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Media effects
Laswell’s Model of Mass Communication
Who Says What In Which Channel To Whom With What Effect
Effects Theories
Walter Lippmann: Public Opinion (1922)
We see the world as "pictures in our heads"
Media shape perception of things we have not experienced personally
Powerful Effects Theory
Media have immediate, direct influence
Assumes people are passive and absorb media content uncritically & unconditionally
“Hypodermic Needle” model
“Magic Bullet” model
Minimalist Effects
Paul Lazarsfeld Erie County study (1940)
Mass media had hardly any direct effect
Personal contact more important than media contact
Media effects mostly indirect
Two-step Flow model
Media affect individuals through opinion leaders
Opinion leaders are those who influence others Clergy, teachers, neighborhood
leaders, etc.
Status Conferral Media coverage can create
prominence for issues & people
Agenda Setting Maxwell McCombs & Don Shaw
Media tell people what to think about – but not what to think
Media can:
Create awareness
Establish priorities
Perpetuate issues
Intramedia effect as well
Narcoticizing dysfunction
Media do not energize people into taking action
Media lull people into passivity by overwhelming them with information
People deceive selves into believing they’re involved when they’re actually only informed
Cumulative Effects Theory Media influence is gradual over time
Effect is often powerful
Spiral of Silence (Noelle-Neumann) Vocal majority intimidates others
into silence
Focus on the audience
1940s challenge to audience passivity
Uses & Gratifications
People choose media that meet their needs & interests
Needs such as: Surveillance Diversion Socialization
Surveillance
Media provide info about what’s going on
Both news & entertainment
Diversion
Media as entertainment Stimulate Relax Release
Socialization
Mass media can help initiate people into society
And help them fit in
Demonstrate dominant behaviors and norms
“Observational learning”
Role modeling
Imitative behavior
Impact can be negative or
positive ("prosocial”)
Socialization via eavesdropping
Children learn about adult topics by seeing them depicted in media
Parasocial interaction False sense of participating in
dialogue Communication is actually one-
way
Consistency theory Individuals exercise control over
media’s effects on them People choose media & messages
consistent with their existing views & values
Selective: Exposure Perception Retention & Recall
Selective Exposure
People choose some media messages over others
People ignore messages that contradict their beliefs
Selective Perception
People tend to hear what they want or expect to hear
Selective retention & recall
People retain & recollect some media messages and not others
Bottom line:
Individuals have a large degree of control over how the mass media affect them
War of the Worlds Revisited
Why did the Orson Welles broadcast have such a powerful effect on its audience?
EarthStation1.com's Radio Sounds Showcase: The 1938 "War of the Worlds" Radio Broadcast Wavs
“Reverence” for radio as a reliable medium
Predisposition to expect bad news
Selective perception Gullibility fueled by awe of science
WWI memories – gas warfare
Failure of common sense
Determining Causality
Correlation means that 2 or more variables coexist
Causality means that one variable causes another
Beware of bad science (studies purporting causality)