<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!

--[endif]-->Westley and MacLean’s Conceptual Model,

1957
<!--[if !supportLists]-->a. <!--[endif]-->Background
<!--[if !supportLists]-->i. <!--[endif]-->Westley and MacLean realized that
communication does not begin when one person starts to talk, but rather
when a person responds selectively to his immediate physical
surroundings.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->ii. <!--[endif]-->Each interactant responds to his
sensory experience (X1 . . . ) by abstracting out certain objects of
orientation (X1 . . . 3m). Some items are selected for further interpretation
or coding (X’) and then are transmitted to another person, who may or may
not be responding to the same objects of orientation (X,b),

A conceptual model of communication.

(Reprinted with permission from
Westley and MacLean, Jr., 1957.)
(a) Objects of orientation (X 1 ... X) in
the sensory field of the receiver (B) are
 transmitted directly to him in abstracted
form (XZ ... X 3) after a process of
selection from among all Xs, such
selection being based at least in part on
the needs and problems of B. Some or
all messages are transmitted in more
than one sense (X3m, for example).

(b) The same Xs are selected and

abstracted by communicator A and
transmitted as a message (x') to B, who
may or may not have part or all of the
Xs in his own sensory field (X1b).
Whether on purpose or not, B transmits
feedback (fBA) to A.

(c) The Xs that B receives may result

from selected abstractions which are
transmitted without purpose by encoder
C, who acts for B and thus extends B's
environment. C's selections are
necessarily based in part on feedback
(fBC) from B.

(d) The messages which C transmits to

B (x") represent C's selections both
from the messages he gets from A (x')
and from the abstractions in his own
sensory field (X3c, X 4), which may or
may not be in A's field. Feedback
moves not only from B to A (fBA) and
from B to C (f BC) but also from C to A
(fCA). Clearly, in mass communication,
a large number of Cs receive from a
very large number of As and transmit to
a vastly larger number of Bs, who
simultaneously receive messages from
other Cs.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->b. <!--[endif]-->Strengths

<!--[if !supportLists]-->i. <!--[endif]-->Accounts for Feedback
<!--[if !supportLists]-->ii. <!--[endif]-->Accounts for a sensory field or, in
Newcomb’s (1953) words, “objects of co-orientation.”
<!--[if !supportLists]-->iii. <!--[endif]-->Accounts for non-binary interactions
—more than just two people communicating directly.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->iv. <!--[endif]-->Accounts for different modes. E.g.
interpersonal vs. mass mediated communication.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->c. <!--[endif]-->Weaknesses
<!--[if !supportLists]-->i. <!--[endif]-->Westley and MacLean’s model
accounts for many more variables in the typical communication
interaction. It is, however, still two-dimensional. It cannot account for the
multiple dimensions of the typical communication event involving a broad
context and multiple message.
Westley & Maclean: 1955
 • This is a receiver-centered model.
• X's are signals in the environment or potential information from which an individual
selects in order to create a message.
• The model starts with what "A" interprets. Only some signals are attended to at
any given time.
• Westley and MacLean accounted for the interpersonal in Mass Media.

Model Westley dan Maclean

Menurut pakar ini, perbedaan dalam umpan balik inilah yang membedakan komunikasi antarpribadi dengan
komunikasi massa. Umpan balik dari penerima bersifat segera dalam komunikasi antarpribadi, dalam
komunikasi massa bersifat minimal atau tertunda. Sumber dalam komunikasi antar pribadi dapat langsung
memanfaatkan umpan balik dari penerima sedangkan dalam komunikasi massa sumber misalnya penceramah
agama, calon presiden yang berdebat dalam rangka kampanye politik.

Konsep pentingnya adalah Umpan balik, Perbedaan dan kemiripan komunikasi antarpribadidengan komunikasi
massa. Pesan ini juga membedakan pesan yang bertujuan dan pesan yang tidak bertujuan

The Westley-MacLean model

Bruce Westley and Malcolm MacLean, Jr. departed from previous
popular approaches in their model by suggesting that
communication does not begin with a source, but, rather, with a
series of signals or potential messages. Their model suggests
that in a given situation some of the many signals in one's
environment at any point in time were selected by an advocate
and combined to form a new message -- a news story,
advertisement, or speech, etc. If the audience had some first
hand knowledge, they might question the advocate, and their
questioning would be classified as feedback.

Events occur. Advocates (politicians) may choose to comment

upon those events. What the advocates say may be picked up on
by the channels (press, tv). The channels then move that
information on to the audience. Channels may also choose to
report directly on events. Note that the audience never interacts
directly with the events or with the advocates -- this is the nature
of mass media. Feedback is possible, from the channels to the
advocate, and from the audience to the advocates and channels.
This model accounted for both mass communication and
interpersonal communication, as well as the relationship between
the two. Also, it broadened and elaborated on the feedback
concept.