Effects Theories

Effects Theories:

A group of media theories that examine the relationship between media products and their audience. They very firmly take the attitude that the media is more powerful than the audience. This group of theories sees the media as powerful and the audience as weak or passive. There are other audience theories that make the audience seem more active but effect theories show the audience to seem quite weak.

History:

• From the 50s people had TVs in their home which meant they had access to the media. 
• Due to them becoming affordable.
• Receiving a lot of messages from the media via television.
• Then in the 60s media studies was launched as a subject. The focus was mainly on the effects the TV had on their audiences
• Assumption was we all did the exact same thing with the information being given from the media.
• Effects theories emerged in the 60s.
• Said that the media are powerful that control the masses and that they're a ''Hypodermic needle'' injecting our minds with messages we take on board fully. 

BANDURA:

• This originated from a study carried out by Bandura in 1961:
• Bandura used a toy doll called the Bobo doll; measured the reactions of children watching the model beat up the toy doll. Every child copied much of what they've seen. Then when another group watched a different video showing an adult calmly play with the doll the children copied. So what the children see is what they do.
• Bandura showed we can be influenced by other people's behaviour.
• Limitations in terms of studying children:
• don't know where they're backgrounds are from.
• the children WERE being experimented.. they knew they HAD to react. 

Moral Panics Theory:

• When the media creates a culture of fear and panic around an issue current in society. 
• Still in effect today, particularly in tabloid newspapers who construct moral panics in newspapers.
• examples = rap music, 13 reasons why etc.

STANLEY COHEN:

• In 1972 Stanley Cohen published a book called ''Folk Devils and Moral Panics'' 
• Moral panic is when members of society and culture become outraged about something in the media. 
• These could be violent extremists, teenagers or an organisation such as the internet etc.
• ''Don't let your kids go on Youtube''

Cultivation Theory:

• Gerbner counteracts Bandura.
• Gerbner would say a child would watch violence etc for a series of months and then becomes violent.
• Cultivation theory states that gamers would be more susceptible to media message. 
• Heavy viewers are more exposed to violence so they suffer from ''mean world syndrome''
• This is when the individual believes that the world is mean.
• This theory states that prolonged viewing of television can lead to certain paradigm about the world.
• Gerbner also found that heavy TV watching would lead to ''mainstreaming'' 
• Mainstreamers would describe themselves as politically moderate.