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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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2 perspectives on media effects
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proactive and reactive
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Hypodermic Needle Theory
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the media are all powerful and the messages are the needle, media are injecting messages and information into the mass audience- as long as you hit the intended target it will have the desired effect- concern that the media can sway the population
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modern views on media effects
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The process of media influence is a continual process, there is no single injection that is going to effect us- one single message won’t have an impact, it’s the repeated messages that have more power
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Manifest effects
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Manifest effects are those things we can easily notice. They are usually something we can clearly observe, such as change in a person’s behaviors or emotions. obvious immediate effects, rare
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Process effects
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Process effects are the influences we experience constantly from our exposure to media messages. gradual change, continual exposure- concern that the media is going to change the way people think about political issues, but media is not effective at changing peoples attitudes
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Baseline
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Baseline is our typical degree of risk that continues over time. It is where we start. It is a result of our existing knowledge, how we have been socialized, developmental and cognitive, and lifestyles
- media exposure habits can influence baseline but operating in conjunction with other factors, media can influence but its just part of whole picture |
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fluctuation factors
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content of the messages, context of portrayals, cognitive complexity of content, motivations, states, degree of identification
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third-person effect
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Most people believe that other people are at risk but think they are free from risk. This difference in perception between one’s self and others ahs been labeled the third-person effect.
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cognitive effect
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Most common- Learning information from the media. Can learn factual Information and social Information- ways to behave, speak, dress, values, role models- kids are drawn to shows with characters a few years older than them for social information
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attitudinal effect
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opinions, beliefs, values
i. Media can change existing attitudes- most obvious and least common example of attitudinal change ii. Reinforcing ones attitudes- more common than changing ones attitude-especially give our selective exposure patterns iii. Inoculation effect- media messages could inoculate us against future attitude changes- ex: PSA’s against drug use iv. Advertisements- if the media doesn’t have attitudinal effects then there is no basis for economic system- often not very effective when attitudinal changes are the goal |
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emotional effect
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- media can trigger emotions
i. Can happen in short term or long term ii. Desensitization- long term exposure to media can dampen emotional reactions |
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physiological effect
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things that influence automatic bodily systems- heart rate, perspiration levels, facial expressions
i. Often related to emotional reactions ii. Beyond conscious control |
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behavioral effect
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a. could trigger reactions
i. If you see an ad and you go out and buy a product ii. Often tied to other types of effects iii. Displacement- when time spent with other activities drops because spending more time with a particular media |
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displacement
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when time spent with other activities drops because spending more time with a particular media
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Magic Window
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stage of perception, young kids realize what they say isn’t happening in their living room but they believe it is happening somewhere and it is reality somewhere else and the TV is a magic window letting them look at characters in a different setting
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dimensions of reality
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factuality, plausibility, typicality, emotional involvement, narrative consistency, perceptual persuasiveness
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Factuality
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factually correct- did it actually happen?
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Plausibility
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could it happen, is it plausible? when you ask someone how real something is they usually answer in terms of plausibility
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reasons people give in terms of exposing themselves to media messages
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They expose themselves to the media to find messages that they cannot get in real life.
The costs of getting those messages in the media are far lower than the costs required in real life. |
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characteristics of the messages that people search for in the media
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messages must appear real
messages must present a little more than everyday reality |
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next-step reality
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The message is presented as reality to resonate with the audience’s experience and make it have the potential to be useful in everyday situations, but the message is “sweetened” by an extra added ingredient that takes it one step outside of the audience’s everyday existence.
o People want plausible stories, we look for messages that appear real at some level, but we also want that next step, looking for involvement and identification, want to lose ourselves in the story, can’t do that without emotional reality and plausibility |
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cultivation theory
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developed to try to explain the influence of TV on it’s viewers, over time heavy viewers of television will develop perceptions of the real world that more closely watch the TV world than reality- heavy viewers have their reality distorted by TV
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How do people judge the reality of media messages?
