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Mass Communication theories an overview collected from various authors. for communication students
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“There are three objectives for a newspaper:
1. To understand popular feelings and give expression to it.
2. To arouse among people certain desirable sentiments
3. Fearlessly expose popular defects.”
(Mahatma Gandhi)
“Crime unreported is crime licensed and encouraged.”
(D. R. Mankekar)
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people angry enough to do something about it.”
(Mark Twain)
“Without adequate and effective communication, economic and social development will be retarded and may
be counter productive. With adequate and effective communication, the pathways to change can be made easier and
shorter.”
(Wilbur Schramm, Mass Media and National Development)
“I would rather have a completely free press
with all dangers involved in the wrong use of that
freedom than a suppressed or regulated press.”
(Nehru
)
“Newspapering was a mission until 1947.
It necessarily had to become a profession.
In fact, it became an industry in the worst sense of the term”.
(T.J. S. George, Lessons in Journalism: The Story of Pothan Joseph)
“Journalism involves rummaging around in other
people’s closets to smell their dirty socks. The stronger
the smell, the better the story. Sometimes roses make a
good story, but dung is what sells newspapers. The dung
could be political corruption, terrorism, crime or social
issues.”
(Christopher Thomas, The Times, London)
“A government without press or a press without government… Given a choice, I will choose the second.”
(Thomas Jefferson)
Theory Is a unified, or coherent, body of propositions that provide a philosophically consistent picture of a subject. Someone’s conceptualization of an observed set of events An attempt to explain or represent a phenomenon Theories are not universal in many cases, observed set of events may vary Theories are human constructions designed to capture what theorists believe the order of the subject to be Theories must reduce complex experience into a manageable set of concepts and prepositions Parsimony(the use of simplest explanatory logic) is the hallmark of good theory The most basic component of a theory is its concepts A concept is a category or class of objects, events, situations, or processes designated by a term Idiographic theories are specific to particular ones Nomothetic theories are general across all cases Second basic component is explanations that tie observed phenomena together in some kind of system
beyond mere descriptionCommunication theory
It refers to the body of theories for understanding of the communication process Communication theories are based on studies of signs, symbols & meaning and their relation to the objects
or concepts to which they belong So far no single theory of mass communication has yet emerged which is universally accepted Oldest essay, written in Egypt 300 B.C. consists of advice on how to speak effectively addressed to
Kagemni eldest son of Pharaoh Huni Oldest book ‘Precepts’ written by Ptah-Hotep in Egypt 2675 B.C. (oldest ‘communication theory’ book) “The Rhetoric of Aristotle”
Four Perspectives in Mass Communication Theories(four approaches to theory)
According to Denis McQuail mass communication theories can be media-centric or socio-centric. o Media-centric theory sees mass media as a primary mover in social change, driven forward by
irresistible developments in communication technology.o The socio-centric theory mainly views the media only as a reflection of political and economic
forces. Denis McQuail speaks of four different perspectives while considering the mass communication theories in
terms of the society:
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1. A Media-Culturalist Perspective: It gives primary attention to MEDIA CONTENT and form and to the subjective reception of media messages as influenced by the immediate personal environment. For example, a study on the impact of internet campaigns in the election of Obama as the President of America
2. A Media-Materialist Approach: It emphasizes the organizational, financial and technological aspects of the media. For example, a study on the financial viability of a television channel
3. A Social-Cultural Perspective: It emphasizes the influence of social factors on media production and reception and the functions of the media in social life. For example, a study on the impact of televised ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ on the society
4. A Social–Materialist Perspective: It sees media and their contents mainly as a reflection of political-economic and material forces and conditions. For example, a study on the relegation of Doordarshan as the mouthpiece of the Government rather than becoming a vox populi.
Five kinds of MassCommunication theory
According to Denis McQuail, if theory is understood not only as a system of law-like propositions, but as any systematic set of ideas that can help make sense of a phenomenon, guide action or predict a consequence, then one can distinguish five kinds of theory relevant to mass communication: Social-scientific, cultural, normative, operational and everyday theory.
Social scientific theory o It offers general statements about the nature, working and effects of mass communication, based on
systematic and objective observation of media and other relevant sources, which can be put to the test and validated or rejected by similar methods.
o It derives from various disciplines, especially sociology, psychology and politics. Cultural theory
o It is much more diverse in character. o This applies primarily to film, literature and television.o Impact of Global communication on cultures
Normative theoryo It is concerned with examining or prescribing how media OUGHT TO operate if certain values are
to be observed or attained. o A good deal of research into mass media has been stimulated by the wish to apply norms of social
and cultural performance. Operational theory
o It refers to the practical ideas assembled and applied by media practitioners in the conduct of their own media work.
o Operational theory serves to guide solutions to fundamental tasks including: how to select news, please audiences, design effective advertising, keep within the limits of what society permits, and relate effectively to sources and society.
Everyday or commonsense theory o of media use, referring to the knowledge we all have from our own personal experience with
media. o This enables to make sense of what is going on, o allows to fit a medium into daily lives of individualso Helps to know what are the differences between different media and media genres. o Helps to make consistent choices, develop patterns of taste and construct life styles and identities
as media consumers.o It enables audience to distinguish between ‘reality’ and ‘fiction’, to ‘read between the lines’ or to
see through the persuasive aims and techniques of advertising and other forms of propaganda.
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Theory of objectivity
Westerstahl proposed that objectivity does not arise solely from pure facts that by the way may have biasness inbuilt in them but from values as well (McQuail 1999). In his research dedicated to studies of objectivity among Swedish journalists
Westerstahl (1983) proposed following theory where objectivity is bound not only to factuality but to an impartial style of presentation of acquired information.
Westerstahl proposed that factuality depends on unsolicited by opinion truth that can be verified in a positivist manner.
o The second necessary precondition – relevance, is less clear and unambiguous since there can be a
distinct cleavage in its understanding between general audience and professionals i.e. what those two groups consider to be of interest and relevance.
o The second precondition for objectivity according to Westerstahl’s theory is impartiality that can
be achieved by creation of balance [giving every side equal right to be heard] and neutrality of presentation [not taking sides]. However, Westerstahl added new concept of informativeness that links objectiveness with information quality, which allows recipient to notice, understand and memorized it. (McQuail 1999)
As it was mentioned earlier, practitioners of objective journalism in order to avoid complications of philosophical and idealistic debate on objectivity translated it into practical technique allowing fair and factual reporting.
Western standard of objectivity thus expects journalists to gather as many facts as possible before drawing conclusions, verify the spelling of all names; understand the information to be reported; avoiding unwarranted assumptions; place the story in the most relevant context; and consistently seek statements from all relevant parties in a story (Metzler 1979).
Obedience to these procedures allows masses to trust media on the basis of belief in media’s objective reporting. (McQuail, 1983:146)
Thus the Western concept of objectivity implies that facts are carefully selected and constructed upon neutral stances by professional journalists.
The objectivity of Soviet media was built upon sociopolitical information in accordance with "objective" historical laws of Marxism-Leninism. In other words, ideological function of objectivity in the Western concept is implicit while for the Soviet concept it carries an explicit charge.
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Objectivity in Soviet system by Siebert:
Objectivity is a norm and must be displayed in media practice. Being objective means being neutral when reporting; being unbiased, being relevant and truthful as well as
having ultruistic intentions. “Objective treatment or presentation may in practice be achieved by allowing equal space or time for
alternative perspectives on, or versions of, facts.” “Objectivity allows the higher authorities to communicate with the masses in clear, pure messages.
