Week 3: Models of mass communication, Linear Models of communication

Models of Communication

In order to explain the social process of communication, scholars have developed several models. The three most well known models for communication are Linear, Interactional, and Transactional. As West & Turner (2007) explain, each model sheds light on the development of communication, but emphasizes different parts of the communication process. The models provide pictures, or visual representations, of complex interactions. They are useful because they simplify the basic structure of communication and can help us to understand that structure not just verbally, but also visually. Most importantly, they identify the various elements of communication and serve as a kind of map to show how different parts of the communication process are interrelated.

Linear Models

Originally developed by Shannon & Weaver in 1948, this model describes communication as a linear process. (See Figure 1.1.) This model describes how a sender, or speaker, transmits a message to a receiver, or listener. More specifically, the sender is the source of the message. A message may consist of the sounds, words, or behaviours in a communication interaction. The message itself is transmitted through a channel, the pathway or route for communication, to a receiver, who is the target or recipient of the message. There may be obstacles in the communication process, or noise. Noise refers to any interference in the channel or distortion of the message. This is a fairly simple model in which a message is simply passed from sender to receiver.

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