Effects of Media Communication

主讲教师：王积龙

General Trends in Effects Theory

The classic example of the application of the Magic Bullet Theory was illustrated on October 30, 1938 when Orson Welles and the newly formed Mercury Theater group broadcasted their radio edition of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." On the eve of Halloween, radio programming was interrupted with a "news bulletin" for the first time. What the audience heard was that Martians had begun an invasion of Earth in a place called Grover's Mill, New Jersey.

It became known as the "Panic Broadcast" and changed broadcast history, social psychology, civil defense and set a standard for provocative entertainment. Approximately 12 million people in the United States heard the broadcast and about one million of those actually believed that a serious alien invasion was underway. A wave of mass hysteria disrupted households, interrupted religious services, caused traffic jams and clogged communication systems. People fled their city homes to seek shelter in more rural areas, raided grocery stores and began to ration food. The nation was in a state of chaos, and this broadcast was the cause of it.

Magic Bullet Theory

Core Assumptions and Statements The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very

large group of people directly and uniformly by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.

Both images used to express this theory (a bullet and a needle) suggest a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver. The bullet theory graphically suggests that the message is a bullet, fired from the "media gun" into the viewer's "head". With similarly emotive imagery the hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience which is immediately influenced by the message. They express the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. There is no escape from the effect of the message in these models. The population is seen as a sitting duck. People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot media material "shot" at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information.

Magic Bullet Theory

New assessments that the Magic Bullet Theory was not accurate came out of election studies in "The People's Choice," (Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet, 1944/1968). The project was conducted during the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 to determine voting patterns and the relationship between the media and political behavior. The majority of people remained untouched by the propaganda; interpersonal outlets brought more influence than the media. The effects of the campaign were not all-powerful to where they persuaded helpless audiences uniformly and directly, which is the very definition of what the magic bullet theory does. As focus group testing, questionnaires, and other methods of marketing effectiveness testing came into widespread use; and as more interactive forms of media (e.g.: internet, radio call-in shows, etc.) became available, the magic bullet theory was replaced by a variety of other, more instrumental models, like the two step of flow theory and diffusion of innovations theory.

Magic Bullet Theory

Limited-Effects Model

Limited Effects Theory(1940s-1960s): A type of communication theory (e.g., social learning theory, vicarious catharsis theory) that regards media as having conditional influences on the viewer: due to intervening variables, the effects of media on the viewer are limited.

1.Hovland’s Army Studies(No changing attitudes);

2.Cooper and Jahoda’s Mr. Biggott cartoons(Selective Perception);

3.Lazarsfeld’s second flow of media. (Few people were influenced by mass media).

Limited-Effects Model The media may cause change within the

audience as intended by the communicator, a result called conversion.

The media may cause unintended change within an audience.

The media may cause change that is only minor in form, intensity or duration..

The media may facilitate change (intended or not) that is actually caused by other social factors.

The media may support the status quo, sustaining an audience in its beliefs or behavior rather than causing change. This is known as reinforcement.

Finally, the media may prevent change, often through the propagandistic use of one-sided information aimed at an audience that would otherwise embrace change if it had all of the relevant information.

Powerful-Effects Model Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann articulated several theories relevant to this

approach. One, called the cumulative-effects theory, notes that the media are ubiquitous, with constant and redundant messages.

She also has presented the third-person effect theory, observing that we tend to over-estimate media impact on other people and minimize it on ourselves, holding ourselves immune from the negative influence that we believe the media has on others.

Noelle-Neumann’s most well known observation is the spiral of silence theory, which observes what ththat persons holding ey know to be minority viewpoints often are intimidated into silence and obscurity. Sometimes this is done under the guise of politeness (don’t argue with somebody in his house, or don’t argue with everybody else at a party). But Noelle-Neumann’s observation is that the media identify what seem to be the commonly held opinions, and persons who hold differing opinions often avoid expressing themselves because they already known (or think they know) that they are out of step with mainstream thought.

Powerful-Effects Model Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, ”Return to the

Concept of Powerful Mass media”(1973). Contemporary research since the 1970s is

seeing the pendulum swing back to so about the earlier conclusions of powerful influence of the media. One reason for this is the growing presence and popularity of television; recent research also has looked at the pervasiveness of films (particularly on videocassette) and the Internet.

The current assumption is that the media should not be dismissed as having little influence. Rather, they have a powerful but long-term cumulative and collective effect.

