Topic 5 : Audience Effects Models Flashcards
Methodological problems of researching media effects on audiences
Difficult to establish causality
How do we work out the extent of media impact relative to other factors
It is hard to know the counter-factual - what someone would have thought if they hadn’t been exposed to certain media
Hypodermic syringe model = Marxist = passive audience
Audiences are entirely passive as content is injected into them and they cannot resist it
The media fills audiences with the dominant ideology and the audience then act in accordance to this
= EG Dworkin - watching pornography influences men to abuse women
Advertisers spend so much money on advertising so it can be believed that the media can directly impact our behaviour
Hypodermic syringe model AO2
Orbach and Wolf - such portrayals of women encourage eating disorders
= thin youthful bodies seen as the norm and audience passively aims to reach this goal
Marcuse (mx) - mass culture is injected into our minds to divert their attention away from the RC and from their own problems
Norris - media coverage of politics can influence voting
Hypodermic syringe model AO3
Assumes the entire media audience is homogenous and will respond in the same way
Assumes audiences are passive
Assumes media can override all other factors influencing views and behaviour
How is the 2 step flow model different to the HDS model
Sees audience as active, and part of different CAGEDS groups which will influence how we interept media
Does not see the media AS powerful as the HDS model does, but still quite influential
Recognises active individuality and other factors
Recognises the role that influential people have in shaping our view of the world
Two step flow model - Katz and Lazarsfeld - Active audience
The media produces something - opinion leaders listen to them
Instead of media going directly to the audience (like HDS) opinion leaders interpret and filter the news and form their own opinion on it
Then pass this opinion onto their social group
The social group you belong to will impact the way you interpret the media based on opinion leaders
2 step flow AO2
IPCC publishing warnings about climate change
Greta thunberg interprets this negatively and starts protesting
Other young people follow her views and protest too
2 step flow AO3
Too simple : there could be more than 2 steps and overlapping groups could be in conflict
What perspective does the cultural effects model link with
Neo Marxist view
Cultural effects model AO1
Because the media is strongly influenced by owners, most content will be encoded with messages which are in support of the dominant ideology (capitalism, patriarchy etc.)
The majority will end up agreeing with the encoded messages as it is constantly fed to them (drip drip)
This LEADS to the dominant ideology view becoming common sense to the majority of viewers
This LEADS to the cultural hegemony of the RC
Cultural effects model - what does it recognise
Recognises that audiences are able to actively interpret the media and some may reject it
Whether the reject the dominant ideology or not depends on specific circumstances and CAGEDS background
EG - women may reject gender stereotypes
White people living in diverse areas may reject racial stereotypes
Debate within the cultural effects model
Interpretivists = stronger audiences (emphasises the audiences ability to interpret media content and reject it based on knowledge or experience)
Philo + GMG = stronger media (audience’s autonomy is exaggerated. Media plays a very strong role in shaping the world view of most of the audience)
Interpretivist view of the cultural effects model - 2 names
Morley - audiences can decode content
Klapper - audiences can filter content
Morley
Audiences are given media that is encoded with dominant ideology messages, however, they decode these messages in one of three ways:
- Preferred dominant reading (most) - audiences interpret media the way producers intended them to
- Negotiated reading (some) - audiences generally accept the preferred reading but find exceptions to fit their own beliefs
- Oppositional reading (fewer) - audience reject the dominant reading
The way you decode is based on CAGEDS and ability to access alternative knowledge
Klapper
Audiences filter news - the way they filter depends on CAGE and knowledge
3 ways to filter:
1. Selective perception -people choose which parts of media they accept / reject depending on their views
2. Selective exposure - audiences choose to consume media which aligns with their views
3. Selective retention - audiences forget content that doesn’t align with their views
Cultural effects model AO3
Marxists - exaggeration of audience’s autonomy
Pluralists - exaggeration of the gatekeeping on media and the extent to which media is encoded with dominant ideology messages - new media undermines this
Postmodernists - too deterministic and underestimates the influence opinion leaders may have, and our own ability to choose
Uses and gratifications model AO1
Media has the weakest effects and audience is most active
We use the. Media in many ways to satisfy our interests
Audiences consume different media based on CAGEDS and we make conscious decisions to do so - we’re not predetermined by anything
Media has to response to the needs of the audience
Uses and gratifications model - ways in which media is used by the audience
- To escape daily routines - relax
- To support personal relationships - engaging in commonly enjoyed media
- To explore an identity
- Surveillance - keeping up with current affairs
- Background - keeping it on whilst doing something else
Park et al
People use Facebook groups to:
Entertain and envelop personal relationships with people
Maintain a personal status, conforming to an identity
Stay informed about events related to that group
Effects of media violence - newson
Violent videos could lead to violent actions
Effects of media violence - Anderson et al
It is indisputable that media violence increases the likelihood of violent behaviour
Effects of media violence - newburn and hagell
Looked at over 1000 studies and found no proven link between media and violence
Impact of media violence - Bandura
Imitation - HSM
Impact of media violence - uses and gratifications model
Catharsis - allows people to live out any violent tendencies online and not in the real world
