Media Use, Communication Models, and Research Methods in Media Studies

hopes and concerns of media use

1. easy information access/information overload

2. citizen journalism/fake news

3. connectedness/alienation

interpersonal communication

2+ people in the same space interacting with each other

mediated communication

using communication technology to communicate (phone, emails, letters)

mass communication

spread of information from one source to a large number of people

schramm's model of communication

circular model, with a source, message, and destination

includes decoder, interpreter, and encoder, as well as feedback

noninteractive communication

involved parties do not create shared meaning and exchanged messages are unrelated

reactive communication

not an in-depth exchange, respond meaningfully to one prior communication

interactive communication

people engaged in the communication respond to prior messages and create an in-depth exchange

laswell model of communication

who (communicator) says what (message) in what channel (channel) to whom (receiver) with what effect (effect)

maletzke's four definitions of mass communication

1. communication is public and generally available to those who want access

2. communication is dispersed to a wide audience

3. communication is one-way, feedback is minimal and delayed

4. communication is indirect and there is often distance between sender and receiver

four functions of mass communication

1. surveillance of the environment (news)

2. correlation of parts of society (interpretation/opinion formation)

3. cultural transmission (norms)

4. entertainment

manifest function/content

something the media is purposefully trying to do/communicate

latent function/content

unintended consequences/message

positive effects of media

functions

negative effects of media

dysfunctions

content analysis

systematic coding of what appears in media (manifest content), cannot draw inferences about the effects

coder

person who categorizes aspects of the media into specific patterns

random sample

every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected, makes it representative and easier to generalize

unit of analysis

actual thing we are analyzing

category scheme

coding characteristics of the unit of analysis

coding reliability

rate of agreement among coders on category scheme, minimum reliability is 0.7

sample survey

questions asked to a smaller set of a larger population

descriptive data surveys

information about what something is like

cross-sectional survey

taken from one sample at one time, can see correlation

longitudinal study

surveys multiple times over time

trend study

surveys people with the same characteristics at multiple points in time (ex: freshman)

cohort study

surveys a group over time (ex: generational group)

panel study

surveys the same sample of individuals multiple times

determining causal relationships

1. empirically related (correlated)

2. time-order

3. elimination of third variables

positive correlation

one variable increases, so does the other

negative correlation

one variable increases, the other decreases

random assignment

sorting of experimental units into treatment groups randomly; minimizes the effect personal characteristics could have on results

pre-test, post-test design

measures a variable before and after a treatment

pre-test, post-test, control design

measures a variable before and after a treatment, as well as in a control group that receives no treatment

convergence

different methods of experimentation lead to the same general conclusion

epidemiological approach

observational science, used when experimentation is unethical due to risk of harm

meta-analysis

relies on studies already conducted to create a new summary of data

cognitive effects

what someone thinks about something

affective effects

what someone feels about something

behavioral effects

how often someone does something

content dependent effects

specific types of media have specific effects seen in a pattern

content irrelevant effects

media exposure, regardless of content, affects people

micro effects

on an individual

macro effects

effects on society

steps of the scientific method

1. observe the world around you

2. formulate questions

3. generate a testable hypothesis

4. run study to test hypothesis and analyze data

5. report findings, revise hypothesis, generate new questions

theory

systematic set of explanations/predictions

Hypothesis

specific, testable proposal

moderator

a variable that changes the relationship (strengthens, direction) between the independent and dependent variable

mediator

third variable that explains how or why the independent variable affects a dependent variable (bridge between the two)

cultivation

independent contributions that media has on worldview

heavy television viewers...

