Communication Models

Communication Models
 Aristotle‘s Communication Model
 BERLO‘S SMCR MODEL OF COMMUNICATION
 De Fleur Model of Communication
 Duck‘s Relationship Filtering Model
 Elaboration Likelihood Model
 Fisher‘s Model – Small Group Communication
 GateKeeping Theory
 Gerbner‘s General Model
 Helical Model of Communication
 Knapp‘s Relationship Model
 Lasswell‘s model
 Mental Model
 OSGOOD- SCHRAMM MODEL OF COMMUNICATION
 Poole‘s Model – Small Group Communication
 Propaganda Model
 Riley & Riley Model of Communication
 Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication
 SMCR MODEL
 The Johari Window Model
 The Newcomb‘s Model
 Westley and MacLean‘s Model of Communication
 Barnlund’s Transactional Model of Communication
 Poole‘s Model – Small Group Communication
 The Johari Window Model
 SMCR MODEL
 Health Belief Model
 Peirce Model
 The Big Five Factor Model
 The Meaning of Meaning Model

1. Aristotle‘s Communication Model

Aristotle, a great philosopher initiative the earliest mass communication model called ―Aristotle‘s Model of
Communication‖. He proposed model before 300 B.C who found the importance of audience role in
communication chain in his communication model. This model is more focused on public speaking than
interpersonal communication.

Aristotle Model of Communication is formed with 5 basic elements

(i) Speaker, (ii) Speech, (iii) Occasion, (iv) Audience and (v) Effect.

Aristotle advises speakers to build speech for different audience on different time (occasion) and for
different effects.
Speaker plays an important role in Public speaking. The speaker must prepare his speech and analysis
audience needs before he enters into the stage. His words should influence in audience mind and persuade
their thoughts towards him.

Example:

Alexander gave brave speech to his soldiers in the war field to defeat Persian Empire.

Speaker – Alexander

Speech – about his invasion

Occasion – War field

Audience – Soldiers

Effect – To defeat Persia

2. BERLO‘S SMCR MODEL OF

COMMUNICATION
The berlo‘s model follows the smcr model this model is not specific to any particular communication.

Berlo‘s model lives a number of factors under each of the elements :

Source: The source is were the message originates.

Communication skills – It is the individual‘s skill to communicate (ability to read, write, speak, listen
etc…)
Attitudes – The attitude towards the audience, subject and towards one self for e.g. for the student the
attitude is to learn more and for teachers wants to help teach.
Knowledge– The knowledge about the subject one is going to communicate for e.g. whatever the teacher
communicates in the class about the subject so having knowledge in what you are communicating.
Note: It is not talking about the general knowledge it is all about the knowledge of the subject, so it is the
familiarity of what you are communicating.
Social system – The Social system includes the various aspects in society like values, beliefs, culture,
religion and general understanding of society. It is were the communication takes place.
For e.g. class room differs from country to country like behaviors, how we communicate etc.

Note: We can communicate only to the extent that the social system allows, when we communicate take
social system into account.
Culture: Culture of the particular society also comes under social system.
All to this model, only if you have the above in the proper or adequate proportion v can communicate.

Encoder: The sender of the message (message originates) is referred as encoder, so the source is
encoding the message here.
Message
Content – The beginning to the end of a message comprises its content for e.g. From beginning to end
whatever the class teacher speaks in the class is the content of the message.
Elements – It includes various things like language, gestures, body language etc, so these are all the
elements of the particular message. Content is accompanied by some elements.
Treatment – It refers to the packing of the message. The way in which the message is conveyed or the
way in which the message is passed on or deliver it.
Note: When it is too much treatment also the communication will not happen properly.
Structure– The structure of the message how it is arranged, the way you structure the message into
various parts.
Note: Message is the same but if the structure is not properly arranged then the message will not get to
the receiver.
Code– The code of the message means how it is sent in what form it could be e.g. language, body
language, gestures, music and even culture is a code. Through this you get/give the message or through
which the communication takes place or being reached.
Note: Only when the code is proper, the message will be clear, improper use may lead to
misinterpretation.
Channel– It is nothing but the five senses through this only we do. The following are the five senses
which we use
 Hearing
 Seeing
 Touching
 Smelling
 Tasting
Whatever communication we do it is there either of these channels.

Hearing: The use of ears to get the message for e.g. oral messages, interpersonal etc.
Seeing: Visual channels for e.g. TV can be seen and the message is delivered.
Touching: The sense of touch can be used as a channel to communicate for e.g. we touch and buy food,
hugging etc.
Smelling: Smell also can be a channel to communicate for e.g. perfumes, food, charred smell
communicates something is burning, we can find out about which food is being cooked etc.
Tasting : The tongue also can be used to decipher e.g. Food can be tasted and communication can
happen.
Note: Despite not mentioning a medium we need to assume that as communication is taking place
channels can be any of the 5 senses or combination.
Decoder : Who receives the message and decodes it is referred to as decoder.
Receiver: The receiver needs to have all the thinks like the source.
This model believes that for an effective communication to take place the source and the receiver needs to
be in the same level, only if the source and receiver are on the same level communication will happen or
take place properly. So source and receiver should be similar

For e.g. Communication skills on source side is good then the receiver should equally have good listening
skills.

We cannot say the entire message passed doesn‘t reaches the receiver has it is because the receiver may
not good in listening, so only for the effective communication the source and the receiver to be in the same
level.

Note: Self image differs from person to person, for communicating the person should consider the
receiver. Keep the receiver in mind, speak accordingly and give them what they need.
Criticism of berlo’s smcr model of communication:
1. No feedback / don‘t know about the effect
2. Does not mention barriers to communication
3. No room for noise
4. Complex model
5. It is a linear model of communication
6. Needs people to be on same level for communication to occur but not true in real life
7. Main drawback of the model is that the model omits the usage of sixth sense as a channel which is
actually a gift to the human beings (thinking, understanding, analyzing etc).

3. De Fleur Model of Communication

History:
Melvin Lawrence De Fleur (born April 27, 1923 in Portland, Oregon) is a professor and scholar in the field
of communications and Social Psychology. In 1954, University of Washington gave a Ph.D in Social
psychology for his experimental study ―Experimental studies of stimulus response relationships in leaflet
communication‖ based on American Communities how information diffused by them. He taught very
universities from 1954 to till today. Now he is working as a Professor and head in the Department of
communication and Advertising and Public Relations in the University of Boston.

Background of the theory:

The theory De fleur model of communication is expanded version of Shannon and weaver model of
communication. And also based on the ―Westley & Maclean model of communication‖ describes the
circular process of communication with feedback from the receiver. Shannon and Weaver model is a one
way communication and they explain the role of noise in the communication process. Westley & Maclean
model is a two way communication and for first time they introduced the important component called
―Linear Feedback‖ in the communication model. De fleur combine these two models and creates new one
called ―De Fleur Model of Communication‖.

Theory:
De Fleur simply expands the Shannon & weaver model of communication by inserting the Mass Media
device and suggested the communication process is circular as well as it gives possible two way feedback.
In this whole communication process, noise may occur at any stages. Defleur pictures the source,
transmitter, receiver and destination as separate phases of mass communication.

Defleur‘s another important suggestion in this model is ―Feedback Device‖. This feedback device is helps
to analyse the target audience (as separate from the receivers). Here, all these receivers are not
considering as a target audience because the target audience will make some kind of feedback which will
helps to find the target audience by using feedback device.

One of the important aspect of the communication model is two way communication process which is
recommended by Defleur. And also this model is the first one which introduce both two way feedback and
targeted audience in the communication process.

Example:
De Fleur‘s model can be well explained with the help of advertisings. Say let‘s assume source as the
advertising strategy or simply the information about the product which the company intends to tell to its
audience. This is then converted into message as ad film and then transmitted by a mass communicating
channel. At the other end the receiver (TV set or radio) decodes the information as message and finally it
is being transformed to the destination (the target audience). Now comes the feedback aspect. The
feedback acts as a message – an information source and the same process continues where the message
reaches back the advertising company. (Feedback may happen through emails, social networks).

Through feedback, the company can know whether their intended message has reached the target
audience and if not they can modify their message and once again involve in communication process.

4. Duck‘s Relationship Filtering Model

History
Steve duck was born in the year 1946 in Somerset, England. He began his profession as a lecture in social
psychology at the Glasgow University. He served as the foundation lecturer in psychology in the University
of Lancaster with Daniel and Amy starch professor at the University of Lowa.

Introduction
Duck‘s relationship model states that people consider different cues in sequence as they get to know
someone. They are nothing but sets of filters which helps us to choose relationships which we wish to
follow. The evidences that are accessible are used by people to evaluate other‘s basic thought construct.
People pay attention to the physical appearance, verbal or nonverbal communication and personality of
the other person in a sequence as they encounter. So the people are filtered out evaluating this sequence
and only the ones who pass through these filters will end up in relationships. Through this model we can
evaluate people with the cues which are presented during the communication process.

Duck’s Filtering Model

Duck‘s filtration relationship model proposes that people evaluate according to different cues to judge
another person. Following are different cues through which the evaluation is done.

Sociological/Incidental Cues
It is the limitation of meeting people due to where we live or work. For Instance consider our sociological
location, we hardly ever met most of the people and the others are often seen.

Example– Stacy and tom goes to the same gym. They see each other every day. William also goes to the
same gym but in different timings. William is a practical and sensible guy and Stacy might have liked him
but they never got a chance to meet.
Pre-Interaction cues
When we get information about a person even before an interaction or any communication process, we
can decide whether to include or omit people whom we want to have friendship with or any other
relationship.

Example–Mark and Susan are in the same school but different classes. They see every day but never got
a chance to talk or interact. Mark found her attractive and wanted to talk her. For that he asked his friends
about her and they told him that Susan is a good girl and a cool person to spend time with. He also got the
information that the girls hanging around with Susan had a bad reputation and this led mark to avoid
others and meet Susan.
Interactive cues
When we interact with other people, we can evaluate and reach a conclusion on whether to include or
exclude a person from a relationship.

Example– Conner and Anne were dating for more than three months and only could judge each other
positively. So they decided to continue dating seriously so that they could evaluate themselves and to
reach a conclusion.
Cognitive cues
People are evaluated on the basis of their character and also the extent to which we think will match ours.
When others reach this level, we will tend to sustain a relationship with that person.

Example– May always liked to go to museums and art galleries to hang out. But she never told her
boyfriend Stan about that and he took her to movies and theme parks for their dates. Once she told him
how she adored going to museums and art galleries and to her surprise Stan too was fond of art and
history. They shared many common characteristics and likes and this took their relationship to a different
level.

5. Elaboration Likelihood Model

Introduction
Elaboration Likelihood Model is developed by Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo in 1980s. Persuasion
is very much associated with our daily life. Persuasion occurs when readers, listeners or viewers learns a
message from what they read, listen or watch. We remember the message as ideas and we will be
persuaded by it. That is how we remember them. If we did not learn something, it is not possible to
remember it and we will not be persuaded by it. However learning may not be always combined with
persuasion. For example there might be some advertisements that we hate, we don‘t want to learn or
remember the message from the advertisement and we are not being persuaded by it. The Elaboration
Likelihood Model (ELM) explains how persuasion message works in changing the attitude of reader or
viewer. It is very much important for corporations and advertisement agencies, in designing their market
strategies and understanding the attitudes of peoples.

Theory
Persuasion is referred as the action by which, convincing or causing someone to do something through
reasoning or argument. The Elaboration Likelihood model proposes that each and every message is
undergoing the process of persuasion in two different ways. They are called Central route and peripheral
route. Both of them are effective persuasion techniques,but each of them has its own guiding techniques to
make them more operative.

Central Route
The process of persuasion through Central route is straight to the point and complete. The central route
needs a thoughtful consideration of arguments which contains in the message. It requires more
involvement from the part of reader or viewer. The receiver of the message carefully analyze the message
and think of it in every possible angle. When the receiver processes the message through the central route,
his active participation is vital also his motivation and ability to think. In simple it can be said that the
receiver should care about the message and subject matter. The central route is strong. A person who is
distracted or having some problem with understanding the message may not be able to do the central
processing. The disadvantage of this technique is that, if the receiver is not directly affected by the
message he or she will ignore it.

Example
A woman who is very much interested in platinum jewels will be closely watching the advertisements of
platinum jewels. She is fascinated with the new trends and tends to collect them. Here she has the
motivation for the subject matter and she care about it. She carefully processes the message and thinks
about it. And her husband may not be interested in jewels so he will be totally ignoring the message from
advertisements about the jewels. Here the woman processes the message in her central route and not her
husband.

Peripheral Route
The peripheral route is weak and the involvement of the receiver will be low. The message sent through
peripheral route is not analyzed cognitively. Here the receiver of the message is not sure whether to agree
with the message or to disagree. The person may not be able to
elaborate the message extensively, so in the end he will be persuaded by the factors which are nothing to
do with the message. And this is where packing, marketing, advertising and PR does their job. Sometimes
people may not be in a position to think about the message carefully
so he or she will look around for the next best option to be persuaded.
Example
Brian, a high school student in a book store to buy a note book for doing his homework. He sees many
designs in front cover of the notebook from various companies. He became confused, and then he saw a
notebook with his favorite football player‘s picture in front cover. Without thinking much about it, he
bought that notebook.

6. Fisher‘s Model – Small Group

Communication
History
The studies concerning the group development have been done by the researchers for many years. As the
result of these studies varied models have been proposed. Linear models are considered as the most
influential discoveries made in the late 20th century. Fisher‘s model is one of the linear models of small
group communication is proposed by B. Aubrey Fisher. He was the professor of communications at Utah
University and author of many books based on small group communication and decision making.

Fisher‘s works on the four phases of decision making with each described by distinctive design of
interaction is distinguished.

Introduction
It had been studied that to make a decision and to accomplish an activity the group have to go through an
array of phases.

Decision making in a group communication is a very important factor to come up with an idea
unanimously. As a group, the decision making includes reflective thinking and standard agenda. It was
developed by John Dewey. A careful systematic approach to a problem is reflective thinking and making
use of a six step guide to take their decision is called standard agenda.

1. Problem Identification: To identify the problem and finding the reason for that problem
2. Problem Analysis: Analyzing the problem and identifying the forces that play in the group‘s
situation
3. Criteria Selection: Identifying the goals of the final decision
4. Solution Generation: As a group come up with many solutions
5. Solution Evaluation and Selection: Select solution as the criteria
6. Solution implementation: Implementing the solution
According to B. Aubrey fisher, interaction changed as the group decision was formulated and solidified
during different moments of group process. He noted this change on the basis of the contents in their
responses to a decision process. With his observation he created a code with which he could identify the
interact ants (ants which communicate with fellow ants and decides the travel path) related with each
decision making level.

