Limited Effects
1940s and 50s - empirical
research
(surveys,
interviews, experiments)
Gathering data, not deducing
from an armchair
(media studies beginning to grow up)
Inductive - let theory form
from empirical observation
(middle-range
theory)
Hadley Cantril - War of the Worlds
Individual differences and social
categories
Critical ability, geography, psychological
influences
(emotional security, lack of self-confidence,
fatalism
etc.)
Also, media could be used
for good!
Paul Lazersfeld
1940 Presidential Campaign (FDR
- Wilkie)
How does the media influence voting?
Surveys, interviews over time
| 1) increased interest in the campaign |
|
2) greater exposure
to campaign material
|
| 3) selective exposure |
| (key - individual
& social differences) |
| 4) crystallized decisions |
|
|
| conversion rare |
2-step flow
| 1. media to viewer (media influence) |
| 2. viewer to others (personal influence) |
| opinion leaders |
| (social relationships, groupmemberships
etc.) |
Led to emphasis on selective
effects/indirect processes
Cognitive dissonance - information
that is
inconsistent
with held views brings discomfort
selective exposure
selective retention
selective perception
Carl Hovland
attitude change - "Why
We Fight"
| Designed to influence soldier's attitudes
|
| (motivation to fight) |
| Results? |
|
Minimal effects
|
|
Increased knowledge
|
|
No appreciable change
in motivation
|
|
(and in some cases, a decrease!)
|
| Why? |
| Already motivated? |
|
Past experience |
| Trying too hard |
| Visual cues leading to fatalism |
Led to research about persuasion
(attitude
change is complex)
Ex. Source credibility
*"The Impact of Television" Tannis MacBeth Williams (Ed.)
British Columbia, 1973
Three similar communities:
Notel - no television (geography made TV reception impossible)
Unitel - one channel of television
Multitel - 4 channels of television plus cable
Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) installed a transmitter/antenna system to bring TV to Notel.
Researchers studied all three towns before the system was in place and for two years after it became operational.
Results?
Notel experienced a small drop in community participation.
The largest effects were on children:
drop in cognitive skills
drop in reading skills
increase in aggression
Wilber Schramm (late 50s and 60s)
A good summary of limited effects
research
Gather data, see what it shows,
let a theory emerge
Quote on p. 157-158
For "some" children,
under "some" conditions, "some" television is harmful.
For "other" children under the same conditions, or for the same
children under "other" conditions, it will be beneficial. For "most"
children under "most" conditions, "most" television is
probably neither particularly harmful nor particularly beneficial.
Key - what does "some,"
"other," "most" mean?
Needed research on the interaction
between media and characteristics of viewers
A huge task!
Led to middle range theories
such as diffusion theory and information flow that attempted to explain limited
domains of media influence rather than proposing general theories of media
effects
p. 162-163
five characteristics of middle
range theories
(Robert Merton)
Everett Rogers
Diffusion Theory
Innovators
- launch the technology, clique-ish, venturesome, want to try new things
Early
adopters - opinion leaders, respected, role models, deliberate but willing
to try
Early
majority - legitimizers, not first, not leaders, but willing
Late
majority - skeptical, cautious, may be responding to pressure or economic
necessity
Laggards
- resistant, don't like change
A
key - the need for critical mass
Other
factors:
Socioeconomic
status - whether measured by income, occupational prestige, or in years of
formal education, innovative individuals are relatively more elite than those
who adopt later (or reject).
Why?
Non-trivial
costs
Social
impacts of diffusion - not all impacts are positive
Media mainly create awareness
of new innovations
Only the early adopters are
directly influenced by media
content
Then can become change agents
Joseph Klapper
Phenomenistic Theory (Reinforcement
Theory)
Media rarely have any direct effects
and are
relatively
powerless when compared with other
social
and psychological factors
2 points on p. 171
Circle Diagram
Very few- acting out anti-social
behaviors
Some - learning how to do
anti-social behaviors
Many - being desensitized
to anti-social behaviors
Most - acquiring a world view
of which anti-social behaviors are a part
What happens in a more media
saturated environment when key inhibiting factors such as church, family and
school lose status or power in society?
Albert Bandura
Children and Aggression
Social Learning (Social Cognitive
Theory)
Learn from observation
Modeling: acquisition of behaviors
through
observation
Inhibitory - punished
Disinhibitory - rewarded
Identification - role models, heroes
etc.
1960s experiments
modeling aggressive behavior from
TV
nursery school kids
TV character rewarded or punished for
aggressive behavior
Playground modeling
Post-playground - kids could model the
behavior regardless of whether they had
used it on the playground or not
What is it that kids really
learn to model and is TV (media) that big of an influence?
Led to other research such
as aggressive cues and priming effects
Developmental perspective
(cognitive abilities)
Socialization
| Process by which societies pass on the
norms and values of society to successive generations |
|
a learning process
|
| how we become accepted members of society |
|
conduct, behavior, beliefs,
values, demands of the culture |
| expectations for patterned social behavior |
Agents of Socialization (models)
1. Family
2. Church
3. School
4. Peers
5. Mass Media
6. Government
7. Celebrities
| 1960s |
1980s |
| 1. family |
1. peers |
| 2. peers |
2. media |
| 3. church |
3. celebrities |
| 4. school | 4. school |
Legislation such as the Children's
Television Act of 1991
Systems models: mechanical
models of information flow
Constructing communication systems
using new
communication
technologies
Descriptive, micro or macro, communication
is a
process,
can have dimensionality
Limited effects - focuses
on whether media content can have an immediate and direct effect on specific
thoughts, attitudes and actions
Or cognitive, affective, behavioral
Evidence through experiments
and surveys
Quantitative
Causal
Critical and Cultural Theories
Microscopic (cultural)
How does the media affect the everyday
life of
individuals?
How do individuals/groups use media
to create and
foster
forms of culture?
Macroscopic (critical)
How power is used to control
and exploit media
(by social elites, media conglomerates
etc.)
Political economy (hegemony)
How social order is affected
Can be speculative
Driven by logic and argument
Proof and empirical data
Qualitative
Cultural theories
Focus on
Changes in culture
Changes in shared understandings
Changes in social norms
Not on 100s of small effects
Critical theories
Uses certain values to evaluate
and criticize the
media
Bias!
Ex. Marxist
Neomarxist
Feminist
Gay
Christian
Key - by what standard?
Understand and predict impacts/trends
in society
James Carey
Limited effects focuses on
the transmissional perspective
Process of getting a persuasive
message to an audience
Another approach - ritual perspective
The maintenance of society
and shared beliefs
How the media
influences the way culture/society is organized
Social constructions of reality
Ex. Postmodernism