COMM 102
Review Sheet for Exam 1 Key Terms
Lecture 1: Media Effects Pseudo Reality
Perception is more important than reality in understanding human thought, emotion, and behavior.
The media surround us in a pseudo reality. How much media do people consume?
The average American child spends 45 hours per week “screen time” o More time than they spend at school
Pediatricians recommend a maximum of 2 hours per day, or 14 hours per week
The average American adult spends 3700 hours per year consuming media
o 2/3 of their waking hours!
ABC’s of Media Effects: Affect, Behavior, Cognitive ← A ffect – how you feel
emotions moods
attitudes – global evaluations
o like/dislike, in favor of/opposed to ← B ehavior – what you do
actions responses
← C ognition – what you think
Beliefs — Pieces of information about something (factual or opinions). Intentions — What we want to do; our desires, plans, and goals. Values — Positive/negative orientation toward object or abstract
concept. The black box
stimulus ->box (inside the organism) ->response The third person effect
Media effets myths
fantasy stories in no way shape our realities
media’s reason for being is to entertain, rather than to persuade us the mass media provide an accurate reflection of the real world The reflection myth
We think the media reflect the real world
What if the media only present us with a subset of the world?
What if the media mirror is really a funhouse mirror that provides a distorted image of reality?
Hindsight Bias
The tendency, after an event has occurred, to overestimate one's ability to have foreseen the outcome
creates problems for students
o The material seems easy, even obvious.
o On a multiple choice test where there are several plausible options, the task becomes surprisingly difficult.
o Students say "I thought I knew the material," but their level of understanding was shallow.
o Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “I don’t need to study this material — it is just common sense.” Revelation or Inspiration
“a: an act of revealing or communicating divine truth
“b: something that is revealed by God to humans” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Yogis, mystics, prophets A “sudden” good idea. Authority
Truth is established through a trusted source such as God (e.g., scriptures), Government (e.g., laws), tradition, or public sanction. Problems with authority
o Experts may not always have the "expertise" with which we credit them.
o Experts are rarely questioned.
o It is difficult to see authority. We only see “symbols” of authority, and these symbols are easy to counterfeit
Rationalism
Logic and Reason
Logic, the basis of reason, is the ability to draw inferences from premises. A premise is an assertion that is held to be true (e.g. "what goes up must come down”).
Problems with logic and reason
o The inference may not NECESSARILY follow from the premise. For example, even if I accept that aspirin helps SOME people avoid the risk of stroke, I cannot conclude by logical inference that it will help me.
o The premise could be wrong (e.g., leeches cure disease). o People make many logical errors.
Let’s make a deal
logic that it doesn’t matter if you trade or not
after reason, realize that better chance if you trade Steps of Research:
the ages-old observation that chicken soup makes people with colds feel better
Rennard wondered if something in chicken soup might reduce the upper respiratory inflammation that makes people with colds feel miserable
o this was her HYPOTHESIS 2) Design an experiment or study
Rennard designed a study to test the effect of chicken soup on white blood cells called neutrophils, the immune cells that cause congestion
Rennard measured neutrophils counts before and after subjects ate the soup
3) Conduct experiment and collect data
Rennard prepared a number of samples of chicken soup
collected data by recording neutrophils counts before and after subjects ate soup
4) Confront the hypothesis with data using statistical tests
Rennard used a statistical test to determine whether the chicken soup significantly reduced neutrophils counts
As expected, the test showed that the soup inhibited the neutrophils’ ability to cause inflammation
data supported hypothesis 5) Communicate research results
Rennard wrote up exactly what she did and what she found in a formal report
The report was submitted for peer review
The Editor and reviewers agreed that the study should be published Goals of Science: Explanation, Prediction, Control
Explanation
Scrutinizing previously established explanations Looking for more comprehensive explanations Prediction
Control
Greater control over a phenomenon Preventation and intervention
Theoretical stimulus
the conceptual variable that stimulates or causes an effect Theoretical response
the conceptual variable that is affected by the theoretical stimulus Independent variable
the variable the researcher controls; it is “independent” of the subject’s control. It is a "variable" because it has at least two levels or groups.
o don’t give them a choice o cause
Dependent variable
o effect Operational definition
A definition of a theoretical concept that is stated in terms of observable operations, procedures, and measurements.
