Chapter 2 / The Media: Shaping Our Understanding of Crime

Question 1

media effects

Answer 1

The concept that exposure to media has an effect on behaviour. For example, young people exposed to violent media will behave aggressively.

Question 2

active audiences

Answer 2

The concept that audiences are not passive recipients of information or meanings but are instead active in the process of creating meaning.

Question 3

critical thinking

Answer 3

The process of evaluating information, claims, or arguments through careful questioning and the application of reason.

Question 4

problem frame

Answer 4

A narrative that is easily understood because it focuses on the existence of something extraordinary and “bad” that affects many people, and identifies unambiguous solutions that can be implemented in the future.

Question 5

moral panic

Answer 5

Occurs when there is a gap between people’s perceptions of a problem and the “fact” of the problem , and the difference can be explained ideologically (Hell et al., 1978).

Question 6

moral entrepreneur

Answer 6

A person, group. or organization that takes the lead in identifying certain behaviour as deviant and in need of legal sanctions.

Question 7

folk devils

Answer 7

Originating in images from folklore, this term refers to people or groups presented in media as deviant outsiders and the cause of social fracture.

Question 8

stereotyping

Answer 8

The simplistic and often belittling representation of a person or group, using exaggerations of traits that the larger group supposedly possesses.

Question 9

discourses

Answer 9

Refers to forms of language, representation, and practices and how meaning is created and shared. Discourses take place withing specific cultural and historical contexts.

Question 10

other

Answer 10

A person or group of people defined as fundamentally different, or even deviant, by the dominant culture, often through stereotyping.

Question 11

sousveillance

Answer 11

The recording, by a citizen participant or witness, of an incident or activity, to hold a bureaucratic organization to account. It can be used to record incidents in which police may be seen abusing their power.

Question 12

surveillance

Answer 12

The monitoring of individuals or populations for the purposes of control and/or care (Lyon, 2001).