Media Psychology: Developmental Issues In Media Psychology.

By: Divyani Kaushik, M.A Part 1

Introduction

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior whereas Media refers to
communication channels, therefore Media Psychology is the psychological study of the
causes and the consequences of human's media use.

The subject matter of media psychology is a mother lode of material that psychology has actively mined for
decades, but only within the last ten to fifteen years has the enterprise emerged as a distinct and explicit
subdivision of psychology.

Media psychology found its inspirational roots more than 90 years ago within the discipline of social
psychology and in the early work of social psychologist Hugo Münsterberg concerning the psychology and
the psychological impact of film. Published in 1916 under the title, The Photoplay: A Psychological Study,
it was the first empirical study of an audience reacting to a film. Münsterberg also provided such a keen
analysis of a screenplay's (then called a photoplay) grammar of visual construction and nascent cinematic
conventions and their psychological impact on the audience, that his incisive words still echo today in
numerous film school lecture halls and classroom seminars.

And there was psychologist L.L. Thurstone, arguably the Father of Attitude Scale Construction and
Measurement (a signature area of theory and research in social psychology), who developed scales for the
measurement of attitudes toward movies for the famous and notoriously politicized Payne Fund Research in
1928. This study’s practically avowed purpose was to indict (not investigate) the medium of film as a source
of inspiration of bad behavior in a youthful audience. the research on media effects still draws most attention
from theorists and researchers whose professional interests are children-centric. But the truth is that the
various media impact on virtually everyone and, in many ways, every living thing on the planet, from bovine
milk production (the “Mozart effect”), to plant growth, to electronic Prozac for malcontented family pets.

Most psychologists, and people in kindred fields like communications studies, journalism or sociology,
largely address the negative effects on young people inflicted by such mass media as television, film, or
popular music lyrics, effects such as promoting violence or premature or ill-considered sex. Concerns about
gender conditioning, sexism, racism, ageism, etc., are also in evidence, numerically but pale in comparison
with concerns and studies about sex and violence. Just like Mighty Mouse (or maybe Underdog), media
psychology emerged in a time of need. The goal of media psychologists is to try to answer those questions
by combining an understanding of human behavior, cognition, and emotions with an equal understanding of
media technologies

1) Overview
 As media technologies have become intertwined in daily life, they have elicited structural and
psychological changes across society. (eg: ability to communicate peer-to-peer has shifted power
away) from what was once a narrow information flow controlled by a few sources to one of infinite
information and connectivity.
 Media psychology can create a new trajectory for how we think about, use and design media and
technology.  It gives us the tools to identify how technology facilitates human goals, where it falls
short and the unintended consequences of behavioral shifts–for better or worse.
 It effects on individual or an audience's thoughts, attitudes, and behavior. Whether it is written,
televised, or spoken, mass media reaches a large audience. The influence of media has an effect on
many aspects of human life. ( eg: voting a certain way, individual views and beliefs).
 The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. ( for eg: sleep
disturbance, cyber bullying, aggression, violence etc.).

2) Theorizing How Effects May Occur

 The General Learning Model (Buckley and Anderson, 2006) proposes that media-based experiences
contribute to users’ knowledge structures, including their person schema. (i.e. typical characteristics
of people or groups of people).
 It proposes that these knowledge structures can contain links to affective states evoked by the initial
experience (e.g. Anger, fear, warmth).
 When activated, these interconnected components (person schema behavioral scripts, affect,
and affective knowledge) may then interact with other factors influence people’s appraisals and
reactions.
 In the short term, exposure to violent, hostile content (in TV programs, music or in video games)
increases the probability of aggressive thoughts and feelings which tends to increase arousal. 
 These thoughts and feelings, combined with arousal, increase the probability that young viewers will
behave aggressively.
 In long term, repeated exposure to violence appears to alter viewers’ beliefs and attitudes about
aggression, decreasing their tendency to notice and respond to real-world pain and suffering and
increasing their tendency to interpret social situations in hostile ways. 

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 Basic schematic of the general learning model, adapted from Buckley and Anderson (2006).

