Effect,+what+effects?++Power+and+influence+of+the+Media

=**Effects, what effects? Power and Influence of the Media. Summary**= toc It wasn't until the early twentieth century that people started looking at how media influences people and the power it has over them. The propaganda used bythe Nazis in Germany is an example of how media was used to negatively influence people and opened up the idea that violence could be a direct result of media. However, no one during that period thoroughly looked into the effects of media untillater on came the Hypodermic Needle Theory. This is known as a direct effect of media because it is based off the idea that "media messags are received in a uniform way by every member of the audience and tha immediate and direct responses are triggered by such stimuli."(DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach,1989:164) This direct effects theory did not last, however, because it did not address outside influences, people's opinions and their attitudes. It also doesn't allow people to come up with their own ideas and conclusions about what they are taking in through the media.
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Understanding media effects continued and in the 1960s, Albert Bandura conducted an experiment to prove children imitated aggressive behavior. He used a video of people beating up a Bobo Doll and called it the Bobo Doll Theory. Bandura concluded from this experiment that new patterns of behavior could be learned by simply watching films of these behaviors. This employs the theory of s ocial learning, or that people can learn new behavior though their observations of the behavior of others. Other theories that have arisen are known as limited effect theories. These theories are different from the unsophisticated and unscientific direct theories because with these, people interpret behavior based already on their beliefs. Other factors are taken into consideration when audience members are being influenced. An example of this theory is known as the Two-Step model. This consists of media going directly to the opinion leaders and then the opinion leaders influence their less interested friends, workmates, and neighbors. The opinion leaders have the largest influence on others because they have strong political beliefs and pay closer attention to the media. This also makes them less likely to be influenced by it, so they can form their own opinions and share those with others.

A more sophisticated and specific version of the two-step theory is diffusion theory, which argues that innovations in whatever sector of society will spread through a series of stages through means such as the media. Therefore innovations are initially introduced to opinion leaders by the media, but do not go through uniform process of opinion leader to masses, but rather smaller numbers of individual opinion leaders try something and encourage their friends, family, and others in their life to try the innovation. This reduces the role media plays in the opinion of society, and widens the amount of people considered an opinion leader. Scientists explored how innovations like birth control and farming techniques could be spread through a society by analyzing diffusion theory.

Researchers moved on from this theory and onto the Uses and Gratifications Theory. This theory's idea focuses on how the audience uses the media rather than how the media uses people. So, the audience's own needs and desires play a large role.

The third effects theory is the Cultural Effects Theory. This looks at the social and cultural context of media. There a few assumptions to this theory, first that "capitalism creates and class society in which inequality is endemic; that the ruling or dominant class maintains its power through coercion and ideology, and that the media are central to the exercise of power through ideology, helping to win popular consent for their rule" (Williams, p.179). A part of this theory is the Cultivation Analysis. This is empirical research that looked at people's view of the world from different regions and classes and through watching television. Although this last theory had many faults, it broadened the debate of media effects.

=**Key Terms**=
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 * Hypodermic Needle Theory-** Media messages are received in a uniform way by every member of the audience and that immediate and direct responses are triggered by such stimuli.


 * Opinion Leaders-** People with strong political views, who pay more attention to the media and transmit what they learn to others whom they can influence through personal contact.


 * Uses and Gratifications Theory****-** Emphasizes the range of purposes an individual uses the media for.


 * Cultural Effects Theory-** Deals with the social and cultural context of the media and how it influences people based on their culture.


 * Social learning**- People can learn new behavior though their observations of the behavior of others


 * Diffusion theory**- innovations in whatever sector of society will spread through a series of stages through means such as the media

=**Outside Research**=
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=**Additional Material**=
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Does Media Violence Lead to the Real Thing?

Here is a comprehensive analysis of studies on violence in the media spanning back to reports published in the 1950's. Overall, the article deems that correlation to be unprovable at this point in time. However, the research manages to inspire the idea that maybe society has had enough of extreme violence in the media, regardless of whether or not it is directly affecting aggression within our youth.

Here's a cool, quick video explaining the Hypodermic Needle Theory Super helpful for the final!

-Alissa

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