A precise statement of how you defined and measured a theoretical concept.
Links unobservable variables to observable variables. Lends itself to quantification.
Sometimes requires creativity. o Intelligence – IQ test
o frustration – expression on face Moderator variable
Influence the strength and/or direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Moderators interact with the independent variable to influence the dependent variable.
o race o gender o social class Mediator (intervening) variable
The generative mechanism through which the independent variable influences the dependent variable. Independent variables produce changes in mediators which, in turn, produce changes in dependent variables.
o happens inside you arousal anger
What makes a theory good?
Predictive accuracy — it can reliably predict behavior.
Internal consistency — there are no logical inconsistencies among the constructs.
Economy — it only contains needed constructs. Fertility — it spawns other research.
What’s the difference between a theory and a hypothesis? General vs. specific
o theory is general – hypothesis is specific One is derived from the other.
o hypothesis is derived from a theory A single theory multiple hypotheses A hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. Randomization
Random assignment
Random selection
A sample is randomly selected from a population if each person has an equal chance of being selected.
o survey Correlation
o Random assignment is not possible for ethical or practical reasons.
o The researcher cannot manipulate the independent variable. o The researcher simply measures the strength of relationship
between the two variables of interest.
Strength : Can be used when random assignment and control of the independent variable are not possible. Weakness : Cannot be used to infer causality.
Conditions needed to infer cause
The presumed cause and effect are correlated. The presumed cause precedes the presumed
effect in time.
Alternative explanations are eliminated. What are the conditions needed to infer causation?
The presumed cause and effect are correlated
The presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time Alternative explanations are eliminated
What are the essential features of an experiment?
o The researcher has control over the procedures, manipulating the variable of interest (independent variable) and holding all other variables constant.
o Subjects are randomly assigned to the levels of the independent variable.
conditions need to infer cause
The “cause” and “effect” are correlated.
The “cause” comes before the “effect” in time. Alternative explanations are eliminated. Strengths :
Can be used to infer causality. Weaknesses :
“Artificial” settings and measures. Can only test short-term effects Quasi-experiment
Random assignment is not possible for ethical or practical reasons
Researcher must take people “as they are” (e.g., smokers vs. nonsmokers) The researcher may attempt to match the two groups on every variable, but
there is no way of knowing that the two groups are equivalent in every aspect
experiment
The only way it differs from an experiment on a representative sample of the population is that there may be limitations to how generalizable the findings are
Strength: can be used when random assignment is not possible Weakness : cannot be used to infer causality
Longitudinal study
Individuals are followed over time
Strengths: the presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time o can look at cumulative effects and long term effects
Weaknesses: random assignment not possible o very costly to conduct
Types of Surveys:
Face-to-face interviewing Telephone interviewing Mailed questionnaires Internet questionnaires Fax and text-message polls
o strengths
good for assessing public opinion o weaknesses
requires a representative sample based on self-reports
cannot be used to infer causality Cross-lagged panel design
Meaning of Margin of Error
79%: violence in the media is a major factor in real-life violence o Could be 82% (79 + 3)
o Could be 76% (79 – 3)
We are confident that the “true” percent is somewhere within this range Margin of error
A random sample of 1,200 has a 3% margin of error regardless of the size of the population from which the sample was drawn.
Since 1950, Gallup poll results taken just before U.S. National election days have diverged from actual election results by only 1.4%.
Content analysis
Describes in a systematic manner the content of the communication. Correlation coefficient
Ranges from +1.0 (a perfect positive correlation) to -1.0 (a perfect negative correlation).
A value of 0 indicates that the two variables are not linearly related. The sign on the correlation gives the direction of the relationship. The value of the correlation coefficient indicates the strength of the
Few correlations are perfect. A “small” correlation is ± .1 A “medium” correlation is ± .3 A “large” correlation is ± .5
Over the past 100 years, the average correlation from over 25,000 social psychology studies involving over 8 million participants was about .20.
