Communication Models Overview

Linear Model of Communication

• Sender encodes a message.
• Message travels through a channel.
• Receiver decodes the message.

Interaction Model of Communication

• Two-way process, with feedback from receiver to sender.
• Includes sender and receiver, message, channel and noise.
• Involves psychological and physical contexts.

Transaction Model of Communication

• Simultaneous process where communicators are both senders and receivers.
• Includes communicator, message, channel, physical context, psychological context, social context, and relational context.
• Co-creation of meaning through shared understanding and influence.

Competent Communication

• Process-oriented.
• Learned skill.
• Ethically challenging.
• Appropriate and effective.
• Behavioral flexibility.
• Context-aware.
• Goal achievement.

Perception

• Cognitive process.
• Interpreting experiences with unique understanding.
• Process involves selection, organization, and interpretation.

Interpreting

• Schemata organize our mental filing system.
• Understanding others' actions and behaviours by using explanations.

Attributions

• Internal attributions related to personality traits.
• External attributions related to situational factors.
• Fundamental attribution error – overemphasizing internal factors and underestimating external factors.
• Self-serving bias – attributing our successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

Impressions

• Primacy effect: First impressions are important.
• Recency effect: Recent information is important.
• Halo effect: Positive first impressions lead to more positive perceptions.
• Horn effect: Negative first impressions lead to more negative perceptions.

Self-Concept

• Understanding of oneself.
• Influences communication style.
• Social comparison theory influences self-perception.

Self-esteem

• Attitude about one's self-worth.

Self-efficacy

• Judgment about one's ability to perform a task.
• Predicts success/failure.

Self-discrepancy theory

• Actual self vs. ideal self vs. ought self.
• Differences among selves lead to psychological discomfort.

Language

• Phonological rules: pronunciation.
• Syntactic rules: grammar.
• Language affects credibility.
• Language as control.
• High vs. low language (formal vs. informal).

Improving Language

• Abstractions and meaning
• Evasion
• Equivocation
• Euphemism
• Slang/jargon
• Ethical word choices

Nonverbal Communication

• Kinesics (body language).
• Oculesics (eye contact).
• Chronemics (time).
• Paralanguage (vocal cues).
• Proxemics (space).