MPPSC 2023 Prelims Paper-I · Question 47 of 100

Correct — B, Decoding. In the standard model of communication (Sender → encodes → Channel → Message → Receiver → decodes), decoding is the step where the receiver interprets the symbols, words, or signals chosen by the sender and converts them back into meaning.

• (a)Listing — Not a recognised term in the communication-process model; it plays no role in how a receiver interprets a sender's symbols.
• (c)Encoding — The reverse step — encoding is how the SENDER converts an idea into symbols/words to build the message, not how the receiver interprets it.
• (d)Listening — Refers to the receiver's act of physically receiving an auditory message; it is a channel-specific input activity, not the general process of interpreting symbols into meaning.

The communication process runs: Sender forms an idea → encodes it into symbols/words (the message) → sends it through a channel → the Receiver decodes those symbols to extract meaning → Feedback flows back to the sender, with Noise capable of distorting the message at any stage.

Encoding and decoding are mirror-image steps, so exams frequently test whether a student can tell which end of the exchange each term belongs to — decoding is always on the RECEIVER's side.

• Encoding: the sender converts an idea into symbols, words, or signals
• Decoding: the receiver interprets those symbols and extracts meaning
• Channel: the medium (verbal, written, digital, etc.) through which the message travels
• Feedback: the receiver's response that tells the sender whether the message was understood
• Noise: any interference that distorts the message during transmission

• Swapping encoding and decoding — remember decoding is always on the receiver's end
• Treating 'listening' as a synonym for 'decoding'

CSAT/MPPSC aptitude sections routinely give a one-line definition of a communication-process term (encoding, decoding, feedback, noise, channel) and ask students to name it, or ask them to sequence the stages correctly.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The process by which a sender converts an idea into words, symbols, or gestures for transmission is called:

  • (a)Decoding
  • (b)Encoding
  • (c)Feedback
  • (d)Noise

  Answer(b) Encoding — the sender's step of converting an idea into a transmittable message.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In the communication process, the receiver's response that lets the sender know whether the message was understood is called:

  • (a)Noise
  • (b)Channel
  • (c)Feedback
  • (d)Encoding

  Answer(c) Feedback — it completes the communication loop.