This post is due by Tuesday, April 15 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rob.williamsATmadriver.com for partial credit.
Read our MEDIA@CULTURE book, assigned chapter(s) above.
In a SINGLE blog post below for ALL chapters in the section, provide for EACH chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the THESIS (main argument) for each chapter.
In a SINGLE blog post below for ALL chapters in the section, provide for EACH chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the THESIS (main argument) for each chapter.
2. THREE specific pieces of supporting documentation - ideas, concepts, stats, data - to bolster your thesis for each chapter. (Use 2 - 3 sentences for each.)
3. A single PERSONAL story of 3-4 sentences that connects the chapter directly with your own personal media experiences.
4. A SINGLE specific question you have after reading and blogging on ALL chapters of assignment.
Game on,
Dr. W
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1. This chapter evaluates to what extent, if at all, media can alter or reinforce the behavior of the individuals who are exposed to it.
2. There are several means by which people study the effects of media. For example, there are public opinion polls which measure public attitudes, social psychology studies that measure behavior and cognition of individuals, and marketing research which asses the habits of consumers.
These various forms of research resulted in many, sometimes opposing, theories on the effect of media. These two examples were early theories. One is the hypodermic-needle model which suggests that “the media shoot their potent effects directly into unsuspecting victims.” Another is the minimal-effects model that suggests that media does not determine behavior of individuals, but rather reinforces existing behavior.
Today there are many more theories that are less general. Such as the social learning theory that suggests there are four steps in being effected by media; attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. Another is the agenda-setting theory that holds the idea that the importance of issues to individuals can be affected by how much media covers it.
3. I may be influenced by the third-person effect combined with the cultivation effect. I did not think that I was someone who could be heavily influenced by media, third person effect, but I am definitely one of those people that overestimate the amount of violent crime in our country, cultivation effect. While I am not convinced that this overestimation is a product only of television, it is clear how that could play a role.
4. This chapter focuses on how television and movies can affect human behavior, but could this also be true for other forms of media like social media or the internet?
Media Revolutions ch 15
ReplyDelete1) Chapter 15 examines the research due to the media and the cultural effects that are occurring in the current day society.
2) Propaganda research and analysis are both very alive in the current era of media. The advertisers and public relations professionals have studied effects of certain actions, images, and words in the current day. These professionals help to create a public image for the public figures they work for, thanks to the research. Similar to this research, there are social psychologist studies and marketing research. A large piece of all these is the scientific method. In this method, the professionals choose to follow a set of steps that will help them gain the information necessary. The scientific method includes experiments and hypothesis. Using all of these tools, an agenda setting is put into place. The agenda setting is when the media has the masses focus their attention onto something specific. This specific event may be a charity event or a crime.
3) The media effects have had a similar effect on me as public imaging. It is a subconscious change in my thinking that makes me believe that I either strengthened my original idea and thought, or weakened it. This subconscious thinking has an effect on everyone, and now I know that the professionals play with this subconscious thought.
4) Will the media effects and research become more of a field for professionals to specify and earn a living through? Something like a public relations professional for actors and athletes.
The media have a powerful effect on both individuals and society, through media effects research and cultural studies, experts are closer to understanding this connection.
ReplyDeleteWalter Lippmann’s book, Public Opinion, “was the first to apply the principles of psychology to journalism,” (522) and set the stage for discussion on understanding the effects of the media, emphasizing data collection and numerical measurement. In order to advance the war effort, governments would employ propaganda and mobilize public opinion in favor of war. As years passed and more of a correlation grew, scientific research helped address media effects. “A number of intellectuals and academics were fearful of the influence and popularity of film and radio in the 1920s and 1930s.”(526) The hypodermic-needle model is the concept of vulnerable audiences being easily affected by media. The radio broadcast of Orson Welle’s War of the Worlds tested this theory. The minimal effects model theorized, “The media alone cannot cause people to change their attitudes and behaviors.” (527) Instead they respond to messages most familiar to them and are selectively engaged. The scientific method focuses on media’s effect on learning, attitudes, aggression, and voting habits. “The scientific method relies on objectivity, reliability, and validity” (531) these methods result in many phenomenon’s from media’s effect.
I think the third-person effect is very apparent in society especially today. I for one, like to think that I can spot media messages quickly and accurately, however there are times when I don’t even notice a hidden message in an ad. I think the spiral of science is also an interesting reflection of the status quo in human nature. It’s fascinating how we all fear social isolation to some degree and would even renounce are own beliefs to be accepted.
Will media’s effect on something as complex as a human ever be fully understood?
