Reading I NEED HELP ON MY HOMEWORK
LULULU
Week8uandgasychronouslecture.pdf
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 1
Uses and Gratification Week 8
Previous focus:
▹ How media affect people
▹ Effects are uniform
▹ Passive viewers
Uses and gratification
U & G focus:
▹ How and why people choose their media
▹ Effects are person specific
▹ Active viewers
2
2 Underlying motives
for media use
1 How people use
media to gratify their needs
3 Positive and
negative effects of individual media use
Three objectives in developing uses and gratification
3
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 2
Uses:
What media do you select
Behavioral effect
Immediate or long-term
Conceptualization of media effect
Gratification
How does it fulfill your needs/goals?
What satisfaction do you receive from it?
Emotional effect
Experienced during or immediately after exposure
4
Why people use media?
5
Social interaction
Escape
Companionship
Relaxation
Information
Enjoyment
Passing time
Excitement
Discussion prompt
Think about one of your media selections this week. Can you
identify the reasons behind why you chose that type of media in
that moment? 6
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 3
Criticisms
Too Descriptive Too much focus on describing why people use media but not associating it with differential effects
Clarity What are gratifications?
Needs?
Motivations?
Satisfactions?
Not scientific If every individual is affected differently than how is theory useful for explaining human behaviors?
7
Active audience Do people really make conscious choices all the time about which media to consume?
Faulty measurement Can people accurately report their reasons for consuming media in a self-report?
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
8
9
“Seeming face to face relationship” with media personality
Mediated
Unidirectional
Distinct from identification Don’t necessarily want to be
the target but think of the target as a companion
“pseudo friends”
Parasocial relationships
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 4
Parasocial relationships
▹ Behavioral component: ▸ Discussing the target ▸ Defending the target ▸ Attempting contact ▸ Wanting a relationship ▸ Taking action on their behalf
10
Beyhive
Extension of normal social connection to the mediated world
All human beings have a need to
belong
Especially likely for those who are
lonely or socially excluded
Why does this happen?
12
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 5
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
13
Mood management theory
People tend to arrange their stimulus environments so as to increase the likelihood that bad moods are short lived… that
good moods are prolonged… and that bad moods are terminated and superseded by good moods…
14
Mood-management Theory (Zillmann)
▹ Levels of excitement within a normal range increase feelings of well-being
▹ Excitatory levels must be balanced and maintained ▸ Avoid noxious states ▸ Increases relief and enjoyment
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 6
Support for Mood Regulation
▹ Link between participants’ mood and media selection (Bryant & Zillman, 1984)
▹ Stressed ▸ Prefer calming and soothing media
▹ Bored and under-stimulated ▸ Prefer exciting media = increases arousal
What about sad and depressive songs?
“And I'm so sick of love songs So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs So sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?”
Relationship status and song selection
▹ How does relationship status influence song choices?
▹ Examines how song selection can be used to manage mood
▹ If I broke up, do I want to hear love songs celebrating love?
▹ Do I want to hear someone who has been “in my shoes” and “knows what I feel”?
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 7
Sad vs. happy love songs (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
▹ Participants surveyed about romantic satisfaction (among other filler items) ▸ 3 categories:
■ Happy Steadies: in a steady relationship ■ Happy Daters: presently dating ■ Unhappy Roamers: looking but don’t have
anyone in mind, unattached and not looking ▹ Given 10 minutes to listen to music ▸ Time spent listening to song recorded
Song choices (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
Love celebrating Love lamenting
Female
singer
Male
singer
Love Lamenting Song
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 8
Love-lamenting songs (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
▹ Results:
▸ Unhappy roamers preferred love-lamenting songs more than the other two conditions.
▸ Significant interaction between sex of respondent X sex of performer in unhappy roamer condition.
Love-lamenting songs
(Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
Why? (Knobloch & Zillman, 2003)
▹ “The presenters of love-lamenting songs might be thought of as ‘soul-mates’ for the lovelorn, possibly evoking feelings of being understood, and thereby providing some comfort”
▹ Social comparison at work ▸ Where I am compared to others
■ If others are better off = Sad ■ If others are worse off = Happy
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 9
Downward ▸ Comparing to “worse” others,
makes us happier ▸ Terminal cancer patients feel
better (and live longer) when in a room with someone whose death is imminent
▸ Moderately depressed people feel better when exposed to severely depressed patients
Social Comparison
Upward
▹ Comparing to “better” others makes us feel sad
▹ Relative deprivation
▹ Ideal-actual discrepancy
25
Downward social comparison
Comparing to “worse” others, makes us happier
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
27
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 10
Selective perception ▹ Media interpretation is subjective ▸ Challenges the assumption that media effects are
uniform ▹ Individuals selectively pay attention to things that confirm
their pre-existing beliefs ▸ Your beliefs will determine what message you walk
away with ▹ Interpretation of sarcasm/comedy
28
Selective perception ▹ Case study: Archie Bunker ▸ Vidmar & Rokeach, 1973
Selective perception
▹ High and Low prejudiced viewers ▸ Found show equally enjoyable and entertaining. ▸ However, identified with and liked character that fit
existing attitudes.
▹ High prejudice viewers were less likely to believe ethnic slurs were wrong:
"All findings seem to suggest that the program is more likely reinforcing prejudice and racism than combating it"
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 11
Use of race in comedy
Discussion prompt
Describe an incident in which your perception of a media message was entirely different than someone else
who saw the same message. What do you think was the reason for the
difference in interpretations? 32
Uses and gratification theory
▹ Focused on why people select media ▸ Uses and gratification
▹ How does that affect people differently ▸ Parasocial relationships ▸ Mood management ▸ Selective perception
▹ Focused away from passive to active audience
33
