Audience Theories Flashcards
What is the ‘Fandom Theory’ and who came up with it?
Henry Jenkins - Close relationship between producer + consumer so they can all benefit.
What is the ‘Lines of Appeal Theory’ and who came up with it?
Gillian Dyer - Attracting audiences through using images producers think the audiences want to see.
What is a ‘Moral Panic’ and who came up with it?
Stanley Cohen - When the Media’s coverage of a topic creates a sense of fear. Usually due to over-exaggeration of certain aspects.
What is ‘Inoculation Theory’ and who came up with it?
William McGuire - The more you consume violent and graphic media, the less affected you are, become immune to it.
What is ‘Social Learning Theory’ and who came up with it?
Albert Bandura - Society learns how to act/behave/accept as norms through what they see in the media.
What is the ‘Hypodermic Needle Theory’ and who came up with it?
Harold Lasswell - Audience are controlled by the media as information is ‘injected’ into their brains. (purely passive audience)
What is the ‘Two Step Flow Theory’ and who came up with it?
Paul Lazarsfeld - Audiences are impacted by ‘opinion leaders’ such as celebrities or influencers. However, these people get their information from the media.
What is ‘Cultivation Theory’ and who came up with it?
George Gerbner - The idea that the more you look at a media text the more likely you are to believe its message. (Similar to Inoculation Theory)
What is ‘Media Dependency Theory’ and who came up with it?
Sandra Ball-Rokeach - The more someone is dependent on a certain type of media, the more important it will be in their lives.
Define what an ‘Active Audience’ is and who came up with it.
Stuart Hall - Those who question the media text and challenge it.
Define what a ‘Passive Audience’ is and who came up with it.
Stuart Hall - Those who do not question or challenge media texts and just absorb the message.
What are the 3 types of readings in ‘Audience Reception Theory’ and who came up with it?
Stuart Hall:
Dominated Reading
Negotiated Reading
Oppositional Reading
What is the Dominated Reading?
When the consumer fully understands and agrees with the message.
What is the Negotiated Reading?
When the consumer understands the message, but adapts it to suit their values.
What is the Oppositional Reading?
When the consumer disagrees with the intended message.
What is Encoding and Decoding? (Stuart Hall)
Encoding: How a media text is created.
Decoding: How a media text is consumed.
What are the 5 parts of the ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory’ and who came up with it?
Katz and Blumler:
- Information + Education
- Entertainment
- Personal Identity
- Integration and Social Interaction
- Escapism
Define the Information and Education part of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
When the user wants to acquire information or knowledge through watching programmes like The News or Documentaries.
Define the Entertainment part of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Viewers watch programmes for enjoyment only.
Define the Personal Identity part of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Viewers recognise people or product role models with similar values to themselves, and then mimic or copy their actions.
Define the Integration and Social Interaction part of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Ability for media products to produce conversation between people. (E.G who was the best contestant in a show)
Define the Escapism part of the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Where consumers use media to escape their own lives.
Who came up with the 3 types of audiences and what were they?
Jeremy Tunstall:
Primary Audience
Secondary Audience
Tertiary Audience
Define Primary Audience
Someone who is completely immersed in the media text.
