communication theory and...

COMMUNICATION THEORY AND AUDIENCES

Tuesday, September 6, 16

AGENDA

• Discuss why theory is useful

• Discuss three broad categories of theory

• In Class Exercise


WHAT DOES THEORY TELL US ABOUT AUDIENCES?

• Theory helps explain the effects media has on audiences

• Theory helps explain the effects messages have on audiences

• Theory helps explain how people construct their perspectives


THEORY AND YOUR PROJECTS

• Media theories can help you develop persuasive messages.

• How will you can apply these explanations in a practical way.


3 CATEGORIES OF MEDIA EFFECTS THEORY

• Powerful Effects

• Limited Effects

• Specific Effects


POWERFUL EFFECTS

• Hypodermic needle model

• aka magic bullet theory

• Media messages are directly received and accepted by the audience.


POWERFUL EFFECTS

• War of the Worlds

• Episode of radio drama implied that a Martian invasion was occurring

• Caused "widespread" panic


POWERFUL EFFECTS

• World War II Propaganda

• Nazi Germany effectively mobilized using mass media


POWERFUL EFFECTS

• Do you think the media is as powerful as the hypodermic needle model suggests?


LIMITED EFFECTS

• Two-Step Flow

• Audiences are influenced by opinion leaders (politicians, public intellectuals, pundits, and scholars) who are influenced by mass media.


LIMITED EFFECTS • Klapper’s model

• Effects are limited because:

• It depends on the message content

• The manner in which the message is constructed

• The knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and pre-dispositions a person holds before their exposure


SPECIFIC EFFECTS

• Agenda Setting:

• Media tells you what to think about, not necessarily what to think

• In contrast to hypodermic needle theory

• What are the biggest stories in the news right now?


SPECIFIC EFFECTS • Framing Theory

• Process of the media that makes some information more salient than other information in such a way that it influences the how audiences perceive information, events, or issues.

• Priming Theory

• The priming theory states that media images stimulate related thoughts in the minds of audience members.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_(psychology)




FRAMING

• Gay marriage can be framed as a:

• Civil Rights Issue

• States Rights Issue

• A Moral Issue

• A Family Issue


FRAMING


PRIMING

• Media Priming

• Images and messages in the media cue up certain thoughts in the minds’ of audience members.

• Media gives context to the way audiences understand political issues


PRIMING

• What do you know about the upcoming primary election?

• What are the images in your head?


SPECIFIC EFFECTS

• Uses and Gratification • People use or seek out media to fulfill certain needs

• Entertainment • Social Interaction • Information • Escapism • Relate to other media users


SPECIFIC EFFECTS

• Cultivation Theory

• The more television one watches the more they view the world as what's reflected on television.

• Distinct qualities of television, like production or narrative style, cut across genre or program type and create communal messages about reality.


SPECIFIC EFFECTS

• Mean World Syndrome

• Effects On

• Television Violence

• Body Image

• Romance Ideals


SPECIFIC EFFECTS • Spiral of Silence

• People are hesitant to speak minority opinions out of fear of isolation

• Dominant or majority points of view make it difficult for people with opposing points of view to voice their opinions.

• Fear of speaking up when you know you're the minority point of view.


http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY • We translate the world around us in light of the knowledge,

beliefs and attitudes we hold and individually socially construct our version of reality.

• We organize our world around schema (how we view ourselves, how we view others, how we think people should behave) and scripts (social norms)

• We experience media (texts) in different ways and construct meaning in different ways.


MORE THEORIES • Cognitive dissonance

• Individuals seek consistency between their expectations and their reality.

• People engage in a process called dissonance reduction to bring their cognitions and actions in line with one another.

• The feeling of having two conflicting thoughts or attitudes

• I will go to the gym after I eat a big MacTuesday, September 6, 16

OTHER THEORIES

• Selective perception

• Individuals perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints.

• Selective Exposure

• People choose media that fits in line with their world view.


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