Shannon & Weaver’s Mathematical Model of Communication: A Detailed Guide

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Introduction

A model is a pictorial representation of an observed phenomenon that aims to present the regularity in an act or process and helps in the easy comprehension of complex events. In the most basic sense, a model tells how things work or take place with the help of graphics and pictures.

One of the earliest and most influential models of communication was postulated by Claude Shannon in his paper named “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” published by Bell Technical System Journal in 1948. Later, he extended the nuances of the model together with Warren Weaver in a co-authored book named “The Mathematical Theory of Communication,” published by Illinois University Press in 1949. To gain an absolute understanding of any model, it is essential to have a brief overview of the authors and the circumstances under which the model was developed.

Background

Interestingly, both authors of the model were far from related to the fields of communication and were engineers and mathematicians. This is reflected in their approach and view of communication.

Claude Elwood Shannon was an American electrical engineer, mathematician, cryptographer, and computer scientist. He is credited as the father of information theory, laying foundations for the Information Age. His dissertation work, an electrical application of Boolean algebra as a Master’s student at MIT, was considered the most important and popular thesis of the century.

Warren Weaver, also, was an American scientist, mathematician, and science administrator for many prestigious organizations. He is universally recognized as the pioneer of machine translation and a propagator of science in the United States.

Like much initial and seminal work in communication, the Shannon and Weaver Model of communication was developed in America during World War II when the government and private sector were interested in decoding the complexities of communication and perfecting mediums to better transmit messages. Their primary concern was finding out the efficient means of using the channels of communication, telephone wire, and radio waves for the transfer of messages (Keval J, pg 26).

Thus, the channel of transmission is the major part of interest and research investigation rather than the message itself, making it a process-based or linear model (Fike J, pg 6). The idea was to build a system that can transmit maximum messages (signals) over a long range with very little distortion (noise), helping army-men communicate effectively.

Model and Its Components:

According to Shannon and Weaver, there are five basic components plus ‘noise’ that constitute the process of communication. Now, before we interpret it together, have a glance at the original diagram by authors and try to make sense of the model yourself:

Shannon and Weaver's Mathematical Model of Communication

1) Information Source or Sender: The decision-maker. It is the sender who gets to decide what message to send or gets to pick one out of many available.

  • For example, in this scenario, I’m the sender who wants to convey information on the Mathematical Model, and out of many other models, today, I chose to talk about this particular model.

2) Transmitter or Encoder: The means which converts the message into signals. What is a signal? Signals are the physical forms of the message (confusing? Keep reading). Imagine a telephone; you say words into the receiver then it converts the message into electronic impulses so it could transfer it though a telephone cable to the person on the other end. So, what is converting your message into a signal? The receiver of the telephone is the transmitter. Then what is the signal? Electric impulses created by the telephone’s receiver is the signal.

  • Another example, in the present scenario: I’m the sender, my laptop is the transmitter, as it is converting the message into binary, the computer language of 0 and 1, or a signal.

3) Channel: Once the message is in signal form, it needs a physical means through which it could be transmitted from one place to another. The main channels are light waves, radio waves, sound waves, and telephone cables.

  • It depends on the properties of the channel what kind of message could be sent and received because each channel comes with its strength and weakness.
  • For example, the signal (electric impulses) converted by the transmitter (telephone receiver) needs a cable (the channel) to forward the message.

4) Receiver or Decoder: Converts the signals back into a tangible form that could be understood by humans. Taking the telephone example, the signal (electric impulses) sent by the Source (sender) through the channel (telephone cables) is turned into the actual message by the receiver (telephone receiver of the destination).

5) Destination or Receiver: The person for whom the message is directed towards. Don’t get confused with the receiver component that comes before the destination. That receiver is a physical mean which converts the signal into a message. Whereas, the destination or receiver is the person for whom the message created and sent by the sender.

  • For example, in this scenario, I’m the sender, my laptop is the transmitter, binary codes are signals, the internet is the channel through which the signal is passed, your laptop or phone is the receiver, and you, my friend, are the destination.

