Exam 3 Flashcards
Media Literacy
our ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate mediated information
Schemas
organized systems of thoughts/information
prof young has slide about dunkin
my mind: wants dunkin now
what do stereotypes create?
cognitive structures in our mind
stereotypes contain
the perciever’s knowledge, beliefs and expectancies about some group
cultivation theory
media images mold society by the long-term presentation of relatively uniforms visions of social reality
ex: show about crime making people think there is more crime than there actually is
social norms
our perceptions of the informal, mostly unwritten, rules that define acceptable and appropriate actions within a given group of community
ex: unassigned assigned seats
body image
how we view our own body and physical appearance
body dissatisfaction
having negative thoughts or feelings about one’s body image
thin ideal
media portrayls of thinness as the most desirable body type for women. unrealistic and unattainable
muscular ideal
media portrayals of lean, muscular, and toned as the most desirable body type for men
objectification
treating a person like an object, often a sexual object
ex: ads portraying women as objects
social comparison theory
we have a need to evaluate ourselves against others to see how we measure up, to make sure we fit in w social norms
downward comparison and outcomes
we compare to someone we feel is inferior to us in some way.
outcomes: boosts self-esteem, maintain status quo
Ex: Sam views a downward comparison towards Dana because he scored higher on an exam
upward comparison and outcomes
we compare ourselves to someone we feel is superior to us in some way
outcomes: lower self-esteem, might serve as motivation for self improvement
ex: comparing yourself to a gym model
fiji islands study
studied adolescent girls’ body image and eating behaviors before and after the introduction of television
outcome: after 3 years 74% felt “too big”, 62% dieting, 15% purging
informed consent
human participants can enter research freely with full information about what it means for them to take part, and that they give consent before they enter the research. one key principles of research ethics
ex: when you get surgery the doctor has to tell you about every risk
natural experiments
studying casual relationships that naturally occur, vs. laboratory or field experiments where the independent variable is manipulated by researchers. limitations: can’t always eliminate the influence of third variables
stereotype schema
organized systems of thoughts and informations about objects, events, individuals, groups
priming
associations between concept, stored in memory, gets stronger every time they are activated, can be strengthened or activated by media content
Ex: going to a “warm and cheerful” themed party, seeing all of the happy colors gives you cheerful emotions
roles of schemas in information processing
schemas simplify complex social environments by helping us process incoming information quickly and efficiently
- schemas have an automatic or unconscious, influence on our behaviors
they start with i
3 types of content comparison
1) intergroup
2) interrole
3) interreality
intergroup
examining % of one group compared to the % of another group
ex: examining a % of NFL players vs a % of NBA players
interrole
examining the distribution of the same group of people in different roles (quality comparison)
ex: comparing different roles in a hospital
interreality
examining the actual number/proportions for a group compared to the number/proportion presented in the media
Ex: How many Native Americans there are (2.5%) vs. How many Native Americans are displayed on TV (.25%)
expectancies
what we expect of an individual based on their categorization
ex: muscular ideal
model minority stereotype
stereotype schema that members of a particular group are more high achieving than other minority or marginalized groups
ex: the stereotype that all asian people are super smart
stereotypes
schemas about particular groups based on age, gender, race/ethnicity, nationality, occupation, interests, personality
in group
a group you identify as being apart of
ex: uiowa students
out group
a group you do not identify as being a part of
ex: religous people
group identification
the strength of our identification with a group
stereotype threat
if stereotypes about a group are primes, in-group members will behave in ways that conform to the stereotypes and avoid out-groups
ex: the “im not good at math” barbie saying that math is not for girls
decrease prejudice
mediated intergroup contact theory
viewing more (quantity) and/or more positive (quality) media representations of an out-group will increase positive attitudes and decrease prejudice (negative attitudes toward a group)
ex: Showing more Native Americans on TV will decrease prejudice against them
obscenity
(a legal term) not protected by free speech, sexual content that is offensive or disgusting
ex: explicit sexual content, graphic violence, or offensive language
pornography