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Multidimensional- Social utility judgment and Identity judgment
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What is the most often used dimension to determine the degree of reality in a media message?
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Plausibility
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What does the "next-step reality" entail for news media?
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Journalists select what gets reported, they are not as interested in the typical events as they are in the anomalous events. The twist in the event makes it news.
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Why is the "next-step reality" fundamental to media literacy?
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As genres change and the line between reality and fantasy programming becomes even more blurred, we must avoid falling into the trap of debating which shows are real and which are fantasy.
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What is the key to being media literate in terms of mass media?
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spectrum of messages and being willing to enjoy the full range of messages. Being aware means thinking about where you are in the spectrum and knowing the different standards of appreciation to apply to different places on the spectrum of reality.
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Journalistic Values
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Entertainment, Objectivity, Informativeness, Brevity
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Characteristics of Objectivity
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Independence, Balance, Non-evaluative
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Why do news stories have to be short and brief?
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to hold the audience attention
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constraints of news stories
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deadlines, resource limitations, and geographical focus
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Agenda-setting
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Media do not tell us what to think but tell us what to think about. Not good at changing opinions.
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Coroner Classification Hypothesis
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how coroners classifies ambiguous death, a coroner is more likely to classify death as a suicide if they watch news media- increase in suicides, decrease in ambiguous/accidental- no such decrease
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Precipitation, Not Causation Hypothesis
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news precipitates suicides that would have happened anyway. speeding process up
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In terms of geography, why would certain areas be more prominent in the news than others?
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There is a belief that certain parts of the world are more important than others.
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According to the knowledge gap hypothesis, where does the gap come from?
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separation between high and low knowledge among viewers and how they absorb and learn from media. High will continue to gain knowledge and low will not.
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What are the research findings about agenda-setting?
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Over time, news coverage can change public opinion
Effect is related to amount of time spent with the news and media. |
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How does media coverage of suicides relate to suicide rates?
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Significantly increase when mentioned in the news
Increase in suicide is greatest in areas where stories are most heavily publicized Greater amount of publicity the greater increase of suicide- how much mentioned |
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What frame of reference is used in coverage of political campaigns?
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The sportsframe- political campaigns are treated as if they were sports contests
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What are the 2 questions that news media focus on?
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who is winning? (look at polls)
how they are winning? (focus on strategy) |
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Why do the media use the sportsframe to report political campaigns?
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It fits
Makes it easier to be objective Makes us less likely to participate |
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What is an alternative frame of reference that could be used?
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Problem Proposal Performance frame- what are problems facing country, what are proposals person is making, based on performance would solutions work or not- key question is not who is winning and how, what is central problem- more like a job interview
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Effects of the sportsframe
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Knowledge
Public cynicism |
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Spiral of silence
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people are less likely to speak out on issues when they feel they are in the minority
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In terms of marketing, what has been the major debate over news content?
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Whether to give news audiences what journalists think they need or give audiences what they want- that is, entertainment that is sensationalized and personalized.
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What are the kinds of deviances in terms of news coverage?
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Statistical deviance- causes things that are unusual to be considered more newsworthy than commonplace events
Normative deviance- refers to ideas or events that break norms or laws |
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How are news organizations differentiated in terms of size and structure?
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Small companies are more flexible and entrepreneurial. They search out new needs and quickly adapt. Large companies are compartmentalized, with each division having a special function and its own staff of technical people. Large beureaucracies are more resistant to change.
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What are the dominant sources of information for journalists?
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Public information officers in businesses and governmental units. Most companies and institutions have public relations departments whose sole job is to establish themselves as experts and feed information to journalists.
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How are broadcast journalists branded?
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As celebrities- reporters often mention their names and sometimes their names are in graphics in attempt that the audiences members will follow the reporters in addition to the stories.
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What are the generic components of a general story?
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All stories begin with conflict. The conflict is heightened throughout the story, and the main characters try to solve the problem. Finally, during the climactic scene, the problem is solved, and the conflict is eliminated, or reduced.