Thesis:
ReplyDeleteThis chapter attempts to outline methods of cultural analysis that particularly focus on the effects of media on individuals and society.
Three Supporting Arguments:
1. “The varied impacts of mass media and the diverse ways in which people make popular culture, however, tend to defy predictable rules. Historical, economic, and political factors influence media industries, making it difficult to develop systematic theories that help explain communication” (526).
2. “According to the cultivation effect, media messages interact in complicated ways with personal, social, political, and cultural factors; they are one of a number of important factors in determining individual behavior and defining social values” (533).
3. “Cultural research focuses on the investigation of daily experience, especially on issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality, and on the unequal arrangements of power and status in contemporary society” (535).
Personal Story:
I found this chapter to be particular interesting because of what I am studying here at SMC. People tend to think of econ (especially those who have never taken a class) as a very math-oriented subject. And it is. But it also involved a LOT of logic, problem-solving, and even some foreign language skill. (Seriously, though. Do you know what MRTS, MC, and LRAVC are?) As an economics major, and particularly one who is interested in the microeconomic side of things, I spend a lot of time examining “individual consumer choice”, or why people make the decisions they do in terms of their purchases. We study the effects of government policy and other aspects of life. The most fascinating part of being interested in microeconomics is that in studying it, you are also inadvertently studying history and culture in a quantitative, semi-scientific manner, much like media researchers, who attempt to look at the effects of media on society and culture.
Question:
How can we better support independent, unbiased media and cultural research?
This chapter focuses on how media influences society’s thoughts and behaviors, and if in fact this is something that can be proven via media effects research and cultural studies.
ReplyDelete“A major goal of scientific research is to develop theories or laws that can consistently explain or predict human behavior. The varied impacts of the mass media and the diverse ways in which people make popular culture, however, tend to defy predictable rules.” 526
“Critics point out that as content analysis grew to be a primary tool in media research, it sometimes pushed to the sidelines other ways of thinking about television and media content. Broad questions concerning the media as a popular art form, as a measure of culture, as a democratic influence, or as a force of social control are difficult to address through strict measurement techniques. Critics of content analysis, in fact, have objected to the kind of social science that reduces culture to acts of counting. Such criticism has addressed the tendency by some researchers to favor measurement accuracy over intellectual discipline and inquiry.” 531
“Media critic Richard Rhodes argues that media effects research is inconsistent and often flawed but continues to resonate with politicians and parents because it offers an easy-to-blame social cause for real-world violence. Funding restricts the scope of some media effects and survey research, particularly if the government, business, or other administrative agendas do no align with researchers’ interests.” 534
I’d like to think that I am less affected by media and the messages that the carry than I truly am, however I know that not to be true. I feel like or society tends to ignore the importance of cultural studies. In the instant gratification world of media on does not concern themselves with context but is more focused on facts, the understanding of why and how the facts came to be is not there.
What is the largest concern about societies’ relationship with media of those who study their effects?
Chapter 15:
ReplyDelete1. This chapter focuses on media research methods, factual information’s impact on mass media, and cultural tactics to media analysis.
2. Media effects research does it’s best to understand, describe, and forecast the impacts of mass media on individuals living in today’s world culture. People in society have their minds centralized on the meaning of life, live life to the fullest while taking it all in slowly, express beliefs, and emphasize experience traditionally. In time propaganda became a large part of media because advertising was a way to sell yourself as well as your industry to society through the use of stories, reports, pictures, and other forms of social communication. Public opinion is a large part of generating success, but their views have to be positive media messages to be able to reap benefits from marketing strategies which is becoming primarily measured through polling. In many cases, public opinion is the most important when it comes to government and politics because persuading voters with one’s intelligible views of improving nation’s decision-making in the future is the way to secure backing of support.
The mass media continuously emphasizes existing attitudes into consumers to make sure people are aware that they are not changing their ways that way they are familiar with their ideals which are selective but are consistent with the plan. There is a combination of selective exposure and selective retention behavior demonstrated on the part of individuals with their social psychology when it comes to understanding media. Mass media research is used by corporation researchers in a strikingly similar way to scientific research by incorporating the scientific method with the usage of hypotheses along with experiments to test the prediction to be able to come up with analysis of factoring data variables at play in a research problem. The scientific method is most dependent on information holding absolute objectivity, reliability, and validity to ensure consistency as well as success in society’s global field. There is always the potential for correlations to be present between the studies of interest’s components influencing the results.
