Research as a Basis for Understanding Mass Communication

1
Chapter 1

• Research as a Basis for Understanding Mass
  Communication

2
Selection Criteria for the Milestones

• Some combination of the multiple criteria of
• Historical
• Theoretical
• Methodological
• Overall scope
• Time Period
• Sponsorship

3
Assumptions of theMagic Bullet Theory

• People live isolated lives.
• People are endowed with a uniform set of
  instincts.
• People attend to media messages in similar ways.
• So, they receive and interpret messages in the
  same way.
• Therefore, messages, like bullets, strike
  everyone with the same effect.

4
Major Social Changes

• Prior to late 18th C., society was organized
  traditionally.
• By end of 18th C., major changes taking place in
  traditional society. Three trends
• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Modernization
• Each had profound influence on
• social relationships
• material culture
• social norms, and
• thoughtways of individuals

5
Master Trends in the forming of Mass Society

• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Modernization

6
Master Trends in the forming of Mass Society

• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Modernization

7
Master Trends in the forming of Mass Society

• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Modernization

8
Master Trends in the forming of Mass Society

• 18th C. Inventions (1700 - 1799)
  http//inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl170
  0s.htm
• 19th C. Inventions (1800 - 1899)
  http//inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa111100
  a.htm
• 20th C. Inventions (1900 - 1999)
  http//inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa121599
  a.htm

9
Conceptualizing Mass Society

• From the term mass society came
• mass audience
• mass media
• mass communication, and we also say
• mass education
• mass marketing
• mass evacuation
• Mass does not only refer to large numbers.
• Important part is the relationships between their
  members rather than the size of their populations.

10
Contemporary Society as Mass Society

• Mass society emerges when the following takes
  place (see Lowery p. 11-12)
• 1) Social differentiation in the society
  increases.
• 2) Effectiveness of informal social controls
  erodes as traditional norms and values decline
• 3) The use of formal social controls increases.
• 4) Conflicts increase because of social
  differences between people .
• 5) Open and easy communication becomes more
  difficult.
• 6) Because of these, people become more dependent
  on mass communication for info.

11
Ways of Knowing

• Experience
• Sometimes called empiricism
• Experience is the best teacher.
• Authority
• Teacher, doctor, parent, clergy
• But, blind allegiance to authority can often lead
  us astray.
• Science
• Scientific method and systematic observation.

12
Goals of Science

• Prediction - assisting us to foretell the future.
• Explanation - knowing why something occurs the
  way it does.
• Understanding - usually has to do with knowing
  the particular sequence of causal events.
• Control - When scientists can accurately predict,
  explain and understand some phenomenon, they have
  greater control.