'A superior may withhold or suppress a communication which he feels may adversely affect his authority'. Find out the category of the barrier discussed above.

Personal barrier

The correct answer is option (2) : Personal barrier

Personal barriers: The personal factors of both sender and receiver may exert influence on effective communication

Fear of challenge to authority: If a superior perceives that aparticular communication may adversely affect his authority, he or she may withhold or suppress such communication.

Semantic barriers: Semantics is the branch of linguistics dealing with the meaning of words and sentences. Semantic barriers are concerned with problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or impressions.

organisational barrier :The factors related to organisation structure, authority relationships, rules and regulations may, sometimes, act as barriers to effective communication

Psychological barriers: Emotional or pyschological factors acts as barriers to communicators. For example, a worried person cannot communicate properly and an angry receiver cannot understand the real meaning of message