According to fisher, Decision making can be recurring and in some situations inconsistent. The paths
taken by interact ants to take a decision can be observed through a number of possibilities according to the
situation. With the four phases of Fisher‘s model, we can understand how a decision develops within a
group.

Fisher’s Model
Fisher‘s model is a development model consisting of four stages. An accord is emerging within a group by
going through these stages.

1. Orientation
2. Conflict
3. Emergence
4. Reinforcement
Stage 1-Orientation– The first step is about getting to know each other. Here members feel
uncomfortable due to lack of communication. The group tends to experience primary tension.
Interpretation and agreement happen in this phase as the part of getting to know each other. Due to
nervousness, members tend to come up with favorable reactions. Here the members share their problems
and will prepare the restrictions and opportunities assumed in confronting the problem.
Stage 2-Conflict– In this stage the problem is examined and each individual tries to convey get into a
solution through their perspective. In a small group communication this type of responses increases
individual‘s participation and the group think can be avoided. A high level of individuality can be
sustained. Nervousness will subside in this stage and develops certainty in responses. The difference in
opinions later helps in emergence of good results. The emergence of rankings and leaders can be seen in
the later part of the conflict stage.
Stage 3- Emergence– Group‘s task and its arrangement become noticeable. In this stage uncertainty
increases but the responses are kept quiet. The group tends to reach to a unanimity apart from the
debating with different responses in the conflicting stage. They will try to compromise. This stage is
considered to be the longest.
Stage 4- Reinforcement– This is the final stage of small group communication. Here the members try
to observe their final decision through an array of their own viewpoints. It creates solidarity within the
group. Accord and reinforcement is given to the decision with approving opinions.
Example
We can consider a new batch in a university as a small group. A problem raised due to unsatisfactory
facilities in one of the halls in the university and the students have to come up with the idea to make other
students aware of the problem and to work anonymously. So the small group inside the particular hall will
start working together a plan to achieve this.

In the first stage as they are total strangers, they try to know each other giving favorable response.

In the second stage of conflict, each individual try to come up with a solution of their own perspective.

In the third stage, emergence, most of the responses are kept quiet with most of them and a leader will be
raised for the team who gives opinions of the strike, whether it is favorable or unfavorable to others.

In the last reinforcement stage, all the members agree with the idea in order to create solidarity in the
group. For that reason rest of the group agrees to strike within the campus and create awareness about the
injustice happening within the college.

Critics
The application of this model can only be vaguely applied in real world situations. The problem solving in
a small group is more complicated than the proposed theory. As a group, finding a solution where
everyone collectively approves is a very difficult position when it comes to a group. The theory fails to
bring up the actual problem a small group is confronting such as the fear among the members to
communicate openly within a group which leads to group think.
7.Gate Keeping Theory
Kurt Zadek Lewin (1890-1947), was born in German. He was a great Psychologist and pioneer in Social
Psychology. He developed the concept in the field of psychology called psychological ―field‖ and ―life
space‖ in order to understand the human behavior and its important consideration of total life space. His
studies are more based on to understand a person‘s own world, physical, mental and social through
frequent conversation between his pre-memories, desire and his goals. And also his works help to
understand the relationship between attitudes and behavior in the group or individuals.

Kurt Lewin coins the word called ―Gate keeping‖. It‘s nothing but to block unwanted or useless things by
using a gate. Here the person who make a decision is called ―Gatekeeper‖. At first it is widely used in the
field of psychology and later it occupies the field of communication. Now it‘s one of the essential theories
in communication studies.

Concept:
The Gatekeeper decides what information should move to group or individual and what information
should not. Here, the gatekeeper are the decision makers who letting the whole social system. The
gatekeeper is having its own influence like social, cultural, ethical and political. Based on personal or
social influences they let the information to the group. Through this process the unwanted, sensible and
controversial information‘s are removed by the gate keeper which helps to control the society or a group
and letting them in a right path. In home mother plays the vital role and she has to decide what their kid‘s
needs and what should avoid.

In news medium editor play vital role. He has to decide what kind of news items will publish and what
should not. Every day the news channel receives various news items from all over the world. The channel
have its own ethics and policies through this the editor decide the news items for publish or aired. In some
cases few news items are rejected by the editor due the organizations policy or the news items which are
not suitable for publish.
Example:
An international news channel receives numbers of news items within day like international terror issues,
UN discussions, Texas bull fighting and religious abuse on international community.

A news channel can‘t show all those news items to audience because it may affect the channel reputation
in public and organizations policy. Here, editor decides the news items especially he can‘t show the Texas
bull fighting because it is not internationally popular story. But the same time the news channel can‘t show
the religious abuses also because it may hurt audience directly and it may affect organizations policy also.
But international terror issues and UN discussions are universal common news that won‘t affect the
channel reputation in public and organizations policy.

News items:
N1: Texas bull fighting, N2: International terror issues, N3: UN discussions, N4: religious abuse on
international community

Gatekeeper:
Chief Editor

Selected News Items:

N2: International terror issues, N3: UN discussions,

Discarded News Items: (on popularity)

N1: Texas bull fighting

Discarded News Items: (on policy)

N4: Religious abuse on International community

7. Gerbner‘s General Model

ntroduction:
Mr. George Gerbner is one of the pioneers in the field of communication research. His works are
descriptive as well as very easy to understand any other before. He is working as a professor and head of
the Annenberg School of Communications in the University of Pennsylvania. In 1956, Gerbner attempted
the general purpose of communication models. He stressed the dynamic nature of communication in his
work and also the factor which affecting the reliability of communication.

(Note: This model can be best understood when read along with the diagram beginning at E – Event.)

(i) Perceptual Dimension:

An ‗E‘ is an event happens in the real life and the event content or message is perceived by ‗M‘ (Man or a
Machine). After Perceives the message from ―E‖ by ―M‖ is known as ―E1‖. E1 is not same as like ‗E‘.
Because any man or machine can‘t perceives the whole event and they perceives only the part of the event
(E1). This is known as ―Perceptual Dimension‖.

These 3 factors are involves between ‗E‘ and ‗M‘

 Selection
 Context
 Availability
M (man or machine) cannot perceive the entire content of the event ―E‖. So M selects the interesting or
needed content from the entire event and filtering the others. The context occurs in the event
and Availability is based on ‗M‘s attitude, mood, culture and personality. (For eg. How a journalist
perceives the messages from the event and also can‘t focus the whole event so they filter the unwanted or
unrelated content from the event. This filtered content is not same as like the actual event content because
the journalist edits the content based on his attitude, mood and cultural background or press policies).
(ii) Means and Controls dimension:
E2 is the event content which is drawn or artified by M. Here M becomes the source of a message about E
to send someone else. M creates a statement or signals about the message and Gerbner termed its Form
and content as ―SE2‖. S (Signal or Form) it takes and E2 (Man‘s content). Here Content (E2) is structured
or formed (S) by ‗M‘ and it can communicate in a different ways or based on the structured ways.

M has to use channels (or media) over to send the message which he has a greater or lesser degree of
control. The question of ‗control‘ relates to M‘s degree of skill in using communication channels. If using a
verbal channel, how good is he using words? If using the Internet, how good is he at using new technology
and words?

This process can be extended to infinitum by adding on other receivers (M2, M3etc.) who have further
perceptions (SE3, SE4 etc.) of the statements about perceived events.

Important Note:
Message at every level is altered or changed.

Example:
In case of news reporting, E can be any event that has happened and the reporter (M) selects a particular
part of event (E1) that may be provide his channel higher TRP ratings or the news may boost the particular
party which his channel supports. This SE2 is sent through a medium to the mass audience. Then the
audience distributed the message (SE2) and he (M1) sends to his friends with his interpretation and the
process continues.

8. Helical Model of Communication

Introduction
In 1967, Frank Dance proposed the communication model called Dance‘s Helix Model for a better
communication process. The name helical comes from ―Helix‖ which means an object having a three-
dimensional shape like that of a wire wound uniformly around a cylinder or cone. He shows
communication as a dynamic and non-linear process.
Theory
Dance‘s model emphasized the difficulties of communication. Frank Dance uses the form of a Helix to
describe communication process. He developed this theory based on a simple helix which gets bigger and
bigger as it moves or grows. The main characterstic of helical model of communication is that it is
evolutionary.
Frank Dance explains the communication process based on this Helix structure and compares it with
communication. In the Helix structure, the bottom or starting is very small then it‘s gradually moves
upward in a back and forth circular motion which form the bigger circle in the top and its still moves
further. The whole process takes some time to reach. As like helix, the communication process starts very
slowly and defined small circle. Communicators share information only with small portion of themselves
to their relationships. Its gradually develops into next level but which will take some time to reach and
expanding its boundaries to the next level. Later the communicators commit more and share more
portions themselves.

Example
When a child is born the only means of communication is crying, he/she cries for everything like hunger,
pain, cold etc.. As the child grows the means of communication become wider and broader. He learns to
makes noises then he learns language to obtain attention and to fulfil his needs. As a Helix the process of
communication in this case started from crying and later it developed into a complex and compound
means.

The Helical model of communication is largely dependent on its past. A child learns to pronounce a word
in his elementary classes and throughout his life he uses that word in the same way he learnt. Just like that
we used to react to certain things in a certain way in our childhood and such reactions and habits lasts
with us forever. The communication evolves in the beginning in some simple forms then the same process
of communication develops based on the past activities. It develops further with modifications.

Conclusion
Frank Dance included the concept of time in his theory. Something happens over the other will always be
based on the first event according to him. This theory of communication was a subject to a number of
experimental researches. Even though this model of communication clarifies everything there is a problem
of over simplification. According to this theory a communication process is the product of what we learnt.

9. Knapp‘s Relationship Model

History
Mark .l Knapp (born on July 12th, 1938) is a renowned teaching professor at the University of Texas and is
greatly known for his works in nonverbal communication research and in evolving interactions. He
developed a theoretical model for relational enhancement which routes the interpersonal development
between two people.

Introduction
Knapp‘s relationship model explains how relationships grow and last and also how they end. This model is
categorized into ten different stages which come under two interrelating stages are Knapp‘s relationship
escalation model and Knapp‘s relationship termination model. This helps to understand how a
relationship progresses and deteriorates. Diverse levels of speed and altered time between each step can
be seen and experienced when a relationship grows. The steps can be even skipped out while the
progression or deterioration of a relationship.

Knapp’s Relationship Escalation Model

Coming together
I. Initiation – This very short stage is all about making an impression. So this stage the judging would
not be accurate. People will be concerned with making favorable impressions. The physical appearance
plays a great role in impression making such as the dress that they wear, the perfume they use and the
overall appearance.
Example 1 – If a boy finds a girl attractive and want to make a conversation with her, he will introduce
him selves with a formal greeting – how are you? What is your name?
Example 2 – In business relationships overall amiability is essential. They ask about demographics,
professions and other shared aims. It is important in business to create a good impression at the initial
stage itself.
II.Experimentation – In this stage, it‘s all about exploring to know each other well. Experimentation is
also called as the probing stage because each person will analyze the other for information or a common
interest so that they can decide whether to maintain a relationship among them. Most of the relationships
wind up here due to the different interest levels.
Example 1 – When the boy sees the girl the next time they will discuss to find out about their common
interest and asks questions like- which is your favorite food? Or which is your favorite car?
Example 2 – An exploration into what partner fabricates will add benefit to the business of another
person in business relationships.
III. Intensifying – In this stage the relationship intensifies and becomes less formal. People will start
revealing their personal information and will analyze the impression on the other person. They find
various ways to nurture a relationship in order to strengthen interpersonal development such as gifts,
spending more time together, asking for dates, expecting a relationship commitment etc.
Example 1 – The boy asks the girl for a date. During their date they talk about their lives and how the
boy got the job and his personal experience and the girl also reveals about her parents, her previous
experiences, etc.
Example 2 – In this stage in business, negotiation and commitment activity may be involved which
leads to an increase in amount formation and trade.
IV. Integration – At this stage, the people will start to make their relationship as much closer than
before.In personal life people may fall in love or find a close friend. The level of intimacy can progress to a
further relationship.
Example 1 – After several months they labeled their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.
Example 2 – In this stage in business relationships they will start getting profit for their agreement
which results in financial benefit.
V. Bonding – In this stage, a person will announce to the world about their relationship. They make their
relationship recognized and will honor their commitment legally. The relationship is indefinite and only to
be broken through a formal notice, agreements or death etc.
Example 1 – The boy proposes and the girl agrees to marry him.
Example 2 – The bonding stage of business relationships comprises of partnerships and durable
relationships which can lower business expenses and can result in more profit.
Knapp’s Relationship Termination Model
Coming apart
When a relationship progresses, there will be misunderstandings and conflicts and the so called ‗indefinite
relationship‘ might fail to persist. Like coming together, there are five stages in coming apart.

I. Differentiating – When people progress in a relationship they sometimes due to other external
pressures will start thinking individually rather than with the partner. They may start developing hobbies
or other endeavors. The relationship will start to fade and the everlasting bond will be broken. The feeling
of dislike is often expressed by the partners on their commitment.
Example 1 – The boy comes up with idea of quitting the job and to do something he wanted. The girl
rejects the idea with some reasoning. So a pressure is created inside the relationship.
Example 2 – In business, meetings are crucial to know the partners stands and other opinions. Due to
work pressure, dealers and other costumers, the meetings are reduced. They start to think more as
individuals than as partners.
II. Circumscribing – After differentiating partners will limit their conversations and will set up
boundaries in their communication. Often people will never communicate the topic fearing an argument.
They will have their own personal space and activities.
Example 1 – The girl started talking more about the general topics like the food, climate etc. and started
avoiding the conversation on quitting the job. The boy does the same.
Example 2 – In business, the issues regarding the quality might arise due to the communication gap and
the conflicts can lead to alternative contract units.
III. Stagnation – The relationship will decline even more if it reaches the stagnation stage. The
communication will be more limited. The only reason the partners don‘t separate is due to children or
other unavoidable reasons. Mostly the relationships in this stage will not continue or improve.
Example 1 – As the girl found that there is not much to talk about in general and will remain silent even
though they live in the same house. So there is a serious communication gap between the girl and the boy.
Example 2 – In business relationships, there will be a communication gap when one party or both the
partners feel neglected or when they felt insignificant.
IV. Avoidance – At this stage, the partners intentionally avoid any contacts and they will be physically
detached. They restrict themselves from any forms of communication to avoid a conversation or an
argument.
Example 1 – One day the boy packs his bags and walks out of the house. By the time the girl would have
completely avoided the boy and will not attempt to stop him.
Example 2 – The stagnation stage will result in both partners to avoid each other as it affects their
fundamental functioning.
V. Terminating – This is the final stage of coming apart. The relationship completely terminates. The
partners will take different paths and will go on with their lives. The termination is not just a subjective
decision as a divorce but it can occur naturally when the people who were living next door move out or
when roommates change as the year ends.
Example 1 – The boy approaches an advocate for a divorce.
Example 2 – In termination stage the partnership is broken and will go on with their ventures.

