TEL T 205 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide T205 Introduction to Media and Society Week 1 Introduction to Media and Society 1 a Can you describe the information problem that we are facing b What is automaticity c How did automaticity develop in society d What are the advantages and disadvantages of automaticity e When do we consciously process information that is derived from the media f How do advertisers and producers try to get around automaticity a The current information problem is that we are faced and have access to too much information We are living in a message saturated world The problem now is organizing this information so we can make meaningful use of it b Automaticity the default mode we but put our brains in auto pilot where our minds automatically filter out almost all media options Helps us make decisions more quickly and efficiently c Automaticity developed in our society when the amount of information reached a level in which our brains can no longer process it all Our brains adapted to this environment d Advantages include quick and efficient decision making It helps us navigate our day efficiently with almost no effort in our information saturated culture Disadvantages a Choices are constrained in less optimal ways b Our attention is less goal driven c Subject to manipulation triggers may be driven by someone elses goals for us e We can consciously process information that is derived from the media when we are in the transported exposure state in this state we have complete immersion in the content Increased attention on the content while decreased attention on the external environment f Advertisers and producers take advantage of the subconscious when we are in the automaticity state we are susceptible to certain evolutionary traits that are out of our conscious control They take advantage of our subconscious processing we have the ability to perceive and process we just do not know it 2 a What are the two ways we use the media Which of these uses is more common b What is the difference between automaticity and ritualistic media consumption c How does our ritualistic use of media affect the way broadcasting is scheduled How does the concept of inertia in viewing fit into those scheduling decisions a We either use media in an instrumental way our choice of media is governed by the content Or we use media in a ritualistic way habit governed by the decision to just use the medium It is not a decision based on quality it is just routine b The ritualistic approach is more common because people use media in a routine way Automaticity is the way our brain deals with excessive information and is a tool that assists us in making decisions efficiently Ritualistic media consumption is how we choose to consume media and how we choose to spend our time with media Automaticity is our exposure state c Our ritualistic use of media has made marathons a thing You turn on a channel and know what you are going to get Broadcasting follows a formula to cater to our habits and keep people watching Once people start their ritualistic viewing tendencies they have been set in motion and keep moving forward with their set program By continuing to air the same show in a marathon way they keep the viewer from moving onto a different show and continue watching on the same channel 3 a What is media literacy b What are the three building blocks of media literacy c What are the skills that media literacy requires d What are the advantages of developing a higher degree of media literacy a Media Literacy is people s ability to access and process information from any form of transmission b The three building blocks of media literacy consist of 1 personal locus self awareness 2 Knowledge Structures understanding how media is produced 3 Skills to navigate and make sense of the media environment c The skills involved in media literacy are 1 Analysis breaking down a message into meaningful elements 2 Evaluation judging the value of the element 3 Grouping determining which elements are alike in some way 4 Induction inferring a pattern across a small set of elements 5 Deduction using general principles to explain particulars 6 Synthesis assembling elements into a new structure 7 Abstracting creating a brief clear accurate description d Advantages The ability to regain our control 1 Attention and choice behavior 2 Direct media attention and choices to our goals 3 We learn from media and increase our knowledge structure Week 2 Media Audiences 1 a What are the three information processing tasks in which we are constantly engaged b How can these information processing tasks be developed c What is the difference between exposure and attention d In what four states do people process media messages Be able to explain each a Three information processing tasks are filtering meaning matching and meaning construction 1 Filtering to attend only to the messages that are useful 2 Meaning Matching to access previously learned meanings efficiently 3 Meaning Construction to interpret messages from more than 1 perspective b These information processing tasks can be developed with time and practice c Exposure vs Attention there are three different types of exposure it is not until all three conditions of exposure are met that there can be attention 1 Physical Exposure the physical presence in a certain proximity from the message 2 Perceptual Exposure the ability to receive appropriate sensory input through visual and auditory sense 3 Psychological Exposure some trace element must be created in a person s mind image sound emotion patter ect 4 Attention a person must clear all three of the exposure hurdles AND need to have conscious awareness of the media message d The four states of exposure are 1 Automaticity engaging in an unconscious way 2 Attentional Some level of conscious directed attention to some content but also engaged in surroundings 3 Transported Complete immersion in the content narrative increase in engagement with content and a decrease in engagement with external environment 4 Medial Literacy Paying attention to how you are perceiving the content exceedingly rare 2 a What is the difference between subliminal and automatic processing b Are we influenced by subliminal content Why or why not c Are we influenced by subconscious content Why or why not a Subliminal Processing are messages outside of our ability to perceive below our perceptual threshold Nonexposure Automatic Processing the artificial