Media and Culture: Chapter 14 Media Effects

Blog Graphic to emphasize points in entry.
http://mediatheorystudies.com/2013/02/27/gauntlett-the-media-effects/

Media effects the thoughts and actions of humans everyday. Some people are effected by it more than others. For several years researchers have studied and conducted tests/experiments in order to yield results that might explain how and why media effects culture.

Book used in class and cited in entry.
www.amazon.com 

Due to the common belief that media has a powerful effect on people, media researches focus on two types of research: cultural studies research and media effects research (Campbell). According to Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, cultural studies focus on "how people make meaning, apprehend reality, articulate realities, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols". They also keen in on the way "status quo groups" use media to circulate their messages and sustain their interests. On the other hand, media effects research tries to "understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society" (Campbell). Essentially the main objective is to reveal the connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media, if any.

Walter Lippmann, a journalists that began to operate as a scientific researcher, gathering data and analyzing the material; he is commonly recognized for the rise of modern research methods. Research methods developed in the 1920's: propaganda analysis, public opinion research, social psychology studies, and marketing research. Through these research methods three popular theories of media effects developed.

First came the hypodermic-needle model. This method, also known as the "magic bullet" suggests that the media shoot their formidable effects directly into trusting targets like an injection. In other words, the powerful media could take full control of weak audiences that were susceptible to anything the media said.

The next method is called the minimal-effects model aka "the limited model". After several studies began to disprove the hypodermic-needle model having an affect on a larger population, scientists started discovering that some individuals engaged in selective exposure. This meant that media alone could not have a full affect on an individuals behaviors.

Media such as movies, video games, and television shows have been known to be the main causes of change and influence. Such media is meant to evoke different feelings, be it sadness, fear, anger, or even love. Violence and video games and movies have been on the forefront of conversations and studies about the effects they have on society, especially children. Children are easily swayed and influenced by what they see and hear. Commercials for toys are geared at children, even though they are not the ones buying the product. Video Games are created for game systems that are in the possession of minors, and although these games have age appropriate ratings, parents are still buying them.

Video Game Ratings
From: http://www.tower.com/games/esrb