Media Effects Flashcards
Magic Bullet Theory
Same as powerful effects theory - media has immediate direct effect. Media can inject opinions into us, like a hypodermic needle.
Walter Lipmann
Argued that the world we know is pictures inside our heads. The pictures of things that we’ve never seen are shaped by the media.
Lasswell’s mass communication model assumed what?
Powerful effects theory
Lasswell’s mass communication model
Who, did what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect?
Criticism of Powerful Effects theory
People are skeptical, they don’t just absorb information. They interpret things differently. largely discredited theory today
Davison’s Third Person Effect
They can’t handle it but I can. Overestimating media effects on other people.
Davison’s two research conclusions:
Negative impact fears unwarranted
Blocking negative messages unwarranted.
How was powerful effects theory discredited?
Enthusiasm for powerful effects theory died down after Lazarsfeld conducted two studies in which he asked 600 people how they developed their campaign opinions. Instead of saying the media, many said acquaintances and friends. Clearly, powerful effects theory seemed wrong.
What followed powerful effects theory?
Minimalist effects theory
Minimalist Effects theory
Media largely have an indirect effect. Two step flow model of influence
Two step flow model
Media affects us through opinion leaders.
Opinion Leaders
People who we respect. Might not be in positions of authority.
Two step flow model leads to what?
Multistep flow model.
Multistep flow model
People in modern times look to many different sources.
Minimalist scholars acknowledge what?
Status conferral - media attention enhances attention towards people and issues.
Tied to status conferral is what?
Agenda setting
Narcotizing Dysfunction
Some minimalists think that some people are so overwhelmed with media coverage that they refrain from political participation. Some people might also think that they are active, even though they are merely informing themselves.
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Leader of cumulative effects theory - accused of being an anti-semite.
Cumulative effects theory
Media effects, while initially minimal, end up cumulating and becoming powerful. Nobody can avoid the media and its messages due to ubiquity and redundancy. Spiral of silence. Resurrection of an altered Powerful Effects Theory
Spiral of silence
Vocal majority intimidates the minority into silence.
Socialization
learning how to fit into society
In the old days, what socialized children first? Why?
The home. Mass media like books required reading skills that were learned later in schools.
What displaced parents as the dominant socializing force? Why?
Television. Babies could watch it without learning anything.
By definition, socialization is what? What does this mean?
Pro-social. Perpetuates positive values.
What destroyed evening newspapers?
Female shoppers began to work, later job shifts for people due to transition from industrial to service economy.
What destroyed taverns?
TVs allowed people to socialize and entertain themselves at home.
Intergenerational eavesdropping
Mass media, particularly television, have eroded the boundaries between generations, genders, and social institutions. Children not protected from anything.
Lifestyle Effects
Living Patterns, Hypersexualization of social environment, Intergenerational eavesdropping
Attitude effects
Influencing opinion, role models, stereotypes, and agenda setting/status conferral
Are opinions malleable?
People change their minds.
What makes people change their minds?
The media