Similarly, the masses can trust the media more if they believe the media uses it objectively. Objectivity is limited by individual perception; media industries and the masses. Higher authorities normally collaborative with the media in the task of maintaining order. The media should cater to both the majority and minority groups. The media should provide intercommunication to unite the public. The media should place attention on the socially disadvantaged. The media should not glorify crime or social unrest and negate forces of law and order. The media should pay attention to what is socially acceptable in public and not go overboard on moral
values and ethics. Cultural order runs on the same model as social order with regards to cultural quality. Media content should be localized, up-to-date and reflective. Natural heritage should be promoted by the media to keep it alive. Media should also look after the cultural aspirations of the local population. Media nowadays is profit driven and does not operate according to the normative theory. In the changing normative media, objectives and expectations of the media industries will continually
change and be subjected to scrutiny. Media outlets are expected to comply with certain standards in the process of creation of media products.
One of the key standards is the quality of information distributed by media (McQuail 1999). “Opponents of objective journalism argue that pure objectivity is unobtainable and that the notion of
objectivity is, at best, a shield devised by corporate America to insure a sanitized version of the truth, and at worst, an ideological weapon used to maintain the status quo.” (Jon Katz 1997)
Mass society theory
A form of society theoretically identified as dominated by a small number of interconnected elites who control the conditions of life of the many, often by means of persuasion and manipulation.
The term was first applied both to the post-war. United States by radical critics (especially C. Wright Mills) and also by political theorists to the European
societies that fell under the spell of fascism and communism. Large-scale and centralized forms of social organization are typical, accompanied by feelings of anomie
and powerlessness. The mass media are necessary instruments for achieving and maintaining mass society. During the second half of the 19th century, several mass media appeared on the communication scenario.
The process of advent and growth continued up to the first few decades of the 20th century. Movies, newspapers, radio and magazines were used as mass communication tools around the globe during
this era.
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The aftermath of the Industrial Revolution in Britain was a harbinger (forerunner) of new revolutions. Mass circulation became important because Industrial Revolution had started making people “mass consumers.” Thus information was shared by one and all; so were news, views, and information about the War (1914-1918).
In the USA, industrialization fueled economic growth. Urban areas were developed rapidly. The clergy, politicians and educators feared that these changes could dethrone them from their traditional power seats.
The rural agrarian economy was being converted into a heartless, machine-based economic system. Political unrest and crime also grew at a fast pace. Many cultural, political, educational and religious leaders opined that the USA was becoming too pluralistic as a society. They alleged that the mass media catered to low tastes and the media content was sensational. Critics felt that the media ought to be controlled to protect the traditional values.
The Spanish-American war that began in 1898, is attributed to the ‘New York Journal.’ In 1896, William Randolph Hearst sent an illustrator to Cuba to cover the possible outbreak of war against Spain. “YOU FURNISH THE PICTURES AND I’LL FURNISH THE WAR.”
During this era, accuracy was not a matter of concern. Events were over-dramatized. Therefore, the public status of reporters was the lowest among all the professions. It was in this context that the Mass Society Theory emerged.
Mass Society Theory Assumptions
The media are a malignant, cancerous force within society and must be purged or totally restructured. Media have the power to reach out and directly influence the minds of average people. Once people’s minds are corrupted by media, all sorts of bad, long term consequences result – bringing not
only ruin to individual lives but also creating social problems on a vast scale. Average people are vulnerable to media because they have been cut off and isolated from traditional social
institutions that previously protected them from manipulation. Establishment of a totalitarian social order will inevitably resolve the social chaos initiated by media. Mass media inevitably debase higher forms of culture, bringing about a general decline in civilization. According to Mass Society theory, media were used by business firms, governments and organizations for
monopolization and manipulation. The media, on the other hand, organized people, as audiences, customers, markets and electorate. They imposed the voice of the authority on the masses.
Remember, the term ‘mass’ has a negative connotation. It is generally understood as ‘ a shapeless, unruly, irrational, uneducated, ignorant, amorphous and anonymous group of people, equivalent to a ‘mob’. Mass is “an aggregate in which one’s individuality is lost.”
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Among the originators of mass society notions was a German sociologist, Ferdinand Tonnies. Tonnies sought to explain the critical difference between the earlier forms of social organization and the European society as it existed in the late 19th century. He proposed a simple dichotomy: Gemeinschaft or folk community and Gesellschaft or modern, industrial society.
Information society theory
A society that organises itself around knowledge in the interest of social control, and the management of innovation and change... (Daniel Bell)
A new type of society, where the possession of information (and not material wealth) is the driving force behind its transformation and development […] (and where) human intellectual creativity flourishes.
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The information society is an economic reality and not simply a mental abstraction ...The slow spread/dissemination of information ends […] new activities, operations and products gradually come to light. (John Naisbitt)
A society where […] information is used as an economic resource, the community harnesses/exploits it, and behind it all an industry develops which produces the necessary information ... (Nick Moore)
A social structure based on the free creation, distribution, access and use of information and knowledge […] the globalisation of various fields of life. ((Hungarian) National Strategy of Informatics, 1995)
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Cultivation theory
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Industrial society Information societyIn
nov
atio
nal
Tec
hn
olog
y
Core Steam engine (power) Computer (memory, computation, control)
Basic functionReplacement, amplification of physical
labourReplacement, amplification of mental labour
Productive PowerMaterial productive power (increase in per
capita production)
Information productive power (increase
optimal action-selection of capabilities)
Soc
io-e
con
omic
str
uct
ure
Products Useful goods and services Information, technology
Production centre Modern factory (machinery, equipment) Information utility (information networks, data
banks)Market New world, colonies, consumer purchasing
power
Increase in knowledge frontiers, information
spaceLeading industries
Manufacturing industries (machinery
industry, chemical industry)
Intellectual industries, (information industry,
knowledge industry)
Industrial structure Primary, secondary, tertiary industriesMatrix industrial structure (primary,
secondary, tertiary, quaternary/systems
industries)Economic Structure
Commodity economy (division of labour,
separation of production and consumption)
Synergetic economy (joint production and
shared utilization
Socio-economic
principle
Law of price (equilibrium of supply and
demand)
Law of goals (principle of synergetic feed
forward)
Socio-economic
subject
Enterprise (private enterprise, public -
enterprise, third sector)
Voluntary communities (local and
informational communities)
Socio-economic
system
Private ownership of capital, free
competition, profit maximization
Infrastructure principle of synergy, precedence
of social benefit
From of societyClass society (centralized power, classes,
control)
Functional society (multicentre, function,
autonomy)
National goal GNW (gross national welfare) GNS (gross national satisfaction)
Form of government Parliamentary democracy Participatory democracy
Force of social change Labour movements, strikes Citizens’ movements, litigation
Social problems Unemployment, war, fascism Future shock, terror, invasion of privacy
Most advanced stage High mass consumption High mass knowledge creation
Val
ues
Value standardsMaterial values (satisfaction of
physiological needs)
Time-value (satisfaction of goal achievement
needs)
Ethical standards Fundamental human rights, humanity Self-discipline, social contribution
Spirit of the times Renaissance (human liberation) Globalize (symbiosis of man and nature)
Cultivation theory (sometimes referred to as the cultivation hypothesis or cultivation analysis) was an approach developed by Professor George Gerbner, dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.
He began the 'Cultural Indicators' research project in the mid-1960s, to study whether and how watching television may influence viewers' ideas of what the everyday world is like.
Cultivation research is in the 'effects' tradition. Cultivation theorists argue that television has long-term effects which are small, gradual, indirect but cumulative and significant.
