The Evolution of Media Effects Theory: Fifty Years of Cumulative Research (original) (raw)

A" New World" of Media Effects

1992

Media ctffects should not be thought of as either isomorphic or fragmentary. Instead, the similarities and differences between them should be studied. This approach would offer the potential to determine not only what the media effects are, but how they occur. This is possible through the discovery of patterns in research theories and findings. To this end, the causes, effects, and processes of media influence can be deduced. The causes of media influence can be identified as variations in exposure, ccntent, and the form of the media themselves. There are five categories of media effects: level of analysis, type, nature, intention, and whether the effects are due to nature or form. To illustrate such classifications, two examplbs, reading ability and political participation, can be categorized. The determination of media effects and the underlying processes requires consistency in measuring those effects and in eliminating rival explanations. Therefore, limiting factors, such as permanence and conditional effects, also need to be identified. The limiting factors should determine the research design, measurement strategy, measures, and statistics that are to be used to measure effects. The complex and varied descriptions of "media effects" may have limited the ability to truly understand $?ffects suggesting that it is time to revise tnis concept according to different categorizations and research results. (One hundred and oae references are attached.) (HB)

Ten things wrong with the media ‘ effects ’ model

2006

It has become something of a cliché to observe that despite many decades of research and hundreds of studies, the connections between people’s consumption of the mass media and their subsequent behaviour have remained persistently elusive. Indeed, researchers have enjoyed an unusual degree of patience from both their scholarly and more public audiences. But a time must come when we must take a step back from this murky lack of consensus and ask – why? Why are there no clear answers on media effects?

On the Continuing Problems of Media Effects Research

1996

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Media Effects | CommGAP Searching for Evidence of the Media's Impact

MEdia EffEcts Defining Media Effects Most people accept the idea that the media can influence people. But the degree of that influence, as well as who is most-impacted, when, how and why, have been the subjects of great debate among communication scholars for nearly a century. Media effects refers to the many ways individuals and society may be influenced by both news and entertainment mass media,

Media Effects: Theory and Research

Annual Review of Psychology, 2015

This review analyzes trends and commonalities among prominent theories of media effects.Onthe basis of exemplary meta-analyses of media effects and bibliometric studies of well-cited theories, we identify and discuss five features of media effects theories as well as their empirical support. Each of these features specifies the conditions under which media may produce effects on certain types of individuals. Our review ends with a discussion of media effects in newer media environments. This includes theories of computer-mediated communication, the development of which appears to share a similar pattern of reformulation from unidirectional, receiver-oriented views, to theories that recognize the transactional nature of communication. We conclude by outlining challenges and promising avenues for future research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology Volume 67 is January 03, 2016. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.

A Review of Media Effect Theories and their extension to Digital Media

2020

This paper reviews different media effect theories at different span of time and the common trends and perceptions related to it in those periods. Each of these periods have specific conditions through which media may produce effects on certain individuals. The paper will inspect the most important media effect theories and try to map their effects from early theories being unidirectional to later theories being more complex and having reciprocal interactions. Prominent contributors to the field and related media theorist will also be discussed. At the end, the paper will discuss the possibility of extending media effect theories to digital media and its limitations.

MEASURING MEDIA IMPACT AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIELD About the Author

2015

the social, political, economic and cultural impact of entertainment on the world. The Lear Center translates its findings into action through testimony, journalism, strategic re-search and innovative public outreach campaigns. On campus, from its base in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the Lear Center builds bridges between schools and disciplines whose faculty study aspects of entertainment, media and culture. Beyond campus, it bridges the gap between the entertainment industry and academia, and between them and the public. Through scholarship and research; through its conferences, public events and publications; through its role in the formu-lation of the academic field of entertainment studies; and in its attempts to illuminate and repair the world, the Norman Lear Center works to be at the forefront of discussion and practice in the field. For more information, visit www.learcenter.org. About the Media Impact Project The Lear Center’s Media Impact Pro...

Research in Media Effects

While much research is conducted in professional or industry settings, a great deal of mass media research is conducted at colleges and universities. There are several differences between research in the academic and the private sectors, including, but not limited to: