CHAPTER 15 Science and the Mass Media

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CHAPTER 15Science and the Mass Media

• Section 1 Science as a Social Institution
• Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

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Objectives
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• Identify factors that have contributed to the
  institutionalization of science.
• Explain how the norms of scientific research
  differ from the realities of scientific research.

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The Institution of Science
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• Science emerged as a recognizable system of study
  in Greece during the 300s B.C. and was reborn in
  Europe in the 1300s as a result of the following
  factors
• The scientific revolution emerged in the 1500s
• Industrialization led to the emergence of modern
  science in the late 1800s and early 1900s

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Norms and Realities of Science
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• NORMS
• Universalism, organized skepticism, communalism,
  disinterestedness
• REALITIES
• Fraud, competition, Matthew effect, conflicting
  views of reality

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Objectives
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• Trace the major developments in the history of
  mass media, and identify the types of mass media
  in the United States.
• Explain how the sociological perspectives of mass
  media differ.
• Discuss some contemporary mass-media issues.

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History of Mass Media
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• Writing and Paper a written language was needed
  to record business and other transactions. Paper
  was developed some time between 3100 and 2500
  B.C.
• Printing Press during the 1450s Johannes
  Gutenberg developed moveable type

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History of Mass Media
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
(continued)

• The Industrial Age with rising standards of
  education and increasing requirements for factory
  work and life in the city, more people learned to
  read and write
• The Computer and the Information Society the
  digital computer completely transformed the way
  people store and access information

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Types of Mass Media
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• Print Media include newspapers, magazines, and
  books
• Audio Media sound recordings and radio
• Visual Media movies, television,
  videocassettes, and DVDs
• Online Media Internet

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Sociological Perspectives of Mass Media
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• The Functionalist Perspective focuses on the
  ways in which mass media help to preserve social
  stability
• The Conflict Perspective focuses on how mass
  media serve to maintain the existing social order

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Contemporary Mass Media Issues
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• Influence on children
• Effect on civic and social life
• Power in shaping public opinion