They emphasize the effects of television viewing on the attitudes rather than the behaviour of viewers. Heavy watching of television is seen as ‘cultivating’ attitudes which are more consistent with the world of
television programmes than with the everyday world. Watching television may tend to induce a general mindset about violence in the world, quite apart from any
effects it might have in inducing violent behaviour. Cultivation theorists distinguish between ‘first order’ effects (general beliefs about the everyday world,
such as about the prevalence of violence) and ‘second order’ effects (specific attitudes, such as to law and order or to personal safety).
Gerbner argues that the mass media cultivate attitudes and values which are already present in a culture: the media maintain and propagate these values amongst members of a culture, thus binding it together. He has argued that television tends to cultivate middle-of-the- road political perspectives. And Gross considered that 'television is a cultural arm of the established industrial order and as such serves primarily to maintain, stabilize and reinforce rather than to alter, threaten or weaken conventional beliefs and behaviours' (1977, in Boyd- Barrett & Braham 1987, p. 100). Such a function is conservative, but heavy viewers tend to regard themselves as 'moderate'.
Cultivation research looks at the mass media as a socializing agent and investigates whether television viewers come to believe the television version of reality the more they watch it. Gerbner and his colleagues contend that television drama has a small but significant influence on the attitudes, beliefs and judgements of viewers concerning the social world. The focus is on ‘heavy viewers’. People who watch a lot of television are likely to be more influenced by the ways in which the world is framed by television programmes than are individuals who watch less, especially regarding topics of which the viewer has little first-hand experience. Light viewers may have more sources of information than heavy viewers.
Young viewers may depend on television for information more than other viewers do (van Evra 1990, p. 167), although Hawkins and Pingree argue that some children may not experience a cultivation effect at all where they do not understand motives or consequences (cited by van Evra, ibid.).
It may be that lone viewers are more open to a cultivation effect than those who view with others (van Evra 1990, p. 171).
Television is seen by Gerbner as dominating our 'symbolic environment'. As McQuail and Windahl note, cultivation theory presents television as 'not a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself' (1993, p. 100).
Gerbner argued that the over-representation of violence on television constitutes a symbolic message about law and order rather than a simple cause of more aggressive behaviour by viewers (as Bandura argued). For instance, the action- adventure genre acts to reinforce a faith in law and order, the status quo and social justice (baddies usually get their just dessert).
Since 1967, Gerbner and his colleagues have been analysing sample weeks of prime-time and daytime television programming. Cultivation analysis usually involves the correlation of data from content analysis (identifying prevailing images on television) with survey data from audience research (to assess any influence of such images on the attitudes of viewers). Content analysis by cultivation theorists seeks to characterize ‘the TV world’. Such analysis shows not only that the TV world is far more violent than the
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everyday world, but also, for instance, that television is dominated by males and over-represents the professions and those involved in law enforcement.
Cultivation theorists are best known for their study of television and viewers, and in particular for a focus on the topic of violence. However, some studies have also considered other mass media from this perspective, and have dealt with topics such as gender roles, age groups, ethnic groups and political attitudes. A study of American college students found that heavy soap opera viewers were more likely than light viewers to over-estimate the number of real-life married people who had affairs or who had been divorced and the number of women who had abortions (Dominick 1990, p. 512).
The difference in the pattern of responses between light and heavy viewers (when other variables are controlled), is referred to as the 'cultivation differential', reflecting the extent to which an attitude seems to be shaped by watching television.
Gerbner reported evidence for 'resonance' - a 'double dose' effect which may boost cultivation. This is held to occur when the viewer’s everyday life experiences are congruent with those depicted in the television world. For instance, since on television women are most likely to be victims of crime, women heavy viewers are influenced by the usual heavy viewer mainstreaming effect but are also led to feel especially fearful for themselves as women. The cultivation effect is also argued to be strongest when the viewer's neighbourhood is similar to that shown on television. Crime on television is largely urban, so urban heavy viewers are subject to a double dose, and cultivation theorists argue that violent content 'resonates' more for them. The strongest effects of heavy viewing on attitudes to violence are likely to be amongst those in the high crime areas of cities.
Criticisms of cultivation theory
Cultivation theory offers a very plausible case, particularly in its emphasis on the importance of mediation and on the symbolic function of television in its cultural context. However, the theory is subject to a number of criticisms. Gerbner has been criticized for over-simplification.
Denis McQuail argues that ‘it is almost impossible to deal convincingly with the complexity of posited relationships between symbolic structures, audience behaviour and audience views, given the many intervening and powerful social background factors' (in Boyd-Barrett & Braham 1987, pp. 99-100). Our attitudes are likely to be influenced not only by TV, but by other media, by direct experience, by other people, and so on.
Cultivation research does avoid the artificiality of laboratory experiments - it is based on normal viewing over a long period - but it is subject to the usual criticisms of both content analysis and surveys.
Cultivation theorists tend to ignore the importance of the social dynamics of television use. Interacting factors such as developmental stages, viewing experience, general knowledge, gender, ethnicity, viewing contexts, family attitudes and socio-economic background all contribute to shaping the ways in which television is interpreted by viewers. When the viewer has some direct lived experience of the subject matter this may tend to reduce any cultivation effect.
There is some evidence that lower socio-economic groups tend to watch television as a source of information more than other groups, but the viewer's framing of television 'reality' also needs to be considered here. It is often argued that cultivation may be enhanced when the viewer interprets the content of programmes to be realistic; sceptical viewers may be less likely to be affected. There is some evidence that ethnic minorities exhibit more sophistication in 'perceived reality' than others do (van Evra 1990, p. 169).
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Agenda setting theory
Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence of the media – the ability to tell us what issues are important.
As far back as 1922, the newspaper columnist Walter Lippman was concerned that the media had the power to present images to the public.
McCombs and Shaw investigated presidential campaigns in 1968, 1972 and 1976. In the research done in 1968 they focused on two elements: awareness and information. Investigating the agenda-setting function of the mass media, they attempted to assess the relationship
between what voters in one community said were important issues and the actual content of the media messages used during the campaign.
McCombs and Shaw concluded that the mass media exerted a significant influence on what voters considered to be the major issues of the campaign.
Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media. Two basis assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting: (1) the press and the media do not reflect
reality; they filter and shape it; (2) media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.
One of the most critical aspects in the concept of an agenda-setting role of mass communication is the time frame for this phenomenon. In addition, different media have different agenda-setting potential. Agenda-setting theory seems quite appropriate to help us understand the pervasive role of the media (for example on political communication systems).
Bernard Cohen (1963) stated: “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.”
Spiral of Silence theory
Noelle-Neumann (1974) introduced the “spiral of silence” as an attempt to explain in part how public opinion is formed. She wondered why the Germans supported wrong political positions that led to national defeat, humiliation and ruin in the 1930s-1940s.
Noelle-Neumann (1991) found evidence of increasing press attention on the issue(Nuclear energy), accompanied by a steady increase in negative reporting. Over time, public support for nuclear energy also
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declined markedly, and the timing and sequence of changes suggested an interactive spiralling effect as predicted in the theory.
The phrase "spiral of silence" actually refers to how people tend to remain silent when they feel that their views are in the minority.
It has similarities with the concepts in the mass society theory The model is based on three premises: 1) people have a "quasi-statistical organ," a sixth-sense if you will, which allows them to know the
prevailing public opinion, even without access to polls, 2) people have a fear of isolation and know what behaviors will increase their likelihood of being socially
isolated, 3) people are reticent to express their minority views, primarily out of fear of being isolated. The closer a person believes the opinion held is similar to the prevailing public opinion, the more they are
willing to openly disclose that opinion in public. Then, if public sentiment changes, the person will recognize that the opinion is less in favor and will be less willing to express that opinion publicly.
As the perceived distance between public opinion and a person's personal opinion grows, the more unlikely the person is to express their opinion.