Powerful-Effects ModelGeorge Gerbner articulated the cultivation theory to serve as the “Grand theory” to explain a wide range of media influences. Cultivation theory noted the pervasiveness of television and its ability to seduce viewers who were relatively unaware of message content. It also noted television’s ability to blur distinctions between news and entertainment, or more deeply between reality and fiction. The theory rests on the notion that television (in both news and information models) distorts reality. Subsequent observers have noted that television similarly overstates crime and violence, exaggerates the role of sexuality in relationships, and minimizes faith and family. It should be noted that the media themselves do not claim to be representing average audiences; indeed the nature of both news and entertainment is to seek the unusual, highlight the unlikely, and focus on what is different from the mundane daily life of audiences.Much of the current theorizing about the influence of mass media is trying to deal with some assumptions about human behavior that have been studied by the behavioral sciences:

The Spiral of SilenceFormation of public opinion

History and Orientation Neumann (1974) introduced the “spiral of silence” as

an attempt to explain in part how public opinion is formed. She wondered why the Germans supported wrong political positions that led to national defeat, humiliation and ruin in the 1930s-1940s.

Noelle-Neumann argues that three characteristics of mass communication: its cumulation, ubiquity and consonance.

Cumulation refers to the buildup of certain themes or messages over time.

Ubiquity refers to the widespread presence of the mass media.

Consonance refers to the unified pictures of an event or issue shared by different media.

The Spiral of SilenceCore Assumptions and Statements The phrase "spiral of silence" actually refers to how people

tend to remain silent when they feel that their views are in the minority. The model is based on three premises:

1) people have a "quasi-statistical organ," a sixth-sense if you will, which allows them to know the prevailing public opinion, even without access to polls,

2) people have a fear of isolation and know what behaviors will increase their likelihood of being socially isolated, and

3) people are reticent to express their minority views, primarily out of fear of being isolated.

The closer a person believes the opinion held is similar to the prevailing public opinion, the more they are willing to openly disclose that opinion in public. Then, if public sentiment changes, the person will recognize that the opinion is less in favor and will be less willing to express that opinion publicly. As the perceived distance between public opinion and a person's personal opinion grows, the more unlikely the person is to express their opinion.

The Spiral of Silence

The Spiral of Silence The media can effect the spiral of

silence in three ways:(1)They shape impressions about which opinions are dominant;(2)They shape impressions about which opinions are on the increase;(3)They shape impressions about which opinions one can utter in public without becoming isolated.(Noelle-Neumann, 1973, p.108)`Noelle-Neumann suggests that the mass media play an important role when people are attempting to determine what the majority opinion is.

The Spiral of Silence The theory has also been criticized for ambiguity and

methodological weakness, but the idea has persisted. Evidence of the spiral effect is usually small but significant.

This example shows an effect of the theory where during the 1991 Gulf War the U.S. support for the war was measured. Either it is a consensus view or did media coverage contribute to a spiral of silence that dampened opposition to the war? In a survey that asked about people’s opinions, respondents were clearly less supportive of the war than the popular support depicted by the media. Those who watched television and perceived that the public supported the war, were more likely tot support the war themselves. This study supports the spiral of silence and suggests that people are swayed by bandwagon effects rather than fearing social isolation.

Framing Theory In communication theory, and sociology, framing

is a process of selective control over the individual's perception of media, public, or private communication, in particular the meanings attributed to words or phrases. Framing defines how an element of rhetoric is packaged so as to allow certain interpretations and rule out others. Media frames can be created by the mass media or by specific political or social movements or organizations. The concept is generally attributed to the work of Erving Goffman, especially his 1974 book, Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience.

Framing Theory Examples used by linguists: The word "progressive" to describe left-wing politics. The

word "progressive" implies an improvement, or a step forward, and therefore suggests that right-wing politics are a regression or a step back. The use of the word progressive is sometimes used as a substitute for the word liberal (which itself was effectively framed by various opponents into a negative word, and is now being reclaimed as an honorable appellation).

Phrases such as "Pro-Life" (which implies its opponents are "anti-life" or "pro-death"), "Pro-Choice" (which implies its opponents are "anti-choice" or "pro-compulsion”).

“Anti-immigrant" (which implies the people this term is applied to are against individual immigrants as opposed to being against immigration or illegal immigrants.)

Framing Theory The media Framing of news come

from powers rather than media bias:(1)For instance, during Reagan administration,

much of the news from Latin America was framed in terms of a Communist threat to the United States; Certainly the occurrences in the region could also been framed in other ways—for instance , that those are developing nations in which many people were leading lives of hardship.

(2)Media bias may come from the media’s positioning which result in different news values, audience’s tastes, or even different location’s concerns.

Framing Theory Communication Scholar Robert Entman

says media frame perform four functions:(1) Frames define problems;(2) Frames diagnose causes;(3) Frames make moral judgments.(4) Frames suggest remedies.

(Entman 1993,)An Example of Fiji Island Television 1995-1998(13%-50%). Beverly Hills.

Framing Theory Practices of CNN:

Framing Theory Practices of CNN:

Framing Theory

Effects of Television Violence

Effects of Television Violence