Media Audiences (effects)

Question 1

What are the views on media influence?

Answer 1

• some ppl may not accept everything that they see on the media or may respond in different ways
• most cases a media text is polysemic, meaning it can be interpreted in different ways by different ppl
• also important to remember that the media is only one agent that influences ppls behaviour- number of other agents of socialisation as well as different influences on ppls behaviour

Question 2

What are methodological problems of researching media effects?

Answer 2

• is difficult to establish whether it s the media, or other social factors, that cause any alleged effects. For example, argued those who watch more TV violence are more aggressive than those who do not, may be bc some ppls social situation leads them to watching violent programmes
• almost impossible to separate effects of media on audiences from whole range of other influential factors such as social circumstances, experiences and knowledge
• hard to establish, with the spread of new media, which media cause any alleged effects- TV? Newspaper?
• practically impossible to establish what people’s values and behaviour might have been without any media influence. For example, ppl may have been racist or supported any dominant ideology anyway even without media influence
• in a media saturated society, everyone is exposed to some form of media and for all of their lives. This means it is almost impossible to compare different effects between those who have been exposed to media and those who have not, as there aren’t likely to be ppl who haven’t been exposed to media at all

Question 3

What are the different media effect models on audiences?

Answer 3

• How passive or active are the audience- extent to which media audiences engage with media they consume- do they simply accept what they consume, do they interpret and criticise media texts or reject altogether
• How powerful are the media in affecting audiences- how influential are the media compared to other influences such as own experiences or the influence of other agents of socialisation
• active audience models see the media as less influential than passive audience approach- believe audiences are not homogenous and they vary in social characteristics and personal experiences- in way they use media and what use media for and interpretations

Question 4

What is the Two Step Flow Model (Active)?

Answer 4

• Katz and Lazarsfled suggest social networks are dominated by opinion leaders. These are ppl with influence bc other members of social networks respect them and their opinion, like Family members or friends
• opinion leaders consume different types of media and media content and form strong opinions on this info
• therefore media content goes through two stages before it has an effect on audiences:
  1. opinion leader is exposed to media content- they then interpret and filter these media texts and form an opinion on them
  2. They then pass on their opinion to others in their social groups, who are influenced by that interpretation
• this means audiences receive mediated messages from opinion leaders whose views they respect
• this model recognises audiences are not isolated individuals but the social groups they belong to influence their opinions and responses to media content

Question 5

What are the criticisms of the Two Step Flow Model?

Answer 5

• probably more than 2 steps in media’s influence. Media content could be interpreted differently individuals in different groups. For example, parents may have one view, a workmate another and a teacher another. This might mean interpretations get bounced around in a variety of groups, creating many steps in flow of media influence
• suggests ppl are vulnerable to manipulation by leaders- no recognition ppl may have existing views affecting interpretations
• suggests audience are divided into active viewers and passive viewers who are influenced by opinion leaders- no explanation of why leaders are influenced by content and others are not
• with rise of new media role of opinion leaders= less influential or replaced by diverse opinion leaders

Question 6

What is ‘Selective Filtering’ model (Active)?

Answer 6

• interpretivist approach
• Klapper suggested ppl make choices and interpret what they see in media- suggests there are 3 filters ppl apply:
  1) Selective exposure: ppl must first choose what they wish to consume and may choose only media messages sitting with existing interests
  2) Selective perception: ppl will react differently to the same message and may choose to accept or reject messages depending if fits views
  3) Selective retention: ppl will forget material that is not in line with views and only remember media messages they generally agree upon
• this indicates audiences are heterogenous and respond to same media content in different ways

Question 7

What is ‘Selective Filtering’ model (Active) critism

Answer 7

• children will still be exposed to media that they should not be seeing- censorship= ineffective
• Many media messages only stick with the audience because they’re constantly repeated in the news

Question 8

What is the ‘Reception Analysis’ model (Active)?

Answer 8

• suggests media texts are encoded by those who produce them- meaning they contain an intended meaning which they expect audiences to believe- this encoding is the dominant hegemonic viewpoint and reflects dominant ideology which is held by most ppl who work in media
• most audiences will interpret or decode media texts in the way they were intended bc the dominant hegemonic viewpoint appears as normal and reasonable - other audiences, though, may interpret it differently due to their social situations and experiences
• Morley applied this in a study of the BBC1 news programme ‘Nationwide’ which ran from the late 60’s to early 80s- found people may decode media texts in one of 3 ways:
  1) the preferred or dominant reading- audiences decode media texts in way producers intend
  2) negotiated reading- audiences generally accept preferred/dominant reading but amend it to some extent to fit their own belief and experiences
  3) oppositional reading: audiences reject the preferred/dominant reading
  -Morley suggests the particular reading that audiences adopt will be influential by their own knowledge and experiences etc- shows audiences are heterogenous

Question 9

What is a criticism for the reception analysis model?

