Media Communication Theories
Hypodermic Needle Theory |
Agenda Setting Theory |
Reinforcement Theory |
Two-Step Flow Theory |
Class Presentation Topics
Gid - Reinforcement Theory
Jordan - Two-Step Flow Theory
Dion - Cultivation Theory
Brendan - Agenda Setting Theory
Daniel - Hypodermic Needle Theory
Ellie - Filter Bubbles Theory
Rikki - Uses and Gratification Theory
Bailey - Research Methods: Meta-analysis, Longitudinal, Quantitative, Qualitative and Laboratory.
Jordan - Two-Step Flow Theory
Dion - Cultivation Theory
Brendan - Agenda Setting Theory
Daniel - Hypodermic Needle Theory
Ellie - Filter Bubbles Theory
Rikki - Uses and Gratification Theory
Bailey - Research Methods: Meta-analysis, Longitudinal, Quantitative, Qualitative and Laboratory.
Practice Questions
1. Evaluate two instances in which the media is claimed to have influenced an audience. (4 marks)
2. Compare two communication theories. In your answer, you should clearly explain what each theory suggests about audience. (8 marks)
3. Describe one or more communication theories that suggest audiences are active. (4 marks)
4. Some people argue that the media has significant influence. Others suggest that it has little effect on audiences. Evaluate arguments made about media influence, substantiating your answer with evidence you examined in class. (8 marks)
2. Compare two communication theories. In your answer, you should clearly explain what each theory suggests about audience. (8 marks)
3. Describe one or more communication theories that suggest audiences are active. (4 marks)
4. Some people argue that the media has significant influence. Others suggest that it has little effect on audiences. Evaluate arguments made about media influence, substantiating your answer with evidence you examined in class. (8 marks)
Articles and Resources
Useful Tidbits & Stuff
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Meta-Analysis Evidence for Reinforcement and Cultivation A review of field studies on the possible relation of exposure to TV violence to subsequent aggressive behaviors indicates that such studies have produced mixed results and that there is little evidence of causality. Correlational research has established a small but significant association between viewing TV violence and aggressiveness, but evidence for a causal relationship is again minimal. There is no substantial evidence for a cumulative effect of TV viewing...It is concluded that although exposure to and preference for violent programming on TV is correlated with aggressive behavior, there is no evidence that viewing violence in natural settings causes an increase in subsequent aggressiveness. - Effect of Television Violence on Aggressiveness - a meta-analysis by Jonathan Freedman. His findings were published in his book, "Media Violence and its Effects on Aggression". You can read the first 45 pages of the book by clicking here. |
60 Minutes Story on Social Media & Micro-Influencers
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Sample Answer About Instagram
Instagram was launched in October 2010 as a photo and video sharing app and has gained massive popularity since to have a current user base of 700 million people.
Where traditional media forms, such as magazines, had previously held a great deal of influence and popularity amongst teenage girl audiences, apps such as Instagram have now taken over that role. Like all media sources, this has resulted in both positive and negative outcomes.
In a 2017 quantitative research study conducted by the UK Royal Society for Public Health, they determined that of all the social media platforms, "Instagram was found to be the most detrimental to a young person's mental health," claiming that, "Instagram makes women and girls feel as if their bodies aren't good enough."
This is an example of George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, established between 1972 and 1976. Gerbner's theory, whilst specifically based around television consumption, can now be applied to many other forms of mass media. The claims of the theory were that if audiences had prolonged exposure to a media source, their perceptions of the world around them would start to be shaped and cultivated by that source resulting in often negative, warped and unrealistic views of the world. Gerbner coined the term "mean world syndrome" in his study, stating that audiences who watched more than four hours of crime-heavy television a day perceived themselves to be far more likely to be the victim of a violent attack than statistics suggested they were: 1 in 10, compared to the 1 in 10,000 reality.
With regards to Instagram, it can be seen that Gerbner's Cultivation Theory is still relevant. The Royal Society for Public Health's study suggested that, "...social platforms begin to issue disclaimers whenever a photo has been manipulated or altered..." so that vulnerable audiences don't develop unrealistic ideas of what a "normal" body type is.
This advice was recently taken on board by the French government who passed a law in early October that, "Any publication of a digitally edited or airbrushed commercial image not clearly labelled as a touched up photograph can be punished with a fine of at least 37,500 Euros (almost 60,000 Australian dollars) or 30 per cent of the cost of creating the advertisement. This law was passed in France over concerns for the rising numbers, around 60,000, of French people currently diagnosed with anorexia.
A recent study by the University of Buffalo found that social media users, specifically female users, who "spent most of their time posting, commenting on and comparing themselves to photos...were more likely to link their self-worth to their looks." This is, in conjunction with an understanding of Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, a concerning realisation, as vulnerable audiences will be linking their self-worth to their looks, whilst simultaneously being made to feel through trending Instagram hashtags like #thinspo and #bonespo that dangerous and unattainably thin appearances are the norm. When most people don't fit into those cultivated and warped views of what is normal, they will, in turn, feel like they are worthless and not good enough.
