
speaking. The speaker must prepare his
speech and analysis audience needs before he
enters into the stage. His words should
influence in audience mind and persuade their
thoughts towards him.
• In a political meeting, the prospective leader
delivers speech to the audience urging for
more votes from the constituency. He tries to
convince the crowd in the best possible way
he can so that he emerges as a winner. What
is he actually doing ?
• He is delivering his speech in a manner that
the listeners would get convinced and cast
their votes only in his favour, or in other
words respond in the same manner the
speaker wanted to. Here the leader or the
speaker or the sender is the centre of
attraction and the crowd simply the passive
listeners
• According to this model, the speaker plays a key role in
communication.
• He is the one who takes complete charge of the
communication.
• The sender first prepares a content which he does by
carefully putting his thoughts in words with an objective of
influencing the listeners or the recipients, who would then
respond in the sender’s desired way.
• No points in guessing that the content has to be very
impressive in this model for the audience or the receivers
to get convinced. The model says that the speaker
communicates in such a way that the listeners get
influenced and respond accordingly.
 Example:
• Alexander gave brave speech to his soldiers in
the war field to defeat Persian Empire.
• Speaker           -    Alexander
• Speech            -    about his invasion
• Occasion        -    War field
• Audience        -    Soldiers
• Effect              -    To defeat Persia
 2. The berlo’s model
• The berlo’s model follows the smcr model this
model is not specific to any particular
communication.
 Berlo’s model lives a number of
factors under each of the elements :
• Source: The source is were the message originates.
Communication skills – It is the individual’s skill to
communicate (ability to read, write, speak, listen etc…)
Attitudes – The attitude towards the audience, subject and
towards one self for e.g. for the student the attitude is to
learn more and for teachers wants to help teach.
Knowledge- The knowledge about the subject one is going to
communicate for e.g. whatever the teacher communicates
in the class about the subject so having knowledge in what
you are communicating.(It is not talking about the general
knowledge it is all about the knowledge of the subject, so it
is the familiarity of what you are communicating.)
Social system – The Social system includes the
various aspects in society like values, beliefs,
culture, religion and general understanding of
society. It is were the communication takes
place. For e.g. class room differs from country to
country like behaviors, how we communicate etc.
Culture: Culture of the particular society also
comes under social system. All to this model, only
if you have the above in the proper or adequate
proportion v can communicate.
• Encoder: The sender of the message (message
originates) is referred as encoder, so the 
source is encoding the message here
• Message
Content – The beginning to the end of a message comprises its content for
e.g.  From beginning to end whatever the class teacher speaks in the class
is the content of the message.
Elements – It includes various things like language, gestures, body language
etc, so these are all the elements of the particular message. Content is
accompanied by some elements.
Treatment – It refers to the packing of the message. The way in which the
message is conveyed or the way in which the message is passed on or
deliver it.
Structure- The structure of the message how it is arranged, the way you
structure the message into various parts.
Code- The code of the message means how it is sent in what form it could be
e.g. language, body language, gestures, music and even culture is a code.
Through this you get/give the message or through which the
communication takes place or being reached.
• Channel-   It is nothing but the five senses through this only we do. The following are the five  senses which we use
• Hearing
• Seeing
• Touching
• Smelling
• Tasting
• Whatever communication we do it is there either of these channels.
Hearing: The use of ears to get the message for e.g. oral messages,
interpersonal etc.
Seeing: Visual channels for e.g. TV can be seen and the message is delivered.
Touching: The sense of touch can be used as a channel to communicate for
e.g. we touch and buy food, hugging etc.
Smelling: Smell also can be a channel to communicate for e.g. perfumes,
food, charred smell communicates something is burning, we can find out
about which food is being cooked etc.Tasting : The tongue also can be
used to decipher e.g. Food can be tasted and communication can happen.
• Decoder : Who receives the message and
decodes it is referred to as decoder.
• Receiver: The receiver needs to have all the thinks like the
source.
This model believes that for an effective communication to
take place the source and the receiver needs to be in the
same level, only if the source and receiver are on the same
level communication will happen or take place properly. So
source and receiver should be similar
For e.g. Communication skills on source side is good then the
receiver should equally have good listening skills.
We cannot say the entire message passed doesn’t reaches the
receiver has it is because the receiver may not good in
listening, so only for the effective communication the
source and the receiver to be in the same level.
 Criticism of berlo’s smcr model of
communication:
• No feedback / don’t know about the effect
• Does not mention barriers to communication
• No room for noise
• Complex model
• It is a linear model of communication
• Needs people to be on same level for communication
to occur but not true in real life
• Main drawback of the model is that the model omits
the usage of sixth sense as a channel which is actually
a gift to the human beings (thinking, understanding,
analyzing etc).
 3. The Shannon–Weaver model of communication
• The Shannon–Weaver model of communication has
been called the "mother of all models."Social Scientists
use the term to refer to an integrated model of the
concepts of information source, message, transmitter,
signal, channel, noise, receiver, information
destination, probability of error, encoding, decoding,
information rate, channel capacity, etc. However, this
is misleading, as the related fundamental ideas were
developed by Shannon alone
 4. Schramm’s Model of communication, 1954
Also known as Osgood’s model of communication

• Wilbur L. Schramm was a forefather in the development of

a basic model of communication. His model is a derivation
of the Shannon-Weaver transmission model of
communication. The Shannon-Weaver model proposed six
elements of communication:
• Source
• encoder
• message
• channel
• decoder
• receiver
• Wilbur Schramm's 1954 model expands on this
thinking by emphasizing the process of encoding
and decoding the message.
• Schramm envisioned this process as a two-way
circular communication between the sender and
receiver.
• Where the Shannon-Weaver model is a more
mathematical and technological one, Schramm
incorporates the study of human behavior in the
communication process.
• In addition to the six elements above,
Schramm has included these concepts:
• Feedback - information that comes back from
the receiver to the sender and tells him how
well he is doing.
• Field of Experience - an individual's beliefs,
values, experiences and learned meanings
both as an individual or part of a group.
• Dr. Schramm suggests that the message can be
complicated by different meanings learned by different
people.
• Meanings can be denotative or connotative.
• Denotative meanings are common or dictionary meanings
and can be roughly the same for most people. Connotative
meanings are emotional or evaluative and based on
personal experience.
• A message can also have surface and latent meanings.
Other characteristics of messages that impact
communication between two individuals are: intonations
and pitch patterns, accents, facial expressions, quality of
voice, and gestures.
• Schramm's model of communication also
allows for the process of interpreting the
message.
• This process is influenced by the presence of
both physical (phone, tv, sirens, etc.) and
semantic (distractions, age, attitudes, etc.)
noise.