Designed for 2nd year college students at ISEG school in Lyon, France, this course ( about 2 hours when delivered with examples) is a summary of major communication theories

1. MCS 2 IP
From theory to action
in multichannel
communication
Class 2-3 / October 8th
Stéphanie Gentilhomme
2018-2019

2. Overview of today’s course
Overview of different models and theories
Communication : science or art ?
Fun exercise !
Readings: discussion

3. Now for some fun stuff !

4. First of all... a definition of communication?
It is the exchange of ideas, thoughts, messages, by speech, signals or writing.
It is a process in which participants not only exchange ideas, feelings and information but
also create and share meaning in order to reach mutual understanding.
It is to express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood. It is a
process of conveying information from the sender to the receiver with the use of the media
in which the communicated information is understood.
Communication is the expression or exchange of information by speech, in writing, with
gestures, conduct or through electronic medium. It is a process of passing information,
ideas, facts, or opinions between two or more parties.
It is the process by which an idea is brought to another 's perception. The information that
is so expressed or exchanged is also referred to as communication. It is a complex and
dynamic process that allows organisms to exchange information.

5. Communication theories and communication models
What is a theory ?
It is an abstract understanding of a process.
My personal theory on life are my thoughts and ideas about how things
work in the world, why and how things happen. It helps me function in the
world, it explains my experience and contributes to my identity
What is a model ?
A model is a simplified view of something we want to look at or study. It is a
representation, a schematic description of a system, a theory, or a
phenomenon.
Communication models seek to represent the structure and key elements of
the communication process.

6. Main communications models
1.Artistotle
2. A quick incursion into media theory
 Hypodermic and magic bullet theory
 Lazarsfeld & Katz Two-Step flow of communication theory
3. Shannon & Weaver
4. Laswell
5. Newcomb
6. Schramm & Osgood

7. Aristotle, 300 B.C
✩ Context : philosophers sharing their
views or politicians making speeches
✩At the time, knowledge was
communicated mostly verbally
✩Public debate was very important in
Ancient Greece

8. Aristotle’s model of communication
It is completely linear, and reflects
a public speaking situation ( “ occasion” )

9. Cue to 1000 years later …

11. A quick incursion
into Media theory

12. The “hypodermic needle theory”( or magic bullet theory )
Context:
The wide popularity of radio and television in the 1940s and 1950s,
With the recent emergence of advertising and propaganda.
+ Studies on the impact of motion pictures on children, Hitler’s control of
mass media during WWII.
 Media were perceived as a very powerful influence
Assumption :
Mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. It’s a
"strong effects" theory.
Mass media can influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly
by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with messages designed to trigger a desired
response.
Both images used to express this theory (a bullet and a needle) suggest a
powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver.
It assumes the audience is passive and immediately influenced by the
message, and that the media is potentially dangerous because the receiver or
audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message.

13. Lazarsfeld & Katz Two-Step theory
“The people’s choice: How the voter makes up his mind in a presidential campaign.”
1944 study on social influence and the media
Key findings :
Media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders.
The study introduces the notion of "personal influence" coming between the direct message and the receiver’s reaction to that message. Most
people are not directly influenced by mass media, but instead, form their opinions based on opinion leaders who interpret media messages
 it is a TWO-STEP MODEL
1. Opinion leaders are exposed to a specific media content, they interpret it, based on their own opinion.
2. Their opinion /interpretation ( in addition to the actual media content ) infiltrates the general public who becomes opinion followers
Opinion leaders tend to be similar to their “followers” - demographics, socio-economic factors, personality, interests.
But they are more active media users who collect, interpret, and diffuse the meaning of media messages to less-active media consumers.
According to the authors, opinion leaders pick up information from the media, and this information then gets passed on to less-active
members of the public. This implies that most people receive information from opinion leaders through interpersonal communication rather
than directly from mass media.
Persuasion is of a social nature : A person’s belonging to different social groups (different networks based on family, friends, work and extra-
professional activities and interests ) has more influence on that person’s decision-making processes and behavior than information from
mass media

14. Lazarsfeld & Katz Two-Step theory

15. Two-step theory: relevant for today?
Think of the digital landscape of today:
GAFA databases send us messages which have been customized specifically based on our online
behavior. Big data analytics creates mass customization.
 One-step flow of communication: sender, receiver, effect.
Another way to look at it:
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook influencers ( celebrities, artists, journalists…) actually inform their
Followers.
They are opinion leaders in the way they choose what to present and the impact it has on the people
they influence.
 Is it a Two-step flow of communication? (media, influencer, final receiver )
But individuals today are submitted to many different media sources.
Current research being done on Multistep Flow Models, based on distinct network structures.

16. Shannon-Weaver model, 1949

17. Aristotle vs Shannon

18. How does it improve on Aristotle’s model?
 It takes TECHNOLOGY into account ( transmitter, receiver
) and the fact a message is very often transformed to
reach its receiver
 It introduces the notion of NOISE.
Major focus is on efficiency.
Shannon is a scientist working for Bell Systems.
Bell’s main mission is to make sure that a maximum of
information reaches its destination.