The classic examples given by Shannon and Weaver were, 1) For a telephone, the channel is wire, the signal an electrical current in it, and the transmitter and receiver are telephone handsets. 2) In a conversation, my mouth is the transmitter, the signal is the sound waves which pass through the channel of the air, and your ear is the receiver.

Obviously, it might have occurred to you that some parts of the model can operate more than once. Like in the telephone example, my mouth transmits a signal to the headsets which is at this moment the receiver, and which instantly becomes the transmitter to your headset. Which is fine if you are dealing with one form of communication at once, like the authors were dealing with telephonic communication.

Noise

Noise is anything that is added to the signal between its transmission and reception that is not intended by the source. According to Shannon and Weaver, there could be two types of noise in communication.

  1. Technological noises: Occurs when there is disruption in signal due to technological error. This can be distortion of sound or crackling in a telephone wire, static in a radio signal, ‘snow’ on a television screen, or slow speed on the internet.
  2. Semantic noises: Are defined as any distortion of meaning occurring in the communication which is not intended by the source but which affects the reception of the message at its destination. Like the use of words or language that is not understood by the receiver or is hard to grasp.

Feedback

The original work of Shannon and Weaver didn’t have the ‘feedback’ component. However, later researchers trying to perfect the model, especially Norbert Wiener, added feedback to the original work making the model cyclical or circular, equipping the sender with the science of control in communication or cybernetics. In simple words, feedback helps the communicator adjust his or her message to the needs and response of the receiver.

Some channels provide instant or slightly delayed feedback to the receiver allowing him/her to make adjustments, improving the overall accuracy and efficiency. Like face-to-face conversation, seminars, group communication, telephone conversation, community radios, and online interactive mediums like social where the audience reactions are almost instantaneous or have a slight delay. Meanwhile, there are several communication channels where feedback is delayed or absent, and such channels mostly belong to the category of mass media

Television being the hardest one, imagine giving feedback to a show producer! However, over decades of research and rapid growth of technology might have improved the audience research and feedback taking system, yet it is far from perfect.

Levels of Problem in Communication:

Shannon and Weaver identified three levels of problems in the study of communication, these are:

  1. Level A: Technological problems– How effectively the message can be transmitted.
  2. Level B: Semantic problems – How precisely the transmitted message conveys the desired meaning?
  3. Level C: Effectiveness problems- How effectively does it produce the desired change (in behaviour or attitude of the receiver)?

The technological problems at Level A are the easiest to understand and are the ones for which the model was developed to explain (Fiske, pg 7). It deals with perfecting the medium or channel to better produce the message from one place to another. They were referring to the relatively new technology of that time, telephone and radio waves, to reduce the noise in their transmission or encoding techniques which help create better signals resulting in better decoding of the message. Additionally, the goal was to create a system that is capable of dealing with maximum information transfer with high accuracy and efficiency. Basically, they were trying to solve your network issue.

Level B: Semantic problems are easy to identify, however difficult to solve as it engages with the meaning of words and their use. Meaning is subject to interpretation and may vary culture to culture. Like, Indians greet people with folded hands and say namaste, meanwhile French kiss and greet people which might create a problem for you in India, LOL. However, Shannon and Weaver consider that meaning is contained within the message, thus improving the encoding will increase the semantic accuracy.

The effectiveness, Level C, problems relate to producing the desired effect on the receiver. Many researchers and critics of the model correspond it with propaganda and manipulation; the authors do lay themselves open to the criticism claiming that the aesthetic or emotional response to a work of art is an effect of communication (Fiske, pg 7).

Shannon and Weaver suggest that these are not necessarily independent problems that occur in a communication process rather they are interdependent and interrelated because problems at one level carry their effect to another. The point of studying communication at each of these levels is to understand how we may improve the accuracy and efficiency of the process (Genius!).

