Early Schramm Model

The Shannon-Weaver model was criticized because it assumed that communication always occurred linearly. Wilbur Schramm (1954) suggested a new model, which regards Communication as a process between an encoder and a decoder.

He saw communication as a reciprocal process, where the message is very important. This model put emphasis on how people interpret the message sent. Schramm argued that a person’s background, experience, and knowledge are factors that impact the interpretation of the message.

Schramm believed that the decoder must send feedback about the message to indicate that the message has been received. He argued that communication is incomplete unless there is feedback from the receiver. According to Schramm’s model, encoding and decoding are vital to effective communication.