communicators.

The participants can be humans

INTRO TO COMM or machines.
ONLINE MODULE
“A process wherein communicators generate
REVIEWER social realities within socio-relational and
cultural contexts.”

LESSON 2: Basic Models of Communication They communicate not only to exchange

messages but also to form relationships, and
Model — representation of any process, event, create concepts. The roles of senders and
or situation. A communication model is a receivers are not called senders and receivers,
graphic representation of the communication but communicators who are both simultaneously
model that presents only the elements and not the sender and the receiver in the
the message itself. It simplifies the process by communication process.
providing a visual representation of a
communication encounter. COMMUNICATION MODELS

A model can be constructed to describe a

particular form of behavior of which no theory
exists or is inadequate.

Theory — an explanation of a communication

phenomenon or situation itself, can be proven or Aristotle’s Model (Linear)
contested (Aristotle, 300BCE)

[ Models can exist in the creation of Theories, The earliest mass communication was proposed
but not all Theories have models ] before 300BCE. It is more often used as a form
of public speaking than interpersonal
COMMUNICATION MODELS TYPES communication

Linear Model — communication is supposed to Criticisms:

be a one-way process, wherein the sender
intentionally transmits a message to the receiver ➢ It lacks the concept of feedback.
➢ It does not include the concept of
Interactive Model — communication is a barriers and noise
process wherein the sender and receiver ➢ The communication process is one-way
alternate positions with each other. Generates and mainly focused from speaker to
meaning by sending messages and receiving receiver.
feedback(verbal or non-verbal). ➢ Exploring human nature is not a
criterion of this communication concept.
Transactional Model — continuous exchange ➢ The model is used in public speaking
of information wherein the sender and the and this limits its usefulness.
receiver takes turns in communicating a
message. The participants are known as

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—yangyang
 Laswell’s Model (Linear)
(Harold Lasswell, 1948)
Berlo’s SMCR Model (Linear)
➢ Who? Says What? In which Channel? (David Berlo, 1960)
To whom? With What Effect?
➢ Functions in Society: Surveillance of the
“SMCR - Source, Message, Channel,
Environment, Correlation of the
Receiver”
Components of Society, Cultural
Transmission Between Generation
Source: the source sends the message to the
➢ According to Laswell, message flow in a
receiver with communication skills such as
multicultural society involves multiple
attitudes (have the right attitude in public, as to
audiences and various mediums, ways,
create a long-lasting impact), knowledge (the
and channels.
clarity and in-depth understanding of
➢ It was developed to analyze mass
information regarding the topic), social system
communication. This is also used for
(know the place, environment, and venue with
interpersonal or group communication
its cultural significance of the event and act
as it was used to disseminate
accordingly), and culture.
information for various groups and
situations.
Message: the individual converts his thoughts
into a message, this process is called decoding.
Criticisms:
Message is composed of these elements:
Content (the backbone of the message, this
➢ Does not include feedback
contains the context of the message) Elements
➢ Ignores the possibility of noise
(non-verbal, and verbal elements of the message
➢ The model is used in propaganda as it
that is needed to capture the attention of the
was more focused on the resulting
listeners) Treatment (how you present the
outcome, it was generally used for
message depending on the situation, mood, or
media persuasion.
vibe) Structure (how you structure your
➢ Communication is linear
message, body language, movement, almost
➢ Does not include the concept of barriers
same with elements)
and noise.
Channel: the medium used to send the message.
The medium needs to be picked up by the
sensory of the receiver (seeing, hearing,
touching, smelling, tasting)

Receiver: The receiver understands the message

the sender is trying to convey (the process of

goodluck mga mahal~

—yangyang
decoding) the skills that the receiver should after joining hands with several noises and
possess are the same as the sender because they disturbances. The receiver then passes on the
should be on the same wavelength of message to other people or recipients.
understanding to understand each other.
Criticisms:
Criticisms:
➢ It can be applied more to interpersonal
➢ Does not include feedback communication
➢ Ignored the possibility of noise ➢ The receiver plays the passive part in the
➢ Communication is linear communication process
➢ Does not include the barriers ➢ Feedback is taken as less important
➢ Having the requirement for people to be ➢ Misleading representation of the nature
on the same level of knowledge and of human communication
attitude for effective communication to
happen.