Common methods of a cultural researcher when making discoveries includes interpreting information through textual analysis, seeing how people interpret culture by making judgments of the audience, and examining the similarities between the economic interests of individual as well as groups in political power though the breakdown of the political economy. Cultural research always has a public sphere to hold vital public debates in the interest of solving disputes when the opportunity arises and communication is always seen as a positive to hear each other’s assessments of society.
3. I would say the media has an instrumental effect on my life. I am impacted by some of my viewings on television known as the cultivation effect such as shows and advertisements. I see myself influenced by action and adventure shows from the point of viewing areas in the world known for journeying quests on programs such as Survivor and The Amazing Race as heavily environmentally based. Then with violent screen programs for example Criminal Minds and The Wire make you to perceive all large cities filled with violent crime. The public in many cases form perceptions based on their viewing whether it is reality or not.
4. How will we as a society be able to remove media’s labeling messages of cities and towns across the country and form our own judgments? Or will areas across the nation still have placed classification based on cultural viewings from professionals and experts?
1. Chapter 15 talks about the effects that media and what we surround ourselves everyday with and how it can effect us as a society.
ReplyDelete2. “Propaganda analysis thus became a major early focus of mass media research.” This was the first time that people noticed they could use to media to help the process along of what they wanted people to do. This idea became big in helping out during the war and is currently also big today just not in the ways it was when propaganda was first created. This research employs the scientific method, a blue print long used by scientists and scholars to study the phenomena in systematic stages.” This step is important to the research to allow people from all over the world to follow the same steps in their marketing in order to compare information globally. “ Indentified in a 1983 study by W. Phillips Davison, the third person effect theory suggests that people believe other are more affected by media messages than they are themselves.” This is a common occurrence that I have witnessed first hand when people see food commercials you notice that after the commercial airs people will have that food or company in the back of their minds and will most likely end up getting that food in order to get their craving gone.
3. I have never really one that has been into advertising. I am really big into TV shows which is a way where that can effect the way I react often wishing that I could have the jobs and money that most people in televisions shows after, but I think I have a pretty standard look on life and know the difference between TV and real life.
4. What is the difference between a country like Asia that loves everything about technology and a place like India where it is just starting to pick up and how it affects their lives?
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1. Research has been done to attempt to understand, explain, and predict what effects media has on the individual and society as a whole.
2. -One way to accumulative this research is from cultural studies. With this, people are able to figure out how people make meaning, apprehend reality, articulate values, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols. Media is able to influence individuals and through this method of research, we are able to further understand how and why that happens.
-Although, other cases suggest that media does not shift the thought process and behavior of individuals, but rather that media only reinforces the behavioral and thought processes that already exist in individuals. This is called the minimal effects model.
-The most influential contemporary frameworks that help explain media effects include five different theories, those being, social-leaning theory which says there is a link between our behavior and media. There is agenda-setting, which is the idea that media can determine major topics of discussion for individuals and society. The cultivation effect which heavy tv viewing can lead to viewing the world differently, the spiral of silence which people who believe in controversies will stay quiet out of social isolation, and lastly the third person effect suggesting that people believe others are more affected by media than they are.
3. I think it is safe to say that media does a very good job at changing the way people view or think about certain things. I am not sure what it is that they do so well that makes them persuade people, but regardless I feel like I have differently been tricked into thinking a certain way because of what I see on media. It is really freaky to think about but I feel like it is most definitely true.
4. Will there ever be a point where this idea that media changes how we think becomes proven true of false definitely?
Chapter 14:
ReplyDelete1. This chapter attempts to outline methods of cultural analysis that particularly focus on the effects of media on individuals and society.
2. “The varied impacts of mass media and the diverse ways in which people make popular culture, however, tend to defy predictable rules. Historical, economic, and political factors influence media industries, making it difficult to develop systematic theories that help explain communication.” (526)
“Critics point out that as content analysis grew to be a primary tool in media research, it sometimes pushed to the sidelines other ways of thinking about television and media content. Broad questions concerning the media as a popular art form, as a measure of culture, as a democratic influence, or as a force of social control are difficult to address through strict measurement techniques. Critics of content analysis, in fact, have objected to the kind of social science that reduces culture to acts of counting. Such criticism has addressed the tendency by some researchers to favor measurement accuracy over intellectual discipline and inquiry.” (531)
“Cultural research focuses on the investigation of daily experience, especially on issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality, and on the unequal arrangements of power and status in contemporary society” (535).
3. I think it is safe to say that the media industry does an extremely good job of changing the way people view certain things as well as the way people think about lots of things. I am not sure what it is that persuades people, but regardless I feel like I have had my thinking swayed because of what I have seen from the media industry, specifically on television and on the Internet.