10. Harold Lasswell’s model

Harold Dwight Lasswell (February 13, 1902 — December 18, 1978)

Harold Dwight Lasswell, the American political scientist states that a convenient way to describe an act of
communication is to answer the following questions
 Who
 Says What
 In Which Channel
 To Whom
 With what effect?

This model is about process of communication and its function to society, According to Lasswell there are
three functions for communication:

1. Surveillance of the environment

2. Correlation of components of society
3. Cultural transmission between generation
Lasswell model suggests the message flow in a multicultural society with multiple audiences. The flow of
message is through various channels. And also this communication model is similar to Aristotle‘s
communication model.

In this model, the communication component who refers the research area called ―Control Analysis‖,

Says what is refers to ―Content Analysis‖,

In which channel is refers to ―Media Analysis‖,

To Whom is refers to ―Audience Analysis‖

With What Effect is refers to ―Effect Analysis‖

Example:
CNN NEWS – A water leak from Japan‘s tsunami-crippled nuclear power station resulted in about 100
times the permitted level of radioactive material flowing into the sea, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co
said on Saturday.

Who – TEPC Operator

What – Radioactive material flowing into sea

Channel – CNN NEWS (Television medium)

Whom – Public

Effect – Alert the people of japan from the radiation.

Advantage of lasswell model:

 It is Easy and Simple
 It suits for almost all types of communication
 The concept of effect
Disadvantage of lasswell model:
 Feedback not mentioned
 Noise not mentioned
 Linear Model

11. Mental Model

Introduction
Mental model is a psychological term which refers to the mental illustrations that explains a person‘s
thoughts and behaviours. The concept first appeared in the book ‗the nature of exploration‘ by Kenneth
craik in 1943. In his book he mentioned that the mind develops mental models or illustrations which serve
as reference and explanation and for taking the decision in various events of life. Philip Johnson-laird
through his study, the comprehension of discourse has further explained about the construction of these
mental models. He explained that people creates mental models as they hear the text. Laird also explained
the possibility of construction of more than one mental model when the person is subjected to a more
abstract verbal message. The studies on mental model have opened a new perspective in cognitive
psychology for analyzing mental process of human beings.

Mental Model
Mental model is the representation of a human mind‘s thought process. Everything that a person sees is
been represented as models inside their minds. The mental models are considered as an internal scale for
a human being for evaluation and for taking decisions. The Internal scales as mentioned by the scientists
are ever changing and unstable as a human mind is susceptible to change due to adaptation. Even going
through a change a human being must be able to evaluate and understand the consequences and results of
change.

Mental model provide grounds for reasoning. The models that are made out of a person‘s perception and
imagination which can influence reasoning than coming down to a logical conclusion. Out of all the
possible assumptions, the mental model represents only the most relevant and true one. The contrary
occurs when there is an alternative to reality.

Mental models have been utilized for studying human computer interaction (HCI), where the mental
models are being utilized to make sense of the complexities that are around the people using computers.
When people use computers, they build mental models in accordance with the interaction with the system.
These models are used for interpreting the working of the system. For e.g.- People creates mental models
before creating anything. It can be complicated machinery or even a simple apple pie. The creator thus
creates a mental model which he refers to while materializing it.

Scope
The concept of mental model can be applied to a variety of fields such as psychology, business, technology
etc. People utilize these mental models to make sense of the reality. The practical and the theoretical
knowledge each gained is applied in these models to further understand and to refer about the world they
are living. Inventors comprehend the mental model of the consumers to understand their demands and
needs. And in business, People use mental models to do daily purchase more economically.
Example
As mentioned above, people refer to the mental models to make decisions and to reason for making the
particular decision. For instance consider a man is going to a jewellery shop for buying a gift for his wife
for their anniversary. He will have a particular idea in mind and would have arranged the budget
accordingly. But while entering the jewellery shop the person was marveled by the array of designs. Then
he selects a particular design which was far beyond his budget but found attractive. He knew his wife
would love it. In this situation the person takes decision based on the mental model which is built on
understanding and knowledge. He would reason his decision by referring to the experiences and
understanding which lay foundation for the model that it would make his wife happier.

12. OSGOOD- SCHRAMM MODEL OF

COMMUNICATION

It is a Circular Model, so that communication is something circular in nature

Encoder – Who does encoding or Sends the message (message originates)

Decoder – Who receives the message
Interpreter – Person trying to understand (analyses, perceive) or interpret
Note: From the message starting to ending, there is an interpretation goes on. Based on this
interpretation only the message is received.
This model breaks the sender and receiver model it seems communication in a practical way. It is not a
traditional model.

It can happen within our self or two people; each person acts as both sender and receiver and hence use
interpretation. It is simultaneously take place e.g. encoding, interpret and decoding.

Semantic noise is a concept introduced here it occurs when sender and receiver apply different meaning to
the same message. It happens mostly because of words and phrases for e.g. Technical Language, So certain
words and phrases will cause you to deviate from the actual meaning of the communication.
Note: When semantic noise takes place decoding and interpretation becomes difficult and people get
deviated from the actual message.
Advantage of Osgood- Schramm model of communication
1. Dynamic model- Shows how a situation can change
2. It shows why redundancy is an essential part
3. There is no separate sender and receiver, sender and receiver is the same person
4. Assume communication to be circular in nature
5. Feedback – central feature.
Disadvantage of Osgood- Schramm model of communication
This model does not talk about semantic noise and it assume the moment of encoding and decoding.

13. Poole‘s Model – Small Group

Communication
History
Marshall Scott Poole is a senior research scientist and David & Margret Romano professorial scholar at
National Center of Supercomputing Applications and the professor of communication and director of I-
CHASS at the University of Illinois. Group communication, structural communication, Organisational
novelty and theory formation encompasses his pursuits and has written more than 100 books and articles
on this subject. His works on group communications have been broadly known and accepted. His current
works include huge multiplayer online games and group behaviour, within a group how the construction
of communications and information technologies occurs and network theory in intergroup networks and
huge vigorously modifying groups. Poole‘s multiple sequence models is one of the important innovation in
small group communication by making the small communication more precise by applying sequences.

Introduction
According to Marshall Scott Poole a decision making process by different groups are achieved through the
application of different sequences. He had employed different contingency variables such as group
composition, task structure and conflict management approaches to refer decision making. This was a
contrast to the usual unitary sequence models. Decision development through various stages (phases) are
found irrelevant by Poole as the decision is not just made up in stages that comes one after the other, but
is a cluster of various linking activities and communication. His model is a descriptive system for studying
the multiple contingency variables and it is consisted of 36 clusters for coding group communication and 4
cluster-sets such as proposal growth, conflict, socio-emotional interests and expressions of uncertainty.
During a group interaction, the stages cannot be predicted by the members and so Poole put forward three
tracks such as task, relation and topic. He suggested that these tasks occur at any time during a group
communication.

Poole’s Model
Poole‘s model put forward several tracks for the group communication and also stated the tracks can
repeat or can happen at any time of the communication process. This model consists of the various tracks
used for interpreting the communication styles that a group follows.

 Task track
 Relation track
 Topic track
 Break Points
Task track – This Initial stage is the understanding period. The people inside the group will try to set the
goal and will try to figure out its procedure. Like many other models, this suggests how people
understands about the problem and how are they going to solve it.
Example: During conflicts and war soldiers in a battalion or group try to set their objective under the
main goal. And they all will work together to achieve the objective set by them in order to achieve the main
goal. Soldiers in the group will have their own suggestions and opinions about achieving the objective
which depends on their understanding of the problem.
Relation track – This track is emphasised on the interpersonal relation between the members of the
group. As human beings are social animals, the people will find time to interact and relax as friends. Any
relations can be sprouted through these interactions as they tend to reveal themselves to others and these
relationships are essential in working as a group.
Example: Even during the war soldiers will find time to relate with their fellow soldiers as a means of
relaxation. This sharing will help them to improve their motivation towards achieving the goal. It has to be
noted that during the peak of fight soldiers will have their own means of relaxation by sharing and relating
with fellow soldiers.
Topic track – There can be issues or concerns that a group might encounter and this track focuses on
these issues regarding the group communication. Sometimes it may be argumentative conversation and in
other times it can be a cooperative one.
Example: Consider the war field example for the same, during the process of achieving the objectives the
their might be arguments regarding the steps involved with it or regarding any other reason based on their
understanding. It can turn out to be dispute or a cooperative one.
Break points – During conversations, the group tends to shift through tracks. These points where the
group shifts from one point to next is called break points. Example – Suspension, postponement.
Example: In real life conditions the thoughts and ideas comes up in no order in any of the group. There is
no pre-set order.

14. Propaganda Model

Introduction
The Propaganda model of media control was introduced by Edward. S. Herman and Noam Chomsky in
their book ‗Manufacturing Consent – The Political Economy of the Mass Media‘. This theory states how
propaganda works in a mass media. The model tries to understand how the population is manipulated,
and how the social, economic, political attitudes are fashioned in the minds of people through
propaganda. Herman and Chomsky mostly concentrated on American population and media for their
research but this theory is universally applicable.

Theory
In their book Manufacturing Consent, Herman and Chomsky says ―A propaganda model focuses on this
inequality of wealth and power and its multilevel effects on mass-media interests and choices. It traces the
routes by which money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow
the government and dominant private interests to get their messages across to the public‖.

According to the theory media operates as a business which sells its products (readers and subscribers) to
other business entities that do their advertisements in media, rather than performing the function of
disseminating news for the public. Here the news is being misshaped and reformed from its original form.
Herman and Chomsky call the factors which misshape news as filters. The news is being filtered by each of
these factors before they reaches its audience or general public.

The five filters are

Size, Ownership and Profit orientation of mass media

The major media organizations are in the hands of a few elites. The major news channels, newspapers and
other mass media instruments are a part of large corporation and conglomerations. The information
presented to the public will be varying as per the interests of these organizations. As a part of maximizing
profit they sacrifice some news objectives. The extensive financial interests of these organizations may
endanger the quality of news. It is common around the world that the medias in the hands of government
being puppets.

Example: Corporate organization who owns media never publishes the financial details, which may
endanger them.

Funding
The advertisements play the major role of funding in mass media. If advertisements were not funding
mass media, then price of the newspapers may include cost of its production and also it‘s applicable for
other mass media like Television, Radio and electronic media. So it is common that the media filters the
news, in favor of their advertisement providers. The ethics of the mass media is often modified for their
existence by media.

Example: A corporate organization may threaten the media saying that they will withdraw advertising
contract if the media publishes any news which damage the reputation of the organization.

Source
Even the biggest media organizations cannot afford to have reporters and camera persons where ever the
news breaks. There will be some sources for news and the media is supposed to protect these sources and
in the same time there will be some powerful sources which tend to change the policies of media. For
availing a continuous flow of news, the media take suitable actions in favor of source. The relationships
have to be maintained with these sources and it is common that the news are published keeping the
‗source‘ in mind.

Example: The spokesperson of a prime minister or president is considered as a powerful source of news.
For making sure of a proper flow of news the organizations keeps the sources delighted by fine-tuning the
news.

Flaks
Flaks refer to the negative responses to the statement or programme published or broadcasted. If the flaks
are produced in a large scale it is destructive to the media. The media will always have an eye for the
negative responses. It will have a through look on the materials and news before it publishes or broadcasts
some news about a publically loved figure. As a filter it will try to avoid the news items which may bring
sorts of negative responses.

Example: Most of the media never publishes news projecting negative image of religious leaders without
strong evidence. Because it may harm the reputation of media organization among the public.

Anti-communism
As far as the American corporations and elite groups are concerned the communism was an ultimate evil
because it took their wealth and power from them, it threatened their superior positions and high class. So
the elites who are the owners of media adopted a policy to bring censorship to the articles and news which
talks about the good side of communism. The American elite even feared the word communal. This is the
fifth filter in propaganda model suggested by Herman and Chomsky.

Example: The news which says about the communal living of workers was never allowed to publish in
America. Because they were afraid of a revolt by the workers if such articles and news are disseminated.

15. Riley & Riley Model of Communication

Introduction:
John W. and Matilda White Riley, the husband and wife team of sociologists from Brunswick published
many articles together on communication. The Riley developed a model to illustrate the sociological
implications in communication. They discuss their ideas about communication theory in an article entitled
―Mass Communication and the Social System‖ (Sociology Today, 1959). The basis for their ideas lies in the
work of Aristotle and Lasswell, and point out the importance of the sociological view in communication in
another way.

Riley & Riley Model:

The Riley and Riley

Communication Model

 Larger Social Structure 1 contains Communicator, Primary Group a1 and a2. Communicator (c) is
representing the larger social group 1.
 Larger Social Structure 2 contains Receiver, Primary Group b1 and b2. Receiver (R) is representing the
larger social group 2.
 Larger Social group 1 and larger social group 2 is comes under the Over All Social System.
Who is this Primary Group ?
Primary groups are distinguished by their degree of intimacy say may be friends, relatives. There is also
secondary group otherwise known as the reference group (though not mentioned in the figure) who
doesn‘t share a very intimate relationship with C or R but do influence in the communication process. e.g.:
any organization C or R belong to (fan club).

The model indicates that the Communicator (C) sends a message with agreement to the expectations of
the groups and other people in the larger social system. The communicator is a part of a larger social
structure and the group is called as a ―Primary Groups‖. In simple words, a communicator is influenced by
the primary group.

The Receiver is also works as like as Communicator which is also influenced by the other groups in the
larger social system. The receiver (R) receives the feedback based on the communicator‘s message from its
primary social groups. Then send that feedback to communicator (C) to rectify any issues or problems.

The important point is the both Communicator and Receiver are a part of an over-all social system.

Importance of the Model:

 The model clearly illustrates that communication is a two-way proposition.
 Communicator and recipient are interdependent and interrelated by feedback mechanisms.
 Communicator and receiver are part of a larger social context (be it family, community, or work place);
and are not acting in isolation.
Example:
Let‘s say there has been a new library website unveiled, it is determined that the library terms, or jargon,
used for navigating the website is confusing the students as they browse the site. The communicator (C)
would be the library Dean and staff who have created the website and have included terminology and
relate to (influence by the primary group). The college librarians would be the larger social structure in
which Communicator (C) is a part of librarian‘s staff community as well as student‘s community.

