COMM1003 - Chapter 1

communication

social interaction through messages

mass communication

• society-wide communication process in which an individual or institution uses technology to send messages to a large, mixed audience, most of whom members are not known to the sender

• traditionally: allowed limited amounts of feedback

• now: with the rise of interactive comm. networks, opportunities for feedback has increased

what type of comm. is mass communication?

one to many

intrapersonal communication

• communication with the self

• feedback is constant

what type of comm. is intrapersonal communication?

one to self

interpersonal communication

• the intentional or accidental transmission of info. through verbal or nonverbal message systems to another human being

• continual when others are around b/c we constantly send out messages

• provides many opportunities for feedback

what type of comm. is interpersonal communication?

one to one

group communication

• when a network of people are communicating with each other

• our roles as senders and receives are constantly changing

are there crossovers in the four levels of communication?

yes, there are frequent crossovers.

media literacy

a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the mass media to process and interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter

what are the levels of media literacy?

• high media literacy: great deal of control

• low media literacy: can develop exaggerated impressions of societal problems, often unwilling to use their skills leading to them being underdeveloped

what are the 4 dimensions of media literacy?

• cognitive

• emotional

• aesthetic

• moral

cognitive dimension

• the ability to intellectually process the info. being communicated by the media

• includes the skills needed to access the media

emotional dimension

the feelings created by media messages

aesthetic dimension

interpreting media content from an artistic or critical POV, understanding more than the surface dimensions can require extensive learning

moral dimension

examining the values of the medium or the message

mass media

the technological tools used to transmit the messages of mass communication

transmission model

• largely one-directional flow of messages from the sender to the receiver

• ignores how senders and receivers are constantly changing

sender

the source of messages that go out through mass communication

message

the content being transmitted by the sender and reacted to by the receiver

what must happen with the message before it is transmitted?

it must be encoded

2 steps of encoding

1. the sender’s ideas must be turned into a message

2. the message must be prepared for transmission

channel

the medium used to transmit the message

receiver

the audience for the mass communication message

decoding

process of translating a signal from a mass media into a form the receiver can understand

what factor can interfere with message delivery?

noise

semantic noise

receiver doesn’t understand the meaning of the message

mechanical noise

when the channel has trouble transmitting the message

meaning

receiver who ultimately assigns the meaning to the message

transmission model is also known as

sender message channel receiver (SMCR)

ritual model

• puts audience members at the center of the equation

• looks at how and why receivers consume media messages

publicity model

the fact that a topic is covered by the media can make the topic important, regardless what is said about it

reception model

how receivers derive and create meaning out of media content

where did the media world start?

middle ages Roman Catholic church

gutenberg’s printing press

made it possible for major social changes

7 secrets about the media

1. the media are essential components of our lives

2. no mainstream media

3. everything from the margin moves to the center

4. nothing is new; everything that has happened will happen again

5. all media are social

6. online media are mobile media

7. there is no “they”

true or false:

group communication involves an unequal number of senders and receivers

true

what level of communication is described as communication between one and another?

interpersonal communication

true or false:

mass communication and mass media are the same thing

false

what was the world’s first major communication network?

the Roman Catholic Church

Which dimension of media literacy describes the value a media message is attempting to send?

• emotional

• aesthetic

• moral

• cognitive

moral

What term describes people’s understanding of, role in, and reaction to media?

• mass media

• mass communication

• media literacy

• media habits

media literacy

Which communication model draws attention to a specific person, event, action, or intention, which may cause changes to how something is portrayed in the future?

• ritual model

• reception model

• transmission model

• publicity model

publicity model

What term describes the technological tools used to transmit the messages of mass communication?

• media relations

• mass media

• ritual

• critical theory

mass media

Which dimension of media literacy describes how a person intellectually perceives media messages?

• cognitive

• aesthetic

• moral

• emotional

cognitive

true or false:

the SMCR model is also known as the transmission model

true

Jasmine has a face-to-face conversation with Christina. What type of communication does this represent?

interpersonal communication

true or false:

Young people streaming their video game play on Twitch can have substantially larger audiences than programming on major cable television networks.

true

Secret 7 tells us there is no “they.” Who do we perceive “they” to be?

• corporations

• no one

• mass media

• a nonspecific other we want to blame

a nonspecific other we want to blame

Brody is disappointed with the cinematography of the program he is watching about the Great Smoky Mountains. Which dimension is he experiencing about the way the mountains are portrayed?

• aesthetic

• emotional

• moral

• cognitive

aesthetic

An audience member’s skills at decoding the artistic success of a new novel involve the ______ dimension of media literacy.

• aesthetic

• moral

• emotional

• cognitive

aesthetic