Barriers or Noise in Communication- Chapter 2

Barriers or Noise in Communication

As discussed by me in Chapter 1, Communication can be hampered by Noise. The term 'Noise' in the study of communication is basically attributed to a barrier that disrupts the process of communication.

The concept or term ‘Noise’ was introduced in communication theory in 1940's by Shannon and Weaver while working on a mathematical model in Bell Laboratories. A Noise or Barrier included anything that impeded the message from being fully received and understood by the receiver. While, this term was coined initially as a disturbance in the receptivity of signals by Shannon and Weaver, researchers later realised that in the field of communication 'barrier or noise' could be external or internal.

"What do we mean by external or internal barriers?", must be the question that has cropped up in your mind. This chapter will give an answer to this question. 

In day to day communication, it is common occurrence to have misunderstandings and misinterpretations. An individual (a sender) may try to communicate something to the best of one's capacity, however, it is not necessary that the Recipient (a receiver) has received the message and understood it in exactly the same way as desired by the sender. There may be something that leads to the receiver not understanding the message in the same way as sent by the sender. This is Noise.

For example: If two persons A and B are talking over a cellphone. While A is standing in the office and talking, B is standing on the roadside amidst heavy traffic, trying to focus amidst the surrounding noise of the vehicle what A is trying to say. The sound of the traffic drowns the voice of A over the cellphone. In such a case, B may not be able to understand what A is trying to say, so B may ask A to repeat the message again, or ask A to call back later or B will be compelled to walk to a quieter place to be able to listen and understand or decipher what A is spoken. The sound of the traffic in such a case becomes a Barrier or Noise. 

However, Noise or Barrier need not only be surrounding individuals. There are elements of noise that can exist within each individual. Therefore, in any communication, a barrier or noise is that element which interferes with the decoding of messages by a receiver sent over a channel by an encoder or sender.
Noise / Barrier in communication leads to communication failure or undesirable response to communication due to the problem in the decoding of the message. The barriers could be physical, environmental, semantic, attitudinal or psychological. 

There are different types of Noise . Many research Scholars categorise Noise into three types:

1. External Noise: It has two categories a) Physical Noise b) Mechanical Noise
2. Internal Noise: It has three categories a) Physiological Noise b) Psychological Noise c) Psycho-social Noise
3. Semantic Noise

1. External Noise

Luis Kumpiluvelil sdb, in his book 'Basics of Social communication' defines external noise by saying, “When communication is disturbed due to factors that are external to the people involved in the interaction, we say that there is external noise.

External noise is further classified into
                     A) Physical noise
                     B) Mechanical noise

 A) Physical noise: 

An external physical noise could be anything that is external or in the surrounding  that prevents or disrupts the reception of the message encoded by the sender. In the words of Rothwell, "Physical noise is an external or environmental stimulus that distracts us from receiving the intended message sent by a communicator" (Rothwell, 2004). Luis Kumpiluvelil and Keval Kumar specify four aspects of physical noise. We refer to these terms while elaborating on Physical noise.

A.1- Competing Stimulus: Any noise in the surrounding that disrupts communication could be identified as Competing stimulus. For instance, traffic, honking of vehicle, loud music, too many birds, a train passing with a loud horn, could lower the receptivity of communication and drown out the message. This is an External, Physical Noise

A.2- Environmental stress: A Message can also be drowned due to stress in the environment around. For instance, soaring high temperatures, sun glare, a dust storm, lack of ventilation, heavy rainfall, vibrations, etc could disrupt communication. This is an External, Physical Noise

A.3- Subjective Stress: Sleep deficiency, Effect of medication or drugs, can give rise to forms of subjective stress that creates a disturbance in receiving the message.

