The Convergence Model of Communication. Papers of the East-West Communication Institute, No. 18.

Expressing the need for a description of communication that is equally applicable to all the social sciences, this report develops a general model of the communication process based upon the principle of convergence as derived from basic information theory and cybernetics. It criticizes the linear, one-way models of communication that have dominated past research for failing to represent the complexity of the communication process and identifies the hidden biases of these models, especially toward individual psychology and mechanistic explanations. After discussing the advantages of a cybernetic explanation, which uses the concepts of information, feedback, networks, and purpose, the author develops a further definition of information and meaning. Finally, a paradigm of communication as a cyclical process of convergence and divergence over time is presented. (Author/MM)