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Summary Introduction to Communication Science () - Exam notes (both partials)
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Summary of the Introduction to Communication Science course. Includes theories for both partial exams.
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CULTIVATION THEORY (G. GERBNER)= the independent contribution TV viewing makes to audience members’ conception of social
reality.
3 types of research were done:
1. Institutional process analysis: why media companies produce the messages they do?
(by interviewing media producers)
2. Message system analysis (content analysis = careful, systematic study of TV content):
aimed to identify recurring patterns in TV content.
! Before examining how certain messages affect perceptions of the social world, we
need to know what those messages contain.
3. Cultivation Analysis = heavy viewers see the real world through the TV’s lens.
• Deals with how TV’s content affect viewers
1. First order effects (prevalence estimates = estimates of how frequent/ likely
something is)
2. Second order effects (beliefs):
ex. stereotypes, ideas about gender roles, etc.
! not really cause -> effect because there is no ‘before’ & ‘after’ Tv
Cultivation differential = difference in the percentage giving the TV answer withing
groups of heavy and light viewers. =>
▪ positive correlation between TV viewing & fear of criminal
victimization
▪ perceived activity of police (higher for heavy viewers)
▪ general mistrust in people (Mean world syndrome = cynical mindset of
general mistrust of others generally associated with heavy TV viewing)
Cultivation works like a ‘magnetic ball’:
• Accessibility principle = when people make judgements about the world, they rely on
the information that comes to them the quickest. =>
o MAINSTREAMING = the homogenising process by which heavy TV viewers
from different groups develop a similar outlook/ worldview through constant
1
, exposure to the same media messages (images/ labels). Ex: differences in beliefs
between lower and higher educated people disappear among heavy viewers.
o REASONANCE = stronger cultivation effects among heavy viewers whose real-
life environment resembles the one presented on TV.
CRITIQUE:
➢ It is difficult to establish causality (there is no ‘before’/ ‘after’ TV)
➢ Not really applicable nowadays, because unlike when this theory was first developed
(‘60s), we don’t have one singular TV message anymore.
2
, SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (A. BANDURA)
= How do people learn behaviour?
▪ !Trial-and-error = hands-on exploration (deep, long-lasting acquired behavioural
disposition)
▪ Perception of the object = firsthand chance to admire, but don’t touch
▪ Observation of another’s response to the object = seeing/hearing etc. how another person
reacts to a certain situation/ object
▪ Modeling = watching someone else’s behaviour
▪ Exhortation (one of the most used but less effective)
▪ Instruction about the object = verbal description on how to use the object
!!!SLT is concentrated on the power of example. Bandura’s premise is that we learn by
observing others.
Observational learning =
1. Attention (‘I’ve never thought of that before’):
What gets out attention?: simple, distinct, prevalent, useful, positive (pos. beh. or from a
positive character) behaviour.
2. Retention (‘I figured out what I was doing wrong’):
We remember observed behaviour and can retrieve it at a later time. The more we see
something, the higher chances of remembering it. => we don’t just copy, we remember
rules for behaviour = production
3. Motivation (‘Why not do it? It worked fine for them.’)
Which behaviour is reproduced?: people usually have inhibitions to use violence. This can
be activated (bad guy punished) or removed (good guy is violent but not punished) by
media.
Alternative explanations:
o Excitement transfer theory = It’s the arousal elicit by violence that makes us more
aggressive.
o Catharsis theory = using the violent media makes us less aggressive (less supported by
research)
3
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