Communications Paper
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COM203_Week9_Session2_Spring20182.pptxCOM 203: Introduction to Communication
Week 9, Day 2, 3/22
Agenda
Quiz 2 (30 minutes)
Discuss mass communication and perspectives on the effects of media
Reminders:
Paper 3 due on 4/10
Quiz 3 is on 4/12
Some questions….
Following questions….are they fiction or reality about the effects of mass media?
Mass Effects….Fiction or Reality?
Media is only make believe…people know it is not real
But…
News is not make-believe (at least it’s not supposed to be)
Most film and television dramas (Modern Family) are produced to seem real to viewers
Much of contemporary television are “reality shows”
Before they develop the capacity to know what is not real, children confront the world through television ~ what they see is real.
We willingly suspend disbelief while consuming media in the name of entertainment.
Mass Effects….Fiction or Reality?
Media is only entertainment
But…
News is not play or entertainment (at least it’s not supposed to be).
Even if media content is only play, play is very important to the way we develop our knowledge of ourselves and our world (think about what we learn from “playing sports”)
Mass Effects….Fiction or Reality?
Media is merely a mirror that is showing us the “norm”
But….
If this is true then it is a very selective mirror.
Some questions to think on:
What does a “typical family” look like on TV?
When there is a “bad person” on TV what do they look like?
What race or ethnicity do “heros” tend to be? What sex?
How are jobs represented on TV with regard to sex?
Mass Effects….Fiction or Reality?
Media merely reinforces existing values…family, church, school, etc. have more impact
But….
The traditional socializing agents (school, religion, family) have lost much of their power to influence in our complicated and fast-paced world.
Moreover, reinforcement is not the same as having no effects. If media can reinforce the good in our culture, media can just as easily reinforce the bad.
Mass Effects….Fiction or Reality?
Media doesn’t impact important issues, only minor ones like fads and fashion
But….
Fads and fashions are not unimportant to us.
Think about how much time and effort is spent on selecting clothes, cars, phones, electronics, etc.
Media helped make fads and fashions so central to our self-definition and happiness.
Why are billions of dollars spent on media efforts to sway opinion about social issues such as universal health care, nuclear power, and global warming. Are these not important issues?
MASS COMMUNICATION THEORIES
Given the importance of mass communication and its many forms, there are quite a few well-developed theories regarding the meaning-making relationship between mass media and their audiences.
Cultivation Theory
Developed by George Gerbner in the 1970s.
Deals with television effects and argues that television has long-term effects
Effects are gradual but significant an increased belief that the world is a cruel place Mean World Syndrome
Sees television as our window to the world which cultivates realties for those who watch it.
Television violence, specifically, lies at the heart of this theory.
Social Cognitive Theory
Created by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1960’s following his famous Bobo Doll study.
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U
Individuals “model” behaviors that the see.
While originally developed in psychology, this theory has moved to also encompass mass media.
Specifically, the belief that we model what we see in the media
How do we model?
Imitation: An individual exactly imitates a behavior that they see on mass media
Child watches a cartoon where one character hits another with a stick. The child then decides to hit her brother with a stick
Identification: An individual doesn’t copy an observed behavior exactly but mimics it in “spirit”
Rather than hit her brother with a stick, the child pushes her brother down. Thus mimicking the observed aggression to another as seen in the cartoon
So How Does Modeling Work?
Observational learning: Observers can acquire (learn) new behaviors simply by seeing those behaviors performed.
Many of us who have never fired a handgun can do so because we’ve seen it done.
Inhibitory effects: Seeing a model, a movie character, for example, punished for a behavior reduces the likelihood that the observer will perform that behavior.
On TV we see Good Samaritans sued for trying to help someone, and it reduces our willingness to help in similar situations
So How Does Modeling Work (cont)?
Disinhibitory effects: Seeing a model rewarded for prohibited or threatening behavior increases the likelihood that the observer will perform that behavior.
This is the basis for complaints against the glorification of crime and drugs in movies.
Behaviors that people might not otherwise make, now become more likely to occur ~the behaviors are disinhibited
So what do you think?
Are these perspectives valid?
Are these perspectives capturing the type of communication patterns we see in mass media and audiences?
Next time…
Discussing media literacy
Please read Ch. 11
