Schramm’s Model of Communication

 

Schramm’s model of communication was postulated by Wilbur Schramm in 1954, where he suggested that communication is a two way process where both sender and receiver take turns to send and receive a message. The message is only sent after encoding so the sender is also called Encoder and encoded message is decoded under receipt by the receiver, making him the Decoder. This model was adapted from the theories of another theorist Osgood, so is also known as Osgood and Schramm model of communication or Encode-Decode Model of communication. Osgood replaced the linear model of communication with the circular process of communication and Schramm added the concept of field of experience to it. This model is described in Schramm’s book “The Process and Effects of Communication”.

Different Components of Schramm’s Model

Sender (Transmitter) is the person who sends the message.

Encoder is the person who converts the message to be sent into codes.

Decoder is the person who gets the encoded message which has been sent by the encoder and converts it into the language understandable by the person.

Interpreter is the person who tries to understand and analyze the message. Message is received after interpretation. Interpreter and receiver is the same person.

Receiver is the person who gets the message. He/She decodes and interprets the actual message.

Message is the data sent by the sender, and information that the receiver gets.

Feedback is the process of responding to the received message by the receiver.

Medium or media is the channel used to send the message.

Noise is the interference and interruptions caused during the process. It is also created when the intended meaning of the message sent by the sender and the meaning interpreted by the receiver is different which is known as Semantic Noise.

 

How Schramm’s Model Works?

The model suggests that encoding and decoding are the two most important part of a communication process. Encoding assumes a critical part in starting the procedure of correspondence by converting data into information. Encoding is done by a sender (transmitter) and sent to a receiver.  When data reaches to the receiver, receiver decodes and interprets the data. This data is called a message, and it is transmitted through a medium. This model shows how meaning is transferred from one person or group to another. Schramm’s model of communication is used in both intrapersonal and interpersonal communication.

The model takes communication as a never ending process which constitutes messages and feedbacks. Each person is both sender and receiver, so there must be interpretation of the message on each turn. The interpreted data is known as information. This makes communication effective but might cause problems too as the message sent after encoding might not be the same when decoded by the receiver. So, this model is not conventional like other models that only talk about sender and receiver.

Feedback is also a very important component as it lets the sender know if the receiver had interpreted the message as required or not. The message becomes useless if the receiver does not understand it making feedback different than the expected outcome. The communication is incomplete if there is no feedback. Deliberate articulation and passing on of message to others ensures communication. For instance, a person is talking to someone who does not understand English. The person codes the message and write the message in the form of language. The other person won’t be able to decode it as the person cannot understand the language. The feedback is immediately passed to the sender acknowledging that the receiver hasn’t interpreted the message as required making feedback an important component in the communication.

Schramm’s model of communication originated from Shannon Weaver’s model of communication. The Shannon-Weaver model is a more mathematical and technological, whereas Schramm’s model is more psychological.

 

 

Concept of Schramm’s Communication Model

Schramm believed that the background of the individual who is involved plays an important role in communication. People with various knowledge, experience and cultural practices interpret message in a different way than other. A sender passes on the information to the receiver. The receiver interprets it according to his/her knowledge, experience and gives feedback to the sender. The main concepts behind his model were

 

Field of Experience: Field of  experience are the things that influences the understanding and interpretation of message like culture, social background, beliefs, experiences, values and rules. Same message can be interpreted differently by different people. If the words and sins they both (sender and receiver) use are common they communicate more efficiently.

Context of the Relationship: The people involved must have things in common to talk about. The message must be something important to both. Communication will be easier if the relationship between the sender and receiver is close. For example, old friends will have many things to talk about in comparison to new ones as they have a larger mutual social circle.

Context of Social Environment Influencing the Field of Reference: People communicate according to the situation they are in. People act and communicate according to the place, time, reason and setting they are facing. The same people will act differently when they meet casually or for official purposes.

Use of Metaphors: metaphors are used from experiences and it makes communication easier. When a person relates one thing to another, explaining and interpreting it becomes easier.

Mental Model: Field of experience overlap due to mental conditioning and social conditioning of a person.