Media effects

Laswell’s Model of Mass

Communication

Who

Says What

In Which Channel

To Whom

With What Effect
Effects Theories

Walter Lippmann: Public Opinion
(1922)

We see the world as "pictures in
our heads"

Media shape perception of things
we have not experienced personally
Powerful Effects Theory

Media have immediate, direct
influence

Assumes people are passive and
absorb media content uncritically &
unconditionally

“Hypodermic Needle” model

“Magic Bullet” model
 Minimalist Effects

Paul Lazarsfeld Erie County study
(1940)

Mass media had hardly any direct
effect

Personal contact more important
than media contact

Media effects mostly indirect
 Two-step Flow model

Media affect individuals through
opinion leaders


Opinion leaders are those who
influence others
 Clergy, teachers, neighborhood
leaders, etc.
Status Conferral

Media coverage can create
prominence for issues & people

Agenda Setting

Maxwell McCombs & Don Shaw

Media tell people what to think about
– but not what to think
Media can:

Create awareness


Establish priorities


Perpetuate issues


Intramedia effect as well
Narcoticizing dysfunction

Media do not energize people into
taking action

Media lull people into passivity by
overwhelming them with
information

People deceive selves into
believing they’re involved when
they’re actually only informed
Cumulative Effects Theory

Media influence is gradual over time

Effect is often powerful

Spiral of Silence (Noelle-Neumann)


Vocal majority intimidates others
into silence
Focus on the audience

1940s challenge to audience
passivity
Uses & Gratifications

People choose media that meet
their needs & interests

Needs such as:


Surveillance

Diversion

Socialization
Surveillance

Media provide info about what’s
going on

Both news & entertainment
Diversion
Media as entertainment

Stimulate

Relax

Release
 Socialization

Mass media can help initiate
people into society

And help them fit in

Demonstrate dominant behaviors
and norms

“Observational learning”
Role modeling


Imitative behavior

Impact can be negative or
positive ("prosocial”)
Socialization via
eavesdropping

Children learn about adult topics
by seeing them depicted in
media
Parasocial interaction

False sense of participating in
dialogue

Communication is actually one-
way
Consistency theory

Individuals exercise control over
media’s effects on them

People choose media & messages
consistent with their existing views
& values

Selective:

Exposure

Perception

Retention & Recall
Selective Exposure

People choose some media messages
over others

People ignore messages that
contradict their beliefs
Selective Perception

People tend to hear what they want or
expect to hear
Selective retention & recall

People retain & recollect some media
messages and not others
Bottom line:

Individuals have a large degree of
control over how the mass media
affect them
War of the Worlds
Revisited
Why did the Orson Welles
broadcast have such a powerful
effect on its audience?

EarthStation1.com's
Radio Sounds Showcase: The 193
8 "War of the Worlds" Radio Broad
cast
Wavs

“Reverence” for radio as a reliable
medium

Predisposition to expect bad news

Selective perception

Gullibility fueled by awe of science

WWI memories – gas warfare

Failure of common sense
Determining Causality

Correlation means that 2 or more
variables coexist


Causality means that one variable
causes another


Beware of bad science (studies
purporting causality)