Concept of Redundancy and Entropy

Shannon and Weaver emphasized on the usage of the concept of redundancy and entropy at different levels of communication to eliminate and reduce noise:

Redundancy refers to the part that is predictable or conventional in a message. It is the result of high predictability and low information. For example, if I ask my friend, would you like to have tea? Possible answers are Yes or No. Thus, the message is redundant because there are high chances of predictability in such close-ended questions.

However, if I ask what would you like to have? Now there is virtually many possible answers to this question, like if I say beverage, what types of beverages, Hot or Cold? Caffeine or non-caffeine? Alcoholic or non-alcoholic? If hot, boiling-hot or warm or lukewarm? As you might see the predictability of this message also went down, and certainly, the information increased (hot, non-alcoholic, caffeine-based ‘tea’ while earlier it had only two options Yes, I want or No, I do not).

Meanwhile, the message which is not highly predictable and contains extra information or context before completely understood is called Entropy. Imagine guessing sequence cards in a shuffled pack. Structuring a message according to a shared pattern, or conventions, is one way of decreasing entropy and increasing redundancy.

Criticism

Note: One basic mistake I see being made by media educators and students is that they see criticism of any model as mistakes or errors made by the author/researcher, which is not an absolute truth as there is ‘no one-size-fits-all model ever made!’ remember communication is a complex phenomenon and can’t be completely defined by putting together a few components. Then you might ask why study it at all? The answer is simple, models help us understand (mostly) specific or few phenomena of communication to some extent which helps us to improve, theoretically, and better communicate, practically.

– Like in this case, we were able to perfect the communication technology of communicating with people over a long distance, and it is probably the reason why we have cell phones which can make HD audio and video calls. This being the reason it is also known as the ‘mother of all models.’

  1. Over-Simplify communication process: Many critics of the model argue that the model reduces the complex phenomenon of communication into a few basic components. For example, Authors of the model believe that meaning is contained in the message and thus improving the encoding and decoding process will help in better reception of the message. But what if perfectly encoded and decoded message reaches a person who doesn’t understand the language used in the message? Or interprets it otherwise due to cultural differences?
  2. Linearity: Even though the later version of the model incorporated the concept of feedback, thanks to Mr. Weiner. The original authors didn’t bother much about the feedback due to their inclination towards technologically perfecting the process of communication. Being unable to express a response can lead to frustration that can create enough noise for the message to be misinterpreted or being completely lost.
  3. Technological: The technological definition of the authors distances them, a little, from the reality and cultural aspects of communication which clearly underline that mere accurate transmission of a message is not enough to achieve efficiency rather a wholesome approach trying to give equal consideration to all elements like receiver’s background, sender’s skill, and nature of message will help attain accuracy and efficiency resulting in better reception and reaction to a message.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shannon and Weaver’s Mathematical Model of Communication, developed in the context of World War II, laid the groundwork for understanding communication processes. While its linear approach and initial oversight of feedback have faced criticism, the model’s emphasis on efficient transmission and its contributions to communication technology remain significant. So much so that Erik Hollnagel and David D. Woods called it the “Mother of All Models”. As we navigate contemporary communication landscapes, the model’s legacy endures, offering valuable insights into the challenges and dynamics of information exchange.

Suggestions for students writing exams, essays, or papers on the model:

• One of the best ways to score more in exams is to include references in your answers. It affirms to the evaluator that the student has tried to collect information from various sources. The same goes for people writing essays and papers; genuine and reliable sources in references give the reviewer and reader a sense of security.

• Secondly, for the students preparing, use both classic and contemporary examples; it makes the evaluator think you have a holistic understanding of the topic and you are able to apply it to your day-to-day situation.

• Lastly, if you have read the article carefully, you know the model now. Thus, develop a structure for how you are going to write in your exams. Like what heading you’ll give? How long the definition or explanation before an example, and most importantly what things to drop? Because sometimes it might not be feasible to write such a comprehensive article when the clock is ticking and you have other questions to attempt.

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