The receiver (R) is the college student who does not understand the jargon and becomes frustrated in
his/her search for information. The receiver, who is a member of sociological groups containing all
students, has their own expectations which is relate to the library web site and how they navigate it.
The Receiver (R) informs about the issues directly to Communicator (c). Based on the receiver‘s
compliant, the communicator solves these issues by his primary group members (staffs).
This communication model helps to solve the dispute between the two groups in the large social structure
as well as it evolves the better understanding between those two groups.

16. Shannon and Weaver Model of

Communication
In 1948, Shannon was an American mathematician, Electronic engineer and Weaver was an American
scientist both of them join together to write an article in ―Bell System Technical Journal‖ called ―A
Mathematical Theory of Communication‖ and also called as ―Shannon-Weaver model of communication‖.

This model is specially designed to develop the effective communication between sender and receiver. Also
they find factors which affecting the communication process called ―Noise‖. At first the model was
developed to improve the Technical communication. Later it‘s widely applied in the field of
Communication.

The model deals with various concepts like Information source, transmitter, Noise, channel, message,
receiver, channel, information destination, encode and decode.
Sender : The originator of message or the information source selects desire message
Encoder : The transmitter which converts the message into signals
Note: The sender‘s messages converted into signals like waves or Binary data which is compactable to
transmit the messages through cables or satellites. For example: In telephone the voice is converted into
wave signals and it transmits through cables
Decoder : The reception place of the signal which converts signals into message. A reverse process of
encode
Note : The receiver converts those binary data or waves into message which is comfortable and
understandable for receiver. Otherwise receiver can‘t receive the exact message and it will affect the
effective communication between sender and receiver
Receiver : The destination of the message from sender
Note : Based on the decoded message the receiver gives their feed back to sender. If the message
distracted by noise it will affect the communication flow between sender and receiver
Noise: The messages are transferred from encoder to decoder through channel. During this process the
messages may distracted or affected by physical noise like horn sounds, thunder and crowd noise or
encoded signals may distract in the channel during the transmission process which affect the
communication flow or the receiver may not receive the correct message
Note : The model is clearly deals with external noises only which affect the messages or signals from
external sources. For example: If there is any problems occur in network which directly affect the mobile
phone communication or distract the messages
Practical Example of Shannon-Weaver model of communication :
Thomson made call to his assistant ―come here I want to see you‖. During his call, noise appeared
(transmission error) and his assistant received ―I want‖ only. Again Assistant asked Thomson (feedback)
―what do you want Thomson‖.

Sender : Thomson

Encoder : Telephone (Thomson)

Channel : Cable

Noise : Distraction in voice

Reception : Telephone (Assistant)

Receiver : Assistant.

Due to transmission error or noise, Assistant can‘t able to understand Thomson‘s messages.
*The noise which affect the communication flow between them.

Criticism of Shannon-Weaver model of communication :

1. One of the simplest model and its general applied in various communication theories
2. The model which attracts both academics of Human communication and Information theorist to
leads their further research in communication
3. It‘s more effective in person-to-person communication than group or mass audience
4. The model based on ―Sender and Receiver‖. Here sender plays the primary role and receiver plays
the secondary role (receive the information or passive)
5. Communication is not a one way process. If it‘s behaved like that, it will lose its strength. For
example: Audience or receiver who listening a radio, reading the books or watching television is a one way
communication because absence of feedback
6. Understanding Noise will helps to solve the various problems in communication

17. SMCR MODEL

This is the very basic model for communication. Shannon and weaver identified this model in 1949.

SMCR stands for:

 Source
 Message
 Channel
 Receiver
Source : Creator of the message or from whom the message is sent.
Message : The actual content or idea for the communication.
Channel : The medium through which communication taking place, so that the message can be
conveyed from one place to another.
Receiver : The individual or group or the person who finally receives the message.
SMCR model describes the exchange of information and the model can be applied to all forms of
communication.

18. The Johari Window Model

History
It is necessary to improve self-awareness and personal development among individuals when they are in a
group. The ‗Johari‘ window model is a convenient method used to achieve this task of understanding and
enhancing communication between the members in a group. American psychologists Joseph Luft and
Harry Ingham developed this model in 1955. The idea was derived as the upshot of the group dynamics in
University of California and was later improved by Joseph Luft. The name ‗Johari‘ came from joining their
first two names. This model is also denoted as feedback/disclosure model of self-awareness.

Introduction
The Johari window model is used to enhance the individual‘s perception on others. This model is based on
two ideas- trust can be acquired by revealing information about you to others and learning yourselves
from their feedbacks. Each person is represented by the Johari model through four quadrants or window
pane. Each four window panes signifies personal information, feelings, motivation and whether that
information is known or unknown to oneself or others in four viewpoints.

The Johari Window Model

The method of conveying and accepting feedback is interpreted in this model. A Johari is represented as a
common window with four panes. Two of these panes represent self and the other two represent the part
unknown to self but to others. The information transfers from one pane to the other as the result of
mutual trust which can be achieved through socializing and the feedback got from other members of the
group.

1. Open/self-area or arena – Here the information about the person his attitudes, behaviour,
emotions, feelings, skills and views will be known by the person as well as by others. This is mainly the
area where all the communications occur and the larger the arena becomes the more effectual and
dynamic the relationship will be. ‗Feedback solicitation‘ is a process which occurs by understanding and
listening to the feedback from another person. Through this way the open area can be increased
horizontally decreasing the blind spot. The size of the arena can also be increased downwards and thus by
reducing the hidden and unknown areas through revealing one‘s feelings to other person.
2. Blind self or blind spot – Information about yourselves that others know in a group but you will be
unaware of it. Others may interpret yourselves differently than you expect. The blind spot is reduced for
an efficient communication through seeking feedback from others.
3. Hidden area or façade – Information that is known to you but will be kept unknown from others.
This can be any personal information which you feel reluctant to reveal. This includes feelings, past
experiences, fears, secrets etc. we keep some of our feelings and information as private as it affects the
relationships and thus the hidden area must be reduced by moving the information to the open areas.
4. Unknown area – The Information which are unaware to yourselves as well as others. This includes
the information, feelings, capabilities, talents etc. This can be due to traumatic past experiences or events
which can be unknown for a lifetime. The person will be unaware till he discovers his hidden qualities and
capabilities or through observation of others. Open communication is also an effective way to decrease the
unknown area and thus to communicate effectively.
Example
Linda got a job in an organization. Her co-workers knew a little about her and in this context the unknown
and hidden areas will be larger and the open area will be small. As the others don‘t know much about her
the blind spot also will be smaller and the model will be as shown in Figure 1.

Linda spent most of her free time sketching in the office which was her preferred pastime and her co-
workers found her very shy and elusive. With that evaluation she got the idea how she was and tried to be
more talkative and interacted more with other co-workers. This helped her to increase her open area and
thus making the hidden and unknown areas smaller. (Figure 2)
Through the feedback Linda got from her co-workers she could perform well in the office and her real
capacity could be obtained as a result of an effective interaction among the colleagues.

19. The Newcomb‘s Model

THEODORE M.NEWCOMB (July 24, 1903) in Rock Creek, at the northeastern tip of Ohio and he
was a great pioneer in the field of social psychology. Merely 50 years he worked for the
improvement of human motivation, perception and learning to shape the deep understanding of
social process. In 1929, he started his professional career in the department of psychology at
University of Michigan. In 1931, he moved to Cleveland College, University of Western Reserve
from University of Michigan. In 1934, he got a great offer from New Bennington College in
Vermont which caused remarkable changes in his rest of his professional career. His works
―Personality and Social Change‖ (1943), ―Social Psychology‖ (1950). He published a new social
approach in field of communication which is called ―ABX‖ system (later it became Newcomb‘s
model) and it‘s published in the name of ―An Approach to the Study of Communicative Acts
(1953)‖. He published another great work in the field of social psychology called ―The
Acquaintance Process‖ (1961).
The New Comb‘s model of communication was introduced by Theodore M Newcomb of the
University of Michigan in 1953. He gives different approach to the communication process. The
main purpose of this theory is to introduce the role of communication in a social relationship
(society) and to maintain social equilibrium within the social system. He does not include the
message as a separate entity in his diagram, implying it only by use of directional arrows. He
concentrates on the social purpose of communication, showing all communication as a means of
sustaining relationships between people. Sometimes it‘s called as an ―ABX‖ model of
communication.

The Newcomb‘s model works in a triangular format or A-B-X system

A – Sender

B – Receiver

X – Matter of Concern

The relationship between A and B is like student and teacher, government and public or
newspaper and readers. Sender and Receiver may work in a same flow but the same time some
factor like ―X‖ may affect their flow of relationship. ―X‖ it may be third persons, issue, topic or
policy.
For Example:
Teachers introduce a new policy to increase the college timing from 6 hours to 8 hours.

A – Teachers B – Students X – Policy or issue

If both students and teachers are satisfied with this policy then the communication maintains its
equilibrium status between them. Otherwise the flow of communication between ―A‖ and ―B‖
becomes trouble in the social system. If ―A‖ or ―B‖ is not ready to accept the policy then it will
directly affect the social system and can‘t maintain the equilibrium status. So Teachers‖A‖ can
convince students ―B‖ as much as possible. Otherwise they have to make some adjustments in the
Policy ―X‖ and convince them towards the policy.

20. Westley and MacLean‘s Model of

Communication
Introduction:
In 1957 Westley and MacLean‘s model of communication is proposed by Bruce Westley (1915-
1990) and Malcolm S. MacLean Jr (1913-2001). Being one of the creators of journalism studies,
Westley served as a teacher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, between 1946 and 1968.
Malcolm was director of University of Journalism School (1967-74) and co founder of the
University College at University of Minnesota.

This model can be seen two contexts, interpersonal and mass communication. And the point of
difference between interpersonal and mass communication is the feedback. In interpersonal, the
feedback is direct and fast. In the mass, the feedback is indirect and slow.

Model:
Westely and Maclean realized that communication does not begin when one person starts to talk,
but rather when a person responds selectively to his/her physical surroundings. This model
considers a strong relation between responds from surroundings and the process of
communication. Communication begins only when a person receives message from surroundings.
Each receiver responds to the message they received based on their object of orientation.
X1, X2, X3 and X4….—are news articles or information, Feedback (f), Clients (A), Reader or
Audience (B) and Gate Keeper (c)

Example:
A Daily News Papers will receive many Press releases from Many Public Relations Agencies on
behalf of their clients. In this case, News paper will publish the selected Press release due to the
space constraints. Then, Readers can directly respond to the client or they can respond to the
News daily which published in the Newspaper. If Readers responded to daily News paper, it will
communicate the feedback to concern PR Agency.

X1, X2 and X3—are Press Release, Feedback (f), Clients (A), Reader (B) and Daily News Paper
(Gate Keeper) (c)

1. Feedback Loop between Reader (B) and News Paper (C) – fBC
2. Feedback Loop between News Paper (C ) and Client (A)- fCA
3. Feedback loop between Reader (B) and Client (A)- fBA.

Merits and Demerits:

 This model accounts for Feedback.
 It can account for different modes of communication, i.e., for both interpersonal
communication and Mass communication.
 It is a predictive model of communication and very descriptive also.
 It also account for non binary interactions, this means that it will remain good even for
communications involving more than two sources.
 Westley and Maclean communication model is Two Dimensional.
 It cannot account for multi dimensions; this means this model will not be applicable for typical
communication events that involve broader context and wide range of communication
messages.
 21. Health Belief Model
The health belief model in behavioural psychology is termed as an ‗expectancy-value‘ model. This
means the model assumes that an individual takes an action based on their evaluation of the most
likely outcome of engaging in a new or of changing existing behaviour. The model is very popular
and has proven its durability in the field of health education. It details the complex relationship
between motivation, health behaviour and outcome.

Paulus Rusyanto/dollar photo club

Development of the Model
Hochbaum, originally, developed this model based on interviews he conducted during the 1950‘s.
During this period, tuberculosis was considered to be a serious health problem, but not everyone
was going in for chest x-rays. Through his interviews with such people, Hochbaum developed a
model that tried to predict the chances or likelihood of an individual taking up a recommended
course of preventive action to safeguard his health. The model dealed with motivation and
decision making processes that influenced a person‘s choice of seeking medical intervention.

Health Belief Model

The health belief model is a framework that helps indicate whether a person will adopt or not a
recommended health behaviour. According to the model, an individual‘s decision to engage in a
health behaviour is based on his perceptions. Therefore, by changing his perception, one can get
him to adopt a new behaviour.

A person takes a health care decision based on the following six factors

1. Perceived Susceptibility: This refers to how vulnerable a person feels about getting afflicted
by a disease. There are fears that one is more prone to an illness compared to others.
2. Perceived Severity: This refers to the serious repercussions that could follow as a result of
not adopting a recommended health behaviour. This could range from becoming bedridden,
dying, to even social consequences in terms of the extend to which it affects a family, inability to
work, etc.
3. Perceived Benefits: The person evaluates the value of getting medical treatment by
comparing the cost and side effects of the treatment with the expected consequences of being
struck by an illness.
4. Perceived Barriers: This includes the cost of the treatment, complexity of adopting a new
dietary/health regimen, lack of belief that one has the ability to change, side effects and length of
treatment.
5. Health Value: This refers to the physical and emotional costs of undergoing treatment. One
has to value his/her health to be motivated enough to make the necessary changes.
6. Cues to Action: These are signals that prompt the person to take the initiative to treat illness.
These can range from being exposed to health reports and messages in the mass media, watching
a friend or relative suffer from the disease, reading a health pamphlet to even the onset of
symptoms in one‘s body.
The model, postulates that an individual get a treatment if he thinks that he is prone to a disease
that has severe consequences. For the individual to make the decision, though, his evaluation of
whether the benefits of taking up treatment will outweigh the difficulties that he will face in the
process, is crucial.

In addition to the six factors that influence the making of a health care decision, various
demographic factors like age, sex, race, social class, education, employment status, knowledge
and experience play a role in how a person perceives the urgency of taking proper action to deal
with his health condition.

Failure to Change Behaviours

The main reasons for the failure to change one‘s lifestyle behaviour are perceived susceptibility
and barriers to change. A person, who feels that he is highly vulnerable to being afflicted by
diseases, is more likely to pay attention to any health message. But barriers, like social pressure,
may stop various changes even if the person is highly motivated.

Application of the Model

 Breast and Cervical Cancer: The model has been used to find ways in which women can be
encouraged to go in for cancer screening.
 Diet Change: The model has been used to predict the likelihood of people adopting a healthier
diet.
 Smoking: The model is used to identify if a person is likely to quit smoking by taking into
account various factors like peer pressure, threat of cancer, onset of symptoms like breathing
problems, etc.

