- Lasswell model of communication
Lasswell seeks to describe communication by asking – Who
Says what
In which channel
To whom
With what effect?
According to Lasswell, communication has three jobs to do:
- Observe the surroundings
- Make meaning out of it
- Transmit culture from one generation to
- David Berlo’s SMCR or SMCRF model
This popular model primarily takes four elements, namely (i) Sources (ii) Messages (iii) Channels and (iv) Receivers. A fifth element was later added – feedback.
- As for the source, we need to be aware how much the source knows, his attitude, his communicative skill and his cultural context.
- The message is made up of words, pictures, etc. The source uses the individual elements and joins them to form his
- The channel can be any of the senses- seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting. Multiple channels can be used in
- The receiver, too, is characterized by his/her knowledge, attitude, receiving skills and culture. In the event of a major variance between source and receiver, communication may
Berlo says that communication is ongoing and dynamic. A piece of communication is a bucket with many bits from many sources –
and this bucket is dumped on the receiver. This is also called his bucket theory.
- Shannon and Weaver model
Their theory, presented as a model, has five key components in ideal communication:
- An information source, creating a message
- A transmitter, converting the message into a signal which can be sent
- A channel, which can carry the signal to the receiver
- The receiver, who reads the signal and takes it to the end-user
- The destination, the final user of the message
This theory adds the sixth, unintended component of noise, present in actual situations, causing interference in the reception of the message.
In this theory, noise is stated as the main problem in communication. Noise is of three types
- Technical problems (e.g. weak antenna of TV)
- Semantic barriers (“wish him” taken as “poison him” under the influence of Hindi)
- Problem of effectiveness (an ad jingle in a dull tune)