experience greater effects from media on how they perceive the world

tv representation and violence

TV coverage emphasizes violence, which makes people perceive the world as more violent than it is

cultivation theory

long term, repeated exposure to media has impacts on how we see the world as we "cultivate" beliefs based on concepts we see

propositions of cultivation theory

1. television functions as socialization and people gather norms from it

2. people consume television non selectively

three steps of cultivation theory research

1. content analysis

2. content translated to surveys

3. comparison of high and low viewers

mean world syndrome

heavy tv viewers feel more fear and distrust of the world

media sociodemographic representation

white and black people are overrepresented, people between 20-35 are overrepresented, men are overrepresented

genre specific cultivation theory

with expansion of media, people choose what they consume, so research has shifted to focus on specific genres and how they influence specific life domains

criticisms of cultivation theory

difficult to know direction of relationship, difficult to predict small vs large effects, weak findings (1% of variation)

differentiated cultivation impacts

researchers differentiate channels, genres, and sequential effects of media cultivation

public opinion expression

voicing an opinion to acquaintances/strangers

public opinion - aggregation of individual opinions

prevalence of views in the general population (majority view)

public opinion - range of expressible views

range of views people feel comfortable expressing in public

public opinion - media/elite opinion

projection of what political and media elites believe

fear of isolation

people are afraid of being marginalized from a group, so they resist sharing opinions they believe are unpopular

detrimental effects of spiral of silence

minority gets quieter and quieter, impairs public discourse, extremist views dominate

quasi-statistical sense

individuals monitor their social environments (to see what opinions are expressed)

influenced by interest in issue and likelihood of expressing an opinion

spiral of silence

people who believe their views are the minority are less likely to express them, so less and less people do, leads to an exaggeration of the majority opinion

dual climate of opinion

when most individuals in society hold a view of an issue, but also believe that most people oppose this view

reference group

group of close people (friends, family) that people gauge the prevalence of an opinion on

hard core group

traditional group that maintains a view even if the general public has shifted away from it

avant garde group

a group that takes on a new opinion even if it counters the majority group

public opinion in the internet era

conflicting literature on whether ease of access helps or hinders discussion

heuristic processing model of cultivation

people base their estimates of the prevalence of something on how easily they can remember instances of it

heuristic processing and crime

heavy tv viewers are more able to recall instances of violence as it is often shown on tv

heuristic processing and the source

when people are reminded that tv is the source of their information, they discount it and no longer show cultivation effects

priming effects

immediate effects of media on people's behavior and judgements after encountering a concept

network model of memory

the human brain has a framework of nodes that are connected and activated when a similar node is activated after viewing a concept

priming and circumstance

circumstances influence whether or not priming will have actual effects

priming vs cultivation effects

priming uses nodes and has immediate effects, cultivation uses heuristics and is long lasting

priming effect duration

usually 15-20 minutes

dose-response model of priming

priming stimuli must exceed a certain threshold before having an impact - increased frequency, intensity, and recency of exposure all increase impacts

media content becomes chronically accessible...

when it is frequently encountered, becomes highly accessible and turns into cultivation effects

exemplification theory

comprehension and retrieval of concrete events is easier than for abstract statistical information

exemplar

concrete occurrences of phenomena that are observed

exemplar vs base-rate information

exemplars are more likely to be remembered than base-rate (statistical) information

gibson and zillman study

exemplars of consequences of carjackings overrode base-rate information when participants had access to both

exemplification theory and cultivation theory

tv programming is an exemplar, which increases impacts of cultivation theory on media impacting behavior

uses and gratifications approach

what do people do with the media? what motivates media use?

uses and gratifications approach... people are...

active users of media and are aware of their needs

mcquail uses for media

1. seek information

2. identify with characters

3. entertainment

4. support social interaction

5. escape from daily stress

criticisms of uses and gratifications theory

atheoretical and not falsifiable (too vague), issues with accuracy and social desirability from self reports

self socialization

how we use media to help us learn how to interact, acquire cultural values, and manage emotions

media practice model

people's sense of who they are influences which media they choose (selection), how they experience it (interaction), and how they incorporate it or resist it in their lives (application)

downward reinforcing spiral

self-feeding cycle where negative behaviors and thoughts feed into each other

virtuous reinforcing spiral

self-sustaining positive feedback loop where beneficial actions reinforce the next

closed approach to reinforcing spirals

1. voice suspicion of outside groups

2. promote niche group-aligned media

3. increase focus on in-group networks

SESAM model

our working self (state of mind) leads us to have specific motivations and selections of media (selective exposure) which influences our working self and behaviors

stereotype threat

fear of confirming negative stereotypes about an in-group, hurts performance

stereotype lift

engaging in downward comparisons of an outgroup leads to better performance