Settings, Processes,

Methods and Tools in

Communication
Learning Competencies:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

• Describe the transmission and ritual models of the communication

process.

• Explain the different elements that make up the communication

process.

• Analyze day-to-day communication

Guide Questions:

What are the two models of the communication

process and how do they differ?
Key Concepts:

• Transmission model of communication

• Model of communication as ritual
• Communication process
TRANSMISSION MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

The early definitions of communication regard it as a process by which message

is moved or transmitted from one point to another. These definitions under the so-
called transmission model of communication and contain or most of the
following elements:

1. Sender or source: person, groups, or institutions that create or produce the

message; also called encoder.
2. Message: the ideas or meanings, expressed in verbal or nonverbal means, that
are transmitted from the source to the receiver. Verbal messages use words to
convey meaning, nonverbal messages express meaning through codes such as
facial expressions, color, distance (space), touch, pitch or loudness of sound.
TRANSMISSION MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

3. Channel: the medium, such as radio, used to transmit the message

4. Receiver: the person, group, or institution to whom the message le intended,
also referred to as decoder.
5. Encoding and decoding: Encoding refers to the way the communication
source creates the message into a form that can be understood by the receiver.
This includes for instance the choice of words, language and the like.
Decoding refers to the processing of the message by the receiver so that he or
she is able to understand and react to it.
6. Noise: interference that prevents a message from being accurately understood
or interpreted. Noise can be physical noise such as a choppy connection, or
psychological noise such as stress, attitude of the communicators toward each
other, or about an issue.
TRANSMISSION MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

7. Context: the situation in which the communication takes place and may
include sociocultural factors, the status and roles of the communicators, rules,
and the like.
8. Feedback is the response or reaction of the receiver to the message received.
9. Effect refers to the consequence or result-or lack of result, for that matter of a
communicative act. Communication effects include changes in our
knowledge (cognitive effects), in our emotions (affective effects), and
behavior.
As explained earlier, all or most of these elements are found in the various
definitions of communication. One of the earliest definitions of the
communication process was put forward by the communication scholar
Harold Lasswell (1948). According to him communication occurs when:

 a source sends a message

 through a channel or medium
 to a receiver
 producing some effect
This definition is conveniently abbreviated as:

Source-Message-Channel-Receiver – Effect

The study of communication, Lasswell wrote, is an attempt to answer

the question “Who says what to whom, through which channel, and
with what effect?”
Lasswell's definition is distinctive in that it points out that effect is an
integral part of the communication process. Without an effect,
communication has not taken place.

An effect of communication, for instance, involves knowledge. From

the news, we get to know of an epidemic outbreak and learn ways of
protecting ourselves from the disease. Another effect has to do with
behavior.

We may be lured into watching a blockbuster movie or buying a certain

product because we have heard so much about it from friends and
advertisements. Still another effect is the formation or change of
opinion or attitude as when we like a person or idea because a celebrity
or our favorite talk show host has endorsed it.
Similar to Lasswell's definition is that offered by another scholar, Wilbur Schramm.
Drawing from the Latin origin of the word "communication" communis which means
"common" or "shared understanding" Schramm (1965) defines communication as a
purposeful effort to establish commonness between a source and receiver.

Schramm's model of the communication process says that it is a process that requires
three elements-the source, the message, and the destination. The source encodes a
message and transmits it to its destination via some channel, where the message is
received and decoded.
Westley and MacLean (1957) would expand these definitions by
including the role of a communicator in the equation. One such
communicator is the professional journalist who links news sources
with the audience, or the advertising company which links business
with consumers. The expanded definition may be described as follows
(MacQuail, 2010):
The sequence is thus not simply (1) sender, (2) message, (3) channel,
(4) many potential receivers, but rather (1) events and voices in
society, (2) channel/communicator role, (3) messages, (4) receiver.

This revised version takes account of the fact that mass

communications do not usually originate 'messages' or communication
whether they relay to a potential audience their own account (news) of
a selection of the events occurring in the environment, or they give
access to the views and voices of some of those (such as advocates of
opinions, advertisers, performers, and writers) who want to reach a
wider public.
These early definitions regard communication as a process of
transmission of a fixed quantity of information, or the message as
determined by the sender or source (Ibid.). Thus these definitions
follow the transmission model of communication

Later scholars would argue that the transmission model of

communication a inadequate and would suggest alternatives.
THE RITUAL MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

The transmission model of communication is a useful representation of the

communication process between persons, groups, and in the mass media But it
does not represent the many other media activities and communication processes
in society. It has been pointed out that the transmission model of communication
implies a linear, one-directional flow, and cause-and- effect relations (Carey,
1975).

And yet not all communication are like this Many communication activities take
place to bring people together in some expression of beliefs, values, or culture.
This view of communication as 'ritual described as follows:
THE RITUAL MODEL OFCOMMUNICATION

As such ritual communication depends on shared understanding and feelings or emotions. It

is celebratory, consummatory (an end in itself), and decorative rather than utilitarian in aim
and it often requires some element of performance. This is not to say however that, ritual
communication is not without use or consequences for society.
Functions of
Communication and
Media
As a pervasive component of our personal and social lives, communication
fulfills many functions. Five main functions are usually attributed to
communication in society, namely: surveillance, interpretation, socialization,
entertainment, and mobilization (Laswell, 1948; Wright, 1960, 1974; McQuail,
2010).

