Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research

Chapter 14

“Since the emergence of popular music, movies, television, and video games as influential mass media, the relationship

between make-believe stories and real-life imitation has drawn a great deal of

attention.”

Should Life Imitate Culture?

Media Effects Research

• Attempts to understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society

• Cultural studies focuses on how people make meaning, comprehend reality, articulate values, and arrange experiences through cultural symbols.

Early Media Research Methods

• Propaganda analysis

• Public opinion research

• Social psychology

• Marketing research

Research on Media Effects• Hypodermic-needle model aka magic bullet theory

• Media shoots effects directly into unsuspecting victims.

1938/40

Research on Media Effects• Minimal-effects model

• Rise of empirical research techniques• Selective exposure leads to reinforcement of existing beliefs.

Research on Media Effects• Uses and gratifications model

• Contests notion of audience passivity• Why do people use media?

Conducting Media Effects Research

1. identifying the research problem2. reviewing existing research and theories related to

the problem3. developing working hypotheses or predictions about

what the study might find4. determining an appropriate method or research

design5. collecting information or relevant data6. analyzing results to see if the hypotheses have been

verified7. interpreting the implications of the study to determine

whether they explain or predict the problem

Conducting Media Effects Research

• The Scientific Method - steps• Must be worded so that they are testable

• Experimental design• Tests whether hypothesis is true

• Survey research• Collecting and measuring data

• Content analysis• Studies the messages of print and visual media

Contemporary Media Effects Theories

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

Bobo Doll - Sock him in the nose, throw him in the air, Pow

Contemporary Media Effects Theories

• Agenda-setting• Media set the agenda for major topics of discussion,

neglecting other important topics.

Contemporary Media Effects Theories

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

ways consistent with portrayals on television.

Contemporary Media Effects Theories

• Spiral of silence• Those who believe their views are in the minority will keep their

views to themselves for fear of social isolation.

Cultural Approachesto Media Research

• Cultural Studies• Challenged mainstream media effects theory• Attempted to make everyday culture the centerpiece of

media studies

• Textual analysis• Close reading and interpretation of cultural messages

• Audience studies• Subject being researched is the audience for the text

• Political economy studies• Examines interconnections among economic interests,

political power, and how that power is used

Cultural Studies’ Theoretical Perspectives

• The public sphere• A space for critical public debate• Advanced by German philosopher Jürgen Habermas• Society in England and France in late seventeenth century and

eighteenth century created spaces (coffeehouses, pubs) for public discourse.

Media Research and Democracy

• Academics in media studies charged with increased specialization, use of jargon, have little practical application

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