Replication
The same result is observed over and over again by different researchers Triangulation
Employing different methodologies in order to examine a given phenomenon
Meta-Analysis
A literature review that combines the statistical results (e.g., correlations) from different studies conducted on the same topic.
o analysis of analyses
o weighted average of correlations
Lecture 3: Learning Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior or mental process as a result of practice or experience
Conditioning
Learning associations (the linking of 2 events). o Lightning is often paired with thunder
o An expanding balloon has been paired with popping Classical Conditioning (Pavlonian or Respondent Conditioning)
Associative learning that was first demonstrated by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlo (1849-1936).
Awarded a Nobel Prize in 1904 for his research on the role of saliva in digestion.
While studying the digestive process in dogs, Pavlov noticed that the dogs would start salivating, not just when they were given their food, but also when they first saw the assistant with the food pail.
The dogs had learned to associate the sight of the pail with the food. Pavlov conducted studies to test whether the could learn to associate
salivation with other stimuli (e.g., a ringing bell). Stimulus generalization
Learned response to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimuli (CS)
Stimulus discrimination
Learned response to a specific stimulus, but not to other, similar stimuli Operant conditioning
classical conditioning where the response is passive and involuntary. Reinforcement strengthens a response and makes it more likely to occur. Punishment weakens a response and makes it less likely to occur.
B. F. Skinner developed the Skinner Box in which an animal was trained to push a lever to receive a food pellet.
Using this box, Skinner was able to demonstrate a number of operant conditioning principles.
Primary reinforces
normally satisfy an unlearned biological need (e.g., food) Secondary reinforces
learned value (e.g., money)
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning
Fixed ratio : Reinforcement occurs after a predetermined number of responses; the ratio (number or amount) is fixed
Variable ratio : Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses; the ratio (number or amount) varies
Fixed interval : reinforcement occurs after a predetermined time has elapsed; the interval (time) is fixed
Variable Interval : reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable amount of time; the interval (time) varies
Shaping: reinforcement is delivered for successive approximations of the desired response
Positive punishment: adding a stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (e.g., shouting)
Negative punishment: taking away a stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (e.g., restriction)
Positive reinforcement: adding a stimulus that strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur (e.g., praise)
Negative reinforcement: taking away a stimulus that strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur (e.g., headache removed after taking an aspirin)
To work, punishment must be Intense
Prompt (before the person can derive pleasure from the misdeed) Applied consistently and with certainty
Perceived as justified
Possible to replace the undesirable punished behavior with a desirable alternative behavior
Consequences of punishment
Only temporarily suppresses aggression.
It can classically condition children to avoid their parents. Because it is aversive, it can instigate retaliation.
Physical punishment in the home leads to increased aggression outside the home.
Capital Punishment
Obviously, one way to stop violent people from hurting others is to kill them so they can’t do it again.
Capital punishment doesn’t seem to work, perhaps because many murders kill their victims in a fit of rage without considering the consequences of their actions.
In the U.S., states with the death penalty have homicide rates 48-101% higher than states without the death penalty.
An international study of criminal violence analyzed data from 110 nations over a period of 74 years and found that the death penalty does not deter criminals.
Another problem is that an innocent person (rather than the actual
murderer) might be executed. There have been more that 75 documented cases of wrongful conviction of criminal homicide, and the death sentence was carried out in 8 cases.
Observational (Social) Learning Theory
Albert Bandura proposed that learning a new behavior involves observing and imitating that behavior being performed by another person.
The model could be a real person (e.g., family member, peer), a filmed person, or even a fictitious character (e.g., Barney).
Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if: o the model is similar to the observer.
o the model has admired status. o the model is rewarded.
o the behavior has functional value.
Observational learning does not merely refer to a short-term process based on a simple observation and imitation. It concerns long-term effects.
Mimicry is a short-term process in which children immediately mimic whatever they see.
Observational Learning Processes
Attention : To learn through observation, you must pay attention to another person's behavior and its consequences.
Retention : In order for an observed behavior to be used again, you must be store it in memory (through rehearsal).
Reproduction : To imitate a model, you must have physical abilities and skills to reproduce the observed action.
Motivation: You are unlikely to reproduce an observed response unless you are motivated to do so. Your motivation depends on whether you get benefits from responding that action.
Lecture 4: Social Cognitive Theory Self-Efficacy
Symbolizing capacity
Symbols are the vehicle of thought.
Symbols, such as words and letters, can be used to represent specific objects, thoughts, or ideas.
