Exam 1 Flashcards
why communicate?
communication satisfies human needs
what are the 4 functions of communication?
- information
- entertainment
- instruction
- persuasion
what are the 6 levels that communication can occur at?
- intrapersonal
- interpersonal
- small group
- organizational
- public
- mass
does society influence media?
yes!
- cultural/political context shapes its nature and function
- mass media differ in diff societies
what is the debate over media’s influence. What are the three groups and their views?
there are 3 groups w/ diff views:
- industry - argue no antisocial effects
- critics - media very influential
- researchers - media effects some people, some of the time, under some conditions
how do we study media ? (3 things we look at)
we look at content, exposure, effects
what are the 4 different effect types that can occur during media communication
- behavioral
- attitudinal
- cognitive
- physiological
what are 4 different effects models?
- direct effects model
- conditional effects model
- cumulate effects model
- third person effects model
explain direct effects model
all members react the same
explain conditional effects model
effects some of the people, some of the time, under some conditions
explain cumulative effects model
it’s not one exposure, its long term viewing of material
explain third person effects model
people underestimate the effects media has on themselves
what are the dimensions of media effects?
- micro and macro level
- intended/unintended effects
- content - dependent/independent
- short vs. long term
- reinforcement vs. change
what are some major research methods?
- survey research
- content analysis
- correlational study
what is triangulation?
all of us feel much more comfortable if all the reaserch we do are consistant w/ methods of studies
what is a meta-analysis?
- systematic integration of findings
- take all data from diff. studies
- used to provide “bigger picture”
what is the social cognitive theory
- we learn vicariously
- imitate
- store what we see –>memory
- develop scripts about behavior
what are priming effects?
media “primes” you to act what you see.
ie. watch aggressive show –> act aggressively
what is the excitation transfer?
when are are aroused, we are AROUSED.
can be excitement/fear/etc
explain the cultivation theory
- developed beliefs of world via media
- Gerbner said, more tv we watch, more we believe real world similiar
what is agenda setting?
mass media tells us what to think about
do children and teens use the media?
yes!
do infant use the media
under age 2, AAP says they shouldn’t. they need parent nurturing. no evidence of positive benefits of tv for this group.
How are younger children differently viewing the media?
- they pay attention to perceptual features, not plot.
- difficulty w/ fantasy vs reality
- less capable of linking scenes together
is there violence in the media? what content is concerning?
content that doesn’t show harm and where perps are rewarded not punished.
what theories account for media violence effects?
-social learning theory
what effects are denied about media violence?
- some ppl think “catharsis”
- some ppl think mv is cause of aggression
- some ppl argue effects small
what are some high risk portrayals in media violence?
- attractive perps
- violence justification
- violence goes unpunished
- violence shows no pain/harm
- violence that seems realistic to viewer.
what are some effect of violence?
- aggression
- fear
- desensitization
what is desensitization?
less emotionally aroused to real violence in real world cuz of violence you see tv
what are some video game mechanisms that cause video games to be so influential?
- identifies w/ the aggressor
- active participation
- repetitive actions
- reinforcement for aggressive actions
what types of sexual portrayals exist?
- lots of sex discussed on tv.
- lots of implied (embedded) media
- the more material you watch, the greater the likelihood younger are more sexual
are there concerns regarding sexual portrayals?
no consequences, doesn’t explain the risk factor.
is obscenity protected by first amendment?
no.
what are the 3 things that make something obscene according to miller v california.
- has to appeal to appearient interest in sex
- goes beyond community acceptance standards
- must have no scientific, artistic, educational value
what are violent pornographys?
x-rated videos where the women is show to be enjoying rape or assault
has known antisocial effects
what is sexualized violence against women?
r-rated videos that are less sexually explicit but far more violent than x-rated ones
has probable antisocial effects
whats important when viewing sexual and violent content?
sexual content? violent content? -combination of both has powerful effect -sexual itself suggest no -violence itself suggest yes
what are 3 “ways of knowing” the world around us.
- experience
- authority
- science
what are the 4 major goals of science ?
