A General Theory/Model of Communication

Three Stages of Development

• Action Model

• Interaction Model

• Transactional Model

Action Model

Source Receiver

This is the simplest model of communication. It assumes that communication is a simple unidirectional event.

Interaction Model

Source/Receiver---Message---Channel---Receiver/Source

This model is more complicated and assumes that communication is like a ping pong game where the ping pong ball is the message.

Transactional Model

Self SelfMessage-Channel

The transactional model is the most complicated and the last stage of development for communication models. It emphasizes and ongoing, irreversible, non-repeatable process in which all the elements are constantly changing. The end result is that our notion of our self is continuously negotiated or transacted.