Communication Models and Noise Types

Theoretical Models

• Theoretical models are used to make abstract concepts more concrete and tangible.
• Models are used to analyze and understand communication, not for direct communication.
• Models help explain and predict communication patterns.

Types of Noise

• Physical Noise: External factors such as environmental distractions.
• Physiological Noise: Internal factors like physical discomfort or illness.
• Psychological Noise: Internal distractions such as thoughts, biases, or emotions.
• Semantic Noise: Misunderstandings due to different meanings or interpretations of words.

Interaction Model

• The Interaction Model incorporates context in its analysis of communication.

Transactional Model

• The Transactional Model emphasizes the simultaneous nature of communication.
• Senders and receivers are constantly exchanging messages and interpreting meaning simultaneously.
• Communication is a dynamic process, with no clear distinction between sender and receiver.

Social Systems

• All communication occurs within a broader social system.
• Societal norms, cultural values, and power dynamics influence communication.

Theoretical Models

• Used to make abstract concepts more concrete
• Help understand, explain, and predict communication

Noise

• Physical Noise: Environmental distractions
• Physiological Noise: Body's condition (illness, fatigue)
• Psychological Noise: Thoughts and biases
• Semantic Noise: The meaning of words themselves

Interaction Model

• Includes context
• Emphasizes the back-and-forth nature of communication

Transactional Model

• Captures the simultaneous nature of communication

Social Systems

• All communication happens within social systems

Theoretical Models

• Theoretical models help to understand abstract concepts by making them tangible.
• Models are used to understand, explain, and predict communication, not for communication itself.

Noise

• Physical Noise: External factors in the environment that interfere with communication (e.g., loud noises, distractions).
• Physiological Noise: Internal factors related to the sender's or receiver's physical state (e.g., hunger, illness, fatigue).
• Psychological Noise: Internal factors related to the sender's or receiver's mental state (e.g., stress, anxiety, biases).
• Semantic Noise: Misunderstandings that arise from the meaning of words (e.g., different interpretations, jargon, unfamiliar language).

Interaction Model

• The Interaction model considers the context in which communication occurs.

Transactional Model

• The Transactional model emphasizes the simultaneous nature of communication.
• Both the sender and receiver are actively involved in the communication process at the same time.

Social Systems

• All communication takes place within social systems, meaning communication is influenced by social structures, norms, and relationships.

Perception Process

• Perception is an active process of creating meaning by selecting, organizing, and interpreting people, objects, events, situations, and other phenomena.
• The perception process involves three steps that often happen simultaneously: selection, organization, and interpretation.

Selection

• Selection involves giving our attention to stimuli.
• Things that stand out, indicate (noticing things we didn't notice before because we have new knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and fit our current needs, desires, and cultural perspectives influence what we select to perceive.

Organization

• We organize and interpret experiences by applying schemata:
  • Prototypes are ideal examples.
  • Personal constructs are categories or bipolar dimensions that we use to define people and things.
  • Stereotypes are generalizations about people and situations that allow us to create a set of expected behaviors.
  • Scripts are sequences of behaviors that we have for how we and others should act in a particular situation.

Interpretation

• Interpretation involves attributing causes to behavior:
  • Locus refers to whether the behavior is internally motivated or externally motivated.
  • Stability refers to whether the behavior is stable or unstable over time.
  • Specificity refers to whether the behavior is global or specific to a particular situation.
  • Responsibility refers to whether the behavior is within personal control or beyond personal control.

Attribution Errors

• Self-serving bias: We often describe our positive behaviors as being internally motivated, stable, global, and within our control. Conversely, we attribute our negative behaviors to external factors, instability, specificity, and lack of control.
• Fundamental attribution error (focuses on negative behaviors and locus):
  • We tend to overestimate the role of internal causes for others' negative behaviors while underestimating external causes.
  • We tend to underestimate internal causes for our own negative behaviors and overestimate external causes.

Influences on Perception

• Perception is influenced by factors such as physiology, expectations, age, culture, cognitive ability, and self.
• Implicit personality theory refers to assumptions about how various qualities fit together in personalities.

Perception is Interactive

• Selection, organization, and interpretation are interactive processes. What we select to perceive influences how we organize and interpret stimuli.
• Language affects perception, and perception influences our language.

Explore the various theoretical models of communication and their application in understanding communication patterns. This quiz also covers the different types of noise that affect communication, including physical, physiological, psychological, and semantic noise. Test your knowledge on how these concepts interrelate.