- prediction
- explanation
- understanding
- control
what is a theory
- a theory is a set of statements that
- identifies key concepts of the theory
- specifies relations
- and yields hypotheses are testable.
what does a theory mean to be “falsifiable”
-should be possible to specify what sort of idea would make the hypothesis false
what is a hypothesis?
specific prediction bout what will happen under certain set of certain conditions
these are produced y theories
what are some characteristics of social science
- logical
- deterministic
- general
- parsimonious
- specific
- empirically verifiable
- intersubjective
- open to modification
what are certain questions that are difficult to answer by scientific study?
science can tell us how, but can’t tell us what to do w/ the info.
what is content analysis
it is:
- objective
- systematic
- quantitative
of content analysis, what does it mean for communication to be objective?
multiple researchers examine same content
of content analysis, what does it mean for communication to be systematic?
comes to identical conclusions
of content analysis, what does it mean for communication to be quantitative?
content coded in some quantitative manner
what is a survey
based on random samples.
what is a cross-sectional survey
a single sample of a population
what types of longitudinal studies are there?
- trend survey
- cohort study
- panel study
what is an experimental study ?
gathers data directly from people under controlled conditions
what is a trend survey
individuals who were surveyed the first time are not surveyed the second time
what is a cohort study
allows researchers to asses changes in general band of people, but not same individuals
what is a panel study
rare, takes a lot of effort and time, same individuals over time.
what are causal relationships
media (x) causing change in attitude/behavior/etc (y)
need to have correlations - empirically related to each other
what is a positive correlation and a negative correlation?
positive (+,+)
negative (+, -)
also can have no correlation
why is random assignment important?
experimental manipulation
what are the Payne Fund Studies?
purpose to discover the real impact of movies on children/adolescents.
what were some major findings of the Payne Fund Studies?
- many responses indicated ppl believed influenced by media. –>lead to legacy of fear
- galvanic skin responses, an emotional reaction to the event
The Magic Bullet Model assumes that exposure to media will do what to the individual?
“hypodermic needle”
-the messege is a “magic bullet” shooting the viewer with powerful, relatively uniform effects on everyone who processes it
what is the limited effects perspective
the effects of mass media ranged from small to negligible.
states that influence seems to be incidental to other forces.
what is selective exposure
ppl motive to expose themselves voluntarily to messages w/ which they already agree.
what is the two-step flow of communication
impact limited to a few key people. opinion leaders - who in turn, influence others through face-to-face interpersonal communication.
what is the difference between content-specific and diffuse-general effects.
- specific content- is how content has effect
- diffuse/general effect - not exposure to content, but more of general effect of time spent w/ medium
(ie. too fat, too much tv)
what is the difference between alteration vs. a stabilization effect?
- alteration - change in public opinion/decision
- stability - media message reinforces status quo –> more commitment
what are some uses and grats? (eight)
- learning
- habit
- companionship
- arousal
- relaxation
- escape
- passing time
- social interaction
what is the displacement hypothesis? how might it account for health issues like obesity?
media displacing time that would ordinarily be spent in other important activities
what is the “catharsis” hypothesis
means to “cleanse/purge; to get rid of”
thought tv violence could be therapeutic and would satisfy aggression.
why do people like media violence
- entertaining to some
- some ppl form alignment w/ characters
- violent may contain other enjoyable themes
(ie. sex, suspense)
what does Sparks conclude about violent video games
- results show that playing aggressive games have short term negative effects on the gamers emotional state
- doesnt necessarily mean increase in aggression
what is wrong w/ McLuhan’s theory
- self proclaimed
- most ideas unfalsifiable
- no depth/explication of ideas
why was the electronic age so different from print age
- believe electronics brought about “global village” - the unification of world
- argue ppl emotionally/psychologically closer
what was the National Commission on Obscenity and Pornography conclusion
“people should have freedom to view what they want. No harms caused by porn for any populations studied”
what was the Meese Commission on Pornography conclusion
did not have proper understanding on how to interpret correlations. stated that although the evidence “cannot definitely establish causality does not mean that it may not be some evidence of causality”
what is a trigger hypothesis
exposure to sexually explicit materials will cause a response in some individuals that will provoke them leading them to commit a sex crime
what is the safety value hypothesis
claims that exposure to sexually explicit material will satisfy whatever urges might cause a person to commit sex crime (decreased sex crime)
