Unit 1: Communication—Mass and Other Forms (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on mass communication, historical writing, and communication models.

Quipu

Knotted colored cords used by Andean cultures to record complex information; portable but limited for storage and transfer of data.

Cylinder seal

A small seal rolled onto clay; seal impressions identify the authority behind the writing, functioning like a signature.

Mass communication

Sharing ideas with a large audience; media saturate daily life and influence emotions, beliefs, and realities.

Mass medium

A single channel or form used to reach a large audience (e.g., television).

Mass media

All channels or means of communication that reach a large audience (newspapers, magazines, books, films, TV, radio, internet, etc.).

Gesture pictures (Ku-wan)

Early primeval Chinese representations that preceded pictographs.

Chauvet cave paintings

30,000-year-old cave art in France depicting dominant animals like lions and mammoths.

Tokens (clay tokens)

Small clay shapes representing goods (sheep, grain, oil) used for recording and exchanging resources; precursors to writing.

Hammurabi’s Code

Famous Mesopotamian legal code carved on stelae and displayed in temples.

Hieroglyphics

Sacred pictorial writing used in ancient Egypt, often for royal or religious inscriptions.

Hieratic

A simplified ancient Egyptian writing system used for religious texts.

Demotic

Daily-use Egyptian script combining pictures and phonetic elements.

Phonetic alphabets

A system where symbols represent spoken sounds, enabling readable writing from speech.

NATO phonetic alphabet

A radiotelephony spelling alphabet used by NATO; words stand for letters, not exact sounds.

Shannon–Weaver model

Foundational communication model (1949) with source, encoder, channel, decoder, receiver, and feedback; includes channel and semantic noise.

Channel noise

Technical or physical interference that distorts the transmitted message.

Semantic noise

Interference caused by language, interpretation, or multiple meanings of terms.

Feedback

Responses from the receiver back to the sender; can be verbal, visual, or tactile and helps reduce miscommunication.

Interpersonal communication

Direct exchange of meaning between individuals using language, gestures, and symbols; includes feedback.

Gatekeeper

Individual or entity (often journalists) who controls the flow of information to the public by selecting what is shared.

Schramm’s model of communication

1954 circular two-way model with encoding, decoding, and feedback; emphasizes shared understanding and potential noise.

Westley–MacLean model

1957 model where a source passes information through a communicator to an audience; gatekeepers influence what is conveyed; subject to noise.

Sender/Source

Originator of the message who has an idea to convey.

Receiver/Audience

Person or group for whom the message is intended and who decodes it.

Message

The symbols (words, drawings, gestures) conveying the sender’s idea.

Uses of information

Ways people use mass communication to fulfill needs: surveillance, decision making, social/cultural interaction, diversion, and self-understanding.

Surveillance

Monitoring the environment through information gathering.

Everyday surveillance

Frequent, routine monitoring (e.g., sports scores, stock prices).

Extraordinary surveillance

Monitoring major events (e.g., war, natural disasters).

Decision making

Using information to choose among options; a purposeful information-use activity.

Social and cultural interaction

Using information to define group membership and maintain group identity.

Diversion

Using information for entertainment and enjoyment.

Self-understanding

Using information to gain insight into oneself.