4. For those who study the effects of the media industry on society, what is their largest concern about the relationship that our society today has with the media industry?
Chapter 15:
ReplyDelete1. Chapter 15 discusses the affect that media has on society and individuals and on media research methods.
2. There were various types of media research that developed in the early days of the United States. Philosophical and historical writings had tried to explain what was occurring in the news and print media culture. A popular media research method used after World War I was propaganda analysis. Propaganda was labeled as a negative method because it was based on not telling the full truth. Another popular method was public opinion research, which have recently taken the form of citizen surveys. A third media research method is social psychology studies. These studies measure the behavior and cognition of individuals. A final media research method is marketing research. This form of research was developed in the 1920’s when advertisers started conducting surveys on the buying habits of consumers.
3. Advertising has always caught my eye, probably because I watch a fair amount of TV and, therefore, a lot of commercials. Media definitely does its best to sway a person’s opinion and make them believe a certain way, but I also think it takes a specific type of person to not understand the difference between reality and the image media is presenting them with.
4. As media continues to advance, will the research methods surrounding media continue to advance with them?
ReplyDeleteChapter 15 talks about media culture and the effects in regards to media research.
In the early days of the United States they used philosophical and historical writings to try to explain the nature of news and print media. After World War I, came the Propaganda analysis which was defined as, “the control of opinion by significant symbols…by stories, rumors, reports, pictures and other forms of social communications" (522). Today social scientists conduct public opinion research or citizen surveys which have become especially influential during political elections. In regards to the research on media effects between 1930 and 1970 the basic question in their research was “who says what to whom and with what effect?” (526). Some of the early theories of media effects include the hypodermic-needle model and the minimal-effects model which engages people in selective exposure and selective retention.
Something that I connected with from this chapter was the section about social learning theory and how people often cite real life imitations of media aggression as evidence of social learning theory at work (532). I have watched many episodes of CSI and The Sopranos like they mentioned in the book and I agree with what the book says that experiencing media depictions of aggression can actually help viewers let off steam peacefully through a catharsis effect.
As media advances how will the resources improve with them?
Chapter 15:
ReplyDelete1.) Chapter 15 discusses and analyzes the various effects certain media platforms have on both their users and society.
2.) The chapter begins by discussing several cases in which individuals- thought to be various forms of media (specifically television and video games), committed extremely violent acts. The 1999 shooting and Columbine as well as the 2012 shooting in Aurora are two instances in which the killers allegedly received a portion of their motivation though music or television. The chapter then transfers into discussing the two types of research necessary for understanding cases like these. Media effects research attempts to understand and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society. Cultural studies on the other hand is used to understand how people make meaning out of cultural symbols. One particular area cultural studies examines is the way in which corporate and political elites use media to sustain their interests. As the chapter continues, it breaks off into discussion of the hypodermic needle effect model and the minimal effect model. The HN model suggests that media "shoot their potent effects directly into unsuspecting victims" where as the ME model states that people "expose themselves to the messages that are most familiar to them and they retain the messages that confirm the values and attitudes they already hold." Finally, one the most notable pieces in this chapter comes from page 532, on which the book discusses the Agenda setting theory. This theory suggests that mass media focuses its attention on certain topics and issues to set the agenda for major topics or discussion for individuals and society.
3.) "Children are sitting victims; television bites them. Nothing can be further from the fact. It is the children who are most active in this relationship. It is they who use television, rather than television that uses them." This quote gave me particularly mixed feelings regarding the relationship between the television and its viewer. Growing up, I never cared to question why it was I watched television. I simply did because I enjoyed it. Although it was ultimately my choice to watch it, in hindsight my decision making felt somewhat infringed upon. As much as I enjoyed the programs, I knew I could be doing other things, instead of watching shows and commercials. Even though was using the television for entertainment, the relationship felt mutual, as I, like every other viewer would constantly be bombarded by advertisements in between programming. When looking back upon this relationship, I feel television used me equally as much, if not more so, than I did it. Although my intentions were entertainment, I would be bombarded by a wash of meaningless content that only dulled my thinking.
4.) When/ will television stations reach a time in which they can broadcast whatever content they please without losing funding or support?
Chapter 15:
ReplyDelete1. In chapter 15 discusses media’s influence over behavior of individuals; this chapter discusses a theory of media altering and reinforcing one’s behavioral patterns.
2. Media and its effects can be studied in several different ways. One of these ways to study media and the effects it has on behavior, marketing research can be done to assess the habits and preferences. Psychological studies are also done to measure behavior and cognition effects of individuals.
These forms of research can result in varying results, which can leading to varying theories interpretations of the data collected. If different theories result from research, yielding different theories can lead to very hard to distinguish results. It is not exactly the best way to go about things.
