Osgood-Schramm’s Model

Published by Emil Abraham,

Wilbur Schramm proposed the model of communication in 1954. Schramm, a leading communication expert, has provided an overview of the elements and processes of communication to explain how these work in practically all forms of communication - communicating with ourselves, communicating with one person or a group of persons, or communication with a mass audience of thousands and millions of people. In fact, Schramm's contribution in conceptualising communication is so important that it has helped in formulating a more acceptable explanation about the working of the communication process.
The Osgood-Schramm model of communication is defined as a circular model that shows that messages go in two directions. The model has four key principles:
  1. Communication is circular not linear;
  2. Communication is usually equal and reciprocal;
  3. Messages require interpretation;
  4. There are three steps for communicating: encoding, decoding and interpreting.
Principle 1: Circular Communication
The image above shows how the Osgood-Schramm model works. It involves circular communication between two people. Each person is both a sender and a receiver. They are therefore able to communicate to one another, rather than only in one direction.
This circular feature of the model is very different from other liner models of the time like the Shannon-Weaver model or Lasswell’s model of communication.
When critiquing linear or ‘transmission’ models such as the Shannon-Weaver model, Schramm argued:
"In fact it is misleading to think of the communication process as starting somewhere and ending somewhere. It is really endless. We are really switchboard centers handling and re-routing the great endless current of information." (Schramm, 1955)
Principle 2: Equal and Reciprocal Communication
Because both members of the communication have the capacity to encode, decode and interpret, this model views the two members of the conversation as equal participants. This model therefore works very well to understand a face-to-face conversation or text message exchange, for example, where both members of the conversation will have a back-and-forth discussion.
This equal communication model is very different to many others, which see communication as a one-way street where people take the role of either ‘sender’ or ‘receiver’. By contrast, Schramm’s model sees the participants as both sender and receiver of messages.
Principle 3: Communication involves Interpretation
Schramm was insistent that communication is not simply the passing of a packet of information from a sender to a receiver. Instead, he saw that messages must be interpreted in order for them to be understood. In the process of interpretation, however, a lot of meaning can be lost. We call the lost or misinterpretation of information "semantic noise" caused by "semantic barriers". Semantic barriers are specifically the values, beliefs and background knowledge that impact how someone sends and how someone receives messages.
As two-way communication keeps on going in its circular pattern, the semantic noise is ideally reduced because the two communicators can come to shared meaning and give one another further clarification on what they actually mean.
Note: Some people call semantic noise a weakness of this model. However, this model simply shows that semantic noise is possible – so it’s not a weakness. If anything, it’s good that the authors have shown us what it is and how it works.
Principle 4: Communication requires Encoding, Decoding and Interpreting
You can see in the image above that each actor in the communication sequence has three roles: encoding, decoding and interpreting.
Here’s how each step works:
  • Encoding: When we want to send a message, we need to think about how to craft it to get our message across clearly. We need to think of the right words to say and in what order we should send our messages to communicate our ideas to the message receiver.
  • Decoding: When we receive a message, we need to decode it. A message may be packaged as text, image, advertisement, speech, etc. When receiving a message, we need to use our reading skills, listening skills, etc. to decode the message so it makes sense to us. Sometimes someone may ‘mishear’ or ‘misread’ a message (perhaps if it were mumbled or written by someone who is not a native speaker), which will interfere with their interpretation.
  • Interpreting: Now that we understand the medium of communication, we can go about interpreting the message. What does it mean to you? One person may interpret the message in a totally different way to someone else. Or, they may not understand it the same way as the encoder, meaning they have ‘misinterpreted’ the text.
Once someone has decoded and interpreted a message, they can then go about encoding their own message to send back to the original sender. They would in turn go about decoding and interpreting. The cycle continues!
Benefits/Strengths in the Osgood-Schramm Model
  • Shows how feedback can work: This model works well for explaining cyclical feedback. Other models see communication as being a one-way street, which fail to account for feedback and dialogue. In this model, the speaker can get feedback about their language, jokes, choice of words, etc. so they can try to communicate more and more clearly as the cycle continues.
  • Recognizes that communication is complex:By accounting for encoding, decoding and interpretation, this model shows how sometimes we can mishear and misinterpret information.
  • Sees us as active communicators: While other models see people receiving information as passive recipients, this one shows how we’re active in interpreting information we receive.
Disadvantages / Weaknesses in the Osgood-Schramm Model
  • Doesn’t recognize that communication can be unequal: There are many circumstance where communication may involve one authority figure talking and one (or many) listeners trying to interpret the message. In such instances, communication is much less equal than in Schramm’s model. Therefore, this model doesn’t tend to work in situations where power balances exist. In fact, this model does a poor job overall of understanding how power functions in communication.
  • Doesn’t work for mass communication: This is another time communication is unequal. One person communicating to many looks very different to the circular one-to-one model proposed in the Osgood-Schramm approach (for a more appropriate approach for mass media, try the Westley-Mclean model or Lasswell’s model of Communication).