It is related to the mass media, in such a way that mass media influences public opinion. Shifts in public opinion occur commonly and therefore this theory is used to search an explanation for
behavior (speak up or stay silent). The theory has also been criticized for ambiguity and methodological weakness, but the idea has persisted.
Elihu Katz, in an essay critical of spiral of silence theory, summarized Noelle-Neumann’s thinking this way:
o Individuals have opinions.
o Fearing isolation, individuals will not express their opinions if they perceive themselves
unsupported by others.o Mass media constitute the major source of reference for information about the distribution
of opinion thus the climate of support or nonsupport. o The media tend to speak in one voice, almost monopolistically
o The media tend to distort the distribution of opinion in society, biased as they are by the
views of journalistso Perceiving themselves unsupported individuals will lose confidence and withdraw from
public debate (spiral of silence). o Society is manipulated and impoverished thereby.
Spiral of silence theory predicts that when media reports imply that one viewpoint on an issue is gaining influence, most people will stop verbally supporting alternative viewpoints to avoid isolating themselves.
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Cultural Imperialism
Globalization and communication are deeply intertwined. Marshall McLuhan is an early theorist who made the connection between media and globalization by combining two concepts: ‘the medium is the message’ (Who says? & How is it presented? - that is the message not the ‘content’) and the ‘global village’.
“most theorists agree that there is practically no globalization without media and communications” (Rantanen, 2005, p. 4). Terhi Rantanen (2005) highlights the role of media and communications in
globalisation, by defining globalization as a “process in which worldwide economic, political, cultural and social relations have become increasingly mediated across time and space” (p. 8).
Terry Flew (2007) argues that media have a central place in globalization due to three reasons: o firstly, that media corporations have increasingly globalised their operations;
o secondly that the global communication infrastructure facilitates global information flows;
o finally that global media play a key role in how we view events across the world in
developing shared systems of meaning. This aspect of global - Platform -media culture has been the main focus of media theorists.
The breaking up of space and time, brought about by electronic media, has led to individuals being able to interact with one another and within frameworks of mediated interaction, regardless of special disparities. This has altered contemporary methods of communication, leading to new phenomena such as
participatory journalism, online communities, and transnational activism organised through online networks.
The ICT (Information & Communication Technology) revolution has transformed the media environment and led to a rise of ‘new media’, such as digital technologies and networked environments.
The expansion of communication flows and global online networks raise the possibility of a new dimension of globalization, and new forms of global/local media flows. Broadly speaking, new media technologies allow for media content to flow easily across borders and enable users to become producers, which in turn lead to hybrid media forms.
New technology and the global distribution of the internet allow people to create or contribute to the news and provide new sources and forms of news. Consider the case of online communities, there has been a rapid growth of social relations and social organizations on the internet.
The emergence of new forms of online social networks demonstrates new communication patterns in the digital age. Online communities and social networks have led to debates about the emergence of new
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patterns of social interaction. With new technology, individuals are reorganizing patterns of social interaction to create a new form of society, which is conceived as the network society. Online communities shed light on the emergence of new forms of sociability enabled by technology, a departure from previously spatially bounded social interaction.
Transnational activism organised through online networks presents new formations of global/local interaction. A classic example of internet activism, where the internet is used as a mobilising resource for campaigns, is the case of the Zapatistas, which Manuel Castells (1997) has called the “first informational guerrilla movement” (p. 79).
Cultural Imperialism
The cultural imperialism thesis has long been a central, as well as problematic, element of political economy approaches to global media. The Frankfurt School and the homogeneous school of thought identify the dominance model, which proposes that globalization leads to homogenization of culture through media and cultural imperialism. The cultural imperialism debate gained momentum after decolonisation led to new states in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Scholars replaced colonialism with a new form of capitalist subjugation of the Third World: neo-colonialism, which was more economic than political, more ideologically than militarily supported. Scholars argued that neo-colonialist powers turned to symbolic means of control, which was facilitated by the integration of global telecommunications systems and the proliferation of television. Armand Matterlart (1979), Herbert Schiller (1991) and Oliver Boyd Barrett (1977) have proposed cultural and media imperialist theories. The mass media, fitting in with the spread of global capitalism, push mainly American culture that promote ideologies of consumption, instant gratification, and individualism. The cultural imperialism thesis argues that media globalisation will lead to a homogenisation of culture, identity and locale. Boyd-Barrett, one of the original proponents of media imperialism (1977), has revised his thesis to take into account different types of audiences, but argues that media imperialism remains a useful analytical concept.
Globalization: The overall process whereby the location of production, trans mission and reception of media content ceases to be geographically fixed partly as a result of technology, but also through international media structure and organization. Many cultural consequences are predicted to follow, espe cially the ‘delocalizing’ of content and undermining of local cultures. These may be regarded as positive when local cultures are enriched by new impulses and creative hybridization occurs. More often they are viewed as negative because of threats to cultural identity, autonomy and integrity. The new media are widely thought to be accelerating the process of globalization.
Commodification: The word originates in Marxist theory, according to which all entities have a material cash value. In relation to media, two aspects stand out. One is the treatment of all media messages as 'product' to be bought or sold in the media market, without reference to other criteria of value. The other is that the audience can be treated as a commodity to be sold by media to advertisers at so much per head, according to ratings and other market criteria.
Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message and Massage
During the 1960s, a Canadian literary scholar, Marshall McLuhan, gained worldwide prominence as someone
who had a profound understanding of electronic media and their impact on both culture and society. McLuhan was
hailed in the 1960s as the “High Priest of Pop Cult’, the “Metaphysician of Media”, the “Oracle of the Electronic
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Age” and the “Bible of Cyberspace.” His basic assumption was: Changes In Communication Technology Inevitably
Produce Profound Changes In Both Culture And Social Order.
McLuhan was basically a TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINIST: a person who believes that all social,
political, economic and cultural change is inevitably based on the development and diffusion of technology.
In a series of books (‘Understanding Media’, 1964 – is one of the known books), McLuhan outlined his
vision of the changes that were taking place as a result of the spread of radio and television. During the 1960s, we
were clearly moving from an era grounded in print technology to one based on electronic media. McLuhan said,
“ Time has ceased; space has vanished; we live in a global village.”
He proclaimed:
“ Medium is the message and the massage.”
In other words, new forms of media transform (massage) our experience of ourselves, and our society, and
this influence is ultimately more important than the content that is transmitted in its specific messages.
McLuhan coined several phrases and terms that have become part of the common vocabulary we use to talk
about media and society. He suggested the term GLOBAL VILLAGE to refer to the new form of social
organization that would inevitably emerge as instantaneously, electronic media tied the entire world into one great
social, political and cultural system. Unlike Innis, McLuhan didn’t bother to concern himself with questions about
control over this village or whether village members would be exploited.
McLuhan proclaimed media to be THE EXTENSIONS OF MAN and argued that media quite literally
extend sight (television is an extension of the eyes; radio is the extension of the ear) and hearing through time and
space. He firmly believed that electronic media would open up new vistas for average people and would enable us
to be everywhere, instantaneously.
McLuhan’s observations concerning the global village and the role of electronic media were prophetic. At a
time when satellite communication was just being developed, he seemed to foretell the rise of the Cable News
Network with its ability to seemingly make us eyewitnesses to history as it’s made in the battlefield or at the
barricade. At a time when mainframe computers filled entire floors of office buildings, he seemed to envision a
time when personal computers would be everywhere and the internet would give everyone instant access to
immense stores of information. But a media critic Meyrowitz said, “To be everywhere is to be nowhere” – to have
no sense of place.
