Communication Theories

Communication is an information related behavior. It is necessary to express one’s needs, desires, and feelings and also to share information. Communication takes three common settings:

Interpersonal: This is face to face communication. One person communicates with another person directly. There is no channel required in this case since it is direct communication.

Machine Assisted: This is indirect communication where-in technology is used in the communication process. Technology is usually used in the form of a channel. A number of channels can be used to communicate with the other person or group. Internet, intranet, memos, notice boards, e-mail, instant messaging are all examples of the channel used to communicate.

Mass: This can either be direct or indirect communication to address a group of people. A person can directly address a group of people without making use of any channels or can also do so by making use of technology and various channels as mentioned above.

Lasswell’s Model

This model was proposed by Lasswell in the year 1948. This is a simple model which explains the flow of information in one direction. It can be easily explained as follows

“Who says what to whom in what channel with what effect.”

Lasswell’s theory had four elements namely the speaker, message, channel and audience. When the process of communication has been completed, it can have different effects on the other person based on the message and the way it has been communicated. It can make the second person either happy or sad or angry or can evoke many different emotions based on the message. This point about effect has been stressed in Laswell’s model.

Shannon and Weaver’s Model

The second communication model was put forth by Claude Shannon who is known as the father of Information Technology together with Weaver. This theory was put forth in the year 1949. In this theory Information or the Message from the source is passed onto the transmitter who/which changes the message/information into a signal. The message is then communicated through the appropriate channel to the receiver. The receiver makes sense of the received signal to understand the message communicated by the source. Shannon and Weaver introduced the important concept of Noise in their theory. Noise is any disturbance or distortion that occurs while transmitting the signal during the process of communication. Since radio was one of the major sources of communication those days, noise was a very important factor. Noise occurred when transmitting the signal through the channel. Noise is a factor that can occur even today during the process of communication.

Schramm’s First Model of Communication

Wilbur Schramm put forth his first model of communication in the year 1954. In this model the source communicates the message which is encoded to the form in which it can be communicated. This is encoded message is then communicated through the channel to the receiver who decodes the message to form in which it can be understood.









Schramm’s Second Model of Communication

Schramm’s second model of communication is an extension of the first model. In his second communication model Schramm introduced the field of experience. The field of experience is important because often when two people communicate, they not be from the same background, cultures, traditions or may even speak to different languages. In such a case the person who receives the message may not necessarily understand it in the way the person who sent the message wanted him to. So, the more the two fields of experience over-lapped the better the understanding between the two individuals would be.

Schramm’s Third Model of Communication

Schramm’s third model of communication is very important as this is the model which introduces the factor of FEEDBACK for the first time. This again is an extension of the first two models. In this model, the message is encoded and sent to the receiver. The receiver in turn decodes the message but not only understands the message gives his/her feedback to the first person in the form of an encoded message.

Westley-Maclean Model of Communication

Bruce Westley and Malcom Maclean drifted from the usual face to face person communication and spoke about group communication. They said a group of people or group of events can be a source of communication. The group people or events use an advocate who then communicates to the audience through the appropriate channel. The theory also shows that feedback from the audience is possible. But feedback from the audience cannot be direct. This has been shown accurately in the graphic representation of the theory. This theory can be applicable in case of face to face communication also.

Kincaid’s Convergence Model

In the convergence model, people or a group communicate to reach a mutual understanding. Information and mutual understanding are the dominant components of the convergence model of communication. Information shared by two or more participants in the communication process may lead to collective action, mutual agreements, and mutual understanding. The convergence model also shows a shift from sharing of messages to sharing of Information. Communication was no longer a single event but a process. Mutual understanding was highly emphasized in the convergence model. People or groups communicated to reach mutual understanding