Answer 9

• Morley’s study was not ecologically valid- did not take place in ppls home env where normally watch TV

Question 10

What is the ‘Cultural effects model’ (Active)?

Answer 10

• neo Marxist model- media do have an effect on audience however it does not regard audiences as simply passive consumers
• recognises media are owned and heavily influenced by dominant society groups and interests influence content
• model suggests media will generally spread dominant ideology but it accepts audiences interpret media they consume and may respond in different ways depending on their social characteristics ad own experiences, e.g. women may reject gender stereotyping whilst ppl who have positive, first hand experiences of minority ethnic groups may reject racist stereotypes
• those w/o these experiences may accept media content as they have no experiences to compare it to
• nonetheless- this model suggests media gradually influence the audience over a period of time in a sort drip-drip effect- this gradually shapes ppls taken for granted ideas which they see common sense and their everyday view of the world- for example, if people see minority ethnic groups nearly always portrayed in a criminal context, over time this will form the stereotypes we have of groups
• therefore, media coverage of particular issues results in most ppl agreeing with the media’s reporting on issues- links with gatekeeping
  -through this process, audiences see the dominate ideology

Question 11

What is a criticism of this cultural effects model?

Answer 11

• it assumes media personnel work within the framework and assumptions of dominant ideology. Fails to recognise journalists have some independence and can sometimes be very critical of dominant ideology

Question 12

What do the Glasgow Media group say about some of the active models ?

Answer 12

• very critical of encoding/decoding and selective filtering approaches as well as of the view that media texts are polysemic
• accept audiences are active but stress much of their research shows most ppl accept dominant media accounts unless have alternative info forms
• in a study of miner striking in Britain- GMG found ppl from different classes and political stance interpreted images in same way and believed media account that miners were responsible for trouble- study’s suggests encoding and selective filtering models underestimate extent of media’s ability to mould public understanding of social issues

Question 13

What is ‘The Uses and Gratification model’ (active)?

Answer 13

• (compared to other models) this assumes media have weakest effects and audience is most active- associated with Pluralism- emphasise what audiences do with the media or use media for, rather than what the media do to influence audiences
• starts with the view that media audiences are thinking, active human beings who use media in various ways for own various interests (gratification)
• McQuail suggests a variety of uses and gratifications of media use:
  
  • Diversion: leisure, entertainment and relaxation escaping daily routine
  • Personal Relationships: keep up with family and friends, media communities like ‘Coronation Street’ or characters, convo starter in group situations
    -Personal identity: to explore and confirm people’s own identities or to explore new areas of identity
    -Surveillance: to access info about things that might affect users, to find out about the world or to help them do things, accomplish something or make their minds up about issues, this might involve news or current affairs programmes o seeking out info via traditional or new media
    -Background wallpaper- while doing other things
• variety of uses of media means ppl make conscious choices, select and interpret what they consume from the media and use them for a range of needs which they themselves decide upon
• these different uses mean the effects of the media are likely to be different for different individuals- uses and gratifications of the media will also be influenced by social control characteristics and previous experiences
• this model also recognises that audiences have some power to decide media content- failure by companies to satisfy gratifications of audiences mean no consumers of that media and therefore no advertisers

Question 14

What are the criticisms of the uses and gratification model?

Answer 14

• overestimates power of audiences to influence media content- also underestimates influence of the media to shape and influence choices ppl make the gratifications they get from the media, media may create gratifications themselves via advertising for example
• focuses too much on the use of media by individuals, doesn’t allow for the groups aspect of media audiences like the 2 step flow model and cultural effects model- models show groups will influence ppls uses and gratifications of media
• focus on individual uses and gratifications ignores wider social factors affecting way audience respond. Common experiences and values may mean many ppl will respond in similar ways to media content

Question 15

What is the Hypodermic syringe model (Passive)?

Answer 15

• sometimes called magic bullet theory
• developed by Frankfurt school of Marxists who say media as an agent of ideological control
• most commentators would now regard model old fashioned and inadequate view of relationship between media content and audiences

Question 16

What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest for passive audiences ?

Answer 16

• media act like a hypodermic syringe injecting media texts into media audiences
• audiences are seen as unthinking, passive receivers of media texts- media messages fill audiences with dominant ideology, sexist and racist images, scenes of violence or other content and the audience immediately acts on messages
• assumes audience is homogenous ( all have same characteristics )

Question 17

What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest for its link with moral panics?

Answer 17

• this model lies behind many moral panics over effects of media on behaviour, and sometimes used to partly explain London 2011 riots with some claiming social media fuelling riots
• on rare occasions-> ppl may react quite directly to what they see in media, e.g. copycat crimes or urban riots
• advertisers also spend millions of pounds on advertising their products which we can assume have some effect on consumers and sales of these products

Question 18

What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest for Imitation?