22. Peirce Model

History
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was an American
philosopher, mathematician, logician and a scientist. He was engaged as a scientist and made
great contributions in the field of mathematics, statistics, philosophy, semiotics, research
methodology and logic. He was appreciated by the philosopher called Paul Weiss ―the most
original and versatile of American philosophers and America‘s greatest logician‖ in 1934. And also
he is one of the founders of Semiotics.

Definitions
Semiotics/Semiology is the study of Signs. It seeks to understand how language is made
meaningful and how meaning can be communicated in society. Semiotics is not to be found in the
text itself, but rather it should be understood as a methodology

Sign: A Concept sign is drawn from Semiotics, a sign is anything that stands for something else
in the production of meaning. It may include words, Photographs, Sounds and gestures.
Three characteristics of Sign:
 It must have a Physical form
 It must refer to something other than itself
 It must be used and recognized as a sign
Peirce Model
According to Charles Sanders Peirce, The Sign relation is the key. He describes this sign‘s relation
with three basic elements of Semiotics (signs action).

1. Sign (represents)
2. Object (semiotic subject)
3. Interpreting (interpret meaning)
Anything that stands for something else in the production of meaning is called ―Sign‖. Any Sign
which have subject to express the matter is called ―Object‖. Signs have meaning when it translates
to get meaning is called ―Interpreting‖. Peirce describes it‘s a triadic relation. All three elements
are depending on each other to produce the same meaning. The sign is a subject which refers the
matter is called object at the same time without interpreting their is no meaning for the sign.

A sign represents something which interpretable to refer something. It may be a symbol,

linguistics or sounds. A sign stands for Subject called ―object‖. It can be thinkable, a rule, a quality
or an occurrence etc… A sign‘s meaning which form some kind of idea or effect to interpret others
is called ―Interpreting‖. In traffic the green light represents to move or go. As per the theory the
green light is the sign. The object (green light) represents and interpret meaning is also the same.
In real life situation all these components and elements are not so separable.

Example

Pierce explains the semiotic structure by using triangle relationship

For example: The letter ―X‖ stands for various other reference of interpretation.
A. Sign ―X‖ gives symbolic reference for traffic signal ―X‖ pierce further analysis the ―X‖ by giving
certain interpretation (meaning danger (or) not more further (or) caution)

B. Sign ―X‖ gives symbolic reference for mathematical sign (―X‖). In this case the interpretation
gives the multiplication sign (―X‖) between two numbers

Conclusion
The Peirce model of communication heavily leans to the fields of semiotics. The consideration of
this theory as pure hard core communication theory is a vague.

23. The Big Five Factor Model

Introduction
The Big Five Factor Model is the psychological model which includes five important personality
traits that determine personality of a human. The five factors are usually measured in percentages
and the factors are as follows.
Elnur/dollar photo club

Basis of Five Factor Model

Under each of the factors, various other sub-factors are included such as gregariousness,
assertiveness, excitement seeking, warmth, activity, and positive emotions under extraversion.

The five factors, commonly known as OCEAN, are as follows:

1. Openness to Experience
This includes appreciation for art, emotion or adventure, creating unusual ideas that induce
curiosity, and variety of experiences. Openness is considered to be positive; the basic
understanding was ‗the more open the person is, the more the potential for intellectual curiosity,
creativity, appreciation of art and sensitivity to beauty.‘ It is also an indication of how imaginative
and independent the individual is. People who score high on openness prefer a multitude of
activities over a daily schedule with the same activities.

2. Conscientiousness
This includes how individuals control, regulate, and direct their impulses. People who score high
on conscientiousness avoid trouble and confrontations. They usually achieve success due to
careful planning and organizing. They are also perceived as intelligent, reliable and self-
disciplined. However, on the negative side, they can be perfectionists and compulsive.

3. Extroversion
The person with extroversion trait is found to be very sociable, talkative, and bold with high
amount of emotional expressions. Extroverts have a pronounced engagement with the external
world. They enjoy being around people and usually experience positive emotions. Introverts,
however, are the complete opposite. They usually prefer quiet places and keep to themselves.
Their social interaction is limited and often cut off from the social environment.

4. Agreeableness
This includes traits like trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. It
reflects the ability to be compassionate, cooperative and to strive for social harmony rather than
suspicious and antagonistic towards others. Agreeable people are usually friendly, generous and
get along with everyone around them. They strive for peace and are willing to compromise. They
are generally positive in their outlook and are honest and decent. Disagreeable individuals focus
on their own self-interests and are usually not bothered about other individual‘s concerns. They
are skeptical, suspicious and do not trust people easily.

5. Neuroticism
This includes attributes like emotional unsteadiness, nervousness, sullen, and sad. People with
such traits tend to experience negative emotions and the degree of emotional stability and
impulse control. The individuals who score high on neuroticism are emotionally reactive and
often experience emotions like anxiety, depression and/or anger. Their negative emotions tend to
last for longer periods of time and minor situations or things would trigger them, which would
usually not affect other people. Such emotional feelings can hinder their ability to cope with stress
and to make rational decisions.

Value & Significance of the Model

There is a great significance in the model and the value can be given in the following points

1. Having a trait means that an individual reacts continuously to the same situation over a period
of time
2. To reach as such, the individual must have the capacity to be responsive to certain situations
3. Behaving differently to situations does not mean the dominance of inconsistency
Criticism
The main criticism of the model is that it fails to explain the whole of human personality. The
factors are said to not independent of each other and hence, affect each other. Methodologically,
there is no universally accepted mechanism to measure the factors. Theoretically, the model is not
based on any profound theory. It is merely an empirical activity.

Thus, the Big Five Factor Model gives an insight into the human personality. Even though it
cannot explain more complex aspects of human personality, it does give an insight into one‘s
thought processes.

24. The Meaning of Meaning Model

Introduction
Charles Kay Ogden (1889–1957) and Ivor Armstrong Richards (1893 – 1979) was an English
linguistic and English literary critic. Both of them were recognized by their book called ―The
Meaning of Meaning: A Study of the Influence of Language upon Thought and of the Science of
Symbolism‖. Ogden worked as philosopher, writer and linguist. He was a founder and editor of
weekly ―Cambridge Magazine‖ in 1912 and later it ceased in 1922. Richards was working as a
Professor in Magdalene College at Cambridge. This theory emphasis that the meanings are not
residing with words it resides with the people.

Theory
Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards identified that understanding comes from
within the people rather than from the words they just interpret. They set a model called ―The
Triangle of Meaning‖ for better understanding how language works and basically it is a theory of
signs. The triangle is meant to show the word‘s relationship between thoughts and things.
The Semantic Triangle shows the direct relationship between Words & Thoughts and Thoughts &
Thing. But the dotted lines represent the word (sign) is not the Thing (a referent) and there is
no any direct relation between words and thing. The referent needs some prior experience and
reference about the word or sign to be comprehensive.
The word means different things to different people in different situations. Any sign or word
which has its own meaning is grasped with certain references to it. The process of grasping or
understanding words or signs, which already have meaning, with the asserted meanings given by
the references is called the meaning of meaning.

Any sign or word have their own meaning even though we need certain reference to understand is
called ―The Meaning of Meaning‖. (1- Dictionary: If a word is new, a people need reference to
understand the word. 2- Mayan Code: These codes are signs only. No one cannot understand
meaning of the Mayan codes without any reference. So the signs have a direct relationship with
reference and reference has direct relationship with referent)
Example 1:
 The Word love makes a different sense to different people. The way in which they understand
this word must be in reference with their experiences and ideas relating to this word
 In America, socialism and communism are considered as a negative word. People even use the
word communist to degrade other people. whereas in china the word communism is much of a
great word and idea
Example 2:
The word ―Book‖ – A people (referent) have some kind of reference (thoughts) in their mind
about the shape, size etc. so they can able to visualize it. But the same word ―book‖ is written in
some other language will not understandable and they can‘t visualize it. The referent needs some
kind of previous experience or reference to understand the words otherwise they cannot
understand.

Conclusion
Ogden and Richard were improved the Saussure‘s dyadic semiotics. The analysis of major
psychoanalyzing theories can be seen in this model. This theory is more about misunderstanding
and its remedies. Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards studied about the
misunderstanding that happens due to the difference in understanding worked forward for the
remedies. This theory is the product of their working towards the remedy rather than a remedy.

25. Barnlund’s Transactional Model

of Communication
Dean Barnlund proposed a transactional model of communication in 1970
for basic interpersonal communication which articulates that sending and receiving of
messages happens simultaneously between people which is popularly
known as Barlund's Transactional Model of Communication.
The model has been further adapted and reformed by other theorists
as General Transactional Model. The model shifted from the trend of linear
model to dynamicand two way communication model.

Concepts of Barnlund’s Transactional Model of

Communication
Barnlund’s Transactional Model is a multi-layered feedback system. This is a continuous
process where sender and receiver interchanges their places and both are equally
important. The message passing takes place with a constant feedback being provided
from both parties. A feedback for one is the message for the other.

Components of Barlund's model

Cues refers to the signs for doing something. As per Barnlund there are: public
cues, private cues and behavioral cues. In the model diagram shown above, spiral lines
gives graphic representation to the assumptions like public cues and private cues.

 Public cues (Cpu) are physical, environmental or artificial and natural or man-made.
 Private cues (Cpr) are also known as private objects of orientation which include
senses of a person. Both these cues can be verbal as well as non-verbal. Another
set of cues are behavioral cues.
 Behavioral cues can be verbal (Cbehv) as well as non-verbal (Cbehnv).
 The arrows and their directions show that the message is intentionally sent and
actively taken where the receiver plays a key role of giving feedback. Arrows
also show the process of production of technical encoding, interpretation and
decoding.

 The jagged lines show that the availability of cues can be unlimited and are
denoted asVVVV.
 The valence signs, +,0 and – are also attached to these types of cues which
illustrates the amount/degree/strength of attractiveness of the cues in the
message.
 Speech act refers to particular instance of communication in the model.
 Filters are the realities of people engaged in communication. Here the senders’
and receivers’ personal filters might differ according to cultures, traditions,
content of the message, etc.
 Noise is the problem that arises in communication flow and disturbs the
message flow.

Advantages of Barnlund’s Transactional Model

of Communication
 The model shows shared field experience of the sender and receiver.

 Transactional model talks about simultaneous message sending, noise and

feedback.

 Barnlund’s model is taken by critics as the most systematic model of

communication.
Disadvantages of Barnlund’s Transactional
Model of Communication
 Barnlund’s model is very complex.

 Both the sender and receiver must understand the codes sent by the other. So
they must each possess a similar "code book". (The concept of code book is not
mentioned in the model but understood.)

Poole‘s Model – Small Group Communication

History
Marshall Scott Poole is a senior research scientist and David & Margret Romano professorial
scholar at National Center of Supercomputing Applications and the professor of communication
and director of I-CHASS at the University of Illinois. Group communication, structural
communication, Organisational novelty and theory formation encompasses his pursuits and has
written more than 100 books and articles on this subject. His works on group communications
have been broadly known and accepted. His current works include huge multiplayer online games
and group behaviour, within a group how the construction of communications and information
technologies occurs and network theory in intergroup networks and huge vigorously modifying
groups. Poole‘s multiple sequence models is one of the important innovation in small group
communication by making the small communication more precise by applying sequences.

Introduction
According to Marshall Scott Poole a decision making process by different groups are achieved
through the application of different sequences. He had employed different contingency variables
such as group composition, task structure and conflict management approaches to refer decision
making. This was a contrast to the usual unitary sequence models. Decision development through
various stages (phases) are found irrelevant by Poole as the decision is not just made up in stages
that comes one after the other, but is a cluster of various linking activities and communication.
His model is a descriptive system for studying the multiple contingency variables and it is
consisted of 36 clusters for coding group communication and 4 cluster-sets such as proposal
growth, conflict, socio-emotional interests and expressions of uncertainty. During a group
interaction, the stages cannot be predicted by the members and so Poole put forward three tracks
such as task, relation and topic. He suggested that these tasks occur at any time during a group
communication.

Poole’s Model
Poole‘s model put forward several tracks for the group communication and also stated the tracks
can repeat or can happen at any time of the communication process. This model consists of the
various tracks used for interpreting the communication styles that a group follows.

 Task track
 Relation track
 Topic track
 Break Points
Task track – This Initial stage is the understanding period. The people inside the group will try
to set the goal and will try to figure out its procedure. Like many other models, this suggests how
people understands about the problem and how are they going to solve it.
Example: During conflicts and war soldiers in a battalion or group try to set their objective
under the main goal. And they all will work together to achieve the objective set by them in order
to achieve the main goal. Soldiers in the group will have their own suggestions and opinions about
achieving the objective which depends on their understanding of the problem.
Relation track – This track is emphasised on the interpersonal relation between the members
of the group. As human beings are social animals, the people will find time to interact and relax as
friends. Any relations can be sprouted through these interactions as they tend to reveal
themselves to others and these relationships are essential in working as a group.
Example: Even during the war soldiers will find time to relate with their fellow soldiers as a
means of relaxation. This sharing will help them to improve their motivation towards achieving
the goal. It has to be noted that during the peak of fight soldiers will have their own means of
relaxation by sharing and relating with fellow soldiers.
Topic track – There can be issues or concerns that a group might encounter and this track
focuses on these issues regarding the group communication. Sometimes it may be argumentative
conversation and in other times it can be a cooperative one.
Example: Consider the war field example for the same, during the process of achieving the
objectives the their might be arguments regarding the steps involved with it or regarding any
other reason based on their understanding. It can turn out to be dispute or a cooperative one.
Break points – During conversations, the group tends to shift through tracks. These points
where the group shifts from one point to next is called break points. Example – Suspension,
postponement.
Example: In real life conditions the thoughts and ideas comes up in no order in any of the group.
There is no pre-set order.

The Johari Window Model

History
It is necessary to improve self-awareness and personal development among individuals when they
are in a group. The ‗Johari‘ window model is a convenient method used to achieve this task of
understanding and enhancing communication between the members in a group. American
psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham developed this model in 1955. The idea was derived
as the upshot of the group dynamics in University of California and was later improved by Joseph
Luft. The name ‗Johari‘ came from joining their first two names. This model is also denoted as
feedback/disclosure model of self-awareness.

Introduction
The Johari window model is used to enhance the individual‘s perception on others. This model is
based on two ideas- trust can be acquired by revealing information about you to others and
learning yourselves from their feedbacks. Each person is represented by the Johari model through
four quadrants or window pane. Each four window panes signifies personal information, feelings,
motivation and whether that information is known or unknown to oneself or others in four
viewpoints.

