Which of the following is NOT one of the six components of the communications cycle?

The correct answer is that "Feedback mechanism" is not traditionally listed as one of the six components of the communications cycle. The communications cycle typically consists of elements such as sender, receiver, message, channel, context, and encoding/decoding.

In the context of the communications cycle, the sender is the originator of the message, the receiver is the intended target of that message, and context refers to the environment or situation that surrounds the communication, influencing how messages are sent and understood. The message itself is the content being communicated, while encoding and decoding are the processes that transform thoughts into communicable forms and interpret them back into thoughts.

While feedback is undeniably a crucial aspect of effective communication, helping to ensure that the message has been understood correctly and allowing for adjustments based on the receiver's response, it does not form one of the fundamental components of the basic communication cycle as typically defined in communication theory. Thus, identifying it as outside the traditional six components is accurate.