Comm102 Exam 1

Interpersonal communication

Communication between two or more people in the same space.

Mediated communication

Communication using technology such as phones, email, or letters.

Mass communication

The dissemination of information from one source to a large audience.

Source

The person or organization generating a message.

Message

The content being transmitted; any signal that can be received.

Destination

The person, group, or mass audience receiving a message.

Schramm's model of communication

A circular model indicating two-way communication between entities.

Noninteractive communication

Parties do not create shared meaning and messages are unrelated.

Reactive communication

A person responds meaningfully to prior communication without in-depth interaction.

Interactive communication

People respond to prior messages to create an in-depth exchange.

Laswell model of communication

Who says what, in what channel, to whom, with what effect?

Schramm mass communication model

Many identical messages sent by a source primarily moving one way.

Maletzke's four characteristics

Public, dispersed, one-way, and indirect.

Public mass communication

Communication generally available to people who want access.

Dispersed mass communication

Communication spread to a wide audience.

One-way mass communication

Communication in which feedback is minimal and delayed.

Indirect mass communication

Communication sent through technology, creating distance in space and time.

Surveillance of the environment

A mass communication function involving offering news about the world.

Correlation of parts of society

A function involving interpreting events and contributing to opinion formation.

Cultural transmission

A function involving the transmission of social norms and values.

Entertainment function

Media function involving relaxation, stress management, or activities.

Manifest function

A purpose media is intentionally trying to accomplish, like informing.

Latent function

An unintended consequence of media use, such as generating stereotypes.

Media functions

Positive effects and functions that media can have on society.

Media dysfunctions

Negative effects that media can have on society.

Tension: information access vs. overload

Easy access exists, but massive info makes focusing on importance difficult.

Tension: citizen journalism vs. fake news

Voices are amplified, but reduced gatekeeping spreads disinformation.

Tension: connectedness vs. alienation

Media helps find peers but can also contribute to bullying and isolation.

Content analysis

A research method used to systematically analyze media content.

Cognitive effect

A media effect involving thoughts, knowledge, beliefs, or perceptions.

Affective effect

A media effect involving emotions or feelings.

Behavioral effect

A media effect involving behavior or actions.

Content-dependent effect

An effect that depends on the specific media content encountered.

Content-irrelevant effect

An effect that occurs regardless of the specific media content.

Intended effect

A media effect that is deliberately sought or expected.

Unintended effect

A media effect that was not intended or expected.

Micro effect

A media effect occurring at an individual or small-scale level.

Macro effect

A media effect occurring at a broader societal or large-scale level.

Short-term effect

A media effect that occurs over a relatively short period.

Long-term effect

A media effect that persists over a longer period.

Scientific method steps (1-5)

Develop or identify a research question or problem.

Theory

A broader explanation that organizes observations and helps generate predictions.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction derived from a theory.

Moderator

A variable that changes the strength or direction of the relationship between two variables.

Mediator

A variable that helps explain the process or mechanism through which one variable affects another.

First-hand experience

Lived understanding of an idea based on direct experience.

Second-hand experience

Knowledge shaped by information encountered through media or other indirect sources.

Mediated message

A message transmitted through a medium that can provide information shaping beliefs and behaviors.

Cultivation theory

The theory that television viewing makes an independent contribution to people's conceptions of social reality.

Cultivation

An independent contribution that television viewing makes to people's conception of social reality.

Mean world syndrome

A set of beliefs reflecting generalized fear and distrust associated with heavy television viewing.

Cultivation proposition: shared socialization

Television functions as a primary shared source of socialization and information.

Uses and Gratifications Approach

A perspective focusing on how people actively use media to satisfy specific needs.

Primary question of Uses and Gratifications

What do people do with media?

Uses and Gratifications view of media users

Users are active rather than passive.

Awareness in Uses and Gratifications

Individuals are assumed to be aware of their needs and the gratifications they seek.

Media as one way of meeting needs

Media is one of many ways people can address their needs; nonmediated activities can fulfill the same goals.

