TEL-T205Exam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 7-13Exam 2 date: 10/22 (Wed)Media “Reality”1. (a) Can you describe the “magic window”? (b) What are the dimensions of reality? (c) Describe the difference between factuality and plausibility. (d) How do people judge the reality of media messages? (e) What is the most often used dimension to determine the degree of reality in a media message?a) The “Magic Window” describes children’s perspective on television. They believe that everything that is happening on the shows that they see is actually happening somewhere in theworld.b) Factuality → did this actually happen?Plausibility → could this happen the way in which it is presentedTypically → do things happen this way?Emotionally → are the characters emotionally real? Do we connect emotionally with them?Narrative consistency → do they follow the rules of a narrativePerceptual Persuasiveness → do things look/sound real?c) Factuality means that it actually happened, whereas plausibility means that it could happen. These are the differences between “did something occur” (factuality) and “could this occur?” (plausibility).d) 1. judgment must move beyond the actualities of occurrence and consider the possibilities thatdifferent characters could be people encountered in real life and that particular situations couldactually occur.2. The social utility judgment is based on whether viewers believe they can use the informationin the portrayal in their own lives.3. the identity judgment is based on a feeling of parasocial involvement with particularcharacters.4. Shows need to have a next-step reality they need to be grounded in some dimension ofreality however break other dimensions of realitye) Plausibility is the most often used conceptualization employed by people to determine thedegree of reality in a media message.2. (a) Do people generally want realistic content and what two factors influence the consumption of media messages? (b) What two characteristics do the messages that people search for in the media have? a) No they do not want too realistic content because that is boring they want content that has some dimensions of reality. Two factors that influence media consumption are 1) it is impossible for them to get those messages in real life 2) motivates people to get messages from the media instead of real life because the costs of getting those messages in the media are far lower than the costs required in real lifeb) 1. those message must appear real. 2. those message must present a little more than everyday reality.3. (a) What is the “next-step reality”? (b) What does the “next-step reality” entail for news media? (c) What is cultivation theory? (d) What are some examples that TV distorts our perception of reality? (e) Why is the “next-step reality” fundamental to media literacy? a). we want content that meets some dimensions of reality and we want content that departs from some dimensions of realityb). “next step reality” for news media entails that it meets the factual dimensions of reality however it breaks the typicality dimension of reality. The news contains factual events however the news doesnot relay typical events because then the news would be boringc). cultivation theory: the more media we consume, the further our view of the world matches the media world and the less our view of the world matches the real worldd). 1. Teen Mom shows teen mothers with very active social lives with friends and boyfriendswhen in reality they do not have a social life because they are raising their child 2. violent crime people begin to think violent crime is high in reality because media exposes us to it3. stereotyping media enhances our perception of groupse). It dominates the fictional and non-fictional content in the media4. (a) Why do people watch reality TV? (b) How real is reality TV? (c) What is the fundamental attribution error? a). information-seeking (social norms, places to go etc.) ex: middle schoolers watch shows about high school to learn thingssocial comparison - we want to compare ourselves to those on TV. when feeling down, making comparisons to crappy people makes you feel better about yourself. or when watching shows like top chef or the voice, you can make upward comparisonsb). editing can take a few shots and make you out to be whatever the producers wantpeople on Real World signed the to be made out to look awful. producers can lie, use a double, really whatever they want to make the “character” bec). people's tendency to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics to explain someone else's behavior in a given situation, rather than considering external factors. example: if we see a random driver run a red light, we assume they’re a reckless driver in general however if we are driving we have excuses that explain why we messed up it is never our fault5. (a) How does “next-step reality” affect video game production? (b) What dimensions of reality apply to video games, and how? (c) What is “perceptual persuasiveness?” (d) What is the “uncanny valley” and what does it mean for video game creators? (e) What are some of the factors that predict enjoyment in videogames? (a) increased realism makes emphasis on the narrative and backstory more important- Plausibility now matters- Increased role of empathy/morality- Decreased flow goal driven tasks(b) Perceptual persuasiveness: how real is it to interact with the content- Controlling the action becomes a bigger part of the game- Natural mapping how natural the movements in the game are: the morenatural the movements in the game are, the more we can be able to forget aboutthe input device and enhance our experience in the game Graphics and Sound(c)- input devices (rumblepack, wii,kinect)- graphics/sound(d) when things look too realistic that it creeps us out(e) gamers don’t like decision-making, slows down flow of gameThe News Media1. (a) Name and describe the four journalistic values that are present in editorial decisions? (b) What are the three characteristics of objectivity? (c) Why do news stories have to be short and brief? (d) What kinds of constraints are placed on news stories?(a) 1. entertainment2. objectivity3. informativeness4. brevity(b) independence, balance, non-evaluative(c) In order to keep the attention of their audience and