One of the interesting theories I read in this chapter was the social learning theory. I think it is interesting the explanation of the four different steps involved effected by media. These four things are attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. I found this to be the most interesting of the ones described.
3. I am sure I am affected and influenced by media. I watch TV and I am on the internet. I, at most maybe have the effect of third person, but I am not heavily influenced by media and what it presents. But I am not entirely sure, can anyone be?
4. TV and movies influence us and our decisions to a small extent today, how much will they be able to do so in the future?
1. Chapter 15 focuses on the research methods conducted by scientists to evaluate the effects that media has on various groups in society.
ReplyDelete2. “Combined with surveys, their annual 'violence profiles' showed that heavy watchers of television, ranging from children to retired to Americans, tend to overestimate the amount of violence that exists in the actual world.” pg. 530
“The youngest subjects in the group had the strongest reaction to violent or tragic movie scenes, while the teenager subjects reacted most strongly to scenes with romantic and sexual content.” pg. 524
“These studies, which were later used by some politicians to attack the movie industry, linked frequent movie attendance to juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and other antisocial behaviors, arguing that movies took 'emotional possession' of younger filmgoers.” pg. 523
3. I can definitely say that media impacts me in every day life. I always seem to have deep reactions to certain tv shows, movies, songs, and magazines that enable me to see things in a different light. For example, Beyonce's new album has changed and strongly influenced my view on feminism.
4. How will media research improve with the digital age?
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1) This chapter explains the effects media has on individuals and society.
2) “The main goal of this type of research is to uncover whether there is a connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media, particularly in children and teens.” (521). Media effects research aims to try and see to what extent mass media has on society. For example, violent video games are thought to increase teen violence.
“Today, social scientists conduct public opinion research or citizen surveys…” (522). These surveys get the public opinion. The public opinion is important when it comes to this because they are the focus of the research being conducted. Without the public opinion, the research performed could be totally wrong.
“The mainstream models of media research have made valuable contributions to our understanding of the mass media, submitting content and audiences to rigorous testing.” (534). Without the research, it would be impossible to completely and fully understand the effects of mass media on society. It is important to know how much mass media effects society because that determines what kind of media is released.
3) Media affects anyone who reads or sees it, including myself. Although I may not be a huge fan of reading newspapers or magazines, I am on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook all of the time. I often base my posts on what other people are tweeting or posting at the time. For example, on Tuesday’s I will post a “transformation Tuesday picture” on Instagram because everyone else is. The same with “throwback Thursday.”
4) Will media ever affect individuals and society negatively to the point where certain media won’t be allowed to be released?
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1.) The focus of this chapter is how media and messages affect the population, and the ethics and morality of sending certain messages with the knowledge that they can affect peoples actions in the future.
2.) The first section of the chapter is about the early methods of research and analysis on the effects of media, such as measuring the effectiveness of propaganda and marketing research. The second section of the chapter focuses on research on the results, not merely the opinions, such as the infamous panic started by a dramatic radio reading of “The War of the Worlds,” which had people barricading their homes to defend against a Martian invasion. The methods put forth include the Hypodermic-needle model, which revolves around the idea that media has an absolutely powerful effect on people, like magic; the minimal-effects model, which states that media only has an effect when numerous factors line up, and for the most part the majority of media is selected by audience members because it does not challenge their views, and thus does not interrupt the status quo, having no effect on their lives at all; and the Uses and Gratification model, which posits that people actively partake of media for their own enjoyment. The section also goes over elements and theories like the Social Learning Theory, Agenda-setting, the spiral of silence and the Cultivation effect, with the spiral of silence positing that people who believe themselves to have a minority opinion will keep it to themselves, slowly causing the entire population to act on the majority opinion.
The third section focuses on a cultural approach to media research, and the final and fourth section was on media researches interaction with democracy.
3.) Personal story about media research... um... well, I know that I know about it, and I knew a lot of the stuff in this chapter already when I read it. Aside form that I don't really know much. This isn't exactly something I interact with on a regular basis. It was interesting, but not really something I have any experience with.
4.) Are there any minority research groups looking at finding the effects of media on the lower classes specifically?
1. There is a lot of controversy over the media's effect on the population and many ways to try to understand, explain, and predict these effects.
ReplyDelete2. Studies have shown that violent TV shows and video games have led to violence in young boys and even juvenile delinquency. Critics of this say that this social learning theory makes media scapegoats for bigger problems involving violence.