McQuail uses (5)

Information/education

identification

entertainment

social

escape

Uses and Gratifications criticism (2)

atheoretical, self-report

Introspection problem in Uses and Gratifications

People may not be consciously aware of or reflect on their motivations for routine media use.

Self-socialization

The process through which mediated communication contributes to learning social roles and shaping identity.

Sources of socialization

Media, school, family, peers, community, and cultural belief systems.

Media Practice Model

A model suggesting identity influences media selection, interaction, and application of messages.

Self-socialization and media

People may selectively choose media portraying roles and values they aspire to.

Downward spiral

A reinforcing spiral involving increases in risky or negative behaviors like aggression or drug use.

Virtuous cycle

A positive reinforcing spiral where media use increases interest and leads to positive behaviors.

Strategies for resisting outside influences

Voicing suspicion, promoting group-aligned niche media, and focusing on ingroup networks.

Stereotype threat

A state of stress and worry about confirming a negative stereotype held about one's group.

Stereotype lift

When non-members of a stereotyped group perform better after exposure to negative outgroup stereotypes.

Public opinion: aggregation of individual opinions

The prevalence of views among the general population or electorate.

Public opinion: range of expressible views

The opinions people are comfortable expressing publicly when interacting with others.

Spiral of Silence

A theory conceptualizing public opinion as the range of views people are willing to express publicly.

Spiral of Silence: fear of isolation

People fear isolation and avoid expressing opinions perceived as uncommon.

Quasi-statistical sense

The informal monitoring people use to estimate prevalent opinions in their social environment.

Dual climate of opinion

When actual majority opinion differs from people's perceptions of which opinion is gaining support.

Reference group

A person's specific social context or group influencing willingness to speak out.

Hard core group

A group maintaining a minority view even as alternative views gain supporters.

Avant-garde group

A group taking a new, currently unpopular position and advocating for it.

Public opinion expression

Expressing an opinion not just to close others like family, but toward acquaintances or strangers.

Media and elite opinion

The opinions produced or expressed by elites such as politicians, journalists, and pollsters.

Effect of opinion suppression

Public discourse becomes impaired and may fail to produce beneficial decisions based on rational grounds.

Internet-age convergence

Mass communication and interpersonal social environments increasingly converge online.

Spiraling dynamics

Silent opinions appear less prevalent, causing more people with the same view to remain silent.

Key dependent variable of Spiral of Silence

The degree to which individuals express their opinions publicly.

Avant-garde and public opinion

Avant-gardes challenge current opinion climates and help new opinions gain support.

Public opinion online

The relevant public opinion arena may be a specific forum, such as a subreddit.

Online vs. offline opinion expression

People are not generally more or less likely to express opinions online versus offline.

Online exposure to opposing views

The internet makes it easier both to avoid opposing views and to encounter them.

Lee et al. finding on diverse online opinions

Encountering diverse people and opinions online did not necessarily produce more moderate opinions.

Counterarguing

Responding to opposing information by generating arguments against it rather than changing views.

Selective processing

Processing information in ways that protect or reinforce existing opinions.

Diverse viewpoints and ambivalence

Encountering divergent viewpoints online can make political attitudes more ambivalent.

Diverse viewpoints and participation

Increased ambivalence can hamper political participation and deliberation.

Online opinion expression and reinforcement

Expressing one's own opinions online can reinforce existing opinions.

Role of negative response likelihood

Willingness to express opinions online depends on the likelihood of potentially negative responses.

Diverse online viewpoints and ambivalence

Encountering divergent viewpoints online can make political attitudes more ambivalent.

Diverse online viewpoints and participation

Increased ambivalence can hamper political participation and deliberation.

Intensity of quasi-statistical monitoring

Influenced by issue interest and anticipation of having to express an opinion.

Minority opinion suppression

People suppress unpopular views rather than risk social isolation.

Empirically related

Two variables demonstrate a relationship based on observed data.