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Types and Levels of Communication Explained

The document defines communication as a complex system of exchanging information, highlighting its various types and levels, including nonverbal, verbal, written, and visual communication. It discusses different communication models, such as Shannon and Weaver's and Laswell's, and emphasizes the importance of communication media in society. Additionally, it explores the relationship between mass communication and culture, urging responsible participation from both media creators and consumers.

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Salma Kirsten
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14 views6 pages

Types and Levels of Communication Explained

The document defines communication as a complex system of exchanging information, highlighting its various types and levels, including nonverbal, verbal, written, and visual communication. It discusses different communication models, such as Shannon and Weaver's and Laswell's, and emphasizes the importance of communication media in society. Additionally, it explores the relationship between mass communication and culture, urging responsible participation from both media creators and consumers.

Uploaded by

Salma Kirsten
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

1

Defining communication, its types and levels

KEY CONCEPTS:

1. Communication is a complex system of exchanging information.


2. Communication is present in different types and levels.
3. Types refer to the different forms of communication.
4. Levels are dependent on the receiver in the communication process.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Highlight the importance of communication media


2. Distinguish mass communication from other levels of communication
3. Identify the factors vital in communication media

What is communication?

“Communication is one of those human activities that everyone recognizes but few can define
satisfactorily” (Fiske, p.1, 2011).

Why? Because it is multi-disciplinary, it intersects with academic areas such as psychology,


sociology, anthropology, political science, literature, and philosophy

For our discussion and reference, we will look at four different models and definitions:

(1) Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication


(2) Laswell’s communication model
(3) Em Griffin’s definition
(4) Osgood and Schramm’s model of communication

Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication

It is one of the earliest and most influential communication models showing a simple
linear message transmission. This communication model emphasizes five essential
components, namely: source, transmitter, channel, receiver, and destination. The
communication channels in this model are telephone cables and radio waves.
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Figure 1: Shannon-Weaver communication model (Fiske, 2011, p. 6)

Laswell’s Communication Model

For the longest time, we mainly viewed communication based on Harold Lasswell’s
definition, which is a simple message transmission from a sender to a receiver. The flow of
communication, according to Laswell, can be described using the following questions:

• Who?
• Says what?
• Through which channel?
• To whom?
• With what effect?

Figure 2: Laswell’s Communication Model (Baran, 2021, p. 5)

Griffin’s Definition

"Communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that


elicit a response" (Griffin, E., p. 6, 2019).

Features of communication by Griffin:

• Messages – one of the cornerstones of communication study


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- it involves “talking and listening, writing and reading, performing and witnessing, or,
more generally, doing anything that involves ‘messages’ in any medium or situation

- ‘text,’ another word for message used by communication theorists, used in academic
research. So when we say a text, it can refer to a book, a transcript, a video, a song, etc.

• Creation of Messages – when a communicator creates a message or text, the content


and form of the text is “constructed, invented, planned, crafted, constituted, selected,
or adopted”
• Interpretation of Messages – “Words don’t mean things, people mean things”

- “Humans act toward people or things on the basis of the meanings they assign to
those people or things.” - Herbert Blumer

• A Relational Process – communication is a process, a process of relating, it has


something to do with relationships because one, it involves two or more persons, and
because it affects the nature of the connections among those people.

• Messages that Elicit a Response – what is the effect of the message, and how would
you respond?

Osgood and Schramm’s Model of Communication

“Communication researcher Wilbur Schramm, using ideas originally developed by


psychologist Charles E. Osgood, developed a graphic way to represent the reciprocal nature of
communication (Figure 1.2). This depiction of interpersonal communication—communication
between two or a few people—shows that there is no clearly identifiable source or receiver.
Rather, because communication is an ongoing and reciprocal process, all the participants,
or “interpreters,” are working to create meaning by encoding and decoding messages. A
message is first encoded, that is, transformed into an understandable sign and symbol system.
Speaking is encoding, as are writing, printing, and filming a television program. Once received,
the message is decoded; that is, the signs and symbols are interpreted. Decoding occurs
through listening, reading, or watching that television show” (Baran, 2021, p. 5)
4

Figure 3: Osgood and Schramm’s Model of Communication (Baran, 2021, p. 6).

Types of Communication:

a. Nonverbal Communication – the use of body language, gestures, and facial expressions to
convey information (e.g.: frown, grin, smile, dancing)

b. Verbal Communication – the use of language to transfer information through speaking or


sign language (e.g.: talking, newscasting)

c. Written Communication – the use of symbols in a common system to transfer


information (e.g.: writing in a notepad, typing in a computer, printing on a packaging box)

d. Visual Communication – the use of visual representations to convey information (e.g.:


photographs, paintings, sketches, charts)

Different types of communication can be used with each other to achieve a more effective
communication.

