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media entertainment exam summary
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Lecture 1- Media entertainment - media content designed to be consumed for purposes of leisure
(rather than specifically for information gain, learning, or persuasion)
- Media entertainment is a form of coping with reality. An activity that is most often
characterized by different forms of pleasure, but - in certain situations - also unpleasant
aspects. It is an intrinsically motivated action that usually leads to a temporary change in
perceived reality and that is repeated quite often by people who are, during this
process, less intellectually vivid and attentive than they could be
- 3 important aspects of new technology that are changing the media entertainment
experience:
1. Selectivity
2. Interactivity
3. Mobility
Lecture 2
- People don't consume all the content that is available. They make a selection
- Media selection - is a goal-oriented decision process through which people (consciously
or subconsciously) select from the available mediated messages or avoid certain
mediated messages
- Human-media interaction - before: media selection behavior → during: psychological
processes in users → after: media effects
- User-centered theories of understanding media selection behavior → what is it in the
user that influences what media type they consume:
1. Uses and gratification theory
2. Mood management theory
3. Habit models - not for this test\
4. Cognitive decisions models - not for this test
- Media-centered theories of understanding media selection behavior - what is it in the
medium that influence what media type the user consumes:
1. Certain features in the new media attract audiences (interactivity)
- The process of media selection:
1. Selection of a media-driven - or non-media driven - activity
2. Selection of a medium (TV, mobile, tablet) and a platform (Disney+, Netflix)
3. Selection of a mediated message provided by the medium - what you take from
what you watch
- Before: selection from the available mediated messages → during selective processing
of the mediate message itself → after: selective remembering of the mediated message
,- Agency of the audience - viewers aren't just passive watchers: they actively choose,
interpret, and shape their experience.
- In the 1950-60s, there were TV in household and it was believed that audiences were
lacking agency, and were passive watchers of mediated messages
- Regardless of the assumptions about powerful media effects in the 1950-60s, empirical
studies started from the 1940s that show that audience members were active - not
passive, selective - not captive, and obstinate (resistant to persuasion) - not gullible
- Lazarsfeld & Katz (1940):
➔ People’s predispositions (prior tendencies) affect their media choices
➔ People make strategic use of media to meet their needs
➔ Media are primarily influential via interpersonal talk - how people talk about and
interpret that message with others.
- Escapist media - a process of consuming distracting content, driven by a motivation or
drive (psychological escapism). Usually involves high levels of exposure. The social
context of exposure is important
- Escapist entertainment - people use media to temporarily escape from their daily
problems. There are dysfunctional consequences:
1. Disengagement from real-world problems - if people rely heavily on escapism to
avoid dealing with real-world issues, they might delay or avoid addressing them,
leading to further problems down the line
2. Impaired ability to cope with reality - constant exposure to unrealistic portrayals
in media might create unrealistic expectations or make it harder to deal with the
complexities and challenges of real life
3. Identity confusion - over-identification with escapist characters might lead to
blurring lines between fantasy and reality, causing confusion about one’s own
identity and values
4. Social isolation - if escapism becomes a substitute for real-life social interaction,
individuals might become more isolated and less connected to their communities
5. Psychological dependence - constant reliance on escapist media for emotional
needs could lead to a form of psychological dependence, making it difficult to
manage negative emotions without it
- Uses and gratifications theory - media use serves a psychological function to gratify a
need
- Model of uses and gratifications theory - there are social and psychological origins of
needs, which generate expectations of the mass media or other sources, which lead to
differential patterns of media exposure resulting in need gratification and other (often
unintended) consequences
- U&G theory - Assumptions:
, 1. Media selection is goal-oriented and motivated - you have a certain goal
2. People are active participants who select media that best fulfill their needs
3. Media compete with functional alternatives (non-media, like talking to someone)
to satisfy needs
4. People are more influential than the media in the effects process - social factors
(like personal experiences and interactions with others) play a role in media
effects
5. The gratifications obtained don't always match the gratifications sought
6. People are able to report what media they use, and why - it is a conscious
process
- Beliefs and evaluations of a person lead to the gratifications sought → media
consumption → perceived gratification obtained
- Types of needs / motivations: cognitive, affective, social, habitual
1. Cognitive needs - need for knowledge, information, orientation, curiosity
2. Affective needs - mood management, recreation, entertainment, escapism,
stress release
3. Social-interaction needs - sense of belonging, social contact, connectedness,
parasocial relationships
4. Integrative-habitual needs - need for regularity, stability, security, habits
- Limitations of U&G theory:
➔ Media use is often not a conscious and rational decision, sometimes it's just a
habit
➔ People are not always purposive and active - ritualized (out of habit) vs.
instrumental (focused) media use (rubin, 1984)
➔ “Typologies” are often inductive and very specific to the particular medium, time
period, or study
➔ Studies often rely on cross-sectional surveys - no casual evidence. Research often
captures what people say they do, not what they actually do over time
➔ Surveys typically can't dig deep into particular message features or psychological
responses
➔ Many studies don’t distinguish between motives, selections, uses, responses,
effects. It can be hard to separate why we pic media, how we use it, and what it
does to us
- Media selection is goal oriented behavior, important to understand underlying
mechanisms to explain effects
, Lecture 3
- Mood - emotional experience over a more prolonged period of time. There is no specific
direct cause in consciousness. Mood gradually develops and longer duration.
- Mood is difference than emotions - emotions are short, immediate, defined external,
strong intensity
- Effects of mood - mood influences:
1. Self image, self efficacy - how we think about ourselves and our capabilities
2. Thinking, memory - our thoughts and the things we remember
3. Decision making
4. Future - how we think about our future
5. Behavior
6. Social interactions
7. Well-being and health
- Dimensions of mood:
1. Valence - pleasantness of emotion, ranging from negative to positive =slightly
positive is preferred
2. Arousal - intensity of an emotion, ranging from low (boredom) to high (stress) =
moderate arousal is preferred
3. Semantic affinity - the meaning of your emotions, the reason why you feel this
way , connotation (like feeling down because of weather or personal loss)
- Mood management theory - people choose media content to regulate their moods and
emotions
- Mood regulations - any kind of behavior aiming at altering the existing mood. People
have a strong motivation to regulate their moods and seek for homeostasis (balance)
- Mood optimization - maintaining a balanced mood by seeking positive and avoiding
negative experiences
- Mood management theory - assumptions:
1. Media is an effective tool for mood optimization
2. Media usage id motivated by the need for mood regulation: individuals e=select
mediated messages to improve their moods (like watching friends)
3. Extreme mood states (over aroused or underaroused) are undesirable
4. Humans will seek to regulate these states to a more balanced position. This can
be done thoughtfully and intentionally, or automatically and mindlessly →
meaning it is not necessarily a conscious process
5. Media are often used to disrupt and repair undesirable moods
6. People will show selective exposure = disproportionately choosing media that
meet their affective needs (like escapism)
- 4 key properties of media that can allow for mood management:
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