Models of Communication - HPTU Exam Helper

Shannon & Weaver Model of Communication

The Shannon-Weaver model of communication was first published in 1948. The model was developed by American mathematician Claude Shannon and scientist Warren Weaver. It was published in their paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication". It was originally proposed for technical communication, such as through telephone communications. Nonetheless, it has been widely used in multiple different areas of human communication.

Claude Shannon was a mathematician and Warren Weaver was a scientist. They were primarily interested in “machine translation”, and how early computers, radios and televisions transmit information. However, the theory equally applies to human communication, and it remains hugely influential in modern social sciences. It is the foundation of most current communication theories, and for this reason, it is sometimes referred to as “the mother of all models”.

The Shannon-Weaver model is one of the first and most influential models of communication. It explains communication in terms of five basic components: a source, a transmitter, a channel, a receiver, and a destination. The model was originally designed as a linear model to explain how a message is sent and received.

1. Sender (Information Source) - The Shannon Weaver model starts with the sender or “information source”. The person or entity who initiates the communication process by encoding a message into a suitable form for transmission. This could be a speaker, a writer, or any source of information.

2. Encoder (Transmitter) - Transmitter changes the message into the signal, also known as encoder. The sender's messages converted into signals like waves or Binary data which is compactable to transmit the messages through cables or satellites. For example: In telephone the voice is converted into wave signals and it transmits through cables.

3. Channel - The medium through which the message is transmitted from the sender to the receiver. This could be face-to-face conversation, telephone lines, radio waves, the internet, etc.

4. Decoder (Reception) - The reception place of the signal which converts signals into message. It is a reverse process of encoder. The receiver converts those binary data or waves into message which is comfortable and understandable for receiver. Otherwise receiver can't receive the exact message and it will affect the effective communication between sender and receiver.

5. Receiver (Destination) - The destination of the message from sender. It is the end-point of the original Shannon and Weaver model of the technical communication process.

6. Noise - The messages are transferred from encoder to decoder through channel. During this process the messages may distracted or affected by physical noise like horn sounds, thunder and crowd noise or encoded signals may distract in the channel during the transmission process which affect the communication flow or the receiver may not receive the correct message. The model is clearly deals with external noises only which affect the messages or signals from external sources.

The original model identified three levels where communication can be interrupted:

Technical - issues that affect the accuracy of the message being sent.

Semantic - problems that affect the meaning of the message.

Effectiveness - this issue arises when the receiver doesn't respond in the way the source wanted.

7. Feedback - The response or reaction from the receiver back to the sender. Actually, the 'feedback' step was not originally proposed by Shannon and Weaver in 1948. Norbert Weiner came up with the feedback step in response to criticism of the linear nature of the approach. ('Linear' means that the messages are only going one way).

Examples Shannon-Weaver model of communication

Telephone Conversation: In a telephone conversation, the sender (person making the call) encodes their message into spoken language. The transmitter converts this sound signal into electrical signals suitable for transmission through the phone line (channel). The receiver (person receiving the call) decodes the electrical signals back into sound, understanding the message. The destination is the intended recipient of the call. The receiver may speak in response (feedback), to let the sender know what they heard or understood.
Radio Broadcast: In a radio broadcast, the broadcaster is the sender who speaks into a microphone, encoding their message into an audio signal. The transmitter converts this audio signal into radio waves, which are transmitted through the air (channel). Listeners (receivers) tune in to the radio frequency to decode the radio waves back into sound, understanding the message. The listeners are the destination. Feedback is difficult in this step. However, the radio channel may send out researchers into the field to interview listeners to see how effective their communication has been.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of The Shannon Weaver Model

Advantages:-

It Explains The Barriers To Effective Communication Very Well. The Shannon Weaver information theory was revolutionary because it explains the concept of 'noise' in detail. It shows how information is interrupted and helps people identify areas for improvement in communication.
It breaks down communication into understandable parts.

