COMM 309: Introduction to Mass Media Effects EXAM REVIEW

A scientific approach to the study of media effects Sparks Ch. 1 Understand the difference between Experience, Authority, and Science as ways of Knowing What are the 4 major goals of science • Prediction- foretelling of the future, one of the chief goals in media What is a theory, and what does it mean to be “falsifiable” • Theory o The most powerful tool to achieve the goals of prediction, explanation What is the relationship between theory and a hypothesis Understand in basic terms the Characteristics of Social Science noted in Study Box 1-2 In media effects research, what might be certain types of questions that are difficult to answer by scientific study Scientific methods in media effects research Sparks Ch. 2 Understand the difference between Content analysis, Survey, and Experiments *Each method yields valuable info that may be pertinent to documenting a media effect. *The three research methods constitute an invaluable set of tools exploring the effects of mass media. Which of these methods is best at determining a Causal Relationship, and what are the three criteria for a causal relationship What does it mean when someone says that correlation does not imply causation (think of the 3 criteria) What is Random Assignment, and why is it important? • When in an experiment people, animals, things are randomly assigned to one of the dosages What is a meta-analysis? • Meta-analysis is a technique that does not involve making observations on a sample of people. Instead, it relies on studies that have already been completed and uses those studies as the data for a new, overall summary. A brief history of media effects research Sparks Ch 3 What were the Payne Fund Studies. What were their major findings about the impact of the media The Magic Bullet model assumes that exposure to the media will do what to the individual? What are the limited effects perspective and the principle of selective exposure? What is meant by the Two-Step-Flow of communication Understand the differences between Content-Specific and Diffuse-General effects What is the difference between an Alteration versus a Stabilization effect Meet Marshall McLuhan Sparks Ch 12 What are some of the major problems with McLuhan’s “theory” which make it difficult to accept by many scholars (think about theory and methods readings) The “medium is the message” implies what? • This implies that the form of a message determines the ways in which the message will be perceived. Why was the Electronic Age so different from the Print Age? Time spent with mass media: reasons and consequences Sparks Ch 4 Uses and gratifications approach notes a number of motivations for media use. What are they What is the displacement hypothesis. How might it account for health issues like obesity Effects of media violence Sparks Ch 5 What is the “copycat phenomenon” • “Copycat Phenomenon”- People imitate the exact behaviors they see depicted in the media How does (a) social learning, (b) priming, and (c) desensitization, relate to the effects of media violence? What does it mean to think of media violence as a Risk Factor for aggression (see Study Box 5-2) What does Sparks think about the “catharsis” hypothesis Why do people like media violence? What does Sparks conclude about violent video games • The effect of media violence isn’t very large, but this does not mean the effect is unimportant Sexual content and the media Sparks Ch.6 How did the two major commissions (National Commission on Obscenity and Pornography; Meese Commission on Pornography) differ in terms of their conclusions How does exposure to sexually explicit materials impact perceptions? • How does exposure impact behaviors? What is Obscenity? Is it or is it not protected speech? • Obscenity— 
What are some of the “controls” over sexual content in the media? What is the concern the AAP has about children having a TV or Internet connection in their bedroom? What are some of the reasons video game violence may be more harmful than TV? • More than ½  rated containing violence What types of “context” in which violence is presented can result in the learning of aggression? What are the recommendations the AAP suggests for parents regarding their children’s media use? What are the AAP’s recommendations regarding contraceptive advertising? • Giving teens freer access to condoms What are some of the positive impacts the media can have with respect to sexual content? Does the AAP see any relationship between the media and teen pregnancy? What are some of the recommendations the AAP suggests for the industry in terms of Responsible Sexual Content (e.g., Table 1) Why Communicate? All can occur in the same communication II. Various Levels of Communication . Society’s Influence on the Media • Mass media doesn’t exist in a vacuum . Types of Effects we can Measure • Behavioral • Attitudinal- how do you feel • Intended vs. Unintended Effects o Intended- mass media effects in which the distributer intends for some change to happen, a Superbowl commercial Social Cognitive Theory (part of Social Learning Theory) Social Cognitive Theory (part of Social Learning Theory) Priming Effects Excitation Transfer • Is there violence in the media? 2/3rd of programs . Perception of Realism and Identification with Aggressor • Huesmann Longitudinal Studies • Ages 6-10- did they identify with the aggressor? And did they think it was realistic?  when these two factors were present 15 or 20 years later better chance to be effected Obscenity and Pornography OBSCENITY IS NOT PROTECTED by the 1st amendment Obscene—3 Criteria have to be met to be deemed obscene I. Pornography