COMM 309 Exam Study Notes and Guide

What is communication? • The exchange of information and messages which have some meaning • There is some context in which this takes place: dyads, groups, media Why communicate? • Communication can satisfy huma ...

What is communication? • The exchange of information and messages which have some meaning • There is some context in which this takes place: dyads, groups, media Why communicate? • Communication can satisfy human needs Communication can occur at various levels • Intrapersonal • Interpersonal • Small group Keep in mind • Communication episodes occur at multiple levels • EX: this lecture o You’re thinking (Intrapersonal) o Talking to your Mass Communications Vs. Face to face communication Society’s influence on the Media • Mass media do not exist in a vacuum • Cultural and political context shapes its nature and function Debate over the media’s influence • The view of three groups How do we examine media effects? Ways to study the media • Look at content Effects can be… • Direct effect model- all members react the same way and the effect is uniform o Magic bullet theory • Conditional effects model- effects some of the people, some of the time, under some conditions Dimensions of media effects • Micro and macro o Effects on the individual and/or society Strengths of effects • Statistical measure which can be used (e.g., meta analysis) Content analysis: what it does • Describes in a systematic manner the content of the communication • How much violence exists? Points to remember • Can not determine “casual” connection • Correlation does not imply causation- WHY? Social Cognitive Theory • Part of Broader Social Learning Theory • Traits unique to humans Schema (script) Theory • A schema is a general construct or model about some knowledge domain • Cognitive scripts Excitation Transfer • Physiological arousal dissipates relatively slowly • Arousal generated from one event can be added to the arousal associated with a subsequent event (as long as the two events are temporally close) • Cultivation hypothesis assumes: o Messages are relatively uniform- all shows are somewhat similar Uses and Gratifications • Approach o Assumes that differences among audience members cause each person to Agenda Setting • The media determines the important placed upon particular issues o Cohen (1963): “The press may not be successful much of the Audience Use and Developmental Differences • Do we use media? • Are children and adolescents different in how they are affected by the media? • Some general age definitions • Adolescents differ from children o Increased independence- less time with parents, more with media o Importance of peers and the peer group o Strasburger calls the media the SUPER PEER GROUP Violent Content: definitions, content, issues • Is there violence in the media • Violence Index • Some Conclusions o Children are exposed to substantial violence in the media o The context of the violence directed at children poses risks Media Violence Effects • Studies of media violence o Research goes on and on • Conclusions of long-term studies (Huesmann 2011) o Exposure to violent media during childhood and adolescence • Desensitization Effect o Heavy exposure leads to less sympathy with victims- see less pain and injury • Relation between observing violence and behaving violently o Observing others behaving aggressively stimulates aggressive behavior in children and adults in the short run o Children who watch violence on TV have a higher likelihood of behaving aggressively in the short term and long term Video game violence: effects and controversy • Video Game Mechanisms • Aggressive behavior in video game studies o Punishment level for opponent o Hitting, kicking, punching Mass media sex: content and effects • Teens, media & sex o Rank media as top source of information • Third person effect • Times have changed o Couldn’t share a bed on TV • Three studies of sexual content o Family hour study  7-10 o Study of teens favorite programs o V-Chip study • Contraception on TV? • Sexual content and other media o Movies vs. TV  Movies have significantly more depictions than television  “What television suggests, movies and videos do” o Print media • Friends “education” on risk o Effect on teenage viewers of an episode of friends that dealt with condom efficacy • Catharsis? o Research support for catharsis is weak to nonexistent o Viewing sexual material increases, not decreases, sexual arousal Pornography and sexual violence • Obscenity and pornography o Obscenity is not the same thing as “pornography” pornography may not be obscene o Meese Commission Report: 1986  Casual links between pornography and violence  Pornography led to violence against women and children • Pornography effects caveats o Large individual differences in effects o Risks primarily for males who are predisposed to sexual aggression Society’s influence on the media • Mass media do no not exist in a vacuum • Cultural and political context shapes its nature and function Meta-analysis • A means of systematically integrating the findings from many empirical studies Perception of realism and identification with aggressor • Huesmann longitudinal studies • Ages 6-10 • 15 years later