Gerbner's General Model of Communication
Gerbner's General Model
Similarly to the Schramm & Osgood Circular Model, Gerbner's General Model emphasizes the dynamic nature of human communication. It also, in common with other models, such as, say, David Berlo's S-M-C-R model, gives prominence to the factors which may affect fidelity.
[pic]
The model shown diagrammatically is to be read from left to right, beginning at E - Event. Please click on the model for further details.
Gerbner: E
[pic] An event takes place in the 'reality'
Gerbner: Perceptual dimension
[pic] The event (E) is perceived by M (the man (sic) or machine). The process of perception is not simply a matter of 'taking a picture' of event E. It is a process of active interpretation (as Schramm & Osgood emphasize in their circular model). The way that the E is perceived will be determined by a variety of factors, such as the assumptions, attitudes, point of view, experience of M. This is similar to Berlo's S-M-C-R model which draws our attention to the way that attitudes, knowledge level, communication skills, culture and social position affect the encoding and decoding of messages. E can be a person talking, sending a letter, telephoning, or otherwise communicating with M. In other words, E could be what we conventionally call the Source or Transmitter. In this case, the model draws our attention to those factors mentioned by Berlo and is applicable to interpersonal communication. Equally, E can be an event - a car crash, rain, waves crashing on a beach, a natural disaster etc. In this case, we could be applying the model to mass media communication, say the reporting of news. It is this generality in the model which makes it a useful starting point for the analysis of wide variety of communication acts. Note that the model, besides drawing our attention to those factors within E which will determine perception or
Similarly to the Schramm & Osgood Circular Model, Gerbner's General Model emphasizes the dynamic nature of human communication. It also, in common with other models, such as, say, David Berlo's S-M-C-R model, gives prominence to the factors which may affect fidelity.
[pic]
The model shown diagrammatically is to be read from left to right, beginning at E - Event. Please click on the model for further details.
Gerbner: E
[pic] An event takes place in the 'reality'
Gerbner: Perceptual dimension
[pic] The event (E) is perceived by M (the man (sic) or machine). The process of perception is not simply a matter of 'taking a picture' of event E. It is a process of active interpretation (as Schramm & Osgood emphasize in their circular model). The way that the E is perceived will be determined by a variety of factors, such as the assumptions, attitudes, point of view, experience of M. This is similar to Berlo's S-M-C-R model which draws our attention to the way that attitudes, knowledge level, communication skills, culture and social position affect the encoding and decoding of messages. E can be a person talking, sending a letter, telephoning, or otherwise communicating with M. In other words, E could be what we conventionally call the Source or Transmitter. In this case, the model draws our attention to those factors mentioned by Berlo and is applicable to interpersonal communication. Equally, E can be an event - a car crash, rain, waves crashing on a beach, a natural disaster etc. In this case, we could be applying the model to mass media communication, say the reporting of news. It is this generality in the model which makes it a useful starting point for the analysis of wide variety of communication acts. Note that the model, besides drawing our attention to those factors within E which will determine perception or