Cognitive, affective, and behavioral.

A two-sided message is most effective when there is refutation, people with a higher education, and when people are critical, skeptical, or unfriendly.

A statistically significant increase in opinion change for a group exposed to a low-credibility source

Fear appeal threatens or arouses some fear in the audience. Minimal-fear appeal is effective while strong-fear appeal is highly ineffective.

A model of persuasion that acknowledges 2 different means of processing messages. 

The Central Route is when the receiver actively processes the information and is persuaded by the rationality of the arguments. The Peripheral Route is when the receiver does not expend the cognitive energy to evaluate the arguments and processes the information in the in the message and is guided more by peripheral cues (source credibility, style and format, mood of the receiver, etc.)

The receiver’s motivation to engage in elaboration or his or her ability to engage in elaboration.

Group (2 or more persons) involving longstanding, intimate, face-to-face association. Examples: family, work group, fraternity, team. 

Group identified with and used as a standard of reference but not necessarily belonged to. Example: student who changes his clothes style because he wishes to be a part of a certain fraternity.

A one-time group of people who did not know each other before they were brought together. Examples: people in an elevator, people riding a bus, etc.

The demand by group members that individuals in the group conform to certain group standards/behaviors.

A personification of values (who one is), competence (what one knows), and strategic social location (whom one knows). They are more exposed appropriate to their sphere of influence than their followers.

Adapted from the two-step flow model. Rogers views diffusion of innovation as, “a social process in which subjectively perceived information about a new idea is communicated. The meaning of an innovation is thus gradually worked out through a process of social construction.” 

 1. An innovation 2. Communicated through certain channels 3. Over time 4. Among the members of a social system

1. Relative Advantage – degree to which innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes

2. Compatibility – the degree to which the innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters

3. Complexity – the degree to which the innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use

4. Trialability – the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis

5. Observability – the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others.

A type of curve that shows the growth of a variable in terms of another variable, often expressed as units of time

5 stage mental process: Knowledge (exposure to innovation and understanding of it), Persuasion (formation of attitude), Decision (activity results in a choice to adopt or reject innovation), Implementation (putting the innovation into use), Confirmation (reinforcement or reversal of innovation decision). 

Innovators (early to try new ideas)

Early Adopters (respectable locaties)

Early Majority (deliberate, interact frequently with peers)

Late Majority (skeptical, often adopt b/c of economic necessity) Laggards (traditionalists).

Mass media channels reach large audiences rapidly, spread information, and change weakly held attitudes.

In the process of diffusion of innovation, mass media channels are relatively more important at the knowledge stage.

 Interpersonal channels provide a two-way exchange of information and are more effective than the mass media in dealing with resistance or apathy on the part of the receiver.

In the process of diffusion of innovation, interpersonal channels are more effective at the persuasion stage.

Degree to which pairs of pairs who interact are DIFFERENT in certain attributes (mirror opposite of homophily)

Opinion leaders and followers are SIMILAR in attributes. Degree to which pairs of people who interact are similiar in attributes (beliefs, values, education, social status).

Professional people who attempt to influence adoption decisions in a direction that he or she feels is desirable. They’ll often use opinion leaders to assist in diffusing an innovation or preventing the adoption of what may seem harmful. Commonly educated people with a high status

Causal hypothesis suggesting that the media content has an influence on the public perception of the importance of issue. 

Media's capability, through repeated news coverage, of raising the importance of an issue in the public's mind.

Ex: War on Drugs

Public Agenda = Gallup poll question: What is the most important problem facing this country today? Media Agenda = content analysis of news media coverage weeks prior to the public opinion polls

Strong correspondence between public ranking of an issue as important and the amount of coverage given the issue by the media.

1) Classic Study – McCombs & Shaw (1972): 1968 Presidential Election in Chapel Hill, NC

2) Charlotte Study – 1972 Presidential Election. Interviews throughout June, October, December. Newspapers & 2 Television Networks

3) Democratic Nomination between Kennedy & Carter (1979)

Need for orientation is a combination of the individual’s interest in the topic and uncertainty about the issue. The higher levels of interest and uncertainty produce higher levels of need for orientation. So the individual would be considerably likely to be influenced by the media stories (psychological aspect of theory). If a topic is perceived as irrelevant or very low in relevance, then the need for orientation is low. The agenda setting effects are low. For individuals whose relevance of a topic is high, their degree of uncertainty determines the level of need for orientation. If the uncertainty is low, then the need for orientation is moderate.

The political world is out of reach and has to be explored, reported, and imagined. This allows the media to take control and spread the news as they see fit.

Journalism ethics and routines, Organizational influence on content, Elite media such as the New York Times, Print media lead the television networks, President of the U.S.

4-6 week span

Changes in the weight individuals assigns to their specific opinions on issues when they make political evaluations and choices as a result of the amount of news coverage accorded issues.

Agenda Setting refers to the importance of an issue; Priming tells us whether something is good or bad, whether it's communicated effectively, etc.

Yes, late night shows have priming effects because they’re placing an emphasis on specific issues and giving their personal opinions.

Builds upon the idea that an agenda is an abstract notion and that many things other than issues could be items on the list.

As the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than decrease

Mass media information; public affairs, science news. Awareness of the issue, deeper understanding of an event’s relationships, causes or larger context.

Areas of general interest such as public affairs and science news. Less likely to occur in more specific areas that are related to people’s particular interest such as sports.