The Johari Window Model

The method of conveying and accepting feedback is interpreted in this model. A Johari is
represented as a common window with four panes. Two of these panes represent self and the
other two represent the part unknown to self but to others. The information transfers from one
pane to the other as the result of mutual trust which can be achieved through socializing and the
feedback got from other members of the group.

1. Open/self-area or arena – Here the information about the person his attitudes, behaviour,
emotions, feelings, skills and views will be known by the person as well as by others. This is
mainly the area where all the communications occur and the larger the arena becomes the more
effectual and dynamic the relationship will be. ‗Feedback solicitation‘ is a process which occurs by
understanding and listening to the feedback from another person. Through this way the open area
can be increased horizontally decreasing the blind spot. The size of the arena can also be
increased downwards and thus by reducing the hidden and unknown areas through revealing
one‘s feelings to other person.
2. Blind self or blind spot – Information about yourselves that others know in a group but you
will be unaware of it. Others may interpret yourselves differently than you expect. The blind spot
is reduced for an efficient communication through seeking feedback from others.
3. Hidden area or façade – Information that is known to you but will be kept unknown from
others. This can be any personal information which you feel reluctant to reveal. This includes
feelings, past experiences, fears, secrets etc. we keep some of our feelings and information as
private as it affects the relationships and thus the hidden area must be reduced by moving the
information to the open areas.
4. Unknown area – The Information which are unaware to yourselves as well as others. This
includes the information, feelings, capabilities, talents etc. This can be due to traumatic past
experiences or events which can be unknown for a lifetime. The person will be unaware till he
discovers his hidden qualities and capabilities or through observation of others. Open
communication is also an effective way to decrease the unknown area and thus to communicate
effectively.
Example
Linda got a job in an organization. Her co-workers knew a little about her and in this context the
unknown and hidden areas will be larger and the open area will be small. As the others don‘t
know much about her the blind spot also will be smaller and the model will be as shown in Figure
1.

Linda spent most of her free time sketching in the office which was her preferred pastime and her
co-workers found her very shy and elusive. With that evaluation she got the idea how she was and
tried to be more talkative and interacted more with other co-workers. This helped her to increase
her open area and thus making the hidden and unknown areas smaller. (Figure 2)
Through the feedback Linda got from her co-workers she could perform well in the office and her
real capacity could be obtained as a result of an effective interaction among the colleagues.

SMCR MODEL
This is the very basic model for communication. Shannon and weaver identified this model in
1949.

SMCR stands for:

 Source
 Message
 Channel
 Receiver
Source : Creator of the message or from whom the message is sent.
Message : The actual content or idea for the communication.
Channel : The medium through which communication taking place, so that the message can be
conveyed from one place to another.
Receiver : The individual or group or the person who finally receives the message.
SMCR model describes the exchange of information and the model can be applied to all forms of
communication.

Health Belief Model

The health belief model in behavioural psychology is termed as an ‗expectancy-value‘ model. This
means the model assumes that an individual takes an action based on their evaluation of the most
likely outcome of engaging in a new or of changing existing behaviour. The model is very popular
and has proven its durability in the field of health education. It details the complex relationship
between motivation, health behaviour and outcome.

Paulus Rusyanto/dollar photo club

Development of the Model
Hochbaum, originally, developed this model based on interviews he conducted during the 1950‘s.
During this period, tuberculosis was considered to be a serious health problem, but not everyone
was going in for chest x-rays. Through his interviews with such people, Hochbaum developed a
model that tried to predict the chances or likelihood of an individual taking up a recommended
course of preventive action to safeguard his health. The model dealed with motivation and
decision making processes that influenced a person‘s choice of seeking medical intervention.

Health Belief Model

The health belief model is a framework that helps indicate whether a person will adopt or not a
recommended health behaviour. According to the model, an individual‘s decision to engage in a
health behaviour is based on his perceptions. Therefore, by changing his perception, one can get
him to adopt a new behaviour.
A person takes a health care decision based on the following six factors

1. Perceived Susceptibility: This refers to how vulnerable a person feels about getting afflicted
by a disease. There are fears that one is more prone to an illness compared to others.
2. Perceived Severity: This refers to the serious repercussions that could follow as a result of
not adopting a recommended health behaviour. This could range from becoming bedridden,
dying, to even social consequences in terms of the extend to which it affects a family, inability to
work, etc.
3. Perceived Benefits: The person evaluates the value of getting medical treatment by
comparing the cost and side effects of the treatment with the expected consequences of being
struck by an illness.
4. Perceived Barriers: This includes the cost of the treatment, complexity of adopting a new
dietary/health regimen, lack of belief that one has the ability to change, side effects and length of
treatment.
5. Health Value: This refers to the physical and emotional costs of undergoing treatment. One
has to value his/her health to be motivated enough to make the necessary changes.
6. Cues to Action: These are signals that prompt the person to take the initiative to treat illness.
These can range from being exposed to health reports and messages in the mass media, watching
a friend or relative suffer from the disease, reading a health pamphlet to even the onset of
symptoms in one‘s body.
The model, postulates that an individual get a treatment if he thinks that he is prone to a disease
that has severe consequences. For the individual to make the decision, though, his evaluation of
whether the benefits of taking up treatment will outweigh the difficulties that he will face in the
process, is crucial.

In addition to the six factors that influence the making of a health care decision, various
demographic factors like age, sex, race, social class, education, employment status, knowledge
and experience play a role in how a person perceives the urgency of taking proper action to deal
with his health condition.

Failure to Change Behaviours

The main reasons for the failure to change one‘s lifestyle behaviour are perceived susceptibility
and barriers to change. A person, who feels that he is highly vulnerable to being afflicted by
diseases, is more likely to pay attention to any health message. But barriers, like social pressure,
may stop various changes even if the person is highly motivated.

Application of the Model

 Breast and Cervical Cancer: The model has been used to find ways in which women can be
encouraged to go in for cancer screening.
 Diet Change: The model has been used to predict the likelihood of people adopting a healthier
diet.
 Smoking: The model is used to identify if a person is likely to quit smoking by taking into
account various factors like peer pressure, threat of cancer, onset of symptoms like breathing
problems, etc.
Peirce Model
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was an American
philosopher, mathematician, logician and a scientist. He was engaged as a scientist and made
great contributions in the field of mathematics, statistics, philosophy, semiotics, research
methodology and logic. He was appreciated by the philosopher called Paul Weiss ―the most
original and versatile of American philosophers and America‘s greatest logician‖ in 1934. And also
he is one of the founders of Semiotics.

Definitions
Semiotics/Semiology is the study of Signs. It seeks to understand how language is made
meaningful and how meaning can be communicated in society. Semiotics is not to be found in the
text itself, but rather it should be understood as a methodology

Sign: A Concept sign is drawn from Semiotics, a sign is anything that stands for something else
in the production of meaning. It may include words, Photographs, Sounds and gestures.
Three characteristics of Sign:
 It must have a Physical form
 It must refer to something other than itself
 It must be used and recognized as a sign
Peirce Model
According to Charles Sanders Peirce, The Sign relation is the key. He describes this sign‘s relation
with three basic elements of Semiotics (signs action).

1. Sign (represents)
2. Object (semiotic subject)
3. Interpreting (interpret meaning)
Anything that stands for something else in the production of meaning is called ―Sign‖. Any Sign
which have subject to express the matter is called ―Object‖. Signs have meaning when it translates
to get meaning is called ―Interpreting‖. Peirce describes it‘s a triadic relation. All three elements
are depending on each other to produce the same meaning. The sign is a subject which refers the
matter is called object at the same time without interpreting their is no meaning for the sign.

A sign represents something which interpretable to refer something. It may be a symbol,

linguistics or sounds. A sign stands for Subject called ―object‖. It can be thinkable, a rule, a quality
or an occurrence etc… A sign‘s meaning which form some kind of idea or effect to interpret others
is called ―Interpreting‖. In traffic the green light represents to move or go. As per the theory the
green light is the sign. The object (green light) represents and interpret meaning is also the same.
In real life situation all these components and elements are not so separable.

Example
Pierce explains the semiotic structure by using triangle relationship
For example: The letter ―X‖ stands for various other reference of interpretation.
A. Sign ―X‖ gives symbolic reference for traffic signal ―X‖ pierce further analysis the ―X‖ by giving
certain interpretation (meaning danger (or) not more further (or) caution)

B. Sign ―X‖ gives symbolic reference for mathematical sign (―X‖). In this case the interpretation
gives the multiplication sign (―X‖) between two numbers

Conclusion
The Peirce model of communication heavily leans to the fields of semiotics. The consideration of
this theory as pure hard core communication theory is a vague.

The Big Five Factor Model

Introduction
The Big Five Factor Model is the psychological model which includes five important personality
traits that determine personality of a human. The five factors are usually measured in percentages
and the factors are as follows.
Elnur/dollar photo club

Basis of Five Factor Model

Under each of the factors, various other sub-factors are included such as gregariousness,
assertiveness, excitement seeking, warmth, activity, and positive emotions under extraversion.

The five factors, commonly known as OCEAN, are as follows:

1. Openness to Experience
This includes appreciation for art, emotion or adventure, creating unusual ideas that induce
curiosity, and variety of experiences. Openness is considered to be positive; the basic
understanding was ‗the more open the person is, the more the potential for intellectual curiosity,
creativity, appreciation of art and sensitivity to beauty.‘ It is also an indication of how imaginative
and independent the individual is. People who score high on openness prefer a multitude of
activities over a daily schedule with the same activities.

2. Conscientiousness
This includes how individuals control, regulate, and direct their impulses. People who score high
on conscientiousness avoid trouble and confrontations. They usually achieve success due to
careful planning and organizing. They are also perceived as intelligent, reliable and self-
disciplined. However, on the negative side, they can be perfectionists and compulsive.

3. Extroversion
The person with extroversion trait is found to be very sociable, talkative, and bold with high
amount of emotional expressions. Extroverts have a pronounced engagement with the external
world. They enjoy being around people and usually experience positive emotions. Introverts,
however, are the complete opposite. They usually prefer quiet places and keep to themselves.
Their social interaction is limited and often cut off from the social environment.

4. Agreeableness
This includes traits like trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. It
reflects the ability to be compassionate, cooperative and to strive for social harmony rather than
suspicious and antagonistic towards others. Agreeable people are usually friendly, generous and
get along with everyone around them. They strive for peace and are willing to compromise. They
are generally positive in their outlook and are honest and decent. Disagreeable individuals focus
on their own self-interests and are usually not bothered about other individual‘s concerns. They
are skeptical, suspicious and do not trust people easily.

5. Neuroticism
This includes attributes like emotional unsteadiness, nervousness, sullen, and sad. People with
such traits tend to experience negative emotions and the degree of emotional stability and
impulse control. The individuals who score high on neuroticism are emotionally reactive and
often experience emotions like anxiety, depression and/or anger. Their negative emotions tend to
last for longer periods of time and minor situations or things would trigger them, which would
usually not affect other people. Such emotional feelings can hinder their ability to cope with stress
and to make rational decisions.

Value & Significance of the Model

There is a great significance in the model and the value can be given in the following points

1. Having a trait means that an individual reacts continuously to the same situation over a period
of time
2. To reach as such, the individual must have the capacity to be responsive to certain situations
3. Behaving differently to situations does not mean the dominance of inconsistency
Criticism
The main criticism of the model is that it fails to explain the whole of human personality. The
factors are said to not independent of each other and hence, affect each other. Methodologically,
there is no universally accepted mechanism to measure the factors. Theoretically, the model is not
based on any profound theory. It is merely an empirical activity.

Thus, the Big Five Factor Model gives an insight into the human personality. Even though it
cannot explain more complex aspects of human personality, it does give an insight into one‘s
thought processes.

The Meaning of Meaning Model

Introduction
Charles Kay Ogden (1889–1957) and Ivor Armstrong Richards (1893 – 1979) was an English
linguistic and English literary critic. Both of them were recognized by their book called ―The
Meaning of Meaning: A Study of the Influence of Language upon Thought and of the Science of
Symbolism‖. Ogden worked as philosopher, writer and linguist. He was a founder and editor of
weekly ―Cambridge Magazine‖ in 1912 and later it ceased in 1922. Richards was working as a
Professor in Magdalene College at Cambridge. This theory emphasis that the meanings are not
residing with words it resides with the people.

Theory
Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards identified that understanding comes from
within the people rather than from the words they just interpret. They set a model called ―The
Triangle of Meaning‖ for better understanding how language works and basically it is a theory of
signs. The triangle is meant to show the word‘s relationship between thoughts and things.
The Semantic Triangle shows the direct relationship between Words & Thoughts and Thoughts &
Thing. But the dotted lines represent the word (sign) is not the Thing (a referent) and there is
no any direct relation between words and thing. The referent needs some prior experience and
reference about the word or sign to be comprehensive.
The word means different things to different people in different situations. Any sign or word
which has its own meaning is grasped with certain references to it. The process of grasping or
understanding words or signs, which already have meaning, with the asserted meanings given by
the references is called the meaning of meaning.

Any sign or word have their own meaning even though we need certain reference to understand is
called ―The Meaning of Meaning‖. (1- Dictionary: If a word is new, a people need reference to
understand the word. 2- Mayan Code: These codes are signs only. No one cannot understand
meaning of the Mayan codes without any reference. So the signs have a direct relationship with
reference and reference has direct relationship with referent)
Example 1:
 The Word love makes a different sense to different people. The way in which they understand
this word must be in reference with their experiences and ideas relating to this word
 In America, socialism and communism are considered as a negative word. People even use the
word communist to degrade other people. whereas in china the word communism is much of a
great word and idea
Example 2:
The word ―Book‖ – A people (referent) have some kind of reference (thoughts) in their mind
about the shape, size etc. so they can able to visualize it. But the same word ―book‖ is written in
some other language will not understandable and they can‘t visualize it. The referent needs some
kind of previous experience or reference to understand the words otherwise they cannot
understand.