In sharp contrast with Innis, McLuhan was unabashedly optimistic about the profound but ultimately
positive changes in our personal experience, social structure and culture that new media technology would make
possible. McLuhan was the darling of the media industries – their prophet with honor. For a brief period, he
commanded huge fees as a consultant and seminar leader for large companies. His ideas were used to rationalize
rapid expansion of electronic media with little concern for their negative consequences. His mantra became
broadcast industry gospel: So what if children spend most of their free time in front of television sets and became
functionally illiterate? Reading is doomed anyway, why prolong its demise? Eventually, we will live in a global
village where literacy is as unnecessary as it was in preliterate tribal villages. Why worry about the negative
15
consequences of television? No need to worry about media conglomerates. No need to complain about televised
violence. Just wait. That’s all. Everything is bright ahead.
McLuhan was content to wait for technology to lead us forward into the global village. Our fate is in the
hands of media technology, and we are constrained to go wherever it leads, he seemed to say. Critics said, it might
lead to a painful future – a nightmare global village in which we are constantly watched and coerced by remote, as
described in the novel, ‘1984’, written by George Orwell.
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Four-Dimensional Perspective on Media Effects
1) Timing of Effectsi) Immediateii) Long Term Type of Effects2) Type of effectsi) Cognitive Effectsii) Attitudinal Effectsiii) Emotional Effectsiv) Physiological Effectsv) Behavioral Effects 3) Direction of Effectsi) Negativeii) Positive 4) Intentionality
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IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON INDIVIDUALS1. Cognitive
i) Short-Term Learningii) Intensive Learningiii) Extensive Learning
2. Attitudinaliv) Opinion Creationv) Opinion Changevi) Inoculationvii) Reinforcement
3. Emotionalviii) Temporary Reaction
4. Physiologicalix) Temporary Fight/Flight Arousalx) Temporary Sexual Arousal
5. Behavioralxi) Imitationxii) Activation
LONG TERM MEDIA EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUALSCognitive Effects
Learning AgendasHypermnesiaGeneralizationExposing Secrets
Attitudinal EffectsSleeper EffectReinforcementSocialization
Emotional EffectsStunting Emotional GrowthDesensitization
Physiological EffectsIncreasing ToleranceShifting Brain Activity
Behavioral EffectsLearned HelplessnessDisplacementNarcoticizationDisinhibition
Media influence on family Media and Children Media and terrorism Media and violence Media and crime Sex in media Women in media Impact of media on children Media Literacy ( Notes---- Page 45 )
The concept of “Almighty Media”
Propaganda & Mass Media
The term ‘propaganda’ originated in the 16th century during the Counter-Reformation and was
first used by the Jesuits. The term is used to refer to “ the no-holds-barred (uncontrolled) use of
communication to propagate specific beliefs and expectations.”
The ultimate goal of propagandists is to change the way people act and to leave them believing that
those actions are voluntary, that the newly adopted behaviors are their own. A variety of communication
techniques are used to guide and transform those beliefs. During the 1930s, the new media of radio and
movies provided propagandists with powerful new tools.
Fritz Hippler, head of Nazi Germany’s film propaganda division said that the secret to effective
propaganda was to:
Simplify a complex issue
Repeat that simplification over and over again
Michael Sproule argues that effective propaganda is covert. It “ persuades people without seeming to
do so.” It features “the massive orchestration of communication.” It emphasizes “tricky language
designed to discourage reflective thought.” The propagandist believes that the end justifies the means.
Therefore, it is not only right but also necessary that half-truths and outright lies be used to convince
people to abandon ideas that are ‘wrong’ and to adopt those held by the propagandist. Propagandists
also rely on disinformation: false information spread about the opposition to discredit it.
The mass communication theorists have differentiated black, white and gray propaganda. Black
propaganda is “ the deliberate and strategic transmission of lies.” Its use was well-illustrated by the
Nazis. White propaganda is the intentional suppression of potentially harmful information and ideas,
combined with deliberate promotion of positive information or ideas to distract attention from
problematic events. Gray propaganda is the transmission of information of ideas that might or might
not be false. No effort is made to determine their validity. It is done to serve the propagandist’s vested
interests.
The Nazis used propaganda to cultivate extreme fear and hatred of minority groups. In ‘Mein Kampf’
(1933) Hitler traced the problems if post-World War I Germany to the Jewish people and other ethnic
or racial minorities. Unlike the American elites, Hitler saw no reason to bother converting these groups
– they were Evil Incarnate and therefore, should be exterminated. The best example is the Nazi
propaganda film ‘The Eternal Jew’, made by Hippler. This hate-filled film used powerful negative
imagery to equate Jews with rats and to associate mental illness with grotesque (ugly) physical
deformity. But positive images were associated with blond (fair), blue-eyed people.
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For the totalitarian propagandist, mass media were conceptualized as a very effective means of mass
manipulation. Propagandists held elitist and paternalistic views about their audiences. They
considered people to be s irrational, so illiterate, or so inattentive that it was necessary to coerce them.
The propagandists’ argument was simple: If only people were more rational or intelligent, we could
just sit down and explain things to them, person to person. But most people are like children when it
comes to important matters like politics. How can we expect them to listen to reason? Coercion is the
only option. This sort of indoctrination and brainwashing was termed ‘Engineering Consent’ by
Edward Bernays, the Father of Modern Public Relations.
The average people are treated as too gullible and vulnerable. Therefore, the opposition messages are
always suppressed.
Most of the propaganda theories that developed during the1930s were strongly influenced by two theories:
behaviorism and Freudianism.
Behaviorism
The theory of behaviorism was developed by John B. Watson, an animal experimentalist. He
argued that all human action was merely a conditioned response to external, environmental stimuli. It
came to be known as behaviorism. Behaviorists rejected widely held views in psychology that assumed
that higher mental processes (conscious thought or reflection) normally controlled human action.
Behaviorists argued that the only purpose of the mental processes was to rationalize behaviors AFTER
they are triggered by external stimuli.
Early media theorists saw the media as providing external stimuli that triggered immediate
responses. For example, it was assumed that the powerful, ugly images presented of Jews or the
mentally ill could trigger negative responses.
Freudianism
It is based on Sigmund Freud’s notion that human behavior is the product of the conflict between individual’s
Id, Ego, and Superego.
Ego is the rational mind.
Id is the egocentric, pleasure-seeking part of the mind.
Superego is the internalized set of cultural rules.
The Ego is in constant struggle with Id and the overly restrictive Superego. The Ego, according to
Freud, always fights a losing battle.
Freudianism like behaviorism considered the individual as incapable of rational self-control. People
were seen as highly vulnerable to media manipulation; media stimuli and the Id could trigger actions
that the Ego and the Superego were powerless to stop. Afterwards, the Ego merely rationalizes actions.
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Accordingly, the media could have society-wide, instantaneous influence on even the most educated,
thoughtful people.
Magic Bullet Theory
The mass society theory was adequately supported by Hypodermic Needle theory, also called
Magic Bullet Theory. The theory has the presumption, “When the mass media spoke, people listened.”
The media were viewed as a syringe loaded with a dose of message content and aimed at the receiving
masses. This implied that the media were ‘omnipotent’, and that media messages were like bullets that
went straight to their intended target, with the intended effect. Propagandists felt that through the media
they could condition people to have good emotions like loyalty and reverence for the country and to
have bad emotions such as fear and loathing (hatred) towards their enemies. They saw the average
people as powerless to resist this influence.
In magic bullet theory, the rational mind was a mere facade, incapable of disregarding powerful
messages. People have no ability to screen out or criticize these messages. The messages penetrate to
their subconscious minds and transform how they think and feel.