Answer 18

• Bandura’s bobo doll experiment demonstrated that when children observed violent acts they were more likely to become violent
• in this experiment- some children saw a bobo doll being attacked by adults, whilst other groups did not- the group who had observed the violence, behaved violently themselves
• McCabe + Martin-> media violence has a disinhibition effect- meaning it convinces children that in some social situations, discussion and negotiation can be replaced with violence

Question 19

What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest for Desensitisation?

Answer 19

• Newson argues exposure to media violence encourages young ppl to identify with violent perpetrators rather than victims
• she noted-> children and teens subject to thousand of acts of violence through media exposure and this may have a drip drip effect where become desensitised to violence over time
• Huesmann study supports idea- ppl who watched violent shows early age = more aggressive in 20s
• Newson’s conclusions led to inc censorship of film industry with age certificates for films and tv companies adopting 21:00 watershed

Question 20

What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest for its links with Feminism and Marxism?

Answer 20

• HS model has been used by feminists such as Wolf to argue that media representations of femineity may be producing a generation of females who suffer from eating disorders
• Marcuse (Marxist) believed that media transmitted a mass culture which made audiences more vulnerable to ruling class ideology

Question 21

Evaluation of the hypodermic syringe model?

Answer 21

• Catharsis: Fesbach and Sanger found screen violence can provide an outlet for ppls violent tendencies which known as catharsis. Found participants who had seen only aggressive programmes during study had less violent behaviour
• Sensitisation: Ramos-> found participants in their research were more empathetic towards victims suffering when they knew they were watching real violence. Therefore, some sociologists argue media violence actually sensitises audience violence and its consequences
• Methodological problems: Bandura’s experiment was criticised as took place in a lab. Therefore lacked ecological validity as children were not in natural ENV. This may have affected behaviour
• Other criticisms: model assumes entire audience is passive and homogenous and will react in same way to media content- but ppl may have a range of responses depending on own social situation and experiences, Also ignores fact audiences interpret media content in different ways and give different meanings to media texts

Question 22

How is violence portrayed in the media?

Answer 22

• part of popular culture and more and more exposed than ever before
• new media mean violent imagery found everywhere, ppl can access it whenever they please and impossible to control
• can be seen via new tech like video games
• questions over media causing violence been has been around for nearly as long as mass media has existed - murder of James Bulger
• review for ‘Anderson et al’ claim it is definite media violence increased likelihood of aggressive and violent behaviour long term
• however some claims are disputed
• Newburn and Hagell concluded the link between media violence and violent behaviour was not proven and children displaying violent tendencies may have done so anyway regardless of TV viewing
• researchers have argued their studies have shown no evidence of long term inks between media violence and real life violence

Question 23

What are some uncertainties of effects of media violence on real life violence?

Answer 23

• Copycatting/imitation-> this argues exposure to media violence cause children to copy what they see- seen by Banduras doll experiment
• Catharsis- Fesbach and Sanger claim media violence reduces violence as allows ppl to live out violent tendencies in a fantasy media world rather than real
• Desensitisation- repeated exposure of children to media violence has a gradual ‘drip-drip’ effect, socialising audiences into accepting culture of violence in which it seen as a normal part of life and a legitimate way of solving problems - means ppl are less sensitive when they witness real-world violence and have less sympathy for victims increasing likelihood of aggressive behaviour
• sensitisation- Young argued violent exposure in media makes ppl sensitive to consequences of violence and less tolerant of real life violence
• media violence causes psychological disturbance in some children- watching media frightens young children causing nightmares and anxiety
• exaggeration of fear of violence-> even if what is shown wont make ppl violent it may lead to belief we live in a violent society

Question 24

Why is researching these media effects difficult?

Answer 24

• have to agree on what is violent and how it can be measured
• links between media violence and real violence does not mean media causes behaviour- it may be due to aggressive people choosing to see violent programmes, perhaps if it is medias effect, and if certain circumstances make both ppl aggressive and lead them to watch more violent TV
• Livingstone and Ferguson point out that media effects models have tried to resolve these issues by using the experimental method of research- in this method small samples have been exposed to media violence in an artificial lab env to see if behave violently- like Bobo doll

Question 25

What are the problems with using lab experiments and Bandura’s research?

Answer 25

• unethical to deliberately expose ppl, especially children to violent imager- issues of harming themselves and others
• problem with how media violence is defined as depicts different media types of violence like boxing, cartoons or crime dramas- which may not be seen by researchers in same way - likely ppl are able to distinguish between types of violence
• the HDS model underlies much of the research
• impossible to avoid Hawthorne effect- Bandura study ppl may behave differently in real life and alter behaviour or attitudes as a response to being studied
• lab experiments last for short time and may only measure effects immediate for media violence
• almost impossible to find a person who has bot bee exposed to media violence - which may be necessary