Ch 2: Mass Communication Effects

Agenda-setting theory

a theory of media effects that says that the media tell the public not what to think but rather what to think about; the terms of public discourse are set by what is covered in the media

Correlation

the process of selecting, evaluating, and interpreting events to give structure to the news

Critical/cultural approach

examining how meaning is created within society, who controls the media, and the roles the media play in our lives

Critical theory

a school of thought that grew out of the time period between World War I and World War II that addressed the connection between ideas and values, the context of the development of ideas, and the commodification of culture

Cultivation analysis

an approach to analyzing the effects of television viewing that argues that watching significant amounts of television alters the way an individual views the nature of the surroudning world

Demographics

the study of audience members’ gender, race, ethnic background, income, education, age, educational attainment, and the like; a method typically used to analyze potential markets for products and programs

Entertainment

media communication intended primarily to amuse the audience

Geographics

the study of where people live; a method typically used to analyze potential markets for products and programs

Mean world syndrome

the perception of many heavy television watchers of violent programs that the world is a more dangerous and violent place than facts and statistics bear out

Opinion leaders

influential community members who invest substantial amounts of time learning about their own area of expertise, such as politics

Plus-sized model

a female fashion model who wears an average or larger clothing size

Psychographics

a combination of demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and product usage; a method typically used to analyze potential markets for products and programs

Social learning theory

the process by which individuals learn by observing the behaviors of others and the consequences of those behaviors

Socialization

the process of educating young people and new members about the values, social norms, and knowledge of a group or society

Spiral of silence

the theory that people’s willingness to express their opinions on public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of whether those opinions are popular or unpopular

Status conferral

the process by which media coverage makes an individual gain prominence in the eyes of the public

Surveillance

how the media help us extend our senses to perceive more of the world surrounding us

Symbolic interactionism

the process by which individuals produce meaning through interaction based on socially agreed-upon symbols

Uses and gratifications theory

an approach to studying mass communication that looks at the reasons why audience members choose to spend time with the media in terms of the wants and needs of the audience members that are being fulfilled

User

describes contemporary media activity; both audience members and content creators

Indirect effects approach

reviews the effects that messages have on individuals

Payne Fund Studies

1929; exploratory self-reporting study on how movies influenced children and adolescents

Limited effects/minimal effects model

various arguments suggesting the media’s influence was lessened by intervening social and psychological factors

3 selectives of exposure to news

already have strong political beliefs, selective understanding (interpret media content that support already-existing perceptions), selective remembering (recall information consistent with their views)

Two-step flow of influence

media transmits information to opinion leaders, opinion leaders influence those with whom they had personal contact

Message effects

how media messages might change behaviors, attitudes, beliefs

Attitudinal effects

changes in feelings about a product, individual, idea based on media content

Behavioral effects

media content can influence buying a product, making a call, voting for a candidate

Psychological effects

media content can inspire fear, joy, revulsion, happiness, etc.

Medium effects

how the particular medium being used to transmit messages affects users

Ownership

the influence of those who own and control the media

Active audience

unique members who respond as individuals, not as undifferentiated members of a mass

Mediatization

a social change process in which media have become influential in and integrated into society

4 key elements of social media logic

programmability, popularity, connectivity, datafication

Programmability (social media logic)

ability of a platform to trigger and steer users

Popularity (social media logic)

mechanisms for quantifying and boosting the popularity of people, topics, and things

Connectivity (social media logic)

linking people to each other, connecting people to content, and advertisers to people

Datafication (social media logic)

which content users view and how long, connections people make, and content that elicits responses

Observational learning

children learn behavior from their social environment

Vicarious reinforcement

children learn the consequences of another person’s behavior

Network effect

the value fo a product or service increases the more that people use it

Theory of uniform effects

individuals in a mass society perceive messages from media in the same fashion and react to them strongly and very similarly

Cumulative effects model

emphasizes repeated exposure to media stimuli