3) Developmental benefits using social media in Younger Children

 Literacy skills: Literacy development is a vital part of your child’s overall development. It’s the
foundation for doing well at school, socialising with others, problem-solving, making decisions,
developing independence, managing money and working. But before children can learn to read and
write, they need to develop the building blocks for literacy – the ability to speak, listen, understand,
watch and draw. For example children can start learning letters through programs like Play school or
through educational computer games and apps or YouTube kids, Khan Academy kids. And cartoon
like Wallykazam- Exceptional preschool show with qualities and literacy curriculum. And Worldgirl-
Brainy heroine who uses vocab to outwit bad guys.

 Numeracy skills: Numeracy is the ability to recognise and apply maths concepts in all areas of life.
Numeracy skills involve understanding numbers, counting, solving number problems, measuring,
estimating, sorting, noticing patterns, adding and subtracting numbers, and so on. For example
children can start learning to count and identify shapes through play school or programs like Sesame
Street, Mental Maths(5-6), The Math tree, Splash Learn etc.

 Social skills: Social skills are the skills we use everyday to interact and communicate with others.
They include verbal and non-verbal communication, such as speech, gesture, facial expression and
body language. Social skills are vital in enabling for children to have and maintain positive
interactions with others. For example children can start learning how to cooperate by watching T.V
programs and using computer games and apps that show helping behaviours. ( Including apps like
Toca‘s tea party and website like ABC for kids) and cartoons like Dora and friends help them
understand the concept problem solving, community service and friendship. Some other cartoons
which help children to built social skills are : Oswald, Bob the builder and Mickey Mouse
clubhouse.

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 4) Developmental benefits using social media in Older Children

 Intellectual benefits: Cognitive or intellectual development means the growth of a child’s ability to
think and reason. It's about how they organize their minds, ideas and thoughts to make sense of the
world they live in. For example children can develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills by
playing computer games design to develop these skills, or they develop ethical thinking by
comparing family values with values of fiction and documentaries.

 Educational benefits: For children, every experience or encounter presents a learning opportunity.
They learn from everything they see, do, hear, feel, smell, and taste; everyone they interact (talk,
play, laugh) with; and everywhere they go. Studies suggest that quality early childhood education
preschool offers a range of benefits to children, as well as to their families and their communities.
For example TV shows and movies based on books encourage them to read .

 Social benefits: Social media is being used in positive ways that weren’t thought of before. It is not
just a medium for socialising, but kids and adolescents have found a new way to express themselves
creatively, and interact and learn with a broader audience. Students are using it to form study groups,
where they can easily and instantaneously share ideas and learning material. For example joining
online media clubs can help children practice using social media safely, or playing computer games
with friends and family helps them with turn-taking and cooperation.

 Creative benefits: Kids who have a passion for photography, art, video production, music or writing
can use applications like blogs, YouTube and Instagram to express themselves. Social media can be
a great source of creativity, with kids posting poems, posing interesting questions or sharing funny or
cool videos. For example children can develop skills in imagination, art , video modelling, music
and media by using software and apps like My Story.

5) Developmental benefits using social media in Teenagers

 Reading, Writing, and Other Critical skills: A young teen who has a passion for reading and
writing might publish book reviews or film videos with their thoughts, ideas, and comments. As their
work gains traction online, they may even develop a following which could include authors, literary
agents, and publishers. Then, when this teen applies for college, they can reference their social media
accounts on college applications. This work demonstrates their creativity and maturity, but also
shows that she is a self-starter.

 Social Connections: Social media has given teens the ability to instantly connect with others and
share their lives through photos, videos and status updates. Teens themselves describe these
platforms as a key tool for connecting and maintaining relationships, being creative, and learning
more about the world. Examples are : Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc.

 Political and Social Values: Many teens feel unqualified to speak out online about political or social
issues , and many fear potential backlash from their peers. However, the act of media creation itself

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 can help teens feel more empowered and informed. For example watching news, Current affairs and
documentaries.
 Values: Media helps teens to be answerable about the recent topics, reach out for help and inspire
them for being a role model and also guides them about basic morals and values which further leads
to acknowledgment and recognition. For example observing role models in world.

