Perceptions of Media Effects and Biases Flashcards
1
Q
Some Common Claims
A
- Media are powerful
- Media are biased.
- Media affect unprepared others..
2
Q
Media are powerful (Common Claims)
A
- George Gerbner: TV as a chief storyteller
- Jean Kilbourne: Killing us Softly
- Jerrry Kroth: Mass Media “engineers and distorts” our perceptions
3
Q
Media are biased (Common Claims)
A
- Partisans’ claims
- Bennett: Four “information biases”
4
Q
Media affect unprepared others (Common Claims)
A
“You and I can see through it!’’
5
Q
How do we see media bias
A
- Interaction of three factors
- Content
- Cues
- One’s position as a vantage point
6
Q
Content (How we see media bias)
A
Information items
7
Q
Cues (How we see media bias)
A
(suspected) partisan identity of the source
8
Q
Naive Realism
A
- A cognitive egocentric tendency, individuals tend to
- believe their own perceptions of reality to be real and objective
- believe that others with normal faculty should see the reality in the same way; if not, then.. those others must be biased
- “Then, others are biased.”
- “I view reality as it is”
- “Others see things differently.”
- Self-other symmetry in perceptions
- The bias blind-spot: “I am not suceptible to the “blatant” biases”
9
Q
Hasdorf & Cantril (1954)
A
- “They saw a game.” Dartmouth vs. Princeton.
- Darmouth star player left due to broken bones.
- Measured: How did fans percieve game?
- Result: Dartmouth perceived equal amount of infractions committed by both players.
- Princeton- perceived unequal interactions
10
Q
Hostile Media Phenomenon
A
- “Biased perceptions of media bias.”
- People with a strong partisanship perceive “neutral” media content as being biased against their own view/position
11
Q
Self-Other Symmetry (Hostile Media Phenomenon)
A
- The fact that we see our own opinions as the real truth and we think others don’t see that truth (an asymmetric relationship), so based on that notion we believe that others are more affected by bias than ourselves
12
Q
Blind Spot (Hostile Media Phenomenon)
A
- We have a tendency to see others as more susceptible to bias (e.g., driven by self-interests) than the self
- When others have a different opinion than you, you believe that others are biased, not you.
13
Q
Beirut Massacre (Hostile Media Phenomenon)
A
- Study observed Beirut Massacre, 300+ refugees
- Q: Was US media coverage of the event fair?
- Pro-Israel and Pro-Arab partisan participants rated treatment of Israel.
- Pro-Israel: rated neutral viewers as more likely to become negative toward Israel after viewing.
- Pro-Arab: saw it as Pro-Israel (good treatment of Israel)
- Findings
- Self-rating of knowledge: Greater polarized perception.
14
Q
*****Smith 2010 Study
A
- (Still Hostile Media Phenomenon)
- Elite attacks of news media as cues:
- Increasing perceieved bias in teh news sources
- Potential detrimental effects
- Weaken democratic accountability
- Decline of institutional trust (including media trust)
15
Q
NORC at University of Chicago 2013
A
- NORC= research center
- Confidence in press and television media institutions is declining
- US military is the only thing that people have high confidence in
