Encoding and Decoding Part Two! :)

There are a few different types of Decoding.

Sometimes the sender crafts the message well enough that the receiver perceives it exactly the way it was meant to be understood. This is known as Preferred of Dominant reading. With the cosmetic ad example, this would be if the viewer of the ad understands all the messages the ad was created to express. This can most easily occur with written or spoken literal messages. Those leave less room for different interpretations.

Oppositional reading happens when the receiver understands what the message is supposed to be, but has a reason to disagree with it. This would be a person who sees the cosmetic ad and understands the implications of beauty and happiness and love, but perhaps disagrees that the lipstick would cause that. It could also be a male who views the ad, and finds the makeup to be unattractive and disagrees with the man in the commercial who finds it so attractive.

The last type is Negotiated Reading. Negotiated Reading occurs when the message is understood as it was presented, but the viewer reserves the right to disagree slightly. This is in between Oppositional reading and Dominant reading.

Dominant = understands and accepts message as intended by the Sender
Negotiated = understands and somewhat accepts message
Oppositional = understands the message, but doesn't accept it as presented

Occasionally the intent of the message is lost entirely on the audience. This is usually because of some sort of difference in understanding such as culture, gender or age.