Direct influence via mass media Magic bullet theory model Katz & Lazarsfeld (1955)

The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media had

a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change.
Harold Lasswell was the prominent theorist of the Hypodermic

Needle Theory. Lasswell (1927) theorized that the new mass media could directly influence and influence public opinion.
The fact is, he wrote, that propaganda is one of the most

powerful instrumentalities in the modern world" capable of welding millions of human beings into one amalgamated mass of hate and will and hope .

 Several factors contributed to this strong effects theory

of communication, including:
The fast rise and popularization of radio and television.
The emergence of the persuasion industries, such as

advertising and propaganda.

The Payne Fund studies of the 1930s, which focused on

the impact of motion pictures on children.

 The main mediating factors which he considers responsible for

the functions and effects of mass communications are :

Selective exposure i.e., peoples tendency to expose

themselves to those mass communications which are in agreement with their attitudes and interests.
Selective perception and retention i.e., peoples inclination to

organize the meaning of mass communication messages into accord with their already existing views.