Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research

Chapter 15

Cause and Effect?

Media effects– Attempting to understand, explain, and

predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society

– Has a long history of research Does television make you do things? Does it make you not do things?

– Natural Born Killers– Columbine, CO– Red Lake, MN

History of Effects Research

De Tocqueville and Lippmann– Lippmann relies on experts.

Propaganda studies– Harold Lasswell

Public opinion research– Is the media too “poll-happy”?

Social psychology– Payne Fund

Marketing research– Advertisers and product companies

Public Opinion Research

Public opinion research is especially influential during political elections.– In 2006 midterm elections, level of enthusiasm for

voting was higher among Democrats than Republicans.

– It can also adversely affect active political involvement.

“My idea of a good time is using jargon and citing authorities.”

—Matt Groening

Research on Media Effects

Hypodermic-needle model– Media shoots effects directly into unsuspecting victims

Minimal-effects model– Rise of empirical research techniques– Selective exposure leads to reinforcement of existing

beliefs.

Uses and gratifications model– Contests notion of audience passivity– Why do people use media?

Uses and Gratifications

“It is the children who are most active in this relationship. It is they who use television, rather than television that uses them.”

—Schramm, Lyle, and Parker

Scientific Method

Hypothesis– Must be worded so that it is testable

Experimental design– Tests whether hypothesis is true

Survey research– Collecting and measuring data

Content analysis– Studies the messages of print and visual

media

Explaining Media Effects

Social learning theory– Attention– Retention– Motor reproduction– Motivation

Agenda-setting– Media set the agenda for major topics of discussion.

Cultivation effect– Heavy viewing of television leads individuals to perceive reality in

ways consistent with portrayals on television. Spiral of silence

– Those whose views are in the minority will keep their views to themselves.

Ethics and Media Effects

A consequence of the agenda-setting theory is that stories without mass media attention receive no public/political attention.

What are some of the most underreported stories of this year?

Qualitative Approaches

Cultural Studies

Textual Analysis

Audience Studies

Political Economy

Cultural Approaches

James Carey: – Understand, not explain, human behavior– Diagnose meanings, not predict

Offers ability to interpret broadly Doesn’t just study the serious, but the entertaining

– Horace Newcomb

Both empirical and cultural studies have weaknesses.

Media Research and Democracy

Like public journalists, public intellectuals based on campuses help to carry on the conversations of society and culture, serving as models for how to participate in public life.