The four-sides model (also known as communication square or four-ears model) is a communication model postulated in 1981 by German psychologist Friedemann Schulz von Thun. According to this model every message has four facets though not the same emphasis might be put on each. The four sides of the message are fact, self-disclosure, social relationship between sender and receiver, and wish or want. [1]
The four-sides model also known as communication square or four-ears model is a communication model described in 1981 by German psychologist Friedemann Schulz von Thun. [2] [3] It describes the multi-layered structure of human utterances. In it von Thun combined the idea of a postulate (the second axiom) from psychologist Paul Watzlawick, that every message contains content and relational facets, [4] with the three sides of the Organon model by Karl Bühler, that every message might reveal something about the sender, the receiver, and the request at hand. [5] These models are part of the linguistic speech act theory.
Per Schulz von Thun
Every layer of a message can be misunderstood by itself. The classic example of Schulz von Thun is the front-seat passenger who tells the driver: "Hey, the traffic lights are green". The driver will understand something different, depending on the ear with which he will hear, and will react differently. (On the matter layer he will understand the "fact" "the traffic lights are green", he could also understand it as "Come on, drive! ."-"command", or on the "relationship" could hear a help like "I want to help you, or if he hears behind it: I am in a hurry the passenger reveals part of himself "self-revelatory".") The emphasis on the four layers can be meant differently and also be understood differently. So the sender can stress the appeal of the statement and the receiver can mainly receive the relationship part of the message. This is one of the main reasons for misunderstandings. [2]
The factual level contains what the sender wants to inform about: On the factual level the sender of the news gives data, facts and information statements. [3] It is the sender's task to send this information clearly and understandably. The receiver proves with the "Factual ear", whether the matter message fulfills the criteria of truth (true/untrue) or relevance (relevant/irrelevant) and the completeness (satisfying/something has to be added). In a well-coordinated team, this usually runs smoothly. [2]
The self revealing level contains what the sender would like to reveal about themselves; It contains information about the sender. [3] It may consist of consciously intended self-expression as well as unintended self-disclosure, which is not conscious to the sender (see also Johari window). Thus, every message becomes information about the personality of the sender. The self-revealing ear of the receiver perceives which information about the sender is hidden in the message. [2]
The relationship layer expresses how the sender gets along with the receiver and what the sender thinks and feels about the receiver. [3] Depending on how the sender talks to the receiver (way of expression, body language, intonation ...) the sender expresses esteem, respect, friendliness, disinterest, contempt or something else. the sender may express what he thinks about the receiver (you-statement) and how they get along (we-statement). Depending on which message the receiver hears with relationship ear, he feels either depressed, accepted or patronized. Good communication is distinguished by mutual appreciation. [2]
The appeal or want contains what the sender wants the receiver to do or think. [3] According to von Thun whoever states something, will also affect something. This appeal-message should make the receiver do something or leave something undone. The attempt to influence someone can be less or more open (advice) or hidden (manipulation). With the "appeal ear" the receiver asks himself: "What should I do, think or feel now?" For Example: "Mothers are very appeal-influenced by children. Mum! The shoes .... Yes! I'll be right there to put them on for you." [2]
Two people are eating a home-cooked meal together.
The one who didn't cook says: "There is something green in the soup."
| Factual level: | There is something green. |
| Self-revealing layer: | I don't know what it is. |
| Relationship layer: | You should know what it is. |
| Appeal layer: | Tell me what it is! |
| Factual level: | There is something green. |
| Self-revealing layer: | You do not know what the green item is, and that makes you feel uncomfortable. |
| Relationship layer: | You think my cooking is questionable. |
| Appeal layer: | I should only cook what you know in the future! |
The other answers: "If you don't like the taste, you can cook it yourself."
Roman Osipovich Jakobson was a Russian and naturalised American linguist and literary theorist.
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Marketing communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to their desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.
Paul Watzlawick was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields of family therapy and general psychotherapy. Watzlawick believed that people create their own suffering in the very act of trying to fix their emotional problems. He was one of the most influential figures at the Mental Research Institute and lived and worked in Palo Alto, California.
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Friedemann Schulz von Thun is a German psychologist and expert in interpersonal communication and intrapersonal communication. Schulz von Thun worked as a professor of psychology at the University of Hamburg until his retirement on 30 Sep. 2009. Among his various publications is a three-part book series titled "Miteinander Reden" which has become a standard textbook series in Germany and is widely taught in schools, universities, and vocational skills training. Schulz von Thun developed a number of comprehensive theoretical models to help people understand the determinants and processes of inter-personal exchange and their embeddedness in the individual inner states and the outward situation. He invented the four sides model and developed the inner team model and a visualization of the value square.
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Social information processing theory, also known as SIP, is a psychological and sociological theory originally developed by Salancik and Pfeffer in 1978. This theory explores how individuals make decisions and form attitudes in a social context, often focusing on the workplace. It suggests that people rely heavily on the social information available to them in their environments, including input from colleagues and peers, to shape their attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions.
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In interpersonal communication, an I-message or I-statement is an assertion about the feelings, beliefs, values, etc. of the person speaking, generally expressed as a sentence beginning with the word I, and is contrasted with a "you-message" or "you-statement", which often begins with the word you and focuses on the person spoken to. Thomas Gordon coined the term "I message" in the 1960s while doing play therapy with children. He added the concept to his book for parents, P.E.T.: Parent Effectiveness Training (1970). Not every message that begins with the word I is an I-message; some are statements about the speaker's perceptions, observations, assumptions, or criticisms.
Roman Jakobson defined six functions of language, according to which an effective act of verbal communication can be described. Each of the functions has an associated factor. For this work, Jakobson was influenced by Karl Bühler's organon model, to which he added the poetic, phatic and metalingual functions.
The organon model is a model of communication by German psychologist and linguist Karl Ludwig Bühler. It was published in German in 1934. and not translated into English until 1990. In it he defined the functions of communication according to which linguistic communication can be described. Bühler's work influenced the communication model of Roman Jakobson.
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