History of Media Effects Research- media consumers often assume the media have large, negative effects on them.Rise of Mass Society- The rise of the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century we see massive migration from rural areas into the cities.- With this, people went from a small close knit community knowing everyone to a mass society where they learned mass media sources.Propaganda and the Direct Effects Model- Critics feared that mass media would become a powerful source in society- This viewed audience members as passive targets who would be hit or injected with the messagemedia effects on individuals vs whole society- Direct effects approach: viewed media messages as a stimulus that would lead to a predictable attitudinal or behavioral response with nothing intervening between sender and audience.- Magic bullet/hypodermic needle: basically the same as direct effects, direct effect on someone- Indirect effects approach: still looks at the effects messages have on individuals, but it accounts for the fact that the audience members perceive and interpret messages selectively.- Propaganda: direct message to public, very forcefulVoter Studies and Limited Effects Model- The People’s Choice1940’s US presidential election between Roosevelt and Wilkie- Opinion leadersInfluential community members, friends, family members, and co workers who spend a significant amount of time with the media.Information flows from the media to opinion leadersOrdinary people who are very interested and involved in a topic- People’s choice study found that few people changed their minds about who they were going to vote for because:voters who start off with a strong opinion are unlikey to change themthe most easily persuaded voters are not likely to pay attention to political communication because they aren’t strongly influencedImportance of Meaning and the Critical/Cultural model- how people use media to construct their view of the world rather than looking at how media changes people’s behaviors.- examination of the social structure- considers how meaning is created within society- looks at how people use and construct messagesMessage EffectsCognitive effects: the most common and observable message effects is on the short-term learning of informationPeople who want to talk more intelligently from media pay more attention to mediaAttitudinal effects: people can develop feelings about a product, individual, or an idea on the basis of media contentBehavioral effects: include actions such as clipping a coupon from a newspaper, buying a product, making a phone call, or voting for a candidatePsychological effects: media content can inspire fear, joy, revulsion, happiness, or amusement among other feelings.Major affect = arousalTheories of Media EffectsProvide guidance for predicting how and when the media will have effectsAgenda setting function of the news (McComb & Shaw, 1972)(Agenda = what we think are important)The media don’t tell us what to think, but what to think about.Persuasive effect, can influence electionPossible agenda items:Politics, economics, foreign policy, education, etc* Media Effects & NewsGan’s Journalistic Values (there are 8):1. Ethnocentrism:2. Altruistic democracy: Choosing the public3. Individualism: Standing out, it is important to be uniqueNegative media effects:1. Advertisement: for example, frosted flakes or cereal,obesity2. ViolenceSocial learning theory – albert bandura (1961 Bobo doll experiment)Cultivation and Mean World Syndrome – George GerbnerCultivation example: “watching one episode of breaking bad wont change you that much but watching multiple seasons, and playing halo, and reading about violence, will.”Mean world syndrome: we think that the world is a really mean and scary place because we consume so much media, the actual media effectCrime and violent based dramas are very popularDo the media have positive effects on us?- there are some positive media effectsWhat does Prosocial mean?Socially desirable and which in some way benefits the infividual or society as a whole.Prosocial effects and childrenActions are likely to be imitated if the character is:Realistic, similar to the child, receives positive reinforcement, carries out an action that is imitable by the childProsocial effects and AdolescentsMedia EnjoymentElevation & appreciationWitnessing Moral BeautyStudies of media and elevation by Mary Beth OliverChapter 2: Mass media effects- pro 01/22/2014History of Media Effects Research- media consumers often assume the media have large, negative effects on them.Rise of Mass Society- The rise of the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century we see massive migration from rural areas into the cities.- With this, people went from a small close knit community knowing everyone to a mass society where they learned mass media sources.Propaganda and the Direct Effects Model- Critics feared that mass media would become a powerful source in society- This viewed audience members as passive targets who would be hit or injected with the message-media effects on individuals vs whole society- Direct effects approach: viewed media messages as a stimulus that would lead to a predictable attitudinal or behavioral response with nothing intervening between sender and audience.- Magic bullet/hypodermic needle: basically the same as direct effects, direct effect on someone- Indirect effects approach: still looks at the effects messages have on individuals, but it accounts for the fact that the audience members perceive and interpret messages selectively.- Propaganda: direct message to public, very forcefulVoter Studies and Limited Effects Model- The People’s Choice-1940’s US presidential election between Roosevelt and Wilkie- Opinion leaders-Influential community members, friends, family members, and co workers who spend a significant amount of time with the media.-Information flows from the media to opinion leaders -Ordinary people who are very interested and involved in a topic- People’s choice study found that few people changed their minds about who they were going to vote for because:-voters who start off with a strong opinion are unlikey to change them-the most easily persuaded voters are not likely to pay attention to political communication because they aren’t strongly influencedImportance of Meaning and the Critical/Cultural model- how people use media to construct their view of