MEDIA RESEARCH -2: FROM LIMITED EFFECTS to ACTIVE INTERPRETATION and SOCIAL LEARNING
Limited Effects Paradigms Reinforcement Theories of Media Influence Joseph Klapper CBS Television: Director of Social Research 1940s-60s. CBS The LARGEST and most influential TV and Radio broadcaster in the U.S. 1945-1980. 1960 Book: The Effects of Mass Communication Intent: Downplay the impact of TV influence. Main Argument(s) 1. Media Influence is not a direct cause effect impact. 2. Instead: Media Act as Agents of reinforcement. 3. Mass media primarily reinforce pre-existing beliefs. 4. Media impact tends to be less powerful than we might FEAR. 5. LIMITED EFFECTS (But it still works really well)
2-Step Indirect Flow Model of Media Influence Paul Lazarsfeld (Columbia University) Media Research as a Social Science; Needs stronger empirical (and independent) DATA. Lazarsfeld s Main Argument(s) 1. Media Influence is more often an INDIRECT flow. 2. People tend to form opinions under the influence of OPINION LEADERS = People with established TRUST or AUTHORITY. 3. Second-hand, but personal influence. 4. Typical influencers (& barriers): family, school, friends, celebrity. 5. POWER is in opinion leaders and Gatekeepers Authority and Trust
TV Influence? TV Shows (Kid) 1. Sponge Bob (25%) 2. Hannah Montana 3. Drake and Josh 4. Scooby Doo NOT ALLOWED to Watch Sponge Bob Teletubies Family Guy South Park TV Rules 1. 1-2 hours 2. Homework first! 3. Not after 8pm 4. NO rules Fandom? Sports Harry Potter Star Trek Star Wars Dr. Who Food Influencers? 1. brother/sister 2. friends
Social Learning Theory Albert Bandura (Canadian/American) Univ of British Columbia Univ of Iowa Stanford FOCUS: The Social Psychology of Human Learning Social interactions Effects on the individual How a person s thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Principal Tactics related to social (behavioral) and cognitive development in humans (children) Cognition = processing of information (perception, attention, language, memory, thinking) 1. Observation (PRIMARY) 2. Identification 3. Imitation 4. Modeling behavior 5. Reciprocal determinism People, environment, and situations continually affect one another.
Bandura s Bobo Doll Experiment The Original
Bandura s Bobo Doll Experiment Important Factors in Social Learning
ACTIVE MEDIA THEORY Stuart Hall Jamaican Born British Cultural Theorist Birmingham School of Cultural Studies (Britain) HALL S ARGUMENTS: Television, Movies, videos, video games are NOT solely PASSIVE as we might think. Just the opposite. Children and People in general are ACTIVELY and CONSCIOUSLY working to understand, interpret, and infuse their own lives with media content. Kids do NOT model or imitate every media message in as intended by the senders. Constant selection and INTERPRETATION (irrational vs. rational) Social learning from TV: Words, Styles, Fashions, Trends Social Capital associated with knowledge of particular shows or celebrities or trends. Caveats: Learning is Not always visible Latent exhibition of learning (at a later time) Reading/interpreting the Text or media artifact Interpretive Communities: People who share common cultural codes and ways of Interpretation
Stage Development Jean Piaget (Switzerland/Swiss) 1896-1980 International Center for Genetic Episemology (Geneva Switzerland 1955-1980) FOCUS: A DEVELOPMENTAL & CONSTRUTIVIST set of theories. We develop/construct our knowledge of the world and we are constantly structuring and re-structuring it. Humans of different ages think in qualitatively different ways. Our cognitive abilities to perceive and interpret dramatically change as we age based on our interactions with the world. We develop a larger capacity for abstraction Successive decrease in egocentrism
Stage Development Jean Piaget (Switzerland/Swiss) 1896-1980 The MAJOR STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 1. Sensorimotor (0-2yrs) 2. Preoperational (2-7yrs) 3. Concrete Operational (7-11yrs) 4. Formal Operational (12-adult) 12 Adult 7-11 yrs 2-6 yrs 0-2 yrs
TELEVISION + VISUAL IMAGES For Tues: 1. Screening Guide 2. Cultivated Emotional Ought to s 3. The Superbowl Analysis