1) Difference in communication skills between those in high and lower socioeconomic status and a difference in education.

2) Difference in amount of stored information or previously acquired background knowledge

3) People of higher socioeconomic status associate with people who are also exposed to public affairs.

4) Mechanisms of selective exposure, acceptance, and retention might be operating (people with lower socioeconomic status might not find the information compatible with their values/attitudes.

5) Nature of mass media system is geared toward persons of higher socioeconomic status

Sesame Street was an effort to use mass communication to provide information to the disadvantaged. Attempt to achieve some of the goals of the government to help disadvantaged preschoolers. (see Sesame Street videos of Cinco de Mayo, learning words). Found that even though the amount of viewing was the same those children with a higher SES still exceeded when compared to children with a lower SES

Community Boundedness: relevance of a topic for a specific community.

Knowledge Depth.

Community Type: Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous communities.

Social Conflict and Mobilization

Metaphor for a large and persistent problem of unequal access to new communication technologies that is unlikely to be resolved by sheer diffusion of Internet or related technologies. It’s important because information and knowledge translate into social power; inequality in knowledge lead to exclusion from social resources and inequalities in social power.

1) MENTAL ACCESS: lack of elementary digital experience caused by lack of interest, computer anxiety, and unattractiveness of new technology

2) MATERIAL ACCESS: no possession of computers and network connections

3) SKILLS ACCESS: lack of digital skills caused by insufficient user-friendliness and inadequate education or social support

4) USAGE ACCESS: lack of significant usage opportunities or unequal distribution of them

1) INSTRUMENTAL SKILLS: skills to operate computers and network connections

2) INFORMATIONAL SKILLS: skills to search select, process, and apply information from a lot of sources

3) STRATEGIC SKILLS: ability to strategically use this information to improve one’s position in society

Cultivation is about the implications of stable, repetitive, pervasive and virtually inescapable patterns of images and ideologies that television provides. Focus on analysis of cumulative exposure to television over long periods of time.

Television is the “central cultural arm” of American society. What television cultivates are the basic assumptions about reality. TV’s major cultural function is to stabilize social patterns and cultivate resistance to change. 

Developed in the 1960’s by George Gerbner and his students; Message System Analyiss (analyzes media content) and Cultivation Analysis (examine viewers response to questions about social reality). Findings: half or more TV characters involved in violence each week, men outnumber women, elderly underrepresented, single-parent families overrepresented, Mean World Index, heavy viewers see world as a “mean place” compared to light viewers.

Comparisons of heavy and light television viewers, Gerbner’s team analyzed answers to questions posed in surveys and fond that heavy and light television viewers typically give different answers.

Mean World Syndrome proposes that viewers of violence-heavy content media will perceive the world as more dangerous than it actually is.

Mainstreaming: occurs when heavy viewing leads to a convergence of outlooks across groups. Example: heavy viewers in both low-income and high-income categories share the view that fear of crime is a very serious personal problem.

Occurs when the cultivation effect is boosted for a certain group of the population.

Proposes that people will tend to overestimate the influence that mass communication messages have on the attitudes and behavior of others. The basic idea is that certain messages, “have little effect on people like you and me, but the ordinary reader is likely to be influenced quite a lot.” 2  major hypotheses: Perceptual and Behavioral Hypothesis. Perceptual: people will perceive that a mass media message will have greater effects on others than themselves Behavioral: because of that perception, people night take various actions.

Demonstrated systematic tendency for people to be overly optimistic about the outcome of planned actions.

A type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. Examples: “I am better than you/others, I am less affected by negative media messages, I am not as easy to manipulate as you.”

Concerns the tendency of people to perceive others to be more susceptible to media influence than they actually are. This tendency is at the heart of the third-person effect

Provided evidence for first-person effects in relation to pro-social messages. First-person effects for PSA’s and desirable messages.

Applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction from children under 13 years of age. It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online including restrictions on the marketing to those under 13. While children under 13 can legally give out personal information with their parents' permission, many websites altogether disallow underage children from using their services due to the amount of paperwork involved.

Harmful websites, giving out information to the wrong people

Asks, “what do people do with media?” People use media strategically and actively, in order to achieve a specific goal or gratify a specific need.

1) Cognitive Needs: acquire information, knowledge

2) Affective Needs: emotion, pleasure, feelings

3) Personal Integrative Needs: strengthening, credibility, confidence, stability, and status

4) Social Integrative Needs: family and friends

5) Tension Release Needs: escape and diversion

Why do people choose to consume particular FORMS of media? Why do they choose to consume particular CONTENT categories instead of others? What GOALS were they trying to accomplish? What needs were they trying to GRATIFY? Were they successful?

Surveillance, learning/information seeking, entertainment, escape, arousal/excitement, relaxation, habit/pass time, parasocial interaction, interpersonal utility

Audience activity is the utility, intentionality, selectivity, and involvement of the audience with the media. It’s a continuum; 3 types of audience activity: Preactivity, Duractivity, Postactivity

Ritual involves a low level of attention and suggests the viewer may not be interested in surveillance or personal guidance as much as they are just interested in pleasant stimulation. Instrumental use assumes that the viewer is consuming the media for a specific use, surveillance, or guidance.

Ritual involves a low level of attention and suggests the viewer may not be interested in surveillance or personal guidance as much as they are just interested in pleasant stimulation. Instrumental use assumes that the viewer is consuming the media for a specific use, surveillance, or guidance.