 New creative forms: In simple words New creative forms are just platforms that allow teens to
discover new ideas and promote their talents online. For example learning to play guitar using
YouTube videos and blogging.

 Support options: By these teens can reach out for help online for example professional counselling
online or they can join support groups and different communities.

 Forms of self expressions: Through these teens can express themselves by participating in any
competitions of there interest and can blog, write, take up an internship and can enhance their skills.

6) Negative effects of Media

a) Seeing Violence: The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by 18. Many
violent acts are caused by the “good guys”, whom kids are taught to admire. In fact in video games the
hero also often succeeds by fighting or killing the enemy. This lead to confusion when kids try to
understand difference between right and wrong. Young kids are particularly frightened by
scary and violent images because they can’t yet tell the difference between fantasy and
reality. Behavioral problems can occur, nightmares, difficulty sleeping may follow to such
exposure to such violence. Older kids can also be frightened by violent images too.

b) Watching Risking Behaviors: Tv and video games are full of content that depicts risky
behavior( such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs) as cool, fun and excited.
Studies have shown that who watch lot of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate
intercourse or participate in sexual activities. While cigarettes and e-cigarettes ads are banned
on TV, kids can still see plenty of people smoking in TV shows. This makes behavior like
smoking and drinking seem acceptable and lead to substance abuse problems.

c) The Obesity Link: Health experts long linked too much screen time to obesity. A significant
problem today. When they are staring screens , they are inactive and tend to snack.
Bombarded by ads that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods ( potato chips, Soft drinks etc.)
Studies have shown that decreasing the amount of screen time, kids leads to less weight gain
and lower body mass index (BMI).

d) Understanding Commercial: Children experience advertising in many forms – on TV,

YouTube, apps, radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers, movies, the internet, advergames,
text messages, social media and more. Most kids under the age of 8 do not understand that
commercial is selling a product. Children 6 years and younger can’t tell the difference
between a TV show and an ad. Even older kids may need to be reminded the purpose of the
advertising.

7) How to Combat the Negative Effects of Social Media

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  Set time limits: Frame a time and when you find yourself spending more time on social media
question yourself, is it worth my time?, is it worth my energy.
 Stop Scrolling: Always know when it’s time to stop scrolling because of the availability of
content on Internet is very vast so it tends to exhaust one’s mind which leads to less productivity.
 Don’t follow everyone: Use social media to connect with people who inspire you, share similar
interests, and provide a sense of belonging.
 Change your Perspective: Change the way you perceive things for example don’t let critisms
change what you believe in.
 Contribute to the Cause: Use social media to make a difference by spreading awareness for a
cause or helping others in need for example we can use social platforms to aware people about
mental health and promote a healthy lifestyle. Also we can raise our voice for what we believe
isn’t right by signing petitions and demanding a change.
 Remember You Are In charge: Social media is just a tool or factor, don’t give it power to
shape you instead you shape you.

8) Conclusion: Social media has become a part of everyday life. There are many advantages to its use
and people utilize the functions each and every day. Society has become so fixated on social media
that they do not fully understand what they are opening themselves up to. Parents, educators, and
everyday social media users must understand and be aware of the positive and negative connotations
of social media usage in order to promote the healthy development of the youth in society. Many
people base their opinions on their own experience with social media and use that to guide their
decisions. It is crucial that the opinions we make about an influential topic, such as social media
usage, are researched and grounded on data. One social media site may not be harmful by itself, but
the combination and prolonged use of social media can lead to harmful effects in development.
Parents can utilize the strategies, as mentioned above, can talk with their children about social media
usage, and to guide them to making the right decisions on the usage. Social media can have many
positive aspects that keep users engaged and stimulated, but there can be many negative aspects as
well that affect major dimensions of adolescent development, and it is very important to look at both
in order to stay informed and aware of what can possibly happen.

9) References

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