1. Surveillance: refers to the news and information role of communication

media such as the news media.
2. Interpretation: refers to analysis, commentary, context, and other meanings
which are found in a message. This function relates to persuasion or the
influence of attitudes or opinions.
3. Socialization: refers to the transmission of values and culture within a society and also to
the education functions of communication and the media. We learn and imbibe the
culture of our society through communication processes taking place in our families,
among our friends, in school, in church, and many other institutions and activities. The
mass media is thought to play an important role in socialization in that they provide
models of appropriate behavior and attitudes which are the basis of common social
values in a society. Adherence to these common values leads to an integration and
stability in society.
4. Entertainment: refers to functions related to relaxation, reward, diversion, and reduction
of tension. These functions which may be performed through variety shows, drama,
music, novels, and many other forms, are important as they allow individuals and
societies to cope with real-life challenges.
5. Mobilization: refers to the communication and media's ability to generate public action
about a social issue, for instance, in relief efforts after a disaster.

Below is an inventory of the tasks of communication and media in society (Mcquail, 2010):

Information
 Providing information about events and conditions in society and the world
Indicating Relations of Power
 Facilitating innovation, adaptation, and progress
Correlation
 Explaining, interpreting, and commenting on the meaning of events and information
 Providing support for established authority and norms
Socializing
 Coordinating separate activities
Consensus-building
 Setting orders of priority and signaling relative status
Continuity
 Expressing the dominant culture and recognizing subcultures and new cultural developments
 Forging and maintaining commonality of values
Entertainment
 Providing amusement, diversion, and the means of relaxation
 Reducing social tension
Mobilization
 Campaigning for societal objectives in the sphere of politics, war, economic development,
work, and sometimes, religion.
Levels of
Communication
Communication is also described along so-called "levels“. The distinctions between levels
are based on characteristics such as the number of people involved in the communication act
(one, two, many etc.); the location of the communicators (proximity to each other);
immediacy exchange (live, delayed); the communication context (face-to-face, mediated);
The sensory channels involved (auditory, visual, etc.).

Along this categorization, communication is classified as follows:

Intrapersonal communication: is an internal communication process taking place within the

individual. This includes thought processes, speaking aloud or writing to oneself as when
one is writing in a diary, prayer, meditation.
Interpersonal communication: involves two persons or a small group such as a family.
The number of participants define interpersonal communication and hence this may
be further classified as:

 Dyadic communication: when two persons are involved

 Group communication: when there are three or more persons communicating
face-to-face and able to give immediate responses or feedback, such as in a
meeting or in a class session.
 Public communication: involves a large group such as a public lecture or church
ceremony. In such situations there is a source who delivers a message in a
monologue style and feedback is minimal or restricted.
Interpersonal communication may be further categorized as either direct or mediated.
Direct interpersonal communication involves face-to-face communication between or
among the communicators, Mediated interpersonal communication involves the use
of technology such as telephone or Internet. With advances in information and
communication technology (ICT), there are more and more possibilities of holding
group and public communication at a distance, for instance via teleconferencing and
chat rooms.
Mass communication: involves the transmission of messages to large audiences using
technology of communication. Below is a comprehensive definition:

"The practice and product of providing leisure entertainment and information to an

unknown audience by means of corporately financed, industrially produced, state-
regulated, high tech, privately consumed commodities in the modern print, screen,
audio and broadcast media, usually understood as newspapers, magazines, cinema,
television, radio, and advertising: sometimes including book publishing (especially
popular fiction) and music (the pop industry." (Hartley, 2002).
Some key characteristics of mass communication are:

 The audience as a "mass": The audience of mass communication is a large,

diverse, anonymous audience that is not organized.
 The mass communication process is characterized by (McQuail, 2010)
• Large-scale distribution and reception of content
• One-directional, or one-way flow
• Asymmetrical relation between sender and receiver◆ Impersonal and anonymous
relationship with audience
• Calculative or market relationship with audience
• Standardization and commodification of content
 The communication act is mediated by a mass medium or technology of communication such as
radio or television.
 The communication is organized by mass media institutions which produce and distribute
information and cultural products such as advertisements, movies, and the like.

Computer-mediated communication: refer to any communication taking place using the computer and
Internet-based technologies such as email, message boards, personal websites, voice conferencing, chat
rooms, social media. The communication may be synchronous or asynchronous, that is, occurring in
real time or not. More importantly, computer-mediated- communication may take place along several
levels: one-to-one, one-to- many, or many-to-many. Moreover computer-mediated communication
differs from the other communication forms along the following characteristics: relative anonymity,
reduced importance of physical appearance and physical distance, greater control over the time and
pace of interactions, absence of visual cues from communication partners such as eye gaze, voice
inflection, and the like.
Thank You!!