(not a legal term) is protected under the first amendment as free speech, material with very explicit sexual behavior and nudity
ex: sexual novels or (idk what did i say on the other card)
anecdotal vs. scientific evidence
anecdotal: a factual claim relying only on personal experience or authority
scientific: based on observable evidence gathered using systematic methods
psychophysiological measure
measurements of physical respones that assess emotional states
ex: facial muscles, heart rate, boners
experiment and survey limitation
experiment: limited sample, conducted in a lab
survey: social deserability bias (tendency to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others),
most research on porn consumption can’t meet all three cruteria for causality (mostly constant time order and elimination of third variable explanations)
desensitization effect
violence in media makes us numb to violence irl
ex: showing the visuals of wars will make us believe it’s not that bad because we are no longer sensitive
sexual scripts
ideas of how males and females are supposed to interact with each other, including how each gender should behave in sexual or romantic situations
a guide of how you’re “supposed” to feel about sex
ex: men are supposed to want sex while women are supposed to be more wary
sexual uncertainty hypothesis
adolescents are often taught by family and schools that consensual sexual activity is part of love and long-term commitment. but, sex in media is not depicted this way; leads to confusion about how to behave
stalking myths
false believes about stalking and harassment
1) stalking is an expression of love
2) victims of stalking were “asking for it”
3) stalking doesn’t do much harm
AAECRA
media literacy componets
1) access
2) analyze & evaluate
3) create
4) reflect
5) act
media literacy practices: critical ignoring
choosing what to ignore; learning how to resist low-quality and misleading but cognitively attractive information, and deciding where to invest our limited attention
media literacy practices: self-nudging
designing your digital media environment to decrease media use and set more beneficial media habits
(i.e. time limits, deleting apps, avoid using media)
media literacy: lateral reading
evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it with other sources (i.e. verify sponsor for source, check claims, pause before thinking)
media literacy practices: do-not-feed-the-trolls-heuristic
ignore, block, and report harassment misinformation (not supported by facts), disinformation (intentional)
media literacy component: analyze & evaluate
analyze: using critical thinking and digital skills to analyze message quality, truthfulness, credibility, intention, and pov
evaluate: considering potential effects or consequences of messages
reading article on climate change, look at bias, citations, publication date, evaluating the credibility of a source
media literacy: create
making content using creativity and confident self-expression, w awareness of purpose, audience, and composition techniques
ex: creating an infographic about media literacy
media literacy: reflect
applying social responsibility and ethical principles to how you use media
media literacy: act
using media to share knowledge and solve problems
teach others about how to utilize media knowledge
ex: jim shares a misinformed post, let him know that it is wrong (in a nice way unless jim’s an asshole)
forewarning message
a message that includes information on the techniques of misinformation, the motives or intent behind disinformation, as well as practical tips on how to avoid misleading content
Ex: Twitter’s community notes
ecological model
behaviors have multiple levels of influence, including individual interpersonal institutional, community, and policy levels
you decide to start a recycling program at your school (individual behavior). Your friends join in, and you work together to collect recyclables (interpersonal level). The school supports your initiative, providing bins and recognizing your efforts (organizational level). The neighborhood appreciates your eco-friendly actions and gets involved (community level). The city has policies in place that encourage recycling and make it easy for communities to participate (policy level). The society values environmental responsibility, and your actions align with those values (societal level).
three ways of knowing
1) personal experience
2) authority
3) social science
know the limitations
personal experience
your own life as a source of information
limitations: individual differences, trial and error, difficult to detect influences
authority
we believe what those we trust tell us to believe
limitations: auhtorities may speak outside their expertise, or may protect their own interests
ex:my dad, my doctor, my professor
observation (know the limitations for this too)
social science
systematic observation (on purpose) , vs. casual observation (spontaneous)
limitations: makes predicitions about general patterns not specific individuals, assumes there is an objective truth, but not all questions fit this approach.