A.4- Ignorance of the medium: Communication is done through various mediums. These  could be oral, written, signs and symbols, audio- visual or in today's arena even digital. However, if the recipient of the message is not well versed with the same medium in which the sender has encoded the message, the communication is hampered. This is an External, Physical Noise

For example, an illiterate villager rides a bullock cart from his village to a city for the first time. While travelling in the city, he reaches a lane which shows the signboard showing a dead end 2 kms ahead.  For someone who has never learnt the meaning of such a sign board, he will continue proceeding ahead and reach the dead end. The communication in this case is a failure due to the ignorance of the medium.This is an External, Physical Noise

B) Mechanical noise: 

It refers to any disturbance that is cause due to a malfunction in the gadget , technology or equipment used. For instance, the network has poor receptivity, or a constant buzzing sound on the mobile phone due to a technical problem inside the gadget could lead to mechanical noise and disturbance in communication. This is an External, Mechanical Noise. A bad handwriting in a students paper will make things difficult for a teacher while correcting the same, as she will not be able to read and understand what the student has written. This is an external, mechanical noise.

2. Internal Noise

Internal noise is a noise whose source is within the individual persons involved in the communication process which hampers the process and leads to disruption in the understanding of the message. Internal noise may be classified into two:
                    A) Physiological Noise
                    B) Psychological Noise
                    C) Psycho-social Noise

                 

A) Physiological Noise

This includes bodily ailments like high fever and bodily factors that disturb the reception of messages. Bodily Disabilities could also lead to lack of understanding of the message. Someone with poor eyesight will struggle to read a message given on a paper with a very tiny font. This is an Internal, Physiological noise.
                 

B) Psychological Noise (Mental Noise)

Psychological noise is also termed as Mental noise at times due to the fact that this noise is caused due to psychological problems that could stem from stress, fear, tension and emotional distress. Pre-conceived notions, stereotyping problems and prior assumptions could lead to a noise from within the individual that prevents the reception or transfer of a message. It could also deal with attitudinal problems that a person has within. Hence, this is an Internal, Psychological noise.

Keval J Kumar in his book, 'Mass Communication in India' beautiful mention four different elements that lead to Psychological Noise.

B.1- Frame of reference: Keval J Kumar says, "It is a ‘kind of window through which we look out at the world, at people and events and situations. A frame of reference is a system of standards and values, usually implicit, underlying and to some extent controlling an action, or the expression of any belief, attitude or idea." This window is often created based on our experience in the situation that one has grown up in.

B.2- Self- Image: Many Psychologists emphasis the importance of self image and self worth. A persons self image does play an important role in communication. A person with a low self image may understand and communicate differently as compare to a person with high self esteem. We often encounter people in our lives, who may find it difficult to communicate due to the circumstances that have diminished their self-image. For e.g. Children with a low self image finding it daunting to stand before a crowd on the stage as compared to children who have grown up with a positive self image and are confident.

B.3- Resistance to change: Change is difficult and it is frightening. We are comfortable in our zones in the normal routine way of life. Change requires extra effort. It also creates fear. This concept of change leads to a resistance which can obstruct communication.

B.4- Defensiveness and Fear: As human beings, we often justify our mistakes. It is easier for us to point a blaming finger towards others that accept a blame and take responsibility for a particular action. Fear of losing one's name can create communication gaps or noise. Fear of different things can be a huge block in the process of communication.

C) Psycho-social Noise

This is quite similar to Psychological noise, however, Psycho-social barrier stems from social conditioning and situations and are social in nature. While Psychological noise deals with emotional and mental factors, Psycho-social barriers stem from social factors such as one's interpretation of people's backgrounds, values and other social elements. This could also include Cultural barriers.

 

3. Semantic Noise

Fred C. Lunenburg, Sam Houston State University, states, "the words we choose, how we use them, and the meaning we attach to them, cause many communication barriers. The same word may mean different things to different people." Language barriers can often create problems and create a noise or a barrier in communication. Language problems can lead to difficulty in deciphering the message. 

Julia T. Wood, in 'Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters' says, "Authors sometimes create semantic noise by using jargon or unnecessarily technical language." For instance, An ordinary person from a secretarial background who is asked to draft the summary of a book on engineering with a language that is extremely technical in nature will not be able to make sense out of it. 

Luis Kumpiluvelil states that Semantic noise is related to many factors, such as, people’s knowledge level, their linguistic skills, their communication skills, their experience, their prejudices, their cultural background, their world views, and so on. Semantic noise has to do with the meaning behind the words, gestures, signs or symbols.

P.S: The Books and Online materials have been mentioned for the convenience of the students. You may read them online, or read the books available on the mentioned authors from your library for further study or buy the same online.