Quotes
  • "The Osgood-Schramm model reminds us that the communication of information is never a simple one-dimensional process whereby the message is encoded, transmitted and decoded as intended." (McCabe, 2009, p. 27)
  • This model "…showed that the receiver as well as the sender is engaged in a continuous and active act of communication." (Theaker, 2004, p. 22)
  • "The emergence of this approach meant a clear break with the traditional linear / one-way picture of communication." (Mcquail & Windhall, 2015, p. 20)
  • "The model is especially useful in describing interpersonal communication but is less suitable for cases without, or with little, feedback." (Mcquail & Windhall, 2015, p. 20)
  • "The circular nature of the model shows that individuals change roles as they decode the message and by the process of interpretation then recode the message to pass on to another individual." (McCabe, 2009, p. 27)
  • "A possible point of criticism of this model would lie in the argument that the model conveys a feeling of equality in communication. Very often communication is, on the contrary, fairly unbalanced as far as communication resources, power, and time given to communicate are concerned." (Mcquail & Windhall, 2015, p. 20)

Examples
Ex 1
Jennifer to Sam -"Will you accompany me for a movie ?"
Sam kept mum and did not respond and hence the communication between Sam and Jennifer was not complete. If Sam was not interested for the movie, he could have responded or given the feedback to Jennifer about his unwillingness. According to Schramm’s model, whenever the information reaches the recipient, it becomes his responsibility to give the feedback and let him know if he has downloaded the message in exactly the same manner the speaker wanted. If he is not clear with anything or has any doubts, it must be cleared with the speaker. Thus when the speaker conveys any message to the listener, the listener, decodes the message and once again passes the message to the speaker after understanding it and completing the full circle.
Sender
M↓ ↑M
Receiver
M - Stands for message
Schramm believed that an individual’s knowledge, experience and cultural background also play an important role in communication. Individuals from diverse cultures, religion or background tend to interpret the message in different ways.

Ex 2
Billy to Servant - "Please bring something hot for me to drink as I am suffering from sore throat."
The servant brought him a glass of lukewarm water but Billy actually wanted a cup of hot chocolate coffee. Hence different interpretation by the servant. He was not on the common grounds with Billy and failed to understand his master’s information. It was neither Billy’s nor the servant’s fault but actually the differences in both their backgrounds which was to blame.
Go through another example

Ex 3
John to Teddy -"I get late for my office, please buy me a clock"
Teddy went to a local market and gifted a clock to John and John was never late to office after that. He could have also misinterpreted the message, then how come he could understand his friend’s desire? A Clock is always a clock whether Teddy has to bring it or any other individual has to bring it. A clock can never be confused with a wrist watch or for that matter something else. There are some messages which are more or less same for everyone. They are called as messages with a Denotative meaning which are almost the same for all individuals and in such cases chances of misinterpretation and misunderstanding gets nullified.
Please once again refer to the above situation of John and Teddy and slightly modify the situation. When John wanted a clock, Teddy brought two clocks for him as he was two concerned for John and didn’t want him to get late. In this case John actually wanted a single clock but Teddy brought his emotional quotient and personal affection in between. Such meanings are called Connotative meaning which are affected by emotional factors. A message can also get distorted due to wrong body movements, gestures, facial expressions and many other factors.
To conclude according to this model of communication when a sender passes on the information to the receiver, the receiver must interpret it in the desired form the sender wants and give him the feedback or respond accordingly. Any communication where the sender does not get the feedback, the communication is not complete and thus ineffective.

Sources:
  • McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing Communications in Tourism and Hospitality: Concepts, Strategies and Cases. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
  • Mcquail, D. & Windhall, S. (2015). Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communications. London: Routledge.
  • Schramm, W. (1955). How communication works. In: Schramm, W. (Ed.). Process and Effects of Mass Communication. Illinois: University of Illinois Press.
  • Theaker, A. (2004). The Public Relations Handbook. (2nd Ed.) Oxfordshire: Routledge.