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MODELING FROM MASS MEDIA:Recent research, Summary, PRIMING EFFECTS

<< SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEROY:Symbolizing Capacity, MODELLING
PRIMING EFFECT:Conceptual Roots, Perceived meaning, Percieved justifiability >>
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Theories of Communication ­ MCM 511
VU
LESSON 17
MODELING FROM MASS MEDIA
Modeling from mass media, then is an efficient way to learn wide range of behavior and solution to
problems that we otherwise learn slowly or not at all, or pay too high a price to learn in the actual
environment. And according to Bandura things people experience in their environments e.g. mass media
can affect people's behaviors and that affect is influenced by various personal factors specific to those
people.
Learning from Media Content and Modeling
Whenever a person sees a character on the screen expressing some strong emotion or performing some
powerful action, the viewer is affected or aroused.
The viewer remembers similar experiences and emotions, and these thoughts and images serve as cues
that trigger self-arousal.
E.g. ET, Jaws, horror movies--fear reaction.
Such experiences of arousal are not always fleeting in nature, several studies have shown that audience
members sometimes develop lasting emotional reactions, attitudes and behaviors after viewing
emotional content that arouses them.
Social construction of reality and cultivation
Some studies show that realities depicted on television programs do not always reflect the true state of
affairs in the real world. Some scholars believe that heavy viewing of television tends to shape or
cultivate viewers' perceptions and beliefs so that they are more in line with the world portrayed on
television than with that of the real world. Media scholars call this media effects phenomenon the social
construction of reality. E.g. chances of being on the plane and it will crash; chances of being a victim of
a violent crime; stereotypical portrayals of men and women especially in terms of their profession.
Effects of viewing televised or film violence
Through the years, most media effects studies have examined the negative effects that result from the
vicarious capacity, such as the learning of aggressive behavior by viewing televised or filmed violence.
When carried to it s worst extreme, the modeling of such behavior has been linked to violent and brutal
"copycat' crimes such as rape, murder.
Learning good things from media
In recent years, a growing body of research that examines children's television programming has
yielded promising findings. These studies have shown that many children's television shows have pro-
social or positive effects. Children improve literacy, science, and mathematics skills and learn positive
social behavior, enhance their imaginative powers and develop problem ­solving.
Longitudinal studies have revealed that positive effects, in terms of academic achievement and reading
skills especially from viewing Sesame Street as preschool.
Positive benefits of educational programming for children are enhanced whenever parents or care givers
view programs with the children and reinforce the messages.
Social prompting or persuasion
Advertising campaigns and other efforts of persuasion serve as excellent examples of social prompting,
another example of modeled behavior. Social prompting does not involve learning new behavior, and
therefore it differs from observational learning and disinhibition. Social prompting implies that a person
is offered an inducement (an incentive) to act in a particular way that has already been learned. E.g.
most people are not inclined to try a new product unless of course , the new product is shown to offer
great benefits of inducements- toothpaste
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Theories of Communication ­ MCM 511
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Diffusion by way of symbolic modeling
One important area of media effects research involves the study of diffusion or spread of an innovation
a new technology, tool behavior, farming techniques- throughout the society or a large group of people.
Diffusion of innovations research examines the different strengths of media and interpersonal influences
in adoption of new behavior.
Social changes have occurred due to the influences of television on elite societies of viewers who model
the various behaviors, styles and ideas that they see and learn
Recent research
Social cognitive theory serves as the theoretical basis for many types of media effects research- from
media violence studies and fright reactions to media content to effects from sexually explicit content
and effects from persuasive media messages.
In recent years, social cognitive theory of mass communication has proven especially useful as the
theoretical underpinning for communication campaigns and their design, for health communications,
election campaigns etc
Summary
Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory serves as the basis for many other theories of media effects.
It provides a framework to analyze human cognitions that produce certain behaviors and describe
mental processes at work, whenever a person learns. Social cognitive theory is an offshoot of Bandura's
more comprehensive social learning theory, which explains behavior by examining the triadic reciprocal
causation process, or the interaction among cognitive, behavioral and environmental factors.
Cognitive traits
Social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of several distinct cognitive traits that set human
beings apart. These include the symbolizing, self regulatory, self-reflective, and vicarious.
Social cognitive theory helps explain cultivation effects, priming effects and pro-social effects in terms
of cognition, observational learning and modeling.
The basis for many persuasion effects or social prompting from mass media can be found in social
cognitive theory, which recognizes that motivations or influences to model new behavior or adopt new
ideas are dynamic and usually a combination of outside factors and personal cognitions and
characteristics.
Diffusion of innovations, another important arm of media effects research, also finds a conceptual basis
in social cognitive theory. Diffusion of an innovation throughout a society or a large group o f people is
explained in terms of symbolic modeling, persuasion or social prompting and motivation
PRIMING EFFECTS
Often questions like these bother the researchers about violent content in the media
Does media violence cause viewers to make associations with angry or critical thoughts stored in their
own memories? Does the viewing of mediated violence and the mental associations it arouses make
viewers more likely to commit acts of violence themselves? These questions are related to the
psychological processes present whenever media effects do indeed occur.
