Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication

Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication

This model was propagated by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver while on their work at Bell Telephone Laboratories. This model is considered to be one of the earliest influential models in the field of communication and was developed in 1949. It is also called Shannon and Weaver's Mathematical Model or 'Mathematical Theory of Communication whose findings were published by the Illinois Press' (Watson, 1998).

Shannon and Weaver were actually were studying communication that occurred via a telephone. Their aim was to decipher how much of Noise or interference could be tolerated on a telephone line that could lead to the disruption in the communication of the message via the Telephone. In the Model by Shannon and Weaver, The transmitter and the the Receiver are the telephone and teh Telephone lines ( Watson, 1998)

It is said that Claude Shannon was working out on an effective way to transmit electric signals. Gradually, Shannon also introduced a mechanism in the receiver which corrected the differences between the transmitted and the reception signals- It is this mechanism which introduced a corrective technique which gradually led to the concept of feed-back in the long run.

However, the model introduced by Shannon and Weaver is linear in nature. There is a sender, a channel and a receiver. There was no element of feedback entailed, hence it is called linear. Shannon and Weaver also found that ‘static’ interferes while a telephonic conversation occurs. This was gradually developed into the concept of ‘noise’ in communication.

So, Shannon and Weaver Model could be defined as:

• A linear model
• It is a one- way communication. (uni-directional)
• It has a transmitter for encoding and decoding signals send by the sender to the receiver.
• There is static that could interfere during the telephonic conversation called 'Noise'.

Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s Model thus included the following elements

•   A source of information which produced a message (sender)
•  A transmitter which encoded the message into signals for transmission.
•  A channel through which the signals were to be transmitted
•  A receiver that decoded the message from the signals that were transmitted.
•  A destination where the message arrived after the decoding.

Problems with the Mathematical model of Claude Shannon and Warren Weave

•  Being a linear model, there is no feedback. It was the initial stages of a communication model.
• The concept of noise gives rise to the notion of a disturbance in the message. Hence, there is no means to find out if the reception of the message was successful.
•  As there is no feedback, the clarity and the understanding of the decoded message was questionable.
• Situational or contextual noise at that point of time was not taken into concern.
•  It is not known as to how effective the received meaning was and if it lead to an affect in behaviour or action of the recipient.
• The model is only referred today as part of Historical data in one's research on Communication and as stated by Watson (1998) to to highlight all that was lacking.
  

 

Reference:

James Watson, 1998, Media Communication: An Introduction to Theory and Process, Macmillan Education

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Model of Communication- Classical communication Model

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Model of Communication (384-322 B.C)

Classical communication Models

Aristotle was a great philosopher born in Stagira, Chalcidice, Northern Greece. He was popularly known along with his teacher Plato as being the Father of Western Philosophy. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle spoke about Rhetoric and focused on the Speaker, Speech and Audience which was explained with the terms:

1. Ethos (speaker), 
2. Logos (the content of the message itself) and 
3. Pathos (inheres in the audience/ receiver).

Aristotle defines rhetoric as ‘the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion’ (350 bce: Rhetoric 1.2.1). For Aristotle, rhetoric leverages logos (logic and reason), pathos (appeals to emotion) and ethos (character, ethics) to persuade audiences. (Soules, 2015)

Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. (Rhetoric, Aristotle, Translated by W. Rhys Roberts) 

The translation further observes that "Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself. Persuasion is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible.  (Rhetoric, Aristotle, Translated by W. Rhys Roberts) Aristotle strongly believed that the Speaker, his reasoning and his personality did create an impact on the Audience in the case of persuasion.

This model was to propagate an idea or persuade the audience. It emphasised on the speaker and the capacity to convey the message in a skilful manner to an audience. It is said that Quintillian, a roman educator (CA 35-95 A.D.), built up on this model of Aristotle in his institute ‘Institutio Oratoria’ which was known for its skills on advising a good speaker 'statesman' in the ancient times.

However, in today’s world scholars have observed that rhetoric can often be used for negative purposes. Marshall Soules says, “Rhetoric has a history of abuse, and in our time ‘rhetoric’ often refers dismissively to language filled with empty phrases and false sentiments. Ideally, rhetoric gives language additional interest and impact and is judged by its effectiveness. (Soules, 2015) 

Aristotle’s Model is unidirectional or linear in nature which means there is no feedback.