19. What’s missing ?
 It sees communication as a process with Sending and Receiving
completely separate actions. In real life, communication can occur with
simultaneous sending and receiving
 It does not include FEEDBACK
 It does not include CONTEXT ( social, cultural, historical …)
 It sees communication as entirely INTENTIONAL
 It only takes the ACTIVE component of communication into account
(Communication can be passive also )
It is very LINEAR
It’s an example of INFORMATION theory.

20. Noise =
Anything irrelevant,
unwarranted, undesired,
unwelcome, unpredictable. It
causing disturbance or
interference and becomes a
barrier to communication

21. Noise can be
Physical noise,
Boredom,
Visual distraction,
Information overload
Language problems
Jargon ….

22. Short exercise on Noise
Think of one typical day for you and all the messages you are confronted to,
and all the noises which can hinder the efficiency of the message !
The source of noise can be physical, psychological, sociological, technical, semantic ..
 Think about how you feel.
 Your degree of attention/interest
 Your knowledge of the channel
 Your relationship with the communicator
Work in pairs
2 groups will present

23. Laswell’s theory, 1948
Perhaps the most famous single phrase in communication research
Laswell’s formula is sometimes called the 5W
Who?
Says what?
In which channel?
To whom?
To what effect ?

25. Laswell’s key points
It is assumed that the communicator wants to INFLUENCE the receiver.
Communication is a PERSUASIVE process
Message have EFFECTS
He does not include FEEDBACK
His model is unidirectional: someone says something to someone who
receives is and is affected by it.

26. Newcomb’s model(1953)

27. Newcomb’s model (1953)
Also called ABX model
Communication is analyzed in its social and psychological dimensions
(Transmitter or receiver  communicators, who emit or receive in an interaction)
Two parameters influence the social relation in communication:
Attitude and union:
Attitude is the emotional aspect of the relationship,
Union is the specificity of the relationship.
The role of communication in a society ( therefore part of a social relationship ) is to maintain social equilibrium
within the social system.
He does not include the message as a separate entity in his diagram, it is implied by the use of arrows.
He concentrates on the social purpose of communication, showing communication as a means of maintaining
relationships between people.
Newcomb insists on the balance or the imbalance of the social relation: balance is achieved when attitudes have the
same orientation.
In order for communication to occur, the parties must look for balance.
If there is no balance, we must reduce the imbalance or even stop communication.

28. Osgood - Schramm’s first model (1954)
His first model elaborates on Shannon’s
It can be defined as : a purposeful effort to establish a commonness
between source and receiver.

29. Schramm’s second model
His second model introduces sociological aspects.
The main idea is that we need a common background and culture for a message to be interpreted correctly, in the
way it was intended by the source. Think of messages which mean different things in different cultures.
Key element : FIELD OF EXPERIENCE
Common language
Common background
Common culture
The DECODING depends on the OVERLAP in the two fields of experience.
Other key element: FEEDBACK
Noise can be counteracted with feedback, even delayed.

30. Schramm’s second model
It includes CONTEXT
 A message can have a different meaning, depending on context.
It includes CULTURE
 A message can have a different meaning, depending on culture or
society
The problems with Schramm’s model:
Communication is seen as bilateral. It does not look at complex
processes, with multiple levels of communication between several
sources.

31. Schramm’s third model

32. Schramm’s third model
It is circular
It highlights the fact that an experienced communicator is attentive to
feedback and modifies his/her message accordingly.
 Each individual can be sender AND recipient so the process is circular.
 It is an example of a RELATIONAL model of communication. It can also
be called TRANSACTIONAL, because the relationship between the sender
and the receiver is very important.

33. The Takeaway
Aristotle: what makes communication successful is the
receiver
Laswell: an effect must be achieved by communication to
take place
Shannon & Weaver: Noise can be a major communication
barrier
Osgood & Schramm: Overlapping fields of experience
make it easier to communicate.

34. Other theories : in class research
Agenda setting theory
Gatekeeping theory
Reinforcement theory
Channel theory
Consistency theory
Catharsis & Narcosis theory
Theory of Incidental effects
Cultivation theory
Third person effect
Social learning ( Bandura )
Uses and Gratification theory
Semiotics
Audience Reception Theory

35. Different Levels of communication
Intrapersonal
Thinking, meditating, dreaming, talking to oneself…
Interpersonal
One on one (couples, parent-child, boss-employee, conversation on the bus, in a
supermarket) . Can be between strangers or not.
Small Group
Group therapy, classroom,
Organizational
Company, federation, family..
Public/Mass
Large number of persons who are not physically in the same place.
Political, all types of media ( television , cinema, radio, newspaper
Cross cultural

36. All levels can use verbal or non-verbal
communication
Non verbal forms include:
Facial expressions
Gestures ( “adaptors”, such as touching oneself or others, scratching head, playing with pen, using
the desk, YOUR PHONE !!)
Kinesics ( movement: of hands, arms, body, head )
Emblems : such as the ones used in Sign Language
Paralinguistics : gesture, tone, voice, signals
Proxemics: use of space and how it influences communication (intimate, personal, social, public )
Haptics : the study of communication by touch
Appearance: the way we dress, standards of beauty.
The environment : your desk, your bathroom, your kitchen…
Chronemics : the way time affects our communication. Physical time, cultural time, personal time
and be in written, audio, multimedia form.

37. Stéphanie Gentilhomme
steph@rendezvous-rp.com