Lippmann and Propaganda
Walter Lippmann was an acclaimed columnist of the New York Times. Like Lasswell, Lippmann was
also skeptical about the ability of the average people to take rational decisions. In his book, Public
Opinion, Lippmann pointed out the discrepancies that exist between “the world outside and the pictures
in our heads.”
Eric Alterman, a political essayist summarized Lippmann’s assumptions in the following words:
“ Lippmann compared the average citizen to a deaf spectator sitting in the back row. He does not know
what is happening, why it is happening, what ought to happen. He lives in a world he cannot see, does
not understand and is unable to direct. Journalism, with its weakness for sensationalism, made things
worse. Governance was better left to a “specialized class of men” with inside information.”
Lippmann believed that the public was vulnerable to propaganda. Some mechanism or agency was
needed to protect them form it. Self-censorship by media wouldn’t be sufficient. The best solution is to
place control of information gathering and distribution in the hands of benevolent technocracy- a
scientific elite. He proposed the establishment of a quasi-governmental intelligence bureau that
would carefully evaluate information and supply it to other elites for decision-making
CONCLUSION
Though mass society theory has very little support among contemporary mass communication researchers
and theorists, its basic assumptions of a corrupting media and helpless audiences have never completely
disappeared.
The current trend of media ownership concentration, media convergence and media mergers can be
compared to the era of the penny press, the nickel magazine and the dime novel of the 19th century.
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William Randolph Hearst, in the last decade of the 19 th century began the process of monopolization of
the media buying off the small and medium newspapers. The modern Hearst is Rupert Murdoch, whose
News Corporation is the best example for global media concentration. News Corporation is an
Australian company that owns almost 800 different media businesses, in 52 countries.
Media critic Ben Bagdikian had the following comment on the concentration of ownership of media
industries:
“ Left to their own devices, a small number of the most powerful firms have taken control of most of their
countries’ printed and broadcast news and entertainment. They have their own style of control... They have
their own way of narrowing political and cultural diversity... Although they are not their countries’ official
political authorities, they have a disproportionate private influence over the political authorities and over
public policy.”
The mass society theory has been criticized on the following accounts:
Not all average people are mindlessly influenced by the mass media. They interpret media
content according to their personal beliefs and notions.
The media have also positive influence on the masses: Information, Education, Entertainment and
Commerce.
The Mass Society Theory does not support the notion that the masses can also resist the media
manipulation.
The mass society theory was not scientific. No systematic research was carried out before the
generalization, media have a direct, universal and uniform impact on the audience.
* Back to Page 52 of notes..!(up to 82)
Module VII beginsLearning--- Page 78Persuasive communication--- Page 79Balance theory : Fritz HeiderCognitive dissonance Theory: Leon FestingerCongruity Theory : Charles Osgood & Percy TannenbaunDiffusion of Innovations TheoryGate keeping TheoryStep flow theories
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Heider's Balance Theory
Fritz Heider (1946) depicts relationships among our thoughts -- like Michael Jordan and Nike
shoes -- in a triangle, with the Person (or perceiver) at the top, the Other person on the bottom left, and the
attitude object (X) on the bottom right.
(Have a look at Page 85 of our notes)
Here Renu is represented as (P), Teacher (O), Kiran TV (X), Likes (+), Dislikes (-)
Balanced Situations
Heider represents the relationships between these three elements with plus or minus signs. He
declares that balanced triads have an odd number (one or three) of plus signs and are more pleasant;
Imbalanced situations
Imbalanced triads have an odd number(one or three) of minus signs and are unpleasant, encouraging us to
change one of our thoughts to make the triad balanced. In Figure 1, the top row of triads (1-4) are balanced, while
the bottom row (5-8) are imbalanced.
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For example, if Renu doesn’t like Kiran TV, but she likes Teacher and Renu knows that teacher supports
Kiran TV, those relationships fit triad number 6. Renu is P, Teacher is O, and Kiran TV is the X. The thought or
cognition “Renu likes Teacher” is represented by a plus sign between P and O. Teacher’s comment of Kiran TV is
shown by the plus sign between O and X. Renu’s current attitude towards Kiran TV (“She doesn’t like Kiran TV”)
is represented by a minus sign between Renu (P) and Kiran TV (X).
Heider’s theory predicts that Renu would feel uncomfortable when she realized the imbalance between
these three elements: If she like teacher so much (P + O), and teacher thinks Kiran TV is great (O + X), then why
don’t I(Renu) like Kiran TV (P - X)? Balance theory predicts that Renu would change one of her attitudes to
restore the imbalance. If She change her attitude toward Kiran TV from a minus (unfavorable attitude: P - X) to a
plus (favorable attitude: P + X), then her new set of relations conform to triad 1, which is (now) balanced.
There are other changes Renu could make to restore balance. For example, Renu could decide that she was
wrong to like her teacher (changing P + O to P - O), which would place her into triad 4, a different balanced triad.
Of course, teacher hopes that it is not the reaction Renu will have. Or, Renu could decide (perhaps fooling myself)
that teacher doesn’t really like Kiran TV, perhaps thinking she only made the favourable comment for some simple
reasons (changing O + X to O - X, which would be triad 2, another, different, balanced triad).
One simple advantage is that Balance Theory recognizes that people sometimes notice inconsistent
cognitions and that this inconsistency can lead to attitude change. We don’t compare every thought we have to
every other thought, so at times we can have inconsistent cognitions and not realize it. However, when we are
aware of inconsistency, that imbalance can lead to attitude change. Heider was the first scholar to realize this and
develop a theory to help explain it.
Limitations of balance theory
1. One very important limitation is that Balance theory makes no prediction about how
imbalance will be resolved.
2. Balance theory predicts that imbalance is unpleasant and that ‘P’ probably will do
something to restore balance -- but it can’t predict which thoughts or cognitions ‘P’
will change. Congruity Theory was designed to correct some of these limitations
(no consistency theory considers message content, or strength of endorsement).I
3. It ignores message content (like every consistency theory).
4. A fourth limitation is that Balance Theory does not quantify any of the three
relationships (PO, OX, PX). The only options are plus (favorable attitude or liking) and
minus (unfavorable attitude or dislike). It stands to reason that if Renu likes her teacher
a lot there will be more imbalance than if she only like her a little. More imbalance
should translate into more pressure for me to change her attitude towards Kiran TV.
However, Balance Theory does not include degree of liking, only direction (plus or
minus, favorable or unfavorable, like or dislike)
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5. Finally, people are not equally persuasive on all topics. However, Balance Theory
assumes that all people will create the same amount of imbalance.
Cognitive Dissonance theory
Leon Festinger (1951)
Cognitive dissonance is a communication theory adopted from social psychology. The title gives the concept: cognitive is thinking or the mind; and dissonance is inconsistency or
conflict. Cognitive dissonance is the psychological conflict from holding two or more incompatible beliefs
simultaneously.Example
Consider a driver who refuses to use a seat belt despite knowing that the law requires it, and it saves lives. Then a news report or a friend’s car incident stunts the scofflaw into facing reality. Dissonance may be reduced by
1) altering behavior… start using a seat belt so the behavior is consonant with knowing that doing so is smart or
2) seeking information that is consonant with the behavior… air bags are safer than seat belts. If the driver never faces a situation that threatens the decision not to use seat belts, then no
dissonance-reduction action is likely because the impetus to reduce dissonance depends on the magnitude of the dissonance held.
Classical examples When Prophecy Fails ---page 83Great Disappontment ---page83The Fox and the grapes----page 84
Theory :-Festinger argues that there are three possible relationships among cognitions (thoughts,
ideas): consonance, dissonance, and irrelevance.
Two ideas that are consistent, like “I like Michael Jordan” and “Michael Jordan is the
greatest basketball player ever,” are consonant.
