ICS first midterm Flashcards
mass communication
When a source, typically an organization, employs a technology as a medium to communicate with a large audience.
mediated communication
Communication between a few or many people that employ a technology as a medium
third-person effect
The idea that “media affect others, but not me”
ontology
The nature of reality, what is knowable
epistemology
How knowledge is created and expanded
axiology
The proper role of values in research and theory building
mass society theory
Perspective on Western, industrial society that attributes an influential but often negative role to media
limited-effects theory
View of the media as having little ability to directly influence people. The dominant effect of media is to reinforce existing social trends and strengthen the status quo
reductionism
Reducing complex communication processes and social phenomena to little more than narrow propositions generated from small scale investigations
postpositivist theory
Theory based on empirical observation guided by the scientific method
cultural criticism
Collection of perspectives concerned with the cultural disputes and the ways communication perpetuates domination of one group over another
meaning-making theory
Meaning-making theory, also known as sense-making theory, is a framework in communication and psychology that explores how individuals and groups create meaning from their experiences, especially in situations that may be ambiguous, uncertain, or challenging. This theory posits that human beings are active sense-makers who construct and interpret the world around them through a process of assigning meaning to events, information, and experiences. Meaning-making is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and communication.
social responsibility theory
A normative theory that substitutes media industry and public responsibility for total media freedom on the one hand and for external control on the other
radical Libertarianism
The absolute belief in Libertarianism’s faith in a good and rational public and totally unregulated media
technocratic control
Direct regulation of media, most often by government agency or commission
marketplace of ideas
In Libertarianism, the notion that all ideas should be put before the public, and the public will choose the best from that “marketplace”
authoritarian theory
A normative theory that places all forms of communication under the control of a governing elite or authorities
Contemporary gatekeepers
Strategic professionals, Journalists, Individual amateurs and Algorithms
Super users
Individuals who have a lot of followers, thus having an influence, especially on social media platforms.
Priming
It refers to the idea that media coverage can influence how people evaluate political leaders, issues, or events by highlighting specific aspects or attributes. When the media repeatedly emphasize certain characteristics or aspects of a topic, it can affect the way the public views that topic
certainty effect
a reduction of the probability of an outcome by a constant factor has more impact when the outcome was initially certain than when it was merely probable
The prospect theory
Prospect theory assumes that losses and gains are valued differently, and thus individuals make decisions based on perceived gains instead of perceived losses.
loss-aversion theory
which states that when presented with two choices (both with same probabilities), one of which emphasizes possible gains, while the other emphasizes possible losses, the former choice will be preferred
social cues
In frame analysis, information in the environment that signals a shift or change of action
primary, or dominant, reality
In frame analysis, the real world in which people and events obey certain conventional and widely accepted rules (sometimes referred to as the dominant reality)
news reality frames
News accounts in which interested elites involve journalists in the construction of news drama that blurs underlying contextual realities
The bandwagon effect
people follow something that is already effective or popular, trying to fit in with a successful group. For example, reporting preliminary election results, where you can see that one or two parties are the most popular ones, this may affect the people who haven’t decided who to vote for yet.
Accumulation
about repetition of messages
Consonance
all the media show similar messages
Cognitive effect
media influences citizens’ perception of reality.
Intermedia agenda building
media outlets influence one another (publishers look what the other publishers are releasing to not miss an important topic that will only be covered by opposing publishers)
Generic frames
frames focusing on general topics or events (e.g. strategic game frame or economic consequences frame)
Thematic frame
Issue trends/numbers, circumstances
Sensationalism
refers to those content features that are able to provoke attention or arousal responses in viewers.
Vividness
information that is emotionally interesting, imagery-provoking and proximatre in a sensory, temporal or spatial way.
Embedded sensationalism
When non-sensational topics are presented in a sensational context. For example, a story about governmental elections in which time is dedicated to the corrupt past of one of the candidates.
Distorian bias
occurs because news media focuses on presenting extraordinary events, something interesting and unique and not the norm
Limited Capacity Model of Mediated Message Processing (LC4MP)
LC4MP states that television viewing involves the continuous allocation of a limited pool of resources to the cognitive processing of the message. This process includes the simultaneously performed tasks of encoding, storage, and retrieval. Some of this allocation of resources we control ourselves, but some attention is provoked by external factors. Sensationalism is able to evoke allocation of message processing.
Balance as bias
When opposing opinions get equal amounts of coverage in the media, because journalists want to portray both points of view. Experts and non-experts are given the same amount of attention. This can reinforce misinformation spread as have happened with global warming.
Gray propaganda
Transmission of information or ideas that might or might not be false. No effort is made to determine their validity
Continued Influence Effect
A phenomena, when corrections do not backfire, people often still cling to misinformation in the face of a retraction
Familiarity backfire effect
Is when refutations make the myth or false information more familiar, thus developing a stronger relationship with it.
Overkill backfire effect
When the refutations are over complicated. For example, researchers have found that asking people to generate a few arguments for why their belief may be wrong was successful in changing a belief, whereas generating many counterarguments reinforced the belief.
Worldview backfire effect
When the retraction conflicts with a person’s worldview, thus having a backfire effect.
motivated skepticism
Basically, people tend to be skeptical of information which conflicts with their worldview
Belief polarization
Then two people presented with the same information form two different opinions. For example, when presented with supporting and opposing information about the death penalty, participants rated arguments that confirmed their own beliefs to be more convincing and consequently strengthened prior beliefs.
Correction strategies to retract misinformation
- Explicitly warning people to put them cognitively on-guard
- Repeating and strengthening retractions.
- Corrections should provide an alternative explanation that fills the gap created by the retraction. Explaining the causal chains of the initial report, why the misinformation is thought to be true as well as the motivation behind the misinformation.
The retraction/refutation must not be more complicted than the misinformation.
cognitive consistency
The idea that people consciously and unconsciously work to preserve their existing views
cognitive dissonance
Information that is inconsistent with a person’s already-held attitudes creates psychological discomfort, or dissonance
selective processes
Exposure (attention), retention, and perception; psychological processes designed to reduce dissonance. this includes selective exposure, selective retention and selective perception.
selective exposure
The idea that people tend to expose themselves to messages that are consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs
selective retention
The idea that people tend to remember best and longest those messages that are most meaningful to them
selective perception
The idea that people will alter the meaning of messages so they become consistent with preexisting attitudes and beliefs
News Values by Harcup & O’Neill
- Exclusivity
- Bad news
- Conflict
- Surprise
- Audio-visuals
- Shareability
- Entertainment
- Drama
- Follow-up
- The power elite
- Magnitude
- Celebrity
- Good news
- News organization’s agenda
Communication
the relational process of creating and interpreting messages
that elicit a response.
Mediatization
the way that other institutions adjust to the logic of the media
institution: you need to play the game by the media’s rules.