A common trend among people exposed to media is that they believe that they are less prone to being affected by media than other people are. This is called the third-person effect and explains why people tend to think younger, less educated and more impressionable people will be affected by media and they won't.
One way people study the affects media has on people is survey research. Surveyors can accumulate large amounts of information and then compare results to previous studies, a practice called longitudinal studies. These results can ofter reveal correlations, which are associations between two variables, like video games and violent behavior.
3. I have found that the idea that media is more effective when targeted toward uneducated individuals. When I see something, like a news program, about something that I am informed about, like the building of a mosque around the corner from the World trade centers which I wrote an essay on in high school, I am less swayed by what the program says about it. However, when I see a program about foreign affairs, which I know next to nothing about, I tend to believe what is being said and take it as my own opinion.
4. How will media get more intrusive in the future and will it ever be able to actually tell us how to think instead of telling us what to think about?
1. Media effects research and cultural studies have been developed to analyze the effect that media has on people of a society.
ReplyDelete2. Scientific approach to media research in America began in the late 1920’s. Four popular trends between 1930 and 1960 were propaganda analysis, public opinion research, social psychology studies, and marketing research. Early theories of media effects were Hypodermic needle theory and the minimal effects model. Research on media effects can be done by conducting experiments, surveys, and content analysis. The contemporary theories that were developed were social learning theory, Agenda-setting, the cultivation effect, the spiral of silence, and the third person effect. Cultural approaches to media research looks at our daily experience with media in regards to race, gender, sexuality and class. This cultural perspective can be studied through textual analysis, audience studies, and political economy studies. Popular theories in cultural studies of media research are the theories of the public sphere and communication as a cultural ritual. Both the scientific approach and cultural approach to media studies are usually combined and borrowed from one another.
3. I have always been interested in the effects that media has upon the individual. I tend to agree with many of the theories that are popular in media research. I find it so difficult though to think that we do not have a definitive picture of how certain media affects us when media is becoming increasingly pervasive.
4. If we are better able to understand the effects of media on us, doesn’t that lend more of an advantage to commercial interests as they are have economic incentive to understand complicated theories while the everyday person won’t bother with such high minded ideas.
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1. This chapter talks about the effects that media has on individuals as well as society as a whole.
2. Media has a major impact on individuals in today’s culture; this is something that has become incredibly evident throughout this course. Media effects research is something that’s being done in order to see what these effects are exactly. The hypodermic-needle and minimal-effects models are used in media effects research. The hypodermic-needle model focuses on the effects of powerful media on weak audiences. Whilst the minimal-effects model looks at the media and a person’s attitude or behavior, showing us that the media doesn’t change a person’s opinions alone. Media can also have a major effect on children, the social learning theory takes a look at these effects with a four-step process: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation. This experiment was done using violent media programs, seeing how children reacted to them and if they retained the violent behavior.
3. This chapter was interesting to me because I’ve never actively thought about how the media can effect how a person acts. It’s amazing how the media can influence a person’s views so easily. Looking into this makes me wonder how the media has affected me as a person.
4. If certain types of media have an effect on our views today, how can they make an impact on society in the future?
1.)The media affects us more than just giving us a form of entertainment or information.
ReplyDelete2.) "Media effects research attempts to understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society. The main goal for this type of research is to uncover whether there is a connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media, particularly in children and teens." (pg 521)
"Over the years, researchers recognized that experiments and surveys focused on general topics (violence) while ignoring the effects of specific media messages (gun violence, fistfights, etc.). As a corrective, researches developed a method known as content analysis to study these messages." (pg 530)
"For example, the wave of police and crime TV shows that appeared in the mid-1960s can be interpreted as a cultural response to concerns and fears people had about urban unrest and income disparity. Audiences were drawn to the heroes of these dramas, who often exerted control over forces that, among society in general, seemed out of control." (pg 539)
3.) I know the media has had a large affect on me in the way of body image. I was brought up in an era that the media taught me if I had any extra fat or muscle I would not fit into an impossible mold of the skeletal supermodels that were all over magazines and television. I was also brought up thinking that not having long blonde hair and bright blue eyes meant I was ugly and was devastated when my hair started to turn brown as I grew older. I have learned now that all humans look differently, but I still can't help but judge myself if I don't look like what is presented as the "perfect" female around me.
4.) Will the media's influence hold or diminish in the future?
1.) Chapter 15 is an overview of the effects media has on the culture of the viewers and the effect it has individually on a viewer.
ReplyDelete2.) On the opening page it gives a story about how NBC ran a show and after it aired people took ideas from it and caused threats. It is interesting how when a person views something that was not their own idea, they become inspired by it. In this case it was a negative inspiration but it can be translated based on the topic/goal of the movie or other medium.