Two thoughts that are inconsistent, like “I smoke cigarettes,” and “Cigarettes can kill
smokers,” are dissonant.
Two cognitions that are unconnected, like “Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball
player ever” and “Cigarettes can kill smokers,” are irrelevant.
Dissonance Theory declares that dissonance is an unpleasant motivating state (a feeling)
that encourages attitude change to achieve or restore consonance. So far, Dissonance Theory is
similar to Balance Theory. It is somewhat like the assumptions of Congruity Theory, except that
Dissonance is not limited to situations in which a Source makes an Assertion about an attitude
Object.
Dissonance theory has been refined in later work (Aronson, 1969; Brehm & Cohen, 1962;
Festinger, 1964; Wicklund & Brehm, 1976).
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One of the advantages of Dissonance Theory is that it can consider more than two cognitions at a
time. Another advantage is that it acknowledges that some cognitions are more important than others, and
that the importance of cognitions influences the amount of dissonance. Specifically, Dissonance Theory
predicts that the amount of dissonance is influenced by two factors: (1) the proportion of dissonant and
consonant cognitions and (2) the importance of the cognitions.
For example, if I know four bad things and six good things about my friend Bob, I should
experience more dissonance than if I know one bad thing and six good things.
In the example below, think about how much dissonance would exist if I had all four of the
dissonant thoughts versus if I only had one of these cognitions. It makes sense that the more inconsistent
thoughts I have, the more dissonance I should experience.
_________________________
Cognitions about Bob
Consonant Thoughts:
C1 Bob is funny.
C2 Bob likes basketball (like me).
C3 Bob likes rock and roll music (like me).
C4 Bob is a loyal friend.
C5 Bob likes the action/adventure movies (like me).
C6 Bob helped me with algebra in High School.
Dissonant Thoughts:
D1 Bob doesn’t like my brother.
D2 Bob likes those stupid horror movies (unlike me).
D3 Bob is really messy.
D4 Bob sometimes goes too far in making fun of people.
_______________________________
Furthermore, the importance of these good and bad thoughts makes a difference. If my brother is
really important to me, the first dissonant thought, that Bob doesn’t like my brother (D1), could create a lot
of dissonance. On the other hand, if I am not close to my brother, this cognition won’t bother me as much.
Thus, dissonance theory considers all of the relevant thoughts at once, considering both the proportion of
consistent (consonant) and inconsistent (dissonant) thoughts and the importance of those thoughts. Balance
Theory and Congruity Theory can consider only one idea and neither theory accounts for the importance of
ideas.
Dissonance theory suggests that there are three ways to restore consonance. First, one may change
a cognition to reduce dissonance. If I had new information which suggested that Bob really liked my
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brother, then my idea that Bob doesn’t like my brother (D1) could change (into C7, Bob likes my brother).
This should reduce my dissonance about Bob. Second, a person who experiences dissonance can add a new
cognition. For example, I could decide that Bob just doesn’t know my brother very well, and that if Bob got
to know him, Bob’s feeling toward my brother would almost certainly change. The third way to reduce
dissonance is to change the importance of cognitions. I could decide that because Bob hardly ever sees my
brother, I could reduce the importance of Bob’s feeling toward my brother, which would reduce my
dissonance. One important limitation of Dissonance Theory (unlike Congruity Theory, for example) is that
Cognitive Dissonance does not predict how dissonance will be reduced in any situation.
An obvious implication of Cognitive Dissonance Theory is that if you want to change someone’s
attitude, you could try to create dissonance concerning that person’s attitude and hope that desired attitude
change would result. However, there are other implications of Cognitive Dissonance as well. Much of the
research on dissonance has focused on decision-making, counter-attitudinal advocacy, forced compliance,
and selective exposure to information.
Glossary of the theory
cognition: thought or idea; can be a belief, a value, or an attitude
consonance: two cognitions (thoughts) that are consistent or agree with each other
dissonance: two cognitions (thoughts) that are inconsistent or disagree with each other; an
unpleasant motivating state forced compliance (induced compliance): trying to get a person to do
something that is inconsistent with his or her attitudes
irrelevant: two cognitions (thoughts) that are unrelated
selective exposure: a prediction that people will tend to avoid information that is likely to create
dissonance
spreading effect: when dissonance arises after making a decision, one way to reduce dissonance is
to increase the advantages of the chosen option and the disadvantages of the unchosen option,
spreading them apart.
Congruity Theory - Overview
All Consistency Theories are about the relationship of the thoughts or ideas (“cognitions”) in a person’s
mind. The basic idea is that people prefer harmony, or consistency, in their thoughts. Furthermore, consistency
theories hold that when we have inconsistent thoughts, this inconsistency (also called imbalance or incongruity)
motivates us to change our thoughts to restore consistency. For example, if Renu really like Teacher, and if she
learn that teacher strongly speaks for Kiran TV, then it is easier or simpler for Renu if she likes Kiran TV too: Renu
likes Teacher, Teacher likes Kiran, Renu likes Kiran. Consistent thoughts like these are usually easier for her than
trying to figure out “ why I don’t like something that my pretty teacher likes.” She can rationalize disagreements
with Teacher, but it is easier if she don’t have to do so. Inconsistent cognitions often, but not always, lead to
attitude change.
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Persuasive messages, in general, try to persuade us to change our minds or our attitudes (at times they also
may try to strengthen or reinforce our existing attitudes). When a message disagrees with us (tries to persuade us to
change our minds), there is discrepancy, or a difference, or an inconsistency, between the message’s position and
our attitudes. If there is a reason to like or agree with the message (liking for the source of a message, for instance),
that can translate into pressure or motivation to change our attitude, to bring it in line with the message.
Consistency theories are designed to understand how and when inconsistencies in our thoughts (“I like Benny,”
“Benny likes ‘ PazhassiRaja’, “I don’t like ‘PazhassiRaja’”) lead to attitude change (“May be ‘PazhassiRaja’ a
Malayalam classic than I felt”).
Congruity Theory is one of the Consistency Theories of attitude change. It was developed by Charles
Osgood and Percy Tannenbaum to improve on the first consistency theory, Fritz Heider’s Balance Theory. In
order to understand what Congruity Theory was trying to do, Heider’s Balance Theory will be described before
moving on to explain Osgood and Tannenbaum’s Congruity Theory.
Theory:-
One nice feature of Osgood and Tannenbaum’s (1955) Congruity Theory is that it is explicitly oriented to
communication and persuasion. Their refinement of Heider treated the Other person (O) as a message Source. The
attitude Object is a Concept, and the P in Heider’s balance theory is essentially the audience. They quantified two
of the three relationships in Heider’s triad: the degree of liking of the audience for the Source (PO in Heider’s
triad) and the audience’s attitude toward the Concept (PX in Heider’s theory).
Both of these relationships were represented by a number (1-7) as well as a direction (plus or minus). Thus,
Congruity Theory concerns situations in which a Source makes an assertion about a Concept, and the audience has
attitudes toward the Source and the Concept. The only relationship that remains the same is that the assertion of the
Source about the Concept is either positive (associative) or negative (disassociative). This theory holds that
incongruity (like imbalance) is unpleasant and motivates audiences to change their attitudes.
A second improvement is that Congruity Theory offers a formula for predicting the direction and amount
of attitude change (those who are interested in the details of the formula should consult the reading list). The main
point here is that Congruity Theory proposes a formula that predicts the amount and direction of attitude change
based on the audience’s attitude toward the Source and the audience’s attitude toward the Concept.
` Congruity theory was tested using a variety of hypothetical situations. Subjects were given a long list of
people (potential message sources, like President Eisenhower or Soviet leader Kruchev) and concepts (communism,
democracy) and asked to report their attitude toward each one. Later, subjects would be told that Eisenhower or
Kruchev had made a statement about a concept, like democracy or communism.