Osgood’s Model (Interactive)

Shannon and Weaver’s Model (Linear) (Charles E. Osgood, 1950’s)
(Claude Shannon, Warren Weaver, 1948)
Circular model presenting feedback wherein the
The model was created by a mathematician and sender and receiver have the same contribution
a scientist. This was also called the and importance.
mathematical theory of communication. The
mother of all models. “Communication is reciprocal and circular”

More technological than other linear models. The model illustrates that feedback is cyclical as
Although one may say that this is more communication is complex because it accounts
technological, this model can also be applied in for interpretation. We are active communicators
interpersonal communication. as we are active in interpreting the messages we
receive.
The message originates from the person who has
the thought or the message(information source). Criticisms:
The thought then is transmitted into the brain to
the mouth (transmitter) which then comes out as ➢ Doesn't recognize that communication
a signal which then is received by the recipient can be equal

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—yangyang
 ➢ Doesn't work for mass communication
(power imbalances in the
communication of many.

Schramm’s Model (Interactive) Westley and MacLean’s Model (Interactive)

(William Schramm, 1954) (Bruce Westley and Malcolm S. Maclean Jr.,
1957)
The process that takes place between a sender
and receiver, wherein a message is sent from the Communication does not begin when one person
sender to the recipient with a medium. Decoding starts to talk but rather when a person responds
and encoding are two major elements that are to their surroundings. Communication starts
crucial in this process. The communication when your environment affects you. When the
process is only deemed complete when the environment stimulates you to think of
receiver sends feedback to the recipient. He something, communication already starts. A
added the element of the field of experience of strong connection between the signals from the
commonality/ the sharing of features, surroundings and the communication
experiences, and attributes. The commonality of
personality, culture, and socio-economic The process starts when receiving messages
attributes. It is crucial that the sender and the rather than sending messages. Element A is the
recipient have a common ground to reach a source, the person who creates and sends the
proper understanding. message. the x is the environment, the physical
and psychological state, the sensory experience,
Criticisms: and the stimulus which gives them the idea to
write the message. The object of orientation
➢ Does not talk about semantic noise (x1, x2) it can be of different things, They are
(noise within the individual eg. what the source is exposed to both in a social
psychological probs) and a cultural context. The code of
➢ There will always be misinterpretation. interpretation is the information interpreted by
the receiver or the decoding. B is the receiver.
The person who receives the information from
the source. C is the gatekeeper. Always placed
in between the sender and receiver. FBA is the
feedback that is given back to the source.

goodluck mga mahal~

—yangyang
 Dance’s Helical Model (Transactional)
Barnlund’s Transactional Model
(Frank Dance, 1967)
(Dean Barnlund, 1970’s)
The communication process is like a helix.
A multi-layered feedback system uses verbal
Communication starts from the bottom, when
and nonverbal cues, as anyone can be a sender
you are born, and as you grow the progress of
and receiver at the same time. There are public
your communication grows, as you grow old
cues, private cues, and behavioral cues.
more information is shared. Communication
improves and becomes more open the more
➢ Public cues physical, environmental,
information is shared.
artificial, or man-made

