Concept
Lasswell’s formula
A way of describing an act of communication through five questions: who says what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect? Each question corresponds to a field of research.
Lasswell’s formula is a sequence of questions that Harold Lasswell proposed in 1948: Who? Says what? In which channel? To whom? With what effect? Its purpose is to organise the scientific study of communication. Each question points to a field of research: control analysis (who), content analysis (what), media analysis (channel), audience analysis (to whom) and effect analysis (effect).
In most textbooks the sequence is poured into boxes and arrows and presented as a “model”. Some authors therefore prefer “formula”, “framework” or “construct” to “model”; Sapienza and colleagues (2015) propose the name “Lasswell’s construct” and trace the first known reference to the formula back to 1940. In 1958 Braddock proposed adding two more questions: under what circumstances, for what purpose.
The objections most often raised against the formula (no feedback, no context, no noise, a passive receiver) apply, according to some authors, mostly to later presentations; the list of questions organises research and does not dictate answers. In Turkish sources the spellings “Laswell” and “Lasswel” also occur; the correct spelling is Lasswell. Details: The Lasswell and Shannon–Weaver Models.
Example
A newspaper headline: who wrote it, what did it say, in which paper did it appear, who read it, and what did they do after reading it? Five questions, five separate research headings.