comm systems mod1

PREVIEW: Nature of Communication Study Communication Systems Course Objectives

MODULE 1:COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS

Wilbur Schramm is recognized as the “founding father” of the discipline of “communication.

• His area was mass communication.• Envisioned the field of “communication” as a “crossroads of the social sciences.”

NATURE OF SUBJECTDiscipline of “Human Communication” emerged during late 1960s/early 1970s.

Interdisciplinary subject – draws content from a number of different academic disciplines.

COMM SYSTEMS -- NATURE OF SUBJECT

Interdisciplinary Nature of Communication Study

PsychologySociology

Speech

PoliticalScience

AnthropologyHistory

ManagementScience

EconomicsCOMMUNICATION

Social-Psychology

COMM SYSTEMS -- NATURE OF SUBJECT

How this affects you:• We will often refer to well-known thinkers and researchers in all of these fields.• When doing research in communication, you may find yourself referring to textbooks, journals, and research articles from any of these fields.

Interdisciplinary Nature of Communication Study

COMM SYSTEMS -- NATURE OF SUBJECT

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS: INTRODUCTION Communication – the process of transacting meaning.

System – a set of interacting components which function as a whole.

COMM SYSTEMS -- NATURE OF SUBJECT

Model – an abstract representation of a communication system.

Who?SaysWhat?

In WhatChannel?

ToWhom?

WithWhatEffect?

Source

Message

Channel

Receiver

Effects

Laswell Model (1948) Harold Laswell, political scientist, studied propaganda and mass media during the post-World War II era.

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Is very useful for identifying major components in a communication system.

Model guided early persuasion research that focused on:

• source variables • message variables • channel variables• receiver variables.

Model was very popular and appeared in many speech, marketing, management, and mass communication textbooks.

Laswell Model COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

The model describes the source as the person that intentionally and sends, or encodes, a message.

The receiver is defined as the person(s) that decodes the message.

Laswell Model

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Message(s) – any stimulus, verbal or nonverbal, which creates meaning in another person’s mind.

Communication may be intentional or unintentional. Many experts consider “message” to be the central concept in the field of communication. So do I.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Language – a set of symbols and rules regulating their use.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Raw material for verbal messages. Is central focus of Hayakawa – will get much attention. Hayakawa concerned with pitfalls & opportunities of language.

Channel (medium) – the means of carrying a message.May be viewed from different perspectives, e.g.

the 5 senses verbal or nonverbal written or oral electronic or non-electronic mass media – radio, tv, newspapers, etc.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Some Important Effects• Cognitive effects – changes in beliefs.• Affective effects – values, attitudes, needs, emotions.• Behavioral effects – actions & messages.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Who?

Says what? “The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?”

John Rocker, former pitcher, Atlanta Braves

A few applications:

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

• On ever playing for a New York team:

"I would retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the Number 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing."

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

To whom?

With what effect?

Through what channel?

Interview with Jeff Pearlman.

Rocker eventually lost his baseball career.

Baseball officials, readers of Sports Illustrated, minority groups, New Yorkers.

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Who?Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.

Says what?

Just so you know,we’re ashamed that the president of the U.S. is from Texas.

To whom?Audience of 2,000 in London, including the press.

Through what channel?Public address system, newspaper, then radio talk show hosts, then newspapers, TV, & internet.

What what effect? Alienation of fans. Boycotts by fans. Censorship by radio stations. Destruction of DC CDs. Protests & boos at concerts. Demonizing of DCs. Decrease in album sales & radio play. Opinions – Keith, Springsteen, Haggard, etc.

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Morgan Gardner, 12, destroys her Dixie Chicks CD in protest

In Bossier City, La., a radio station got a tractor to run over Dixie Chicks merchandise.

Thomas Newton, 60, of Winter Springs, but originally from Fort Ringo, Texas, shows his thoughts about the Dixie Chicks.(SHOUN A. HILL/ORLANDO SENTINEL)

May 4, 2003

It expressed the feelings of many fans who turned out to see the Dixie Chicks on Saturday at the TD Waterhouse Centre. The concert was sold out.(SHOUN A. HILL/ORLANDO SENTINEL)

May 4, 2003

Linda Pent of Greenville and Donna Edge of Piedmont display how they feel during a boycott of the Dixie Chicks concert.

Strengths & Limitations of Laswell Model

The Laswell Model is useful for focusing upon and analyzing a single message. It also focuses on the “technical problem” of communication – the conveyance of a message from the sender to the receiver. However, Laswell Model does not address the “semantic” problem” of communication – the meanings created in the participants’ minds. Is the same meaning given to the message by both participants?

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

The Schramm ModelCOMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Wilbur Schramm is recognized as the “father” of the field of communication.

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

MESSAGE

MESSAGE

DECODING

INTERPRETING

ENCODING

ENCODING

INTERPRETING

DECODING Wilbur Schramm. The Process and Effects of Mass Communication (1955)

The Schramm Model (1955)

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Emphasizes intrapersonal process of “interpreting.”

The Schramm Model

• Suggests that person receiving message actively processes that message before responding.

• Usually referred to as part of the “perception” process.

• Thus, raises the “semantic problem” in communication.

COMM SYSTEMS -- MODELS

Perception – individual mental process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data – process of assigning meaning to sensory stimuli.

Encoding – process of converting thought into message.

Decoding – process of converting message into thought.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Context (Setting, Situation, Environment)-- factors that affect communication, but lie outside of the communication process itself. Often mentioned are:

Cultural Context – similar/different beliefs, values, attitudes, norms, etc.

Psychological Context – also called “psychological set”

or “perceptual set” – moods and feelings brought to the

encounter.

Historical Context – background of previous communication episodes.

Social Context – nature of existing relationship.

Physical Context – where and when?

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS -- ELEMENTS

Hayakawa also discusses verbal and nonverbal context – the other words and nonverbal signals that help us interpret a word, phrase, or sentence.

Context

COURSE OBJECTIVES Seek understanding of fundamental communication

concepts – especially the nature of perception and language.

Seek inoculation against the “dark side” of communication:• Misuse of language• Propaganda• Negative stereotypes• Hate speech

2nd objective is tied to communication “ethics” – standards of behavior.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

NCA Credo for Communication Ethics We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication. We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence and through the expression of intolerance and hatred. We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all communication and consequently the well- being of individuals and the society in which we live.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

REVIEW: Nature of Communication Study Communication Systems Course Objectives

MODULE 1:COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS