Module 4

Media Functions Lecture

Lasswell
- Surveillance
- Correlation of the components of society
- Transmission of the social heritage
(look at part of media and analyze it from there)

Rivers and Schramm

- Entertainment function
- Selling of goods and services

Lazerfeld and Merton?

- Status conferral
o The bestowal of prestige upon a individual by mass media
- Narcotizing Dysfunction
o Drug induced state from what you see in media

Why study theories?

Foundation for research

Walter Lippman
Pictures in our heads ..1922.. “Perception is reality.”

Lowery and Defleur Media Effects Theory

- Theory of Uniform Influence
o (Direct Effects, Magic Bullet, Hypodermic Needle)
o Because of industrialization and urbanization

 Newspapers examined for persuasive messages

 WWI – mass media was powerful
 Payne Study – did movies have effects on what people believe? (29-33)
 Egard Dell – 1500 movies studied to find 3 themes: sex, love, crime
 1928 William Short – studied effects on movies on kids, Payne Fund helped

Lowery and Defleur Theory of Selective or Limited Influence

- Based on Individual Differences
- Based on social categories
- Based on social relationships
Media places
Lazarsfled – People’s Choice study – media has limited effects
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- 1940 election Erie Country, Ohio – media effects people depending on social class and
other people
- People select what messages to attend to depending on age, sex, and socioeconomic
status

Movie – Why We Fight

Personal traits and characteristics (values and beliefs)

Theory of Indirect Influece

Powerful but limited
- Modeling
- Meaning

Televison and the Lives of our Children – harmful, beneficial, no effect

Children may be learning through modeling

Bobo the clown – children pick up on aggressive behavior from him

Spiral of Silence by Elizabeth Newman

**TV reporting and studies

Theory of Uniform Influence:

- Powerful Effects Theory
- Magic Bullet Theory
- Direct Influence
- Hypodermic Needle

 The media present messages to the members of the mass society who perceive them more
of less uniform
 Such messages are stimuli that influence the individual’s emotions and sentiments
 The stimuli lead individuals to respond in a somewhat uniform manner, creating changes in
thought and action that are like those changes in other persons.
 Because people are not held back by strong social control from others, such as shared
customs and traditions. The effects of mass media are powerful, uniform, and direct
This theory is no more.

Theory of Selective or Limited Influence:

Based on Individual difference (1920s)
o Media present info, but messages are interpreted selectively
o The basis of this selectivity lies in variations in habits of perception among members of
the society
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o The selectivity occurs because of a person’s unique personal organization of beliefs,

attitudes, values, needs, and modes of personal gratification that has been acquired
through learning
Based on individual difference
o Because perception is selective, interpretations, retention, and response to media
messages are also selective and variable
o The media effect is limited by individual psychological differences
Based on social Categories
o Sex, age, income, education, occupation
Based on social relationships
o Family, relationships, acquaintances

Began with Payne Studies and developed in the 1940s with Lazerfeld.

Decatur Study
How people develop likings in food, fashion, movies, and public affairs
Later 2-step method
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Two-Step Flow Lecture

Developed from People’s Choice study

How did voters make up their mind during a presential election?

Site of Research
o Size
 Small enough for a monthly sample (May-Nov)
o Media access
 3 Newspapers (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
 Radio from Clecvland and Toledo
o Voting patterns had mirrored the national outcome in the 20th century

IVS
o Political campaign messages
o Religion*
o Socioeconomic status*
o Residence (urban v rural)
o Type of employment*
o Age*

Used repeated measures – came back and interviewed people (7 times)

The Effects of Media Campaigns

- Activation: a mulit-stage process
o Interest aroused
o Exposure increased
o Selective exposure
o Decision
- Reinforcement
- Conversion (uncommon to switch)

Role of Radio
 An important new medium
o Roosevelt really exploited the radio to reach many people, good speaker
o Voters became familiar with Roosevelt

How have you learned about the candidate?

- From other people
Opinion leaders (pays more attention to the media than those who don’t)
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- Pay more attention to the media

- Pass media info with their interpretation
- Exist at all SES levels

Katz and Lazarsfeld

 Personal Influence: the part played by people in the flow of mass communication (social
relationships)
o Hypothesized that a person’s ties to others influenced message reception
 Personal ties to a primary group impacted people message reception
 Ties to family and peers
o Opinion leaders
 Official leaders
 Same level social leaders
 Personal Influence Study
o Marketing choices
o Fashion
o Public affairs
 Decatur, Illinois
 Not much info on how sample chosen
 Identifying informal influences
 Generally influential
o Name someone who keeps up with things, and you trust.
Males
 Specific influential
o Interviews – opinions on topics and change over time.
Then asked who influenced opinion change
 Everyday contacts
 Self-designation – problem of validity
 Study Findings
o Marketing leaders for purchasing seem to be other women peers
o Large family wives were seen as leaders in life cycle situations
o Women with more social contact were considered leaders
o Fashion
 Life cycle influence – girls more influence
 Fashion leadership declined with life cycle advances
 Gregariousness impact fashion leadership
 Fashion leaders exists at all social status levels
o Public affairs leaders
 Relationship between socioeconomic status and option leaders. Higher
social status.
 Men tended to influence women’s public affairs
 Gregariousness impacted leadership with public affairs.
o Movie Leaders
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 Young, single had most impact

o Final Conclusions
 Influences investigated were minor, difficult to detect and completely
non thereating”
 Didn’t tell us too much BUT some individuals were more impactful than
others in certain areas

Individual Differences
 Selective exposure
 Selective interpretation

Why We Fight – designed to increase factual knowledge of recruits in order to shape opinions
to accept military actions and understand sacrifices to obtain victory.

Researchers studied the effect of films – if we can change opinions, we can make them want to
fight
Yes, you can alter opinions, but effects were limited. Individual differences played a huge part.

- Turning point in study of communication and to search for keys of persuasion.

Selective exposure
 Misery loves company
 Among elderly
o Tended to watch programming that was similar nature to their ailments and the
like