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introduction to communication studies: summary of chapter 4: coming of age
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summary of chapter 4: coming of age, from the course introduction to communication studies, at VUB
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introduction to communication studies: summary of chapter 2: approach-paradigm-theory
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4. Coming of age1) Mass communication
Historical context: 19th-20th century
- Rise of mass media: ‘new agencies of mass impression’ (especially radio)
→ what role do they have? How influential are they?
- Moral panics, big and direct power and impact of mass media
→ media was focused on what deviated from the norm
→ what will this do to children?
- Further industrialization, urbanization, literacy, secularization, ...
→ a lot of unpredictability and change
- Economic recessions and rising power of labor movements, socialism
- Rise of fascism, national socialism (nazism), communism (stalinism)
→ turmoil
- Research into (war) propaganda and often financed by governments
→ start of comm sciences
‘Mass’ → very negative undertone, masses are very impressionable, open to
manipulation because of the powerful media, media contributes to numbing
the minds of masses → media gets blamed for the wrongdoing of others
2) Mass society theory
Context: from second half 19th C onwards (until +/- 1965)
- democratization (loss of elite power) and rise of labor
- economic, political, social turmoil and change
- very rapid changes in development media technologies media and new
technologies considered to be all-powerful
→ Fear of a collapsing social order and a society with fundamental
turmoil and not knowing when it will end
a. Sociological inspirations: gemeinschaft vs gesellschaft, Tonniës
→ what drives people?
→ observes the switch from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft
1
, Gemeinschaft (folk community) Gesellschaft (industrial society)
- Natural will - Rational will
- Intimate, private, personal relations; - Formal, impersonal, independent
strong family and kinship ties relations; relatively weak social
- Group welfare a personal responsibility institutions (“average”) people less
- Tradition and rigid social roles; direct dependent of elite influence
face-to- face contact; mutual - Driven by competition, rational choice
interdependence and self-interest
- Powerful basic institutions; unwritten
norms and rules; order and meaning
b. Behaviourist psychology inspirations
→ early 20th century
→ ideas on how people learn: learning theory
- stimulus and response (Pavlov’s dogs)
→ a message is sent out by media, will be received by the audience,
this generates a response through behavioural effects, defined by
nature of the stimulus
eg: hypodermic needle/syringe model and magic bullet (!!!
exam)
- critiques: too focused and isolated on stimulus, social context
neglected, passive audience
c. Psycho analysis inspirations: id, ego, superego; Freud
→ explains unconscious mental processes and (irrational) behaviour
- Id: self-centered, seeks satisfaction of urges and desires
- Ego: ratio, contact with the external world, controlling urges
- Superego: conscience, unconscious and emotional control on the
basis of internalization of cultural rules
→ propaganda appeals to Id and Superego
d. Fundamental concepts/assumptions
- Negative idea of masses, easily influenced by stimulus-response
theories
- Media as a symbol of everything bad in society
→ increase of sensationalism, dramatization, commercialization
→ decrease of community bonds and public debate
2
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