Message Processing: The Science of Creating Understanding

Reviewed by Lillian Ruiz, Professor of English, Greenfield Community College on 6/22/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Six chapters seems a bit short for the subject.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book is accurate, albeit dry

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text would be more relevant with more interactive media (audio/visual/etc)

Clarity rating: 4

The book is clearly laid out, but some of the concepts are complex

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent in its approach

Modularity rating: 4

The book is laid out in comprehensible chapters

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is well organized

Interface rating: 4

The text does not include enough visuals - it is overly reliant on text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

More relevant/culturally sensitive examples are needed

All in all a decent, but dry, text.

Reviewed by Christine Hanlon, Senior Lecturer, University of Central Florida on 6/18/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Gasiorek’s “Message Processing: The Science of Creating Understanding” text is effectively narrow in its focus and intention. Although BC Campus review criteria indicates that texts should include “an effective index and/or glossary,” it seems unnecessary to include an index or glossary because that information can be found via a quick “Ctrl+F” search of the document. Key concepts are italicized throughout the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Although I did not line edit the text, it is accurate, error-free, and un-biased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text contains references to support some chapters more effectively than others. For example, the first chapter relies heavily on readings from Berger, Roloff, and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2010). Although chapter two is well cited with effective sources to support the information, the most recent citation is from 2017 (and that source is an encyclopedia). Chapter three does not have any references cited at all, and chapter four has a single source cited (an important foundational source from 1949). Chapter five is well cited, with the most recent sources from 2016. The final chapter has two citations noted in the reference section. Overall, the text can be improved by integrating more sources to support the ideas that are represented in each chapter. For OERs, there is a higher expectation for the inclusion of more recent references.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in an informative, yet conversational manner that is manageable for undergraduates. Examples from popular culture are current and relevant.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is based on foundational information in the communication field.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is organized, italics are used to highlight important concepts, and images are integrated to clarify ideas. The integration of models is particularly effective; however, the flow of the images could be improved so similar images are placed in closer proximity to ideas in the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a way that makes sense; however, starting with the foundational concepts (particularly the history of communication models) may be easier for undergraduates to comprehend. The foundational concepts are currently positioned as chapter two.

Interface rating: 3

The text is easy to navigate and integrates effective images and models to help undergraduates understand complex concepts. One issue is that the OER website has two different versions of the text available (which may cause confusion if students and faculty members are not using the same version). More specifically, at the time of this review, the downloadable PDF of the text was a different version than the one that was posted via the webpages on the OER’s website

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Although I did not line edit Gasiorek’s “Message Processing: The Science of Creating Understanding,” it appears to be written in a manner that is free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There were some missed opportunities to include additional cultural examples and/or misunderstandings; however, the content was inclusive and accurate in terms of the content that was provided.

Overall, this is an effective book to provide students with foundational information about message processing.

Reviewed by Eric James, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 5/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

It's always up the author to decide the most salient points I suppose and we are primed by our own epistemological stances, but I do wish more theories were introduced. Still, the most essential communication theories and frameworks are included.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Wonderfully accurate with proper APA citations and solid material. Excellent synthesis of material to lead most undergraduates to see themes in cited research.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up to date and proper foundational concepts are included.

Clarity rating: 4

The book may be challenging for undergraduates, especially with the limited graphics/tables/ etc. However, the author has a warm tone that helps clarify concepts and frequently puts other research into her own words and provides a different perspective for students to think about.

Consistency rating: 5

I found the online version more accessible than the downloaded pdf - it read much easier rather than the wall of text on the PDF.

Modularity rating: 3

I have an issue with the way the concepts are divided up and some of the chapters are quite long. I would have preferred more chapters that are shorter for the modality but professors can still find ways to piece readings together.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The traditional models of communication should be presented much earlier (not in chapter 5) but other than that, the flow works well.

Interface rating: 5

I am rating the HTML version which is quite organized, but I would have to give the downloaded copy a 3 as it looks simply like a wall of text with limited formatting.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Generally well-written.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is certainly not culturally insensitive.