Conclusion
Ogden and Richard were improved the Saussure‘s dyadic semiotics. The analysis of major
psychoanalyzing theories can be seen in this model. This theory is more about misunderstanding
and its remedies. Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards studied about the
misunderstanding that happens due to the difference in understanding worked forward for the
remedies. This theory is the product of their working towards the remedy rather than a remedy.
Ethnography of Communication
Foundation of Ethnographic Communication
Ethnography of communication is the study of communication within the background of social and cultural
practices and beliefs. First introduced by Dell Hymes in 1962, he described it in detail in his article
‗Introduction: Toward Ethnographies of Communications‘, which was published in 1964. The term
‗ethnography of communication‘ means the different features of an approach that is taken towards
understanding a language from an anthropological perspective. Originally termed as ‗ethnography of speaking‘,
Hymes broadened it in 1964 to include the non-vocal and non-verbal aspects of communication.
Shchipkova Elena/dollar photo club
Purpose
Ethnography of communication has two main purposes, according to Hymes:

1. ―to investigate directly the use of language in contexts of situations so as to discern patterns proper to speech
activity‖
2. ―to take as framework a community, exploring its unrestrained habits as a whole‖
Hymes Model of Ethnography of Communication
According to Hymes, language cannot be studied in isolation. It has to be studied in the wider context of
cultural and social aspects. Language is not limited to a mere technical set of grammatical rules. In fact, it has a
specific context, both in terms of the individual and the cultural norms and beliefs. They cannot be separated.
Hymes divides speech into two components: ‗means of speech‘ and ‗speech economy‘. ‗Means of speech‘ means
‗the features that enter into styles, as well as the styles themselves‘. ‗Speech economy‘ refers to the relationships
within a speech community where the people use their means of speech.

Speaking Model
Hymes also developed the SPEAKING model which analyses speech in its cultural context. It consists of sixteen
parts which have been divided into eight categories.

They are as follows:

 S – setting and scene – the physical location where the speech takes place
 P – participants –the people who take part in the speech
 E – ends – the purpose and the outcome of the speech
 A – act sequence – the speech acts and the sequence in which they are carried out
 K – key – the tone and manner in which the speech is carried out
 I – instrumentalities – the medium of communication that is used
 N – norms of interaction – the rules of speech, interaction and interpretation
 G – genres – the ‗type‘ of speech and its cultural contexts
Hyme‘s model is not just a framework, but rather a methodological and research tool. Deborah Cameron says
that the model should only be used as a reference and a guide and not as a strict framework because doing so
would result in a very narrow and biased view which would restrict the scope of the study. According to her,
ethnography of communication should include not just the technical knowhow of speech and communication
but also why particular things happen the way they do and their specific characteristics.

Hymes worked extensively with native American Indian tribes. Most of the languages were extinct and hence
Native American speech could not be recorded at all. So he used what he called the ‗ethnopoetic approach‘ to
understand speech and communication. Through this approach, he studied the cultural tales, folklores, mores,
myths etc. that have survived to understand the implicit structure of native American narratives. This structure
would reveal the nature of narratives and its cultural contexts.

Second Language Acquisition Theory

The second language acquisition theory is the brainchild of renowned linguist and researcher, Stephen
Krashen. The theory is important because as early as the 1980s, it was influencing all research into how a
second language is acquired.

michaeljung/dollar photo club

The Theory
According to the theory, one does not need to use grammatical rules of the target language extensively in
order to learn it. All that is required are meaningful interactions in the language, which generally focuses
more on the message that is conveyed than the grammer and rules of speech. Competence in the language
is acquired as a result of receiving comprehensible input without having undergone any formal instruction
or training on the grammar or reading of the language.

The Hypotheses
Krashen‘s theory consists of the following main hypotheses.

1. Acquisition Learning Hypothesis

According to Krashen, there are two second language performance systems.

– Acquired system, where language is acquired subconsciously. This happens when a child, for
example, who has been exposed to a language in a natural environment, like home or school, starts
reproducing correct grammatical structures unconsciously. The child focuses more on communicating his
message and the language that comes naturally to him. As he has not learnt the language, he does not
focus on what he is uttering. Acquisition of a language only happens when a child can understand the
message in the second language.
– Learned system, where an individual learns a language through formal instruction in a classroom
setup. Here, the focus is on learning the rules of grammar and being conscious of the process through
which they understand the form of the language.
When comparing these two systems, Krashen points out that acquisition is more important than learning.
He feels that learning can only test a person‘s knowledge of grammar, but when a person has to focus on
the content he is producing, mistakes in grammar will occur. Learning grammar does not ensure that one
knows how to use it correctly. Fluency in a language requires the person to efficiently communicate the
message. Therefore, for true mastery of a language, the individual should acquire it.

Criticism
This hypothesis has been criticized for failing to provide sufficient evidence and for the fact that language
has been mastered in formal setups as well, where students do not interact with people and yet speak the
second language in a natural setting.

2. Monitor Hypothesis
Krashen believes that every second language learner has a monitor that he uses to refine his language. A
learner will use his learned system as a monitor to polish, edit, and correct what has been learned through
his acquired system. A monitor can be used more easily in written than in oral form.

This is because while talking, there is more focus on what is being said rather on how it is being said. Also,
there is normally very little time to recollect what rules one has learned about the language. Second
language learners can either over-use, under-use or optimally use their monitors.

Criticism
The criticism here is that there is no concrete knowledge of how the monitor works and if it actually works
at all. There is also a debate as to why a monitor should only exist in a learned system.

3. Natural Order Hypothesis

This hypothesis states that individuals tend to acquire grammatical structures of a second language
following a natural order that is predictable. This means that they are more likely to acquire certain
grammatical structures before others. The acquiring patterns are different for the first and the second
language. But the acquiring patterns for a second language are the same for both a child and an adult.

Criticism
The hypothesis is criticised for being based solely on observations of how a second language that is used in
a surrounding environment is acquired by people. The second criticism is that it makes the process of
cognitive learning seem very simple by drawing a clear distinction between acquiring and learning.

4. Input Hypothesis
This hypothesis explains how a language is actually acquired. When a person, is exposed to
comprehensible content/input by reading or listening to language structures that exceeds his current stage
of language competence, he acquires the language. Krashen uses the formula i+1 to show that input should
consist of language structures from the next stage.
Krashen believes that, learning progresses and takes place in a natural order and not all individuals will
have the same level of competence. Hence, the natural communicative input should be used to meet
individual needs. The input should not consist of grammar structures that have been used on purpose and
should be natural. Finally, the learner should not be forced to speak. Speech will occur when he is ready.

Criticism
In this hypothesis, comprehensible input cannot be clearly defined. The other criticism is that the
language level of a learner or a level higher than their existing level cannot be determined.

5. Affective-filter Hypothesis
According to this hypothesis, the emotions of an individual act as filters that help or obstruct the
acquisition of language. A highly motivated and confident person with low anxiety levels will be more
successful than someone with low motivation, confidence and high anxiety levels in acquiring a language.
Lower levels of motivation and confidence will hinder the process of subconscious language acquisition.

Criticism
The criticism is that this filter is said to be present only in adults and not in children and there is no
concrete explanation of how such filters work.

Advertising, Public relations, Marketing and Consumer Behavior

 ACT Theory of Communication

 Agenda setting theory
 AIDA Model
 Attribution Theory
 Cognitive Dissonance Theory
 Contextual Design
 Domestication
 Lasswell‘s model
 Social Marketing Theory

ACT Theory of Communication

Introduction
John R Anderson is an American psychologist was born in the year 1947 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He is currently working as a professor of Psychology and Computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.
Anderson is widely known as a cognitive architect because of his researches and experiments in the field of
cognitive psychology. Professor has been also recognized for his works in intelligent tutoring system such
as cognitive tutor and served as the president of the Cognitive Science Society during the period of 1988 –
1989. Anderson has presented several papers in the subjects relating to cognitive psychology and honored
with many scientific awards including Distinguished Scientific Career Award of American Psychological
Association, Benjamin Franklin Medal etc…

Theory
CONCEPTACT*(Adaptive Concept of Thought – Rational) is a cognitive architecture. Cognition is
the process of understanding or acquiring knowledge and information through thought, experiences and
other senses. The architecture made with the framework or model which shows the process and
understanding of acquiring knowledge and information. This theory tells us each and every tasks
performed by the human beings are considered of several steps and processes. It provides a model or
framework of these processes that happens in our mind, the framework or model may look like a
programming language. The theory works on psychological assumptions of human nature which derived
from numerous scientific experiences and experiments.
The main components of ACT* are

1. Modules
2. Buffers
3. Pattern Matcher
1. Modules
There are two types of modules

 Perceptual Motor Module

 Memory Module
Perceptual-Motor modules which take care of the inferences or interactions with real or outer world. This
part acts as a gate to bringing in the necessary information and data for reaching at the models.

Memory modules, which contain three kinds of modules

a) Procedural memory consists of the knowledge that we uses to do simple things such as removing pen
cap or opening car door.
b) Declarative memory consists of information and facts like there are 24 hours in a day or 7 days makes
a weak.
c) Working memory is part of the long-term memory which more highly activated.
The picture shows how procedural and declarative memory works for performing each and every task.

The theory finds out differences between procedural and declarative memory.

2. Buffers
In each module the information where brings in and taking out from one module to another module.
These particular buffers systems provide the accessibility to cognitive adaptation thoughts through
buffers.

3. Pattern Matcher
The pattern matcher seeks for a production that matches the current state of the buffers. Only one of these
productions can be performed at a specific period of time. That production, when it is performed, can alter
the buffers and thus changes are brought into the system. Thus, in ACT* cognition explains as a series of
production and a model is made.

Each and every human task can be made into a model by this theory. The models of every person will be
different from one another. Comparing derived model from a person with the standards we can reach the
findings. Other important feature of this theory is that it helps to obtain finding in quantitative measures.
Most of the times this theory used to find

Perception and attention,

Problem solving and decision making,
Language and communication
Individual differences between persons
Learning and memory
The theories in cognitive sciences are divided into two the ―symbolic‖ or the ―connectionist‖. The ACT*
theory is considered as a symbolic one and it is classified as such in the books and collections because
symbolic approaches describes mind as a product of brain, so as the ACT* theory.
Example
This theory can be used to evaluate the mental capability of the students in quantitative measures.

The ability to solve mathematical problems to each student may vary. If we have the quantitative
measurement that obtained from ACT* model of each students, we could categories them according to
their abilities. If the pupils are classified according to their abilities, the teachers can give their attention
accordingly.

For finding the answer for the same question the pupil in the higher measurement classes can be given
much less time than other pupils. And thus pupil with low measurement can be provided with more time
than the time given to other pupil.

Agenda setting theory

Agenda setting theory (Maxwell McCombs and Donald L. Shaw)
Media influence affects the order of presentation in news reports about news events, issues in the public
mind. More importance to a news-more importance attributed by audience. Media Priorities It says what
people should think about and how people should think about.

These are the levels of agenda setting theory:

First Level:
Mostly studied by researchers, media uses objects or issues to influence the people what people should
think about.

Second level:
Media focuses on the characters of issues how people should think about.

Agenda setting theory used in political ad, campaigns, business news, PR (public relation) etc.

The main concept associated with the agenda setting theory is gate keeping. Gate keeping controls over
the selection of content discussed in the media; Public cares mostly about the product of a media gate
keeping. It is especially editors media itself is a gatekeeper. News media decides ‗what‘ events to admit
through media ‗gates‘ on ground of ‗newsworthiness‘.

For e.g.: News Comes from various sources, editors choose what should appear and what should not that‘s
why they are called as gatekeepers.

Priming
Activity of the media in proposing the values and standards by which objects of the media attention can be
judged. Media‘s content will provide a lot of time and space to certain issues, making it more vivid.

To say in simple words, Media is giving utmost importance to a news so that it gives people the impression
that is the most important information. This is done everyday the particular news is carried as a heading
or covered everyday for months.

Headlines, Special news features, discussions, expert opinions are used.

Media primes a news by repeating the news and giving it more importance E.g. Nuclear deal.
Framing
Framing is a process of selective control

Two Meanings
1. Way in which news content is typically shaped and contextualized within same frame of reference.
2. Audience adopts the frames of reference and to see the world in a similar way. It is how people attach
importance to a news and perceive it context within which an issue is viewed.
Framing talks about how people attach importance to certain news for e.g. in case of attack, defeat, win
and loss, how the media frames the news such that people perceive it in a different way.

We can take India and Pakistan war; same happening is framed in different ways in both the countries. So
depending on which media you view your perception will differ.

Criticisms of Agenda setting theory is

 Media users not ideal, people may not pay attention to details.
 Effect is weakened for people who have made up their mind.
 Media can‘t create problems. They can only alter the awareness, Priority etc.

AIDA Model
INTRODUCTION
Even though the world of advertising has become more and more competitive, the principle behind the ad
copy remains the same. The four steps that the copywriters use in their ad to persuade the consumers to
buy the products are attention factor, interest element, desire element and action element which is called
as AIDA. Advertising and marketing objectives are met by the effective use of this model.

The phrase AIDA, in marketing communication was coined by American advertising and sales pioneer
Elias. St. Elmo Lewis in the late 1800s. The model talks about the different phases through which a
consumer goes before going to buy a product or service. According to him, most of the marketers follow
this model to fetch more consumers for their product. Marketers use this model to attract customers to
purchase a product. This model can be seen widely used in today‘s advertisements.

THEORY
The acronym AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. These are the four stages that a
consumer goes through when watching or viewing an advertisement. According to Lewis, first and
foremost, the role of an advertisement is to attract the customers. Once an ad grabs attention, it has to
invoke interest towards the product in the minds of the consumers. After creating an interest, the ad has to
bring desire in consumers mind to use the product and finally the consumer has to take a favorable action
towards the product by ultimately purchasing the product.

THE PROCESS OF AIDA

 Attention: Attention is usually grabbed by the use of image, color, layout, typography, size, celebrity,
model etc
 Interest: Once attention is grabbed, it‘s necessary to create interest in the viewers mind so that they
will read more about the brand being advertised. By the use of an attractive sub head, interest can be
invoked
 Desire: The element of desire is usually created by the use of body copy where you write in detail
about the necessity of buying the brand, thereby explaining the features of the brand, facts and figures
 Action: Towards the end, the contact information of the brand will be given where they expects the
viewers to take action immediately. It can be in the form of shop address, toll free numbers or website
address
An advertisements success depends up on the viewer‘s ability to notice and understand its message. The
AIDA model helps the copy writer to present the elements of a print ad, Headline, Subhead, Body copy,
slogan and contact information in a format that makes the viewers read in a flow and understand about
the product easily.

Example
Given below is an example of an ad that has used AIDA model to present the message elements.

In the given ad, the Headline ―Marriage does come with its rewards‖ and the image of the car attracts the
viewers attention. The subhead ―The New Beettle, Best Gifted‖ creates interest in the viewers to know
more about the product. The Body copy & the slogan given in the ad create desire in the viewers mind. The
contact information given towards the end makes the viewers take an action.

