MASS MEDIA & MASS COMMUNICATION Flashcards
`Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a., Magic Bullet Theory)
What is the Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a., Magic Bullet Theory)?
A model of communication that suggests media messages are directly and powerfully injected into the minds of audiences, influencing them in a uniform and immediate way
Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a., Magic Bullet Theory)
How are audiences viewed in the Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a., Magic Bullet Theory)?
- Passive
- Everyone responds to media messages the same
Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a., Magic Bullet Theory)
- the influence of propaganda during World War I and the radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” as influences on the development of, and later, the undoing of, the Hypodermic Needle Theory.
yeah idek man
Gatekeepers & Gatekeeping
What is the definition an description of a Gatekeeper?
“Gate” + the one who “keeps” (open/closes) it
Gatekeepers & Gatekeeping
What is the definition an description of Gatekeeping?
- Opening & closing “the gate”
- Process of media outlets deciding what to report
- Controlling the flow and types of information
- Choosing topics/issues
Gatekeepers & Gatekeeping
Who is Kurt Lewin and what was his original application for Gatekeeping Theory?
- Kurt is the creator of the theory
- First applied to to food and moms
Agenda-Setting, Framing & Priming
What is the Agenda-Setting Theory?
The idea that the media can’t tell you what to think but can tell you what to think about
* Influence WHAT to think about
* Influence HOW to think about it
Agenda-Setting, Framing & Priming
What agenda-setting sources do not do versus what they do?
- Do not tell you what to think, do tell you what to think about
- Emphasize importance of an issue
Agenda-Setting, Framing & Priming
In this context, define: Framing
“To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described.”
* Tells the story from a particular perspective
Agenda-Setting, Framing & Priming
In this context, define: Priming
- Offers a prior context
- Within that context interpret a subsequent story
- Predisposes view as good or bad
Uses & Gratification Theory (What Do We Do with Media?)
What is meant by concepts in its title: “uses” and “gratification”?
bUDDY
Uses & Gratification Theory (What Do We Do with Media?)
What are the 5 different reasons we use/watch/listen to media?
- Information & education
- Entertainment
- Personal Identity
- Integration & Social interaction
- Escapism
Uses & Gratification Theory (What Do We Do with Media?)
How is the audience viewed in the Uses & Gratification Theory?
- Active
- Individuals think differently
Uses & Gratification Theory (What Do We Do with Media?)
In what ways is this theory is different from the Hypodermic Needle/Magic Bullet Theory?
Magic theory says:
* People are passive
* They all think the same
Use theory says:
* People are active
* They dont all think the same
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
What does the term “cultivation” in the title suggest?
- Growing, like im a gardener
- The gradual process by which long-term exposure to media content shapes and molds the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of individuals over time
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
The Cultural Index Project: what scholars involved with it examined and what they claim to have learned from it - GO
right?
- Studied TV programing and the correlation with violence on TV & violence in society
- Concluded violent media viewing has no impact on violence in society
- Most people watch TV religously
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
Television viewing and perceptions of social reality
IDK how to phrase
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
What are the effects of heavy viewing of violence on television?
- Held a “mainstreamed” perception
- Overestimated the actual amount of violent crime
- Predicted that about 1 in 10 will be a victim of violence
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
What are the 3 statements used to measure the “Mean World Index”?
- “Most people are just looking out for themselves”
- “You can’t be too careful in dealing with people”
- “Most people would take advantage of you if they got the chance”
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
What is the “Mean World Syndrome”?
Where heavy exposure to media, particularly violent content, leads individuals to perceive the world as more dangerous, threatening, and violent than it actually is
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
Who is more likely to view the world as a “mean” place?
Heavy viewers
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
In this context, define: Mainstreaming
- When television’s symbols dominate other sources of information & ideas about the world
- When Views become more similar to television’s reality than to any measurable, objective external reality
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
In this context, define: Resonance
When things on television are consistent with viewers’ actual everyday realities
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
In this context, define: Acceleration
- The speed at which media exposure influences people’s perceptions
Cultivation Analysis Theory (What Do Media Do to Us?)
In this context, define: Desensitization
- The diminishing emotional response to violent or disturbing media content over time.