I appreciate the work on Communication Theory as there are not currently a lot of open access resources out there for this topic. I think that we can expand on some of these topics but this text can be a nice supplemental resource to a Communication Theory course.

Reviewed by Jonathan Anderegg, Assistant Professor, George Fox University on 12/5/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text offers a strong introduction in understanding the psychological foundations of communication. While some of the definitions are a little dense for the typical undergraduate, the strength of the text is that it offers a clear comparison of competing understandings of how humans generate meaning together and advocates a new model that reveals some deep insight into how we understand each other. I found this text to be a great way to begin a course in persuasive communication, especially in understanding meme states.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Information is presented in an accurate way that is direct and clear.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Because of the nature of the field and newer tools in opening the black box of human cognition, I think the content might have to be updated pretty significantly over the next few years, but it's a useful tool to have in the near future.

Clarity rating: 4

The book can be a bit dense at times, but the underlying concepts are valuable. The examples used are quite helpful and there is enough context provided to understand the scientific terminology used.

Consistency rating: 3

I am still a bit baffled by the chapter structure. I suppose there's a purpose to the structure, but I'm still left thinking that the true strength of this book lies in the foundational concepts and the ideas found in the first three chapters. The second half of the book feels a bit repetitive and the comparison between traditional models of human communication and inferential models in chapters five and six feel somewhat unnecessary and tacked on last-minute to add to the textbook's relevance in a broader number of communication theory courses.

Modularity rating: 4

I believe that the true strength of this text lies in the first three chapters, but these chapters are nicely broken down into subpoints that are easy to follow and direct students to important takeaway points.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Same comment as in the consistency section - the organization is a bit confusing where I think there's more application that could be developed with the basic principles discussed in the first three chapters. The comparison of communication models at the end of the text feels out of place and unnecessary.

Interface rating: 5

Easily navigable and clear to follow. The book is relatively short, so there is little fear in losing one's place.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

There are a few grammar errors here and there, but nothing that would detract from it's inherent readability.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I didn't notice anything that raises concerns.

It's a fine book that offers a strong perspective on the underlying processes of communication. The first few chapters are a useful addition to any course in persuasion or the psychology of communication.

Reviewed by Devika Banerji, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 5/24/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book is a good and very modern and contemporary understanding of the discipline of communication and the processes by which communication happens. This book is an introductory book and goes into quite some depth about explaining differences between traditional and inferential models of communication. However, the book does not go too much in depth about different theories of message processing and stops at discussing basic foundational concepts. Useful for students but depending on the course needs to be supplemented by additional materials.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is one of the strengths of this book. It does a good job of explaining and furthering a complex and nuanced understanding of communication and message processing. It breaks away from relying on traditional and outdated models and explicitly alters the paradigm by explaining newer models and understanding human-centered message processing. The content is accurate and simple without being simplistic.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book is relevant and up to date and takes a progressive approach to defining communication and message processing.

Clarity rating: 5

Clarity and lucidness is one of the strengths of this book. The book has great flow and structure.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent and relevant in its use of terminology and framework. It draws heavily from the communication discipline and adds to it.

Modularity rating: 5

The book chapters are adequate in their length and are easily and conveniently structured.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Organization and structure are really strong in this book. The book is organized to increasingly build on concepts. The concepts are elaborated and explained with consistency, precision and structure.

Interface rating: 5

The interface of the book works well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Could not locate any major grammar errors. The grammar quality of the book is strong.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book uses culturally neutral language and is not insensitive or offensive in any way.

A good book to introduce undergraduate students to a slightly more complex understanding of human centered communication, creation and interpretation of messages. The book will need supplemental materials to add on to the content provided for a communication course. This book can be useful to provide students an up-to date conceptual understanding of the discipline of communication and message-processing. Easy to read and helpful, this book can be an extremely useful for students in the communication major.