Everywhere we look there are statistics and polls. In the field of Public Opinion Research, it is the goal to find out how the culture reacts through media and what ways it can be beneficial. Media such as radio, TV, and internet all use “question of the day” type of public opinion to represent how the mass population sees certain topics.
Marketing research is one of the largest fields in business and relates directly to media. If you can predict the trend, a business can target that and make a large profit. Marketing research is all over the internet as “cookies”. These are little bits of information stored about your viewing tendencies and then relate back through ads that would be ideal for you.
3.) “The relationship between make-believe stories and real-life imitation has drawn a great deal of attention.” This quote on page 520 is very relevant to video games that kids play. For example games like Grand Theft Auto have been ‘linked’ to causing real life violence. I remember as a kid many of my friends were not allowed to play these types of games for that reason and it still appears to be that way today.
4.) How can we read trends and predict future preferences through today’s media?
Yah yah - fine reflections here, REV colleagues!
ReplyDeleteI am thinking - let's get after it in class today.
Dr. Rob
1. Chapter 15 focuses on the effects media has on individuals and society and how that has lead to media research methods.
ReplyDelete2. We are given examples of how media has affected individuals and society and the research methods being used. Two effect models that stuck out in this chapter were the hypodermic needle effect and minimal effect. We are told how in the hypodermic needle effect that information is shot directly into an unsuspecting victim. Whereas with the minimal effect we see how people expose themselves to the message that are the most familiar and then retain the message that they already hold. We get to see how media has two drastically different effects it can have on its targets. The chapter goes on to explain how theories have been associated with these effects that the media has. Two of these theories are the agenda setting theory and the social learning theory. In the agenda setting theory we see media setting what major topics the individual and society discuss. However in the social learning theory we see a four-step process that is used to grab the target. These steps are attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
3. After reading this chapter and picking out the points that stuck out to me the most I thought about how I have been used in each of these theories and effects. However one that really caught me off guard on how it really does affect me is the hypodermic needle effect. I wasn’t so sure how media has the ability to directly influence me unsuspectingly. Then I thought about Facebook and how the ads always seem to reflect what I’ve searched recently on the interne. The reason for those coincidences is because that’s exactly what Facebook is doing. Its taking information it wants me to have and injecting it to me whether I want to see it or not.
4. How will research and media effect theories change with the ever-evolving technology and resources we have today?
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1. This chapter explores the two different types of media research and how media has effected individuals and society.
2. The two different types of media research are media effects research and cultural studies. Media effects research is an effort towards explaining and predicting the effects that media may have on the society. A main goal of this type is research is to figure out if there is a connection between aggressive behavior and violence portrayed in the media. The other type of media research is cultural studies. This research attempts to oversee how people in society are using media and for what reasons. A major focus of mass media research that was used as an early method is propaganda analysis. Another early method was marketing research. This process began when surveys were conducted towards consumers about their buying habits. In conducting media effects research, a popular method used is scientific method. This is a seven step method that relies on objectivity, reliability and validity in order to study the phenomena in scientific stages. A key method used in conducting cultural studies research is textual analysis. This analysis highlights the interpretation of different kinds of cultural messages including messages portrayed through books, movies, and TV programs.
3. This chapter forces me to look at media from a different perspective. I am constantly on the receiving side of the media, because I am always using it. However, this chapter made me think about the thought that goes into everything from the other side to make a certain impact on me and how I will act because of it. This will definitely be something I think about more during my interactions with media.
4. The media is always trying to know as much as they can about their consumer, so that they can fit their needs best – does this irritate the average consumer or please them?
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1. Chapter 15 discusses the different cultural approaches to research in media effects over time.
2. Propaganda analysis was first used in World War I and was used to get the public to back the war effort. It was evident that the government would put out propaganda to sway the public's opinion in a way that was adjacent to that of the government's. Another model is the Hypodermic-Needle Model. This model was used to shoot potent effects at unsuspecting victims to catch them off guard. Another model was the Minimal-Effects Model. This model says that the public does not always want endless information pouring at them. Sometimes people will only focus on media that resonates with them. Probably the most disturbing of the models is the Cultivation Effect. This model suggests that when people watch television and the commercials, they are more inclines to perceive the world as it is shown on the television.
3. Growing up, I probably watched too much TV. This cultivation effect could very well have been why I loved TV so much. I would get so hooked into television shows that I would start to perceive them as real. Shows on Nick, like the hidden dungeon, made it so real for me. There were kids competing in obstacle courses and on commercial breaks they would place kids in commercials because they knew that was the demographic watching the show.
