Study Guide Exam #1
Media Theories and Effects
Concepts to know:
The differences between media platforms (characteristics of electronic, print
and CMC)
That in the end, the final judge of the meaning of a message is the receiver of
the message.
The three effects models (cumulative, direct, conditional)
How we attend to television
How use of media impact childrens creativity
Explain the cognitive and emotional components of media exposure
Explain the different research methods (content analysis, experiments,
surveys)
The effect of media use on heavy versus light users
Explain the four stages of minority portrayals
Explain the effects of stereotypingnegative and positive
How children perceive media messages
How minority children are impacted by media effects versus white children
Know which form of media content has the most stereotyped gender
portrayals
The classes of effects (behavioral, attitudinal, cognitive, physiological,
emotional)
Terms to know:
Time-shifting - the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or
listened to after the live broadcasting. Typically, this refers to TV programming but can
also refer to radio shows via podcasts
Packet-switching - the type of network in which relatively small units of data called
packets are routed through a network based on the destination address contained
within each packet.
Hypertextuality - The networking function of new media that allows a large quantity of information to
freely move around within a series of interconnected nodes in the network
Interactivity - refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems
which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image,
animation, video, audio, and video games.
Synchronicity - a concept, first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which
holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal
relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.
Narrowcasting v broadcasting - Broadcasting, by definition, is sharing a message
broadly with a very wide audience. Narrowcasting, on the other hand, is about sharing
a message with a narrower group
Exposure - the extent to which audience members have encountered specific
messages or classes of messages/media content
Mainstreaming The gradual homogenization of peoples divergent
perceptions of social reality into a convergerent mainstream.
Modeling
The Mean World Syndrome - a term coined by George Gerbner to describe a
phenomenon whereby violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe
that the world is more dangerous than it actually is
Drench hypothesis - severly contrasting portrayels can be powerful
enough to counter ideas/stereotypes
Framing - related to the agenda-setting tradition but expands the research by focusing
on the essence of the issues at hand rather than on a particular topic.
Mental maps - a person's point-of-view perception of their area of interaction
Observation
Parasocial interaction - offers an explanation of the ways in which audience
members develop their one-sided relationships with the media being consumed
Third Person Effect - predicts that people tend to perceive that mass media
messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves, based on personal
biases.
Cultivation Theory - examines the long-term effects of television.
"The primary proposition of cultivation theory states that the
more time people spend 'living' in the television world, the more
likely they are to believe social reality aligns with reality
portrayed on television
Agenda Setting Theory - the "ability [of the news media] to influence the salience of
topics on the public agenda."With agenda setting being a social science theory, it also
attempts to make predictions. That is, if a news item is covered frequently and
prominently, the audience will regard the issue as more important.
Schema Theory - Schema are cognitive structures like frames. They are
derived from previous experiences and memories. We use schemas to
organize our knowledge, guide our behavior, and to predict likely
[Link] way we interpret the media, such as television, is guided by
schemas.
Social Cognitive Theory - holds that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition
can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions,
experiences, and outside media influences.
Uses and Gratifications Theory - an approach to understanding why and how
people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs
Limited Effects Model - a mass communication theory which argues that the
influence from a mass media message on individual is limited or even trivial. Media
rarely directly influence individuals.
Hypodermic needle Theory - a model of communications suggesting that an
intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver.