Shannon and Weaver Model and Its Application
The Shannon-Weaver Model
The Shannon-Weaver model is typical of what are often referred to as transmission models of communication .if you have looked through the examples of typical everyday forms of communication, you will have noticed that some of the examples refer to less immediate methods of communication than face-to-face interaction, e.g. using the radio, newspapers or the telephone. In these cases, technology is introduced. When, for instance, the telephone is used, you speak, the phone turns the sound waves into electrical impulses and those electrical impulses are turned back into sound waves by the phone at the other end of the line. Shannon and Weaver's mathematical model of communication is widely accepted as one of the main seeds out of which communication studies have grown.
The Shannon-Weaver Model (1947) proposes that all communication must include six elements: • a source
• an encoder
• a message
• a channel
• a decoder
• a receiver
These six elements are shown graphically in the model
The emphasis here is very much on the transmission and reception of information. 'Information' is understood rather differently from the way you and I would normally use the term, as well. This model is often referred to as an 'information model' of communication.
Apart from its obvious technological bias, a drawback from our point of view is the model's obvious linearity. It looks at communication as a one-way process. That is remedied by the addition of the feedback loop, which you can see in the developed version of the model:
Shannon-Weaver: The Source All human communication has some source (information source in Shannon's terminology), some person or group of persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication. You'll also find the terms transmitter and communicator used. We have discussed sender in detail in our previous lessons.
Shannon-Weaver: The Encoder When you communicate, you have a particular purpose in mind:
• You want to
The Shannon-Weaver model is typical of what are often referred to as transmission models of communication .if you have looked through the examples of typical everyday forms of communication, you will have noticed that some of the examples refer to less immediate methods of communication than face-to-face interaction, e.g. using the radio, newspapers or the telephone. In these cases, technology is introduced. When, for instance, the telephone is used, you speak, the phone turns the sound waves into electrical impulses and those electrical impulses are turned back into sound waves by the phone at the other end of the line. Shannon and Weaver's mathematical model of communication is widely accepted as one of the main seeds out of which communication studies have grown.
The Shannon-Weaver Model (1947) proposes that all communication must include six elements: • a source
• an encoder
• a message
• a channel
• a decoder
• a receiver
These six elements are shown graphically in the model
The emphasis here is very much on the transmission and reception of information. 'Information' is understood rather differently from the way you and I would normally use the term, as well. This model is often referred to as an 'information model' of communication.
Apart from its obvious technological bias, a drawback from our point of view is the model's obvious linearity. It looks at communication as a one-way process. That is remedied by the addition of the feedback loop, which you can see in the developed version of the model:
Shannon-Weaver: The Source All human communication has some source (information source in Shannon's terminology), some person or group of persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication. You'll also find the terms transmitter and communicator used. We have discussed sender in detail in our previous lessons.
Shannon-Weaver: The Encoder When you communicate, you have a particular purpose in mind:
• You want to