Levels of Communication:

a. Extra-personal Communication – communication between human beings and non-human


beings (e.g.: talking to dogs, plants)

b. Intrapersonal Communication – communication occurring within the mind of a


person (e.g.: talking to self while creating an artwork)

• In the case of talking to a Superior Being, the level of communication depends on the belief that the
Superior Being exists. Extra-personal communication suggests that there is Someone listening to you
while you pray, while Intrapersonal communication suggests otherwise.

c. Interpersonal Communication – communication between two or more persons


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(e.g.: talking to a friend)

d. Organizational Communication – communication between groups of persons with a


diverse or uniform level of thinking (e.g.: organizational meeting)

e. Mass Communication – communication considering the mass as the consumer of


information (e.g. State of the Nation Address, caucus, newscast)

Mass communication and culture

Excerpts from Baran, 2021

- “Culture is the learned behavior of members of a given social group” (p. 8)


- “Culture serves a purpose. It helps us categorize and classify our experiences; it helps
define us, our world, and our place in it” (p. 10).
- Culture can be limiting or liberating.
- “Despite the fact that culture can limit and divide, it can also liberate and unite. As such,
it offers us infinite opportunities to use communication for good—if we choose to do so”
(p. 14)
- “We are the people involved in creating and maintaining the culture that defines us. We
are the people involved in mass media industries and the people who compose their
audiences. Together we allow mass communication not only to occur but also to
contribute to the creation and maintenance of culture” (p. 14).
- Everyone involved has an obligation to participate responsibly. For people working in
the media industries, this means professionally and ethically creating and transmitting
content. For audience members, it means behaving as critical and thoughtful consumers
of that content. Two ways to understand our opportunities and our responsibilities in
the mass communication process are to view the mass media as our cultural storytellers
and to conceptualize mass communication as a cultural forum” (p. 14).
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References and for further reading:

Baran, S.J., & Davis, D.K. (2021). Introduction to mass communication. Media Literacy and culture
(11th ed). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Fiske, J. (2011). Introduction to communication studies (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., Sparks, G. (2019). A First Look at Communication. New York, NY:Mc Graw
Hill Education

O’Hair, D., Weimann, M., Mullin, D.I., Teven, J. (2015). Real Communication. Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s

Common questions

Powered by AI

The Shannon-Weaver model presents communication as a linear process with distinct sender and receiver roles, focusing on message transmission through defined channels . In contrast, the Osgood-Schramm model depicts communication as a circular and reciprocal process, where both parties are encoders, decoders, and interpreters, encoding and decoding messages in a continuous exchange without a clear sender-receiver distinction .

The Osgood-Schramm model emphasizes interpretation by treating all participants as simultaneous encoders and decoders engaging in a cycle of meaning-making, thus highlighting the cognitive processes involved as they assign and derive meaning from messages. Unlike linear models, it acknowledges the ongoing, reciprocal nature of communication and focuses on shared meaning rather than mere transmission .

Mass communication serves as a cultural forum by creating and maintaining cultural narratives through which societal values, beliefs, and norms are shared and contested. This positioning requires media outlets to responsibly curate content that reflects a diversity of viewpoints, facilitating informed public discourse and contributing to cultural cohesion or division based on the narratives promoted .

Culture categorizes and defines human experiences, simultaneously both limiting and liberating social interactions. It plays a crucial role in how mass communication messages are interpreted and disseminated . This understanding entails that media professionals must ethically create and transmit culturally responsible content while the audience should act as critical consumers, acknowledging their participation in shaping cultural narratives .

Em Griffin expands traditional communication concepts by emphasizing the relational aspect of communication processes. He highlights message creation, interpretation, and response elicitation as key features, asserting that messages are not merely transmitted but are relational events that impact and are influenced by the participants’ relationships and responses . This suggests communication is a dynamic interaction rather than static information transfer .

Communication theories intersect with disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, literature, and philosophy, reflecting its complexity and broad applicability . This multidisciplinary approach enriches communication studies by integrating diverse perspectives, fostering comprehensive models that consider cognitive, cultural, and social dimensions of human interaction, thus enhancing understanding and innovation across fields .

Lasswell's model evaluates communication effectiveness through its sequential questions: Who communicates What to Whom via which channel with what Effect . This approach systematically breaks down communication to assess message clarity, audience targeting, and impact, providing insights into media influence by evaluating how messages affect public perception and behavior through these dimensions .

Verbal communication uses language, either spoken or signed, to convey explicit messages, offering precision and clarity in expressing specific ideas . Nonverbal communication uses body language, gestures, and facial expressions to convey emotions and attitudes, often complementing or contradicting verbal messages. Both types are integral to comprehensive understanding, with nonverbal cues often providing context and nuance to verbal interactions .

Communication levels include extra-personal, intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and mass communication, each influencing how messages are conveyed and interpreted based on the context and receivers involved . Extra-personal involves interactions with non-human entities, intrapersonal is self-reflective dialogue, interpersonal involves direct exchanges between individuals, organizational relates to structured group objectives, and mass communication addresses broader public messaging .

In the Shannon-Weaver model, communication channels are critical for the successful delivery of messages as they constitute the medium through which information is transmitted from sender to receiver. This model underscores the importance of selecting appropriate channels like telephone or radio waves to minimize distortion and maximize clarity in communication .

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