Chapter 2 Flashcards
Propaganda
Info that is spread for the purpose of promoting a doctrine or cause.
Modeling
The imitation of behavior from media.
Content Analysis
A research method in which observers systematically analyze media subject matter.
Laboratory Experiment
Scientific method of isolating and observing variables in a controlled environment.
Survey Methods
Research methods that rely on questionnaires to collect research data.
Random Sampling
Method that ensures that every member of the population being studied has an equal chance of being chosen.
Selective Perception
Process by which people with different attitudes interpret the same messages differently.
Selective Retention
Process by which people with different views remember the same event differently.
Opinion Leaders
Well-informed people who help others interpret media messages.
Two-Step Flow
Communication process in which media effects travel through opinion leaders.
Applied Research
Media investigations devoted to practical, commercial purposes.
Desensitization
A process by which viewers of media violence develop callousness or emotional neutrality in the face of a real-life act of violence.
Theory
A set of related statements that seek to explain and predict behavior.
Powerful-Effects Model
Model that predicts that media will have swift and potent influence.
Minimal-Effects Model
Model that predicts that media will have little influence on behavior.
Mixed-Effects Model
Model that predicts that media can have a combination of influences.
Flow Theories
Explanations of the way effects travel from the mass media to their audiences.
Bullet Theory
Theory that implies that media effects flow directly from the media to an individual.
Multistep Flow
A complex interaction of media effects.
Social Learning Theory
Theory that people learn by observing others.
Socialization
Process by which children learn the expectations, norms, and values of society.
Individual Differences Theory
Theory that predicts that people with different characteristics will be affected in different ways by the mass media.
Diffusion of Innovations Theory
Theory that different types of people will adopt new ideas at different times.
Cultivation Theory
Theory that the media shape how people view the world.
Agenda-Setting Theory
Theory that predicts that the amount of attention given to an issue in the media affects the level of importance assigned to it by the public.
Cumulative Effects Theory
Theory that media have profound effects over time through redundancy.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Theory that looks at the ways media consumers choose media to meet their needs.
Cultural Studies
Research based on careful observation and thought rather than on controlled experiments or statistics.
Media Ecology
School of cultural study that suggests that media make up an ecological system for humans.
Gender Studies
Research that looks at how the media deal with male and female roles.
Political/Economic Analysis
Theory that predicts that a culture’s exchange system will influence its values.
Third Person Effect
The belief that media affects other people more than oneself.
Catharsis Theory
The idea that viewing violence actually reduces violent behavior.
Correlation
A situation in which two things occur at the same time, or in close succession, more often than chance would lead one to expect.
