J201Intro to mass communication

Mass society

“mass communication”processespurposes

“mass media”producerstechnologiesproducts

“mass society”effectsaudiencescultures

let’s start with a crucial example of media effects ...

• zero-effects theories

• mass society theories

• limited effects theories

• agenda-setting theories

• uses and gratifications theories

• hegemonic effects theories

• cultural construction theories

Seven types of media effects theories

• “People know that media content isn’t real”

• “Media only reflect what is already in society”

• “Other social institutions like family, school, church, and workplace have more influence than media”

• “Media have effects, but only over trends, fads, and other trivialities”

zero effects theories

a famous mass society example

a famous mass society example

1938 Halloween Eve

• “hypodermic needle” or “magic bullet”

• early 20th century: mass urban industrial society

• new media: radio, film, and magazines

• 1930s Payne Fund studies of motion pictures

• 1940s Nazi propaganda “persuasion studies”

mass society theories

a limited effects example

Albert Bandura experiments 1961-1965

• 1940s-1960s: first “communciations” researchers

• intervening variables (mediation)

• laboratory conditions (controls)

• individual differences (who you are)

• social differences (who you know)

limited effects theories

• selectivity in attention, retention, perception (attitude formation theory)

• not the whole audience, but a particular subset(audience fragmentation or segmentation)

• not “conversion” but “reinforcement” (reinforcement theory)

• not “effects” but “modeling”(social cognitive theory)

limited effects theories (continued)

audience fragmentation / segmentation for limited effects research

• demographics (who you are)

• geographics (where you are)

• psychographics (what you believe)

an agenda-setting example

• not what to think, but what to think about

• especially relevant to political elections

• staged media events (or “pseudo events”)

agenda setting theories

Linné and von Feilitzen 1972

a uses and gratifications example

uses and gratifications theories

• audience members have needs, interests, and goals

• audience members choose media to satisfy those needs, interests, and goals

• media must compete with other ways people have to satisfy their needs, interests, and goals

• method: ask people why they use the media(information, identity, integration, entertainment)

• do people have “freedom of choice”?

• what about aggregate-level effects and meanings?

• supports the status quo?

Gerbner 1982

a hegemonic effects example

• hegemony = power of dominant group accepted as both natural and legitimate by those who are dominated

• focus not on individual messages content but on ideological effect of lots of messages over time

• focus not on change but on thwarting of change

• “narcotizing dysfunction”

hegemonic effects theories

• media help to socialize us to the status quo (socialization theory)

• media power grows as society grows more complex(dependency theory)

• media use contributes to gap between rich and poor(knowledge-gap theory)

• people self-censor unpopular opinions (spiral of silence)

• the more media people consume, the more they take on the values portrayed in the media (cultivation analysis)

hegemonic effects theories (continued)

cultural construction theories

• audiences are not passive viewers making choices, but active creators of meaning

• audiences create, sustain, and alter shared worldviews using the media

• media are not only wrapped up in pleasure and gratification, but power and conflict

• do audiences only choose media which supports their worldview?

so which of these theories applies to video games?