Science and the Mass Media

1
Science and the Mass Media

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

2
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• Read to Discover
• What factors have contributed to the
  institutionalization of science?
• How do the norms of scientific research differ
  from the realities of scientific research?

3
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution
The Institution of Science

• Science (the pursuit of knowledge through
  systematic methods) 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 Renaissance began in Italy in the 1300s use
  wealth to support arts and learning.
• The Age of Exploration encouraged advances in
  math and astronomy, and sparked curiosity with
  biological samples brought back from distant
  lands
• The Protestant Reformation lessened resistance to
  scientific inquiry

4
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution
The Institution of Science

• The rebirth of science led to a Scientific
  Revolution in the 1500s, redefining the nature of
  the universe, the methods of scientific research,
  and the functions of science.
• Scientific method objective and systematic way
  of collecting information and arriving at
  conclusions.
• The Enlightenment supported reason over religious
  beliefs, using the scientific method and
  scientific facts
• Industrialization led to the emergence of modern
  science in the late 1800s and early 1900s the
  central ideal was progress, and most people saw
  science as a tool of progress

5
Science as a Social Institution
6
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• NORMS
• UniversalismScientific research should be judged
  solely on the basis of quality
• Organized SkepticismNo scientific finding or
  theory is exempt from questioning
• CommunalismAll scientific knowledge should be
  made available to everyone in the scientific
  community
• DisinterestednessScientists seek truth, not
  personal gain

7
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• REALITIES
• FraudFalsification or misrepresentation of
  scientific data
• CompetitionScientific achievement is measured in
  terms of peer recognition and can lead to
  financial rewards and job security competition
  can result in refusal to share data, a rush to
  publish causing possible inaccuracy, and even
  publishing data with intentional inaccuracies
• The Matthew EffectHonors and recognition tend to
  go to those who have already achieved recognition

8
Section 1 Science as a Social Institution

• REALITIES
• Conflicting Views of Reality? in contrast to
  organized skepticism, scientists operate on a set
  of shared concepts, methods and assumptions that
  determine what topics are appropriate for
  scientific inquiry.
• This concept, coined by Thomas S Kuhn, is known
  as a paradigm.

9
(No Transcript)
10
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• Read to Discover
• What are the major developments in the history of
  mass media, and what are the types of mass media
  in the United States?
• How do the sociological perspectives of mass
  media differ?
• What are some contemporary mass-media issues?

11
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution

• What is Mass Media?
• Mass media instruments of communication that
  reach large audiences with no personal contact.
• Print Mediainclude newspapers, magazines, and
  books
• Audio Mediasound recordings and radio
• Visual Mediamovies, television, DVDs, and
  videocassettes
• Online MediaInternet

12
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
History of Mass Media

• Writing and Papera written language was needed
  to record business and other transactions paper
  was developed some time between 3100 and 2500
  B.C.
• Printing Pressduring the 1450s Johannes
  Gutenberg developed movable type made mass
  printings widely accessible to the masses.

13
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
History of Mass Media

• The Industrial Agewith 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
• Information society community in which the
  exchange of information is the main social and
  economic activity.
• Computer has transformed the way people access
  and share info.

14
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Consumption and Convergence

• As consumption increases, the lines between media
  types blurs.
• This is known as media convergence, where mass
  media entities are merging and becoming more
  integrated.

15
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Sociological Perspectives of Mass Media

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

16
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Conflict Perspective Extension

• Knowledge-gap hypothesis as new information
  enters society, wealthy and better-educated
  members acquire it faster.
• Digital divide the gap between those with access
  to new technologies and those without.

17
Digital Divide Illustration
18
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
? Children watching too much television ?
Violence on television ? Ratings systems and
parental controls ? Advertising targeting
children
? Disengagement from direct social contact ?
Decline in social capital ? Internet causing
decline in face-to-face relationships ? The
power of the media agenda-setting
19
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Power of Mass Media

• Social capital? social networks and their
  reciprocal norms that encourage people to do
  things for one another
• Overall decline in social capital
• Greater media consumption? less participation in
  civic and social activities.

20
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Power of Mass Media

• Spiral of silence more and more people accept
  the opinions of mass media those that disagree
  are less likely to express views.
• Agenda setting media determines what issues will
  receive coverage.
• Sets the boundaries of public debate.

21
Section 2 Mass Media as a Social Institution
Power of Mass Media

• Agenda setting is undertaken by those known as
  gatekeepers? media executives, editors or
  reporters who control the gate of information
  to society.
• Opinion leaders respected individuals in the
  community who review and evaluate information,
  then pass it on.