Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I. Continue watching Miss RepresentationII. The Media MatterIII. Gender MattersOutline of Current Lecture IV. Children in the MediaV. StereotypesVI. The Reflection Hypothesis and Symbolic AnnihilationVII. The Scientific PerspectiveVIII. The Scientific ProcessIX. Generating KnowledgeCurrent Lecture- Children in the Mediao Children spend around 7 hours a day with the mediao They are often persuaded moreo They lack real world experiences and may see something that is fictional but may see it as realityo The point here is that kids media intake matters because they are more vulnerable- Stereotypeso Stereotypes-when our over-generalizations become over simplistic Deny the importance of individual characteristics These can sometimes become prejudiceso Sex Role Stereotypes-a set of portrayals of sex appropriate appearance, interests, skills, behaviors, and self-perceptions In the article read for class, Tuchman argues that stereotypes like these are very persuasive- If one doesn’t conform to these stereotypes, one is seen as inadequate to otherso This is especially true when you are in the media spotlight Not conforming to the stereotypes is more newsworthy than anything else- The Reflection Hypothesis and Symbolic Annihilationo The mass media reflect dominant social values Doesn’t reflect reality as it exists, but as we want it to be By only showing an idealized world, the media fail to reflect a realistic one Women in the media are symbolically annihilated because only idealized versions of women and women’s lives are discussed/shown- As a result:o Women are shown less often than men areo Women are less often the protagonistT192o Women are white, thin, young, and beautifulo Women are virginal yet know what to do in the bedroomo Work-life balance issues are rarely discussedo Has it gotten better? A study by Stacey Smith(2011) analyzed top grossing films in 2007 and the results were as follows:- Males have more roles than females do- Females are frequently sexualized- Storyteller’s affect what is on screen- Results didn’t change in 2008 When a woman is in charge behind the camera (script, producers, directors, etc.), women’s speaking roles jumped 50% and women were less sexualized- The Scientific Perspectiveo Non-scientific ways of “knowing”o Problems Could be making poor or dangerous decisionso What is Science? Knowledge gained by systematic studyo Characteristics Systematic Replicable Made public Goes through peer-review processes- The Scientific Processo Theory => Hypothesis => Observation => Generalizationo It happens the same way no matter what research you are doing- Generating Knowledgeo Content Analysis Describes messages Allows you to make comparisons- Over time, between groups, to reality Advantages - Systematic and replicable- Unobtrusive(don’t have to recruit participants)- Easy to make comparisons Limitations- No info about processes or effectso You can make guesses but have to prove those guesses in some other wayo Surveys Describes characteristics of a population Examines relationships between variables Advantages- Representative- Naturalistic Limitations- Can’t establish causation- Could have a 3rd variable playing a role- Can only establish a relationshipo Experiment Isolates effects of specific variables Establishes causality Usually have treatment and control group so you can see the differences and look at your variables Advantages- Control Limitations- Limited generalizabilityo It can be artificial due to labs and created areaso Choose the method based on your questions and interests Also look at what is ethical- Ex: You can’t harm your