Researchers wanted to explore every option, so some of the statements linked liked sources (Eisenhower)
with liked concepts (democracy) and disliked sources (Kruchev) with disliked concepts: “Eisenhower says
democracy is what made this nation great,” “Kruchev said communism is the best system of government.” Other
statements associated liked sources with disliked concepts (“Eisenhower said the benefits of communism are not
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appreciated”) and disliked sources with liked concepts (“Kruchev declared that democracy was more efficient than
communism”). After reading these messages, the subjects’ attitudes toward the sources and the concepts were
measured again. The data for their initial attitudes toward source and concept were put into the formula and then
their new attitudes (after reading the message) were compared with the attitudes predicted by Congruity Theory.
Research revealed that Congruity Theory’s predictions were supported generally: attitudes did tend to
change in the predicted direction. However, precise amounts of attitude change were often incorrect (Osgood, Suci,
& Tannenbaum, 1957). These experimental results led the theorists to propose two corrections to the formula.
These corrections are called post hoc hypotheses because they do not arise from the theory, but from research
conducted after the theory was stated. In a sense they are “band-aids” trying to fix errors in the theory’s predictions.
The first post hoc hypothesis is called the assertion constant. It holds that when a source makes an
assertion about a concept, that assertion tells us more about the concept than about the source (because,
presumably, people are more complex than things). Accordingly, it predicts that attitude toward the source will not
change as much as the formula predicts. So, when Eisenhower makes a statement about democracy, our attitude
toward Eisenhower (as well as our attitude toward democracy) is likely to change, but our attitude toward
Eisenhower will not change as much as the formula predicts. Because this hypothesis was developed after looking
at the results of their research, it is of course supported by that research. Attitudes toward the sources of messages
change, but less than attitudes toward concepts.
The second post hoc hypothesis is called the correction for incredulity. The researchers noticed that
when a source was made to same something unreasonable -- like Eisenhower praised communism or Kruchev
denounced communism -- attitude change predicted by Congruity Theory did not occur. So, the theory was
amended again to say that the predictions would not work when a source says something that the audience does not
believe that source would really say.
Strengths of the Congruity Theory
One important advantage is that Congruity Theory makes specific predictions about the direction and
amount of attitude change that will occur from persuasive communication. Research tells us that these predictions
are not perfect but fairly accurate. These predictions are even better when the two corrections are made to the
formula. Balance theory makes no specific predictions about attitude change, so Congruity Theory’s ability to
predict the direction and amount of attitude change is a definite improvement.
For those who are specifically interested in persuasion, Congruity Theory is much more focused than
Balance Theory. Congruity Theory is aimed directly at situations in which a Source makes an Assertion (gives a
message) about an Attitude Object. This is exactly the kind of situation that persuasion studies.
Congruity Theory also has some unexpected advantages. It predicts that incongruity can change the
audience’s attitude toward the concept and their attitude toward the source. No theory had predicted that the
audience’s attitude toward the source of the message would change too. Research demonstrated that in fact attitudes
toward both the concept and the source changed. Second, Congruity Theory predicts that more polarized (extreme)
attitudes will change less than moderate attitudes. That prediction was also confirmed by their research.
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Another advantage of Congruity Theory is that it explains why some messages fall flat. If a message
makes an unreasonable claim (e.g., Eisenhower likes communism or dislikes democracy; Kruchev likes democracy
or dislikes communism), that message will be ineffective even though it might appear to create a great deal of
incongruity.
Weaknesses of the Congruity Theory
However, this theory has its limitations.
First, like all consistency theories, Congruity Theory ignores message content. It says that the Source
makes an Assertion, which is a message, but the theory tells us nothing about the nature of that message. There is
ample evidence that message factors -- like strong arguments or evidence -- influence persuasion. However,
Congruity Theory classifies all messages as either associative or disassociative, with no provision for stronger or
weaker messages. It would be easy to propose that messages with strong arguments would produce more
incongruity and therefore more attitude change than messages with weak arguments. Similarly, we could predict
that messages with evidence would produce more incongruity and more attitude change than messages without
evidence. However, congruity theory ignores everything about the message except whether the source is favorable
or unfavorable toward the attitude object.
Second, the corrections it proposes means that the theory is incomplete. The theory did not predict
that attitudes toward the source would change less than predicted. The theory does not explain why messages
that do not appear genuine (Eisenhower praising communism) are ignored and unpersuasive. Rather than revise the
theory so that it made better predictions, they fiddled with the formula to make it fit the data. This is not how theory
is supposed to improve. Still, Congruity Theory is a clear advance over Balance Theory.
GLOSSARY of the Congruity Theory
Assertion constant: tendency for attitudes toward objects to change more than attitudes toward message sources
Balance: cognitions (thoughts) that are consistent with each other
Congruity: cognitions (thoughts) that are consistent with each other
Correction for incredulity: tendency for people to reject messages that sources are unlikely to have said
Discrepancy: inconsistency, usually between a message and an attitude
Imbalance: inconsistent cognitions (thoughts)
Incongruity: inconsistent cognitions (thoughts)
Perceiver: the person who is experiencing balanced or imbalanced cognitions
Triad: relationship of Perceiver (P), Other (O), and Attitude Object (X) in Balance Theory; sometimes referred to
as POX triad
Diffusion of Innovations--- page86
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Gatekeeping --- page 89
Kurt Lewin was apparently the first one to use the term "gatekeeping," which he used to describe a wife or
mother as the person who decides which foods end up on the family's dinner table. (Lewin, 1947). The
gatekeeper is the person who decides what shall pass through each gate section, of which, in any process,
there are several. Although he applied it originally to the food chain, he then added that the gating process
can include a news item winding through communication channels in a group. This is the point from which
most gatekeeper studies in communication are launched.
David ManningWhite (1961) was the person who seized upon Lewin's comments and turned it solidly
toward journalism in 1950.
In the 1970s McCombs and Shaw took a different direction when they looked at the effects of gatekeepers'
decisions. They found the audience learns how much importance to attach to a news item from the
emphasis the media place on it. McCombs and Shaw pointed out that the gatekeeping concept is related to
the newer concept, agenda-setting. (McCombs et al, 1976). The gatekeeper concept is now 50 years old and
has slipped into the language of many disciplines, including gatekeeping in organizations.
The gatekeeper decides which information will go forward, and which will not. In other words a gatekeeper
in a social system decides which of a certain commodity – materials, goods, and information – may enter
the system. Important to realize is that gatekeepers are able to control the public’s knowledge of the actual
events by letting some stories pass through the system but keeping others out.
Gatekeepers can also be seen as institutions or organizations. In a political system there are gatekeepers,
individuals or institutions which control access to positions of power and regulate the flow of information
and political influence. Gatekeepers exist in many jobs, and their choices hold the potential to color mental
pictures that are subsequently created in people’s understanding of what is happening in the world around
them.
Media gatekeeping showed that decision making is based on principles of news values, organizational
routines, input structure and common sense. Gatekeeping is vital in communication planning and almost all
communication planning roles include some aspect of gatekeeping.
The gatekeeper’s choices are a complex web of influences, preferences, motives and common values.
Gatekeeping is inevitable and in some circumstances it can be useful.
Gatekeeping can also be dangerous, since it can lead to an abuse of power by deciding what information to
discard and what to let pass. Nevertheless, gatekeeping is often a routine, guided by some set of standard
questions.
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Step flow theories
Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet (1948: The People’s Choice: How the voter
makes up his mind in a presidential campaign)
One step flow (like magic bullets)
Two step flow
Back to Page 90… Notes…
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