➢ Private cues, private objects of

orientation that include the senses of a
person, could be verbal or non-verbal
LESSON 3: Common Communication
(could also be a behavioral cue)
Theories
It shows the shared fields of experience of the
sender and receiver. This is also labeled as the
most systematic mode of communication. Both Hypodermic Theory
the sender and receiver must understand the (Harold Lasswell, 1927)
code of others in order to understand, thus they
must both possess a “code book” to understand Crucial Example: The War of the Worlds
each other because they are using codes.
➢ An adaption of H. G. Wells's novel The
War of the Worlds (1898)
➢ Aired by Columbia Broadcasting
System as a Halloween episode of the
series on October 30, 1938
➢ The first two-thirds of the 60-minute
broadcast were presented as a series of

goodluck mga mahal~

—yangyang
 simulated “news bulletins” and the Agenda Setting Theory
program was “interrupted” by an urgent (Maxwell McCombs and Donald Lewis Shaw,
announcement of a Martian invasion in 1968)
progress.
The issues that receive the most attention in the
People believed immediately in what they media, become the issues that the public
heard. discusses, debates, and demands action on. They
usually become headlines and have longer news
The “Magic Bullet Theory” or “Uniform-effects airing.
model.” is also related to the Pavlovian Theory
or the Classical Conditioning Theory. There is a direct relationship between the public
rating of important issues and media content.
The concept of conditioning must apply to the This was heavily shown when the government
audience who were seen as passive recipients to manipulated social media to create a minor issue
whatever message was injected or shut by the just to shift the attention of the audience to
media as they can be manipulated to react in a issues related to them.
predictable, unthinking, and unconditioning
manner. Regardless of the characteristics of the Many people contribute to shaping public
audience, mass media controls how the people opinion as the media dictates to us:
will react to the information that is aired.
➢ What to think about?
Mass media has a direct, immediate, and ➢ How to think about it?
powerful effect on its audiences. ➢ What issues go together?

Criticisms: it ignored the idea that not everyone

in the audience behaves in the same way.
Cultivation Theory
(George Gerbner, 1969)
Two-Step Flow of Information Theory
(Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel
Media exposure, specifically to television,
Gaudet, 1940)
shapes our social reality by giving us a distorted
view of the amount of violence and risk in the
There is an intervening variable between mass
world.
media and the audience, which is the opinion
leader. An Opinion Leader is an authority who
Heavy Viewers — tend to describe the world as
filters, interprets, and explains media messages.
a scary place to live in. They tend to acquire the
They have greater access to information hence
“Mean World Syndrome”
the audience arrives at decisions not directly
under the influence of mass media but more
Mean World Syndrome — the belief
through interactions amongst themselves.
that the world is a far worse and
dangerous place than it actually is.

goodluck mga mahal~

—yangyang
Heavy television viewing tends to induce Uses and Gratifications Theory
audiences to adopt perceptions and values (Katz and Bulmer, 1974)
constantly portrayed in television programs
Consumers use the media to satisfy specific
needs or desires which can be cognitive,
Social Learning Theory affective, personal, integrative, social
(Albert Bandura, 1977) integrative, and tension-free needs.

Many effects of mass media can happen through ➢ Cognitive: to acquire knowledge,
the process of social learning because humans information
naturally learn things by observation and ➢ Affective: to satisfy your emotional
modeling behaviors. needs, to gain pleasure
➢ Personal Integrative: to reassure your
The Bobo Doll Experiment (A study of status, gain credibility, and stabilize
aggression) — The Bobo doll ➢ Social Integrative: to socialize with
experiment demonstrated that children family, friends, and relations in the
are able to learn social behavior such as society.
aggression through the process of ➢ Tension-Free Needs: to escape and to
observation learning, through watching release tension
the behavior of another person.

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

(E.M Rogers, 1962)

Innovation — an idea, practice, or object

perceived as new by an individual or other unit
of adoption

Diffusion — the communication through certain

channels over time among the members of a
social system

This theory explains how innovation spreads

across the population through the process of
diffusion. People, as part of a social system,
adopt a new idea, behavior, or product.

It is comparable to the two-step theory, but it is a

multi-layered flow, from innovators, early
adopters, early majority, late majority, and
laggards.

goodluck mga mahal~

—yangyang