Disadvantages:-

It's A Linear Model / There's Insufficient Regard For Feedback. The original 1948 Shannon Weaver blueprint did not contain the 'feedback' component. When it was added by Weaver later on, it was included as a bit of an afterthought.
It doesn't address one-to-many communication. The 'mother of all models' is silent on the issues that arise when there is one sender and multiple receivers.

Berlos' Model of Communication

In 1960, David Berlo postulated Berlo's Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model of
communication from Shannon Weaver's Model of Communication (1949). He described factors
affecting the individual components in the communication making the communication more
efficient. The model also focuses on encoding and decoding which happens before sender sends the
message and before receiver receives the message respectively.

Berlo's Model has mainly, four components to describe the communication process. They are
sender, message, channel and receiver. Each of the component is affected by many factors.

Components of Berlo's Model of Communication

1. Sender - The sender (source) is the individual or entity who initiates the communication process by encoding a message. This could be a person, group, organization, or any source of information.

The following are the factors related to sender and is also the same in the case of receiver:-

Communication Skills - Communication skills of a person is a factor that affects the communication process. If the sender has good communication skills, the message will be communicated better than if the
sender's communication skills are not good. Similarly, if the receiver can not grasp the
message, then the communication will not be effective. Communication skills include the skills to
speak, present, read, write, listening, etc.
Attitude - It is the feeling that a sender possesses towards the audience, environment, subject, or oneself. To ensure effective communication, the attitude of both sender and receiver matters.
Knowledge - To ensure effective communication, a sender needs to possess knowledge about the message that is being communicated. Knowledge doesn't necessarily mean academic or general knowledge. It is all about having sound knowledge about the subject of communication.
Social Systems - Values, beliefs, laws, rules, religion and many other social factors affect the sender's way of
communicating the message. It creates difference in the generation of message. The place and situation of a sender can also disrupt communication.
Culture - Cultural differences make messages different. A person from one culture might find something
offensive which is very much accepted in another culture.

2. Message - When an individual converts his thoughts into words, a message is created. The process is also called as Encoding. The message is the information, idea, or content being transmitted by the sender. It could be verbal, non-verbal, written, visual, or any other form of communication.

The key factors affecting the message are:-

Content - Content is the thing that is in the message. The whole message from beginning to end is the
content.
Elements - Elements are the non verbal things that tag along with the content like gestures, signs,
language, etc.
Treatment - Treatment is the way in which the message is conveyed to the receiver. Treatment also effects
the feedback of the receiver.
Structure - The structure of the messageor the way it has been structured or arranged, affects the
effectiveness of the message.
Code - People can choose to convey a message in text, video, written, or in any form. Code is the form in which a person chooses to convey the message.

3. Channel - The medium through which the message flows to a receiver is referred to as a channel. While communicating, one may require the aid of various channels. But people tend to depend on their five sense organs for conveying messages.

Factors Affecting Channel:-

Hearing - Through hearing, one can receive orally transmitted messages.
Seeing - One can learn body language to written messages by seeing.
Touching - Non-verbal messages are often transmitted through touch.
Smelling - One can gather lots of information by smelling.
Tasting - Information about food can be gathered with the help of the tongue through the tasting.

4. Receiver - The receiver is the individual or audience for whom the message is intended. They decode the message to extract meaning from it. The responsibility of interpreting and understanding the meaning of the message lies on the shoulders of the receiver. One can only establish effective communication if the sender and receiver reside on the same level of understanding. So the receiver must also have a very good listening skill.

Factors Affecting Receiver:-

Communication skills - Possessing excellent communication skills is essential for a receiver. Decoding and understanding messages require receivers to put their communication skills to use. Along with that, a receiver being on the receiving end should possess excellent listening skills to keep the communication going.
Attitude - Attitude involves the outlook of the receiver towards the sender and their messages.
Knowledge - A receiver should possess knowledge about the subject of communication to interpret and understand the message clearly.
Social system - Societal beliefs, values, religion can influence the receiver's interpretation skills.
Culture - Similarly, cultural values can also influence the understanding and interpreting abilities of a receiver.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Berlo's Model of Communication