definitions and models of communication

Question 1

what is communication

Answer 1

• systemic process
• symbols
• create and interpret meanings

Question 2

systemic

Answer 2

• interrelated parts that affect one another
• interdependent and continuously interact
• organised wholes
• vary in openness and abstractness
• seeks equilibrium but cannot sustain it

Question 3

process

Answer 3

• ongoing and dynamic, changing continually

Question 4

symbols

Answer 4

• no direct access to other’s thoughts and feelings, rely on symbols
• abstract, arbitrary and ambiguous

Question 5

meanings

Answer 5

• the significance we bestow on phenomena, we use symbols to assign meanings to experiences
• two levels of meaning: content level and relationship level

Question 6

linear/transmission models of communication: laswell’s model

Answer 6

who (communicator) -> says what (message) -> in which channel (medium) -> to whom (receiver) -> with what effect (effect)

portrays communication as flowing in direction, receiver passively absorb sender’s message

criticisms:

• too simplistic
• conceptually outdated due to linear nature
• presumes that media acts as pipes or conduits

Question 7

linear/transmission models of communication: shannon and weaver’s model

Answer 7

mathematical model of communication

• added the concept of noise (anything that interferes with the intended meaning of communication and may distort understanding)
• mathematical theory of transmitting anything
• considered meanings irrelevant to the problem of using, analysing and designing mediated communication

portrays communication as flowing in direction, receiver passively absorb sender’s message

Question 8

interactive models of communication: wilbur schramm’s model

Answer 8

listeners don’t just listen

• added “feedback” to the model -> portrays communication as a sequential process
• communicators create and interpret messages within personal fields of experience, greater overlap greater understanding
• does not portray communication as changing over time as a results of what happens between people

Question 9

transactional models of communication: most accurate model of communication

Answer 9

• people interact with and through symbols over time to create meaning
• each person is both a listener and a speaker
• portrays each person’s field of experience as changing over time – as we encounter new people and grow personally, we alter how we interact with each other