Media Effects 1/26/15 10:03 PM Brief History of Media Effects • PAYNE FUND STUDIES - first studies of media • INVASION FROM MARS- War of the Worlds broadcast • THE MAGIC BULLET MODEL- messages exert powerful force • LIMITED EFFECTS- studies done by television executives Why do we use media? • Uses and gratifications perspective- focuses heavily on individual motivations for media use Why do children watch TV? • Learning, habit, companionship, arousal, relaxation, escape, passing time Time spent with media • Television addiction • Displacement hypothesis- time spent with media (primarily television) is serving to displace time that would normally be spent doing other activities • Television and obesity- displaces exercise Effects of Media Violence • Albert Bandura • Bobo Doll Study • Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory • People learn by imitating what they see • Rewards • Punishments • Social exchange theory- people want to maximize the rewards at the lowest cost Media Violence • Catharsis Theory • Desensitizing Effect • Priming• Ideas brought up by media remind one of other similar ideas • If you are reading a violent story, you may be more likely to feel threatened Sex in Media • Pornography • Non-violent- similar to what you see in Rated R movies • Violent- explicit acts Effects of Prolonged Pornography Consumption (non-violent) • Excitatory responses diminish • Repulsion is diminished and lost • Does not lead to increased enjoyment • Leads to a seeking of violent pornography so that you lose habituation • Leads to belief that less popular sexual practices are normal • Leads to a belief that health risks are minimal • Promotes acceptance of pre-and extra marital sex • Increases distrust in a partner, but violation of sexual exclusivity is more readily tolerated • Moral condemnation of sexual improprieties diminishes altogether • Spawns doubts about the value of marriage • Diminishes desire for offspring (esp. among females wanting to have female babies) • Not satisfied with partner’s looks or sexual performance • Promotes insensitivity toward victims of sexual violence • Trivializes rape as crime • Promotes men’s propensity for forcing particular sexual acts on reluctant female partners • Increases propensity for rape • At risk for becoming sexually callous and violent Sex in Media • That list was made in the 80s • Porn is readily available to anyone on the internet • However, we have yet to fully understand the effects of pornographyEntertainment Theory • Disposition theory- you develop a liking or disliking of characters • Mood management theory- people will choose happier media to elevate their mood • Excitation Transfer Theory • Chemical excitation lasts longer than the cognitive labeling of excitation • Body will not know this is happening • Leads to higher enjoyment of events following excitation because physiological responses and excitement is high • You develop a liking or disliking of characters Mood Management Theory • People will choose happier media to elevate their mood, etc. Excitation Transfer Theory • Chemical excitation lasts longer than the cognitive labeling of excitation • Body will not know this is happening • Leads to higher enjoyment of events following excitation because psychological responses and excitement is high Persuasion in Media • PERSUASION – an intentional act meant to change or reinforce someone’s behavior • Not to be confused with influence • PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP – forming a bond or attachment to a character on television or in the media • ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL • Central route to persuasion (thoughtful) • Relies on arguments – thoughtful ideas put forth in order to induce a thoughtful decision making process in the target – stronger effects • Peripheral route to persuasion (thoughtless) • Relies on cues – simple images and ideas used to persuade the target in a thoughtless manner • Subliminal advertising does not work • APPEAL – tactics used to make the product more appealing• APPETITE APPEALS – appeals that make the product attractive • AVERSICE APPEALS – appeals that make alternatives look unattractive Television and News Theories and Effects • CULTIVATION THEORY – a gradual and cumulative process where the ideas, thoughts, and attitudes of an individual that is exposed to high amounts of television slowly begin to resemble the ideas, thoughts, and attitudes put forth in the television world • Theory mostly concerned with attitudes formation • MAINSTREAMING – differences amongst groups becomes less pronounced because everyone is being exposed to the same media messages; more moderate ideas are prominent • RESONCANCE – when real-life environments strongly resemble environments depicted in media • MEAN WORLD SYNDROME – those individuals exposed to higher amounts of television begin to believe the world is a much more dangerous place than it really is • PROGRAM SPECIFICITY – ideas will be cultivated based on the program, not the total time watching television • Exemplification Theory • Similar to cultivation theory • Individuals are more likely to remember a case study or “exemplar” than they are base rate information • Exemplar – an example; news shows will often show one example of a family or person struggling with a certain problem • Base rate information – the actual number of people; only about 15 people are killed in auto-related crimes each year • Exemplars are very common in media • Relies on heuristics • Heuristics – your mind calls upon cues to make snap judgments • Availability heuristics – an individual finds that a previous situation or exemplar is available to use to categorize a new situation• Representativeness heuristic – an individual assesses a past situation or exemplar and feels that it is representative of the current situation and calls on it to assess the new situation • Third Person Effect • Problems will affect them, but not me or us • Agenda-Setting • News media doesn’t tell you what to think, but what to think about • Spiral of Silence • Most people don’t feel comfortable speaking their views if they feel they are in the minority • Framing • News media (or