Priming occurs when exposure to mediated communication activates related thoughts that have been
stored in the mind of an audience member. Media message content triggers concepts, thoughts, learning,
or knowledge acquired in the past that are related to the message content. In this way, message content
is connected, associated, or reinforced by related thoughts and concepts that it brings to mind. For a
certain period after viewing such content, a person is more likely to have thoughts or memories become
permanently associated with the message content, or stimulus.
E.g. if one views a rail accident or air accident the viewer might recall an accident he is part of. his
interest in he news story and his reaction to it may well be affected by his existing knowledge and
previous experiences.
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Theories of Communication ­ MCM 511
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In other words his memories primed him to react in a particular way to the story. The priming activation
may also influence a person's behavior, causing him or her to act or react in some way, sometimes with
undesirable consequences. The most sensational example of undesirable priming, in this case operating
with social learning theory may be that of COPYCAT crimes- especially murder or other violent crimes
that occurred after the person was PRIMED by movie or program
Instance of copycat crimes are grave extremes of priming. Such cases represent a very small percentage
of the population experience priming affects so completely that they actually MODEL OR IMITATE
the viewed behavior. Priming effects from the viewing of media violence are normally much more
subtle but even that level they represent cause for concern.
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Table of Contents:
  1. COMMUNICATION:Nature of communication, Transactional approach, Communication is symbolic:
  2. THEORY, PARADIGM AND MODEL (I):Positivistic Perspective, Critical Perspective
  3. THEORY, PARADIGM AND MODEL (II):Empirical problems, Conceptual problems
  4. FROM COMMUNICATION TO MASS COMMUNICATION MODELS:Channel
  5. NORMATIVE THEORIES:Authoritarian Theory, Libertarian Theory, Limitations
  6. HUTCHINS COMMISSION ON FREEDOM, CHICAGO SCHOOL & BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THEORY
  7. CIVIC JOURNALISM, DEVELOPMENT MEDIA THEORY & DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPANT THEORY
  8. LIMITATIONS OF THE PRESS THEORY:Concentration and monopoly, Commercialism
  9. MCQUAIL’S FOUR KINDS OF THEORIES:Social scientific theory, Critical theory
  10. PROPAGANDA THEORIES:Origin of Propaganda, Engineering of Consent, Behaviorism
  11. PARADIGM SHIFT & TWO STEP FLOW OF INFORMATION
  12. MIDDLE RANGE THEORIES:Background, Functional Analysis Approach, Elite Pluralism
  13. KLAPPER’S PHENOMENSITIC THEORY:Klapper’s Generalizations, Criticism
  14. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY:Innovators, Early adopters
  15. CHALLENGING THE DOMINANT PARADIGM:Catharsis Social learning Social cognitive theory
  16. SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEROY:Symbolizing Capacity, MODELLING
  17. MODELING FROM MASS MEDIA:Recent research, Summary, PRIMING EFFECTS
  18. PRIMING EFFECT:Conceptual Roots, Perceived meaning, Percieved justifiability
  19. CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL REALITY:History
  20. SYSTEMS THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION PROCESSES:System
  21. EMERGENCE OF CRITICAL & CULTURAL THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION
  22. REVISION:Positivistic perspective, Interpretive Perspective, Inductive approach
  23. CRITICAL THEORIES & ROLE OF MASS COMMUNICATION IN A SOCIETY -THE MEDIATION OF SOCIAL RELATIONS
  24. ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN SOCIAL ORDER & MARXIST THEORY:Positive View
  25. KEY PRINCIPLES USED IN MARXISM:Materialism, Class Struggle, Superstructure
  26. CONSUMER SOCIETY:Role of mass media in alienation, Summary of Marxism
  27. COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE:Neo Marxism, Characteristics of Culture
  28. HEGEMONY:What exactly is the meaning of "hegemony"?
  29. CULTURE INDUSTRY:Gramscianism on Communications Matters
  30. POLITICAL ECONOMIC THEORY I:Internationalization, Vertical Integration
  31. POLITICAL ECONOMIC THEORY II:Diversification, Instrumental
  32. POLITICAL ECONOMIC THEORY III:Criticism, Power of Advertising
  33. AGENDA SETTING THEORY:A change in thinking, First empirical test
  34. FRAMING & SPIRAL OF SILENCE:Spiral of Silence, Assessing public opinion
  35. SPIRAL OF SILENCE:Fear of isolation, Assessing public opinion, Micro-level
  36. MARSHALL MCLUHAN: THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE AND MASSAGE
  37. KNOWLEDGE GAP THEORY:Criticism on Marshal McLuhan
  38. MEDIA SYSTEM DEPENDENCY THEORY:Media System Dependency Theory
  39. USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY:Methods
  40. RECEPTION THEORY
  41. FRAMING AND FRAME ANALYSIS:Information Processing Theory, Summing up
  42. TRENDS IN MASS COMMUNICATION I:Communication Science, Direct channels
  43. TRENDS IN MASS COMMUNICATION II:Communication Maxims, Emotions
  44. GLOBALIZATION AND MEDIA:Mediated Communication, Post Modernism
  45. REVISION:Microscopic Theories, Mediation of Social Relations