Lasswell's model of communication

Lasswell's model of communication is one of the first and most influential models of communication. It was initially published by Harold Lasswell in 1948 and analyzes communication in terms of five basic questions: "Who?", "Says What?", "In What Channel?", "To Whom?", and "With What Effect?". These questions pick out the five fundamental components of the communicative process: the sender, the message, the channel, the receiver, and the effect. Some theorists have raised doubts that the widely used characterization as a model of communication is correct and refer to it instead as "Lasswell's formula", "Lasswell's definition", or "Lasswell's construct". In the beginning, it was conceived specifically for the analysis of mass communication like radio, television, and newspapers. However, it has been applied to various other fields and many theorists understand it as a general model of communication.

Lasswell's model is still being used today and has influenced many subsequent communication theorists. Some of them expanded the model through additional questions like "Under What Circumstances?" and "For What Purpose?". Others used it as a starting point for the development of their own models.

Lasswell's model is often criticized for its simplicity. A common objection is that it does not explicitly discuss a feedback loop or the influence of context on the communicative process. Another criticism is that it does not take the effects of noise into account. However, not everyone agrees with these objections and it has been suggested that they apply mainly to how Lasswell's model was presented and interpreted by other theorists and not to Lasswell's original formulation.