Whilst magazines in Australia are governed by the self-regulatory "Voluntary Industry Code of Conduct On Body Image", there is very little that can be done to curb these recent body image trends on Instagram such as thighgap, #thinspo (short for thin-spiration"and #bonespo (short for "bone-spiration" where the goal is to be able to thin enough to see bones protruding).
In recent times, however, Instagram and its micro-influencers, have taken it upon themselves to self-regulate, resulting in the rise of more health-based hashtags such as #eatclean, #fitspo and #wellness. A recent Independent UK article claimed that Instagram has spurred the biggest shift the fitness world has seen in decades, with a greater focus now on healthy eating/living and being fit and active rather than simply aspiring to look thin.
Australian Crossfit Model Jennifer Smith recently posted "transformation pics" on Instagram taken only 15 minutes apart to highlight that even the "perfect" looking models aren't perfect at all, showing her with defined abs in the first shot and a pot belly in the second. She stated that her post was to show that the perfect looking photos are achieved through good lighting and body posture and are less to do with actually having a perfect body, further highlighting the facade of the bodies being shown on Instagram and the reality of what healthy women actually look like.
Gerbner's Cultivation Theory suggests, therefore that many teenage girls were being influenced into believing that unrealistic body types were the norm due to heavy use of Instagram, in turn having negative impacts on their perceptions of self-worth and body image. With these new positive trends occurring, however, it is hopeful that more positive attitudes and lifestyles can be cultivated and this self-imposed regulation will have a greater impact.
Instagram was launched in October 2010 as a photo and video sharing app and has gained massive popularity since to have a current user base of 700 million people.
Where traditional media forms, such as magazines, had previously held a great deal of influence and popularity amongst teenage girl audiences, apps such as Instagram have now taken over that role. Like all media sources, this has resulted in both positive and negative outcomes.
In a 2017 quantitative research study conducted by the UK Royal Society for Public Health, they determined that of all the social media platforms, "Instagram was found to be the most detrimental to a young person's mental health," claiming that, "Instagram makes women and girls feel as if their bodies aren't good enough."
This is an example of George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, established between 1972 and 1976. Gerbner's theory, whilst specifically based around television consumption, can now be applied to many other forms of mass media. The claims of the theory were that if audiences had prolonged exposure to a media source, their perceptions of the world around them would start to be shaped and cultivated by that source resulting in often negative, warped and unrealistic views of the world. Gerbner coined the term "mean world syndrome" in his study, stating that audiences who watched more than four hours of crime-heavy television a day perceived themselves to be far more likely to be the victim of a violent attack than statistics suggested they were: 1 in 10, compared to the 1 in 10,000 reality.
With regards to Instagram, it can be seen that Gerbner's Cultivation Theory is still relevant. The Royal Society for Public Health's study suggested that, "...social platforms begin to issue disclaimers whenever a photo has been manipulated or altered..." so that vulnerable audiences don't develop unrealistic ideas of what a "normal" body type is.
This advice was recently taken on board by the French government who passed a law in early October that, "Any publication of a digitally edited or airbrushed commercial image not clearly labelled as a touched up photograph can be punished with a fine of at least 37,500 Euros (almost 60,000 Australian dollars) or 30 per cent of the cost of creating the advertisement. This law was passed in France over concerns for the rising numbers, around 60,000, of French people currently diagnosed with anorexia.
A recent study by the University of Buffalo found that social media users, specifically female users, who "spent most of their time posting, commenting on and comparing themselves to photos...were more likely to link their self-worth to their looks." This is, in conjunction with an understanding of Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, a concerning realisation, as vulnerable audiences will be linking their self-worth to their looks, whilst simultaneously being made to feel through trending Instagram hashtags like #thinspo and #bonespo that dangerous and unattainably thin appearances are the norm. When most people don't fit into those cultivated and warped views of what is normal, they will, in turn, feel like they are worthless and not good enough.
Whilst magazines in Australia are governed by the self-regulatory "Voluntary Industry Code of Conduct On Body Image", there is very little that can be done to curb these recent body image trends on Instagram such as thighgap, #thinspo (short for thin-spiration"and #bonespo (short for "bone-spiration" where the goal is to be able to thin enough to see bones protruding).
In recent times, however, Instagram and its micro-influencers, have taken it upon themselves to self-regulate, resulting in the rise of more health-based hashtags such as #eatclean, #fitspo and #wellness. A recent Independent UK article claimed that Instagram has spurred the biggest shift the fitness world has seen in decades, with a greater focus now on healthy eating/living and being fit and active rather than simply aspiring to look thin.
Australian Crossfit Model Jennifer Smith recently posted "transformation pics" on Instagram taken only 15 minutes apart to highlight that even the "perfect" looking models aren't perfect at all, showing her with defined abs in the first shot and a pot belly in the second. She stated that her post was to show that the perfect looking photos are achieved through good lighting and body posture and are less to do with actually having a perfect body, further highlighting the facade of the bodies being shown on Instagram and the reality of what healthy women actually look like.
Gerbner's Cultivation Theory suggests, therefore that many teenage girls were being influenced into believing that unrealistic body types were the norm due to heavy use of Instagram, in turn having negative impacts on their perceptions of self-worth and body image. With these new positive trends occurring, however, it is hopeful that more positive attitudes and lifestyles can be cultivated and this self-imposed regulation will have a greater impact.