In the later years, based on this model of Aristotle, research scholars developed a more precise model which showed five elements and which is popularly available on many educational sites.The model showed the Speaker, the Speech which is the message, the Occasion, the Recipient Audience and the Effect the occurred in the Audience due to the Speech. These scholars were of the opinion, that for Aristotle the Effect on the Audience was an important factor as a result, just defining this model with the speaker, speech, audience concepts renders it incomplete. So, a newer version of this model was developed, which showed the concept of Effect. 

Lasswell Model of Communication- Linear Model Of Communication

Harold Dwight Lasswell’s - Lasswell Model of Communication

Harold Dwight Lasswell, a professor at Yale Law School,  was an American political scientist and communication theorist, whose model 'Lasswell model of Communication' was considered to be one among the influential models in the earlier days. It was developed somewhere around 1948 and was surrounded with a lot of research criticism and analysis. 

Lasswell being interested in the field of Political Science, was concerned about the effect of the Media messages on the recipients of the messages or in other words the audience. He was of the belief that people holding Political power could create an impact on the minds of the people. Hence Mass Media could be used to create an effect on the minds of its audience.

Harold Lasswell's model is founded on a 5 W's approach. This model can be defined in just one statement – WHO says WHAT to WHOM through WHICH channel with WHAT EFFECT.

• WHO - Communicator:

Lasswell's model basically dealt with Mass Communication. In the context of this knowledge, 'WHO' or the COMMUNICATOR or the SENDER would mean an organisation or a Mass Media Institution. This could include a Newspaper, A Radio Station or A TV Channel. This meant that an entire organisation with their work rules, their ideologies, their intentions, and their motives would be behind the sending or the encoding of the message.

• WHAT- Message: 

The message is the content of the newspaper, radio or TV that is printed, heard or watched by the Audience of the particular Mass media. The Mass Media Messages categorise as 'WHAT'.

• WHICH- Channel or Medium

The Channel is basically the technological tool or device which has been chosen to communicate the message. This could include a newspaper, radio or television.

• WHOM- Receiver / Audience / Recipient 

The receiver is the Audience that receives the message that has been send by the sender using the channel. The Audience matters. Senders or Media Houses basically have a target that aims at getting more people to watch their respective channels. These channels produce content to gain a larger audience. On the other hand, it is also a known factor, that many Politicians and Businesses use media to send across the message they choose to send. For instance, politicians want votes. They use media houses and firms as tools to propagate their parties, their ideologies and their accomplishments to large audiences or receivers. 

• WITH WHAT EFFECT- An Effect or Result of the Communication

Lasswell was interested in the result that Mass Communication channels had on the audience or the receivers when a message was communicated. During the years that this model stemmed up, Communication studies and the impact of Mass Media was a topic of huge interest and debate. Mass Media was being considered as a tool that could create a massive impact. So, the concept of 'Effect was of utmost importance to Lasswell. 

Main characteristics of the Lasswell model are:

• A linear Model
• It is based on effect of the sender’s message on receiver.

Lasswell was primarily concerned with Mass Communication and Propoganda. In this model, the focus was on the source and the channel through which information was sent. While, effect was taken into consideration, there was no concept of feedback. Hence, it is a linear model.

Lasswell’s model indicated that there was an effect of the communication that occurred. It assured that Communication did not occur in a vacuum. Rather, every message was send across with a purpose- and it gave rise to the concept of ‘effect’. Since, Lasswell was concerned with Propoganda, his focus was the effect that communication led to. Effect here includes the observed changes that occurred in the receiver due to the communication process that occurred.

Problems with Lasswell’s Model

• There is no feedback for the message.
• It is very linear in nature (researchers say communication is always in circular motion because of feedback element)
• It presents communication as more of a persuasive process rather than an informative process as the focus is on the effect that the communication causes on the receiver.

In his book, ‘Mass Communication in India’, Keval J. Kumar says, “Lasswell saw communication as performing three functions:

• Surveillance of the environment
• Co-relation of components of society
• Cultural transmissions between generations.

Such a mechanistic and effects approach to communication was to influence communication theory for decades to come.”

Basically, it means that Mass Media reported events and information. Further on, these Channels interpreted and communicated the messages for the Audience based on the Organisation and its ideologies, practices, rules and regulations and context. The transmission of Cultures, is one of the primary functions of Media. Media influences culture and in turn is influenced by culture too.


In today's era, if we have to interpret the model for today's generation, then we will have to include New Media in the same. However, the parameters regarding the sender and the message, undergoes a drastic change with newer viewpoints emerging through the application.