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Why are general story formulas still used by creators and accepted by consumers?
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Useful for creators- cause we know people like it, guideline to create a successful product
Useful for creators- cause we know people like it, guideline to create a successful product Useful for consumers- helps us jump into stories and figure out what’s going on |
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Constraints in entertainment media
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Communication channels, Time, Commercials, Simplicity, Societal (values)
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What gender is the most represented in the media?
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Males
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Character patterns found in entertainment media
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Gender, ethnicity, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, occupations
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Stereotypes found in entertainment media
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Race, Gender, Elderly characters, Body image, Sexual orientation
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Why is character identification important for the enjoyment of drama?
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events won’t be interesting unless there is connection with the characters
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Suspense
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2 possible outcomes, which occurs is uncertain, typically audience prefers one outcome over the other, conflict between preference and probability of that outcome occurring is suspense
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Why is character identification important for the enjoyment of comedy?
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Hostile humor- have to believe the character deserves it for it to be funny- still care about the character but form negative identification with them- for it to be enjoyable have to turn of natural empathetic responses- most humor is hostile
Non-hostile humor- to find humor you still have to identify with the character |
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Why are violence and horror considered aversive types of content?
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people are generally wired to have an aversive reaction to violence and blood
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What are some reasons audiences watch violent content?
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social comparison, something most of us don’t experience so it helps us create a world we don’t live in(escapism)- associated with conflict
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What are some reasons audiences watch horror films?
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There is a social appeal to horror films, people don’t watch them by themselves
Proves masculinity, males less likely to look away from screen (laugh instead) Could be appealing because they are arousing, fear and other negative emotions can be arousing (neutral) When you go to see a horror film you know you have control over negative events you are experiencing, control can be appealing- horror film viewing goes up in times were people feel they don’t have control in real life |
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How big is the advertising industry?
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220 billion dollars
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What are the goals of any given advertisement?
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Attention, Memory, Attitude, Emotion, Behavior
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When and why are celebrity endorsers effective?
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They are only effective if there is some similarity between the celebrity and the brand
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When does liking of the ad influence effectiveness?
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It matters for little known brands, otherwise it has less of an effect on persuasive appeal than you would thik
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unintended consequences of advertising
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increases materialism to create needs and convince us to buy products, there are unrealistic goals related to body image, health issues due to food advertisements
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When and why is sexual content effective or not effective?
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concept of "sex sells" is not as effective as you would think, sexual ads increase attention but decrease memory for the product, increases likeness of ad when arousal is in moderate amounts
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institutional effects of advertising
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1/2 hour TV shows are only 22 minutes long, radio is interrupted for commercials, advertising in sports effects popularity of the sport, and the game flow/ time outs
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Deception in advertising
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Puffery- ads make implicit claims that cannot be tested for truth
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Why is advertising to children considered an unfair form of advertising by the FTC?
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Children don't have the cognitive ability to know that hte person making the ad has different goals
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How could subconscious content influence our processing of advertising?
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the message gets put into our subconscious without our knowing it. advertisers continually present the same kinds of messages which can alter our perception over time.
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How does commercialism influence the construction of the news?
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Strongest influence- news organizations are in the business of constructing large audiences so they can rent those audiences to the advertisers. The larger the audience, the higher the rent and the more revenue the news organization generates. Therefore, the ultimate goal of news is a commercial one, and journalists are driven to construct stories that will attract large audiences.
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What influence does commercialism have journalists and the way they write stories?
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Journalists will write stories that are not strictly news but that instead have the value of promoting other commercial products being marketed by the organization that owns the news organization.
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What kind of resource limitations affect news organizations?
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There are never enough resources to be able to cover all the events that happen in a given day, and assignment editors must decide which stories will get covered and which will not- cameras, staff, etc.
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How does geographical focus constrain news organizations?
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Each news organization is focused on covering the events in its own locale so it can report those stories to its local audiences. There is a belief that certain parts of the world are more important than others.
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