Attribution Theory
Introduction
We attach and assume meanings to others behavior in our day to day life, and the theory developed by
Fritz Heider based on this attribution is called Attribution Theory. Fritz Heider was born (1896 – 1988) in
Vienna, Austria and known well as a psychologist. Heider received Ph.D from the University of Graz at the
age 24 for his innovates study and his work called ―Thing and Medium‖. Later he moved to Berlin and
worked in a Psychology institution under the great psychologists Wolfgang Koehler, Max Wertheimer and
Kurt Lewin. In 1958, the book ―The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations‖was published by Heider which
was the starting point of the Attribution theory and expanded version of the Balance theory.

Definition
Attribution – Assigning some quality or character of a person or thing

Theory
Attribution theory explains how and why ordinary people explain the things as they do. Everybody tries to
make sense in this social world. People try to find the cause and effects even if they‘re in none. Attribution
theory is the study which comes under the social Psychology, through this theory Heider explains the
causes of Individual behaviors and events. The Attribution theory was introduced by Heider but later it
was developed by various psychologists and based on this theory various models were attempted to
explain the behavioral processes of attribution.

According to Heider, How a person understands the event and how the event is related to the person‘s
thinking process and their behavior. Attribution theory tends to explain certain basic question of
individuals ―How others do and what they do‖. A person interprets with himselves ―why others do
something which may cause attribute of one‘s behavior. Most of our attributions are driven by our
emotional and motivational impulses. Fritz Heider classified the attribution theory into two types as
1. Internal Attribution and 2. External or Explanatory Attribution
1. Internal Attribution
When a person is motivating for a certain action and questioned about it, the person needs to explain the
reason for the question or action. In Internal attribution, a person always wants to show him as much as
positive. Internal attributions are driven by motives and emotional attitudes of an individual.

Example
Jim scored the highest mark in class. He believes that he got marks because he worked hard and because
he has the ability to score good marks. He attributes the causes in the factors which are internal. And thus
his confidence level increases and he tends to score higher next time also.
2. External Attribution
A person wants to understand the world through events which happens around him and a person seeks
reason for that particular event by using external events.

Example
Hendry Scored the lowest mark and he believes that it because the pen. He even believes that the person
who checked his answer sheet was not in a good mood. He attributes the causes of this failure in external
factors.

Conclusion
Fritz Heider thinking influenced generations of psychologists. He is one of the most cited social scientists
of all time. There are several theories and models are developed based on the attribution theory. This
theory employs various methods for the measurement and categorization of attributions. Even if it was
developed by Heider the main framework of the theory was modelled by Bernard Weiner and Harold
Kelley.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Theorist Biography
Leon Festinger, (1919 – 1989), was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants Alex Festinger and Sara Solomon
Festinger in Brooklyn, New York. Leon Festinger went to Boys‘ High School and acquired a bachelor‘s
degree in science at City College, New York in 1939. He did his PhD in psychology from the University of
Iowa in 1942, the same year, he married pianist Mary Oliver Ballou with whom he had three children
(Catherine, Richard and Kurt).

He is well known for his theories of ―Cognitive Dissonance and Social Comparison‖. He is also responsible
for the discovery of relevance of propinquity (Close relationship) on the formation of social ties and bonds.
We could find many of this social psychologist‘s theories and contributions in the study of social sciences.

Theory
The mental clash or tension resulting from the processes of acquiring knowledge or understanding
through the senses is called cognitive dissonance. In simple the clash of mind when we have to choose
from the choices is can be called cognitive dissonance. This is the feeling of discomfort from two
conflicting thoughts, it may increase or decrease according to the following factors

1. The relevance of subject to us

2. How solid the choices or thoughts are
3. The capability of our mind to choose, rationalize or explain the thoughts.
The theory suggests that our mind have a tendency to avoid such clashes and tensions through various
methods and attain harmony. The dissonance will be on it highest on the matters regarding the self-
image. The theory states that we are possessed with a powerful drive to maintain cognitive steadiness and
reliability which may sometimes become irrational. The mind will attain its harmony by the following
steps

1. Altering cognitions: Changing the attitude or behavior

2. Changing cognitions: Rationalize our behavior by changing the differing cognitions
3. Adding cognitions: Rationalize our behavior by adding new cognition.
This is the reason why we human beings have the tendency to justify ourselves. The theory says that the
tendency of changing beliefs when we couldn‘t complete something is because of this. This theory is
subjective in nature because we cannot physically observe cognitive dissonance so that we cannot obtain
any objective measurements. It has a sort of vagueness in its nature because it is not sure whether people
will act or think according to the theory. Every people will have their individual differences always.

Example
In a class all the students are good at photography except X. No matter how much he tried but he kept
failing in all his attempts. After passing through mental dissonance he came in the conclusion that
photography cannot do any good to him for his life. He tends to believe that photography is boring and
time wasting. And he came at the conclusion that rather not to waste anymore of his time for
photography. Here X couldn‘t perform something or he couldn‘t attain what he wished for so his mind
went through cognitive dissonance and finds a solution as the theory explain.

Another example for this theory can be found in the stories of Aesop, which is a story of fox who wanted
the grapes. The fox failed to reach the grapes when he jumps; he tried again and failed miserably. At last
he reached at the conclusion that the grapes are not sweet, they taste sour. That reduced the anxiety of the
fox and it went away.

In the story of fox we could find how someone can come up with some cognition that helps him to attain
mental harmony. Making excuses is a kind of rationalization that we does to reduce our mental
dissonance. Making excuses is the best example for this theory and we are very well known for our ability
to make excuses.

Contextual Design
Introduction
Traditional products or solutions are designed based on a single bright idea that an individual creates and
builds the product, finally ending with a search to find a suitable place to sell the product. The problem
therefore is that solutions that are designed should fit with a customer‘s other systems and existing ways
of working, be easy to use and should solve their problem. Contextual design provides a solution for this
challenge.

The approach of contextual development is a multiple customer–centered techniques are collected into an
integrated design process based on the commitment to understand one‘s consumer and business.
Contextual design focuses on how data is gathered, the design process and how the team and
organizational context is managed.

Gajus/dollar photo club

Contextual design
Contextual design is about how data can be used in organizations to design products that meet the needs
of the customer. It focuses on the importance of getting the right data that will help take right decisions.
The focus is on designing effective solutions. Data gathered from customers is the basic criteria that are
used to decide what a product should do. It acts as a guide while designing and helps avoid claims about
―what customers may like,‖ which at times is misleading.

While collecting data about the customer and his needs, the problem that arises is the vast amount of data
that gets collected. Complex customer data should be managed using certain tools in such a way that they
are not overwhelmed and can easily identify the patterns and understand the meaning without getting
lost.

A team designing a response for a customer needs to work with the customer carefully. A good design is
one that matches optimally the work practice that a new system will use and the current way of working.
The focus is on increasing efficiency but at the same ensuring that there is an easy transition. An
innovative design in addition to offering newer working styles should have some substantial benefits that
justify change.

While designing there is a need to first identify what issues or problems should be addressed, what
functions or features have to be included, etc. The next important stage is to check up on progress along
with the customer to ensure that progress is on the right track. Contextual design has a well-defined
process whereby interpersonal issues are taken into account and there are well-established procedures
that help a team decide between design alternatives based on the data. Members of a team have well-
defined roles that help increase efficiency.

Stages of Contextual Design

1) Contextual Enquiry: In this stage it is important to understand the customer, his needs and how they
work every day. Interviews should be conducted as customers work. The team then discusses their unique
perspectives of the data so that they develop a shared view of their customers.
2) Work Model : At times understanding a customer‘s work can be complex when multiple departments
of an organization are involved. In such scenarios work models or diagrams can be created to get an idea
of what work is being done.
3) Consolidation: When solutions are designed, they may at times be required to serve the needs of an
entire customer population. In such a scenario all individual diagrams of the work of various customers
should be put together in order to identify any common patterns. This is done through an affinity diagram
that shows the scope of issues and consolidated work models that shows the underlying pattern and
structure that needs to be addressed.
4) Work redesign: The consolidated data that is collected helps the design team to find ways in which
technology and other changes to organizational procedures can be introduced to help improve work.
Storyboards are used as part of this process to define a new work system.
5) User Environment Design: This helps a user understand the various parts of the system that has
been created, the functions it serves and how it fits into other existing systems.
6) Mock-up and test with customers: Testing through prototypes is essential to eliminate problems at
the earliest. Mock-ups are redesigned together by the design team and the end-user to ensure that it meets
the requirements better.
7) Putting into practice: While introducing a product, solution or new work system, at times there may
be resistance. Existing resources and skills should be used to deal with such issues. Contextual design has
to be tailor made to each organization. Systems that work for a small organization may not work as
effectively for a larger organization.

Domestication
Introduction
Domestication is a concept that is used in many fields like sociology of technology, media and
communication studies. It deals with how technology is accepted, used or rejected by people and covers
analyses and descriptions of processes that govern these choices.

Initially it was assumed that innovations were adopted in a manner that was technology determined, in a
linear form. Domestication on the other hand opened up a theoretical framework that placed emphasis on
how the everyday life was a complex phenomenon filled with a variety of rules, rituals, routines or
patterns. Within this complexity, the place of technology had to be understood. The research tool that is
offered is given to understand what the new technology or media can do when acquired. The research
approach uses the ethnographic research tradition while the domestication deals with the symbolic role of
technologies in everyday life.
BlueSkyImages/dollar photo club

Introduction into a Household

Whenever a new media or technology is introduced, a majority of the time it is the ‗domestic‘ household
that has to first learn to integrate the technology in their lives. The new technology undergoes a phase
where it is added to everyday routines and becomes of value to the user and his environment. The process
of domestication sees technology go through the process of changing and being changed. Technology can
be compared to pets in the way they become a part of the family even though some may continuously
cause problems, or act-up at times they become the indispensable part of the family. Domestication lays
emphasis on the household being a significant and meaningful sphere of media related activity.

A successful domestication of technology will see a transition in how it is being used. A domesticated
technology is viewed as being a useful, reliable, trustworthy and is no longer considered to be a cold,
lifeless, consumer good. The television, mobile phone and computers are examples of technologies that
have become an accepted part of life that no longer seems mysterious and beyond reach or understanding.
Domestication views media technologies as being defined by social actions and negotiations rather than by
their technical properties.

A household is a meeting point of economic, social and cultural forces and therefore domestication argues
that the home is transforming to become a part of the public sphere. This means that the micro-politics of
a house is now connected to a broader society.

Impact of Technology
One of the most important historical benefits of technology has been its transformation of what
constitutes the public and private spaces like a mobile phone today that creates an instant private space
around a user. In Chinese urban middle-class families, technology is viewed as a symbol of success and
indicates upward mobility. Technology helps them to make social connections and be endorsed by the
society and is believed to have a rich educational value and therefore families invest in it heavily.

Domestication Research
Domestication is a conceptual and methodological approach that can be adapted to changing scenarios
and contexts. Domestication research has shown that technology that was developed with certain
functionalities in mind at times see a change in what they are used for. The internet and the mobile phone
are now used for many other purposes than what they were originally designed to be used for. Technology
has also broken away geographical boundaries with the internet creating a global citizen.

The domestication of television has gone through a transition from being seen as strange object that was
kept only in public places to a phase where it occupies multiple rooms in a house. It has also further
moved back to be used in public spaces, in malls, restaurants, shops, etc. In the same way, mobile phone
when first introduced was accessible only to an elite few and was a costly asset but today most people have
their own device which has become an extension of one self.

According to research, it has been shown that for any changes to occur, the novelty of the media or
technology has to be worn out and it should become a part of their routine life.

Social Marketing Theory

Social marketing theory is a collection of theories that focus on how socially valuable information can be
promoted. This theory has been used by social and welfare organizations to help promote or discourage
various behaviors. The theory is administrative in nature in such that it seeks to outline a framework that
can be used to design, implement and evaluate information campaigns. The target audience is identified
based on their information need. Once this is done information is packaged and distributed in a manner
that will be easily accessible to the intended audience.

cacaroot/dollar photo club

The theory is an attempt to clearly understand how societal and psychological factors work to successfully
manipulate them in order to increase how effective mass media information campaigns are. The theory
focuses on helping identify the various social and psychological barriers that hinder the flow of
information through the mass media and offers ideas and ways to overcome these barriers. These
strategies range from being indigenous to the use of saturation advertising.

Features of Social Marketing Theory

1. Creating Audience Awareness
When there is a need to promote any new idea, person or behavior, the first step is to create awareness
that such a new concept or individual exists. Awareness is created by using all available channels at one‘s
disposal like news media and even new media like the internet. One of the easiest ways to create
awareness is having a saturation television campaign. But the drawback is that‘s a costly affair. The
benefit of using newer media on the other hand is that a wider range of audience can be reached out to.
The use of internet helps reach younger audience who may not read newspapers or depend on television
for information.

2. Targeting the Right Audience

When disseminating messages, it is important to first identify the audience that requires the message and
then finding the most efficient means of reaching them with the message. This helps cut costs and ensures
higher levels of audience penetration. For example, if the message is intended for old people, using the
internet to spread information would be a waste of time as most elderly people do not use computers. A
more effective way would be to use radio and television to get the message across.

3. Reinforce the Message

When people receive a new message once, they tend to forget it easily. It‘s therefore necessary to reinforce
the message by repeatedly ensuring that individuals are exposed to the message from different channels.
Promoting the media in various mass media, going door to door, holding group discussions, having
debates on television are ways in which messages can be reinforced. People can eventually change
themselves as agents when they start spreading the message that they have received from others.

4. Cultivate Images or Impressions

When the audience is not interested in the person, product or service being promoted, they will not seek
out any information about them. In such a scenario, image advertising is used. Here recognizable and
easily understandable images are shown and the new product or service is shown in relation to that image.
This helps create a favorable setting for promoting the new product. For example, watching an old couple
reminisce about their college days and romance while sipping a hot cup of coffee is a tactic where a
familiar event is used to attach happy emotions to a new coffee product, thus developing its image.

5. Stimulate Interest
To make audience seek information, it is necessary to grab their attention and stimulate interest. Once this
is done, information should be made easily accessible to the general public. Dramatic events or
unexpected actions help capture the interest of the audience. A politician photographed cleaning a beach
helps drive home the point that he cares for the environment. A dish washing product that claims one
bottle will clean a thousand plates could organize an event where a thousand or more plates are washed in
real using a single bottle. This event could be promoted as breaking the Guinness Book of World Record
and immediately causes people to become interested in the product. Similar ideas could be used to further
social welfare schemes and products.

6. Induce Desired Result

Once information has reached the intended audience, efforts should be taken to ensure that the desired
decision is arrived at. A campaign against smoking needs to ensure that people stop smoking. A new
product being introduced should result in actual sales or usage.