4. What will be the next revolutionary model in media effects and media culture?
Chapter 15:
ReplyDelete1. Chapter 15 discusses research in relations to media, and different methods used in research, which help to propel media in different ways.
2. “Media effects research attempts to understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society. The main goal of this type of research is to uncover whether there is a connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media, particularly in children and teens. The other major area of mass media research is cultural studies. This research approach focuses on how people make meaning, apprehend reality, articulate values, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols” (521).
There are many different research methods used in looking at media. To name a few are the scientific method and the survey research method. The scientific method involves seven different steps. These steps include identifying the problem and reviewing any existing research and theories that might be applicable to the problem. The third step is to develop a hypothesis and then from there determine a method for the research. Next you have to collect relevant data and information and then look at and analyze your results to see how they relate to your hypothesis. Finally you must interpret your research to decide whether they explain the problem. In the survey research method, you simply collect data using random sampling most of the time, which draws on a much larger population usually.
“Cultural research focuses on the investigation of daily experience, especially on issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality, and on the unequal arrangements of power and status in contemporary society. Such research emphasizes how some social and cultural groups have been marginalized and ignored throughout history” (535).
3. I have had to do several research papers on various topics. Collecting data is a process, and trying to find reliable sources and different viewpoints can be challenging. Depending on what the subject I am doing research for, I have used various methods of finding what I need.
4. How drastically have research methods changed with the development and growth of the internet age?
ReplyDeleteChapter fifteen takes a look into a variety of different research methods within the world of media, both past and present.
The chapter begins by describing a variety of older theories of media effects the first one being “The Hypodermic—Needle Model” (526). This model describes the use of media to manipulate a weak audience, they use the example of propaganda used in Nazi Germany as an example for this type of media strategy. The next model discussed is “The Minimal—Effects Model” (527) which, based on studies claims that people engage and retain information in the media on a selective bases, that media serves more to reinforce the beliefs of people as opposed to manipulating them. The final, past method discussed is “The Uses and Gratifications Model” (528). The goal of this study was to see why people use media, coming to the conclusion that; “Some individuals used the media to see authority figures elevated or toppled, to seek a sense of community and connectedness, to fulfill a need for drama and stories, and to confirm moral or spiritual values” (528). From there the chapter proceeds to discuss some of the methods that are currently used. The first of the contemporary media effects and theories is “Social Learning theory” (532). This theory has a four step process the first is attention; a person must be engaged with media. The second is retention; the person must remember what he is seeing in the media. Then motor reproduction; a person must be able imitate behavior. And fourth, motivation; there needs to be some kind of reward for the subject following the model. The next model presented is “Agenda—Setting” (532), this is the concept of mass media focusing in on a limited amount of stories to reinforce their significance. Next is “The Cultivation Effect” (533); this suggests that through consistently viewing television that the viewer will eventually perceive the world as it has been shown through television. Following is the theory of “The Spiral of Silence” (533); this theory says, that people who hold minority opinions in regard to the media, will recognize that they are in the minority, and keep there opinions to themselves out of fear of isolation. The final contemporary theory discussed is “The Third—Person Effect” (534); this is the theory that people believe that others are more effected and manipulated by media than they are.
This chapter was very interesting, as I could see myself fitting into some of the categories described. In particular I recognized that I most likely fit into the description of the third person effect. I often try to believe that the media does not reach me, although I know in the back of my mind that it does.
Can research into effective media stand independent from the digital shift?
Chapter 14:
ReplyDelete1.This chapter talks about how much media affects us, and what had research found about those effects.
2.Research has generated theories on the effect of media, two popular and early theories are: the hypodermic-needle and the minimal-effect. Those suggest that media inject their effect without the knowledge of the viewer, or media doesn't change the behaviors of people but rather strengthen a primal existent behaviors, respectively.
The research had shown also that media, and especially aggressive and violent, has a behavioral effect on those exposed to it, in having aggressive and violent behaviors as well as showing some kind of reservedness as a result of perhaps fear of violent acts of their surroundings.
3.I do believe in the hypodermic-needle model because I think that the affect of media is not easily observed. I also think that we are constantly changing and adapting to the world, and it only makes sense that being exposed to something as strongly influential as media changes us. Being a lover of smart and cunning TV shows such as Dexter and Breaking Bad, has influenced the way I think and how much now I pay attention to the small details that perhaps don't matter.
4.With the media having those hidden influential ideas and behaviors in TV shows, could research figure out a way to reduce the effects of media? Or how could societies be more aware of those effects so that they minimize them?