Symbols allow people to store, process, and transform experiences for mental processes.
Self-reflective capacity
Through self-reflection, people make sense of their experiences, explore own cognitions and beliefs, and alter their thinking accordingly. People perform a self-check to make sure their thinking is correct Self-regulatory capacity
Self-regulation refers to the self’s capacity to alter its own responses. It is similar to the everyday term “self-control.”
People regulate their thoughts, their emotions, their impulses and desires, and their task performance.
Self-regulation allows people to be flexible and adapt to many different circumstances, rules, and demands.
Vicarious capacity
People learn by observing others (without directly experiencing it). Vicarious learning explains how people learn a novel behavior without
undergoing the trial and error process of performing it. Triadic reciprocal causation: Behavior, Person, Environment
cycle of person <--> behavior <--> environment can all influence each other
Inhibition effects
Cause people to refrain from antisocial behaviors o police officer has an inhibiting effect on speeding Disinhibition effects
Lift restraints on antisocial behaviors o culture teaches us these things Disinhibitory devices - forms of self-exoneration
Moral justification
o People believe their otherwise deplorable actions are justifiable because they serve a “higher purpose.”
"I stole to provide for my family." "I lied to protect my friend."
Advantageous comparison
o By comparing their own deplorable acts with even more serious acts of others, people make their own acts look trivial by comparison.
o not as bad as what other people are doing
Terrorists, or freedom fighters, see their acts as ones of selfless martyrdom, when compared against the cruel inhumanities perpetrated by their victims.
Men who contribute relatively little to household duties say: “Hey, I do more than most men.” Cheaters claim that others are worse: "I don't
cheat nearly as much as her."
Speeders claim that they were going relatively slow compared to other motorists: “Everyone was speeding; they were passing me like I was
standing still.” Euphemistic labeling
o By calling a deplorable act something other than what it really is, the act is trivialized and one can engage in it without self-contempt.
o Using a mild term to hide the actual harmfulness of our deplorable acts.
"I borrowed it" instead of “I stole it.”
"I messed them up a little" instead of “I brutally assaulted them.”
"I didn't tell her everything" instead of “I lied to her.”
o Euphemistic war labels
Soldiers “waste” people rather than killing them. Bombing attacks become “surgical strikes.” Civilian victims are "collateral damage." Displacement of responsibility
o Is a mechanism by which the person lessens the responsibility of the self in causing harm. The person acknowledges that he or she may have caused harm, but denies that it was intended or denies responsibility
For example, in Nazi Germany, the commandants and officers of the death camps said they were only following orders from higher ups
Diffusion of responsibility
o If a person is not the sole agent of destruction, but only part of a group, it is easier to attribute guilt to the group or to others in the group.
o When deplorable acts are performed in a group, individuals feel less personally responsible.
"I just went along with the crowd.”
"I thought someone else would help her, there were people all around.”
Distortion of the consequences
o After people engage in deplorable acts, they can ease their conscience by ignoring or distorting the harm caused by their conduct.
"I only shoplift from big chain stores; they never miss it.” “Hey, what I did was not all that bad.”
“I just let the bombs go and they disappeared in the clouds.”
Dehumanization
o Victims are made out to be subhuman and therefore not worthy of humane treatment.
Often accomplished using labels like “savages,” “gooks,” “animals,” etc. Hitler called the Jews “vermin” and “rats. Victims forced to behave like beasts, “proving” that the
are subhuman.
Blacks involved in crimes are described in nonhuman terms (e.g., apelike).
Attribution of blame
o Blaming the victim or the situation.
"If you hadn't been such a jerk, I wouldn't have hit you." "The poor cause their own problems."
“Bad things happen to bad people.” “They left the window open.”
“She must have dressed seductively or he wouldn’t have raped her.”
Belief in a Just World
o The belief that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Major concepts from the book:
How much mass media does the average person consume? (6) 3,700 hours per year
two-thirds of waking hours Third-person effect (10)
Transportation (14)
Theory explaining why people are persuaded by information in fictional stories
swept up, or lost in the story, even feeling like they themselves are a part of the story
Ideomotor action theory (27, 85) William James
Idea that just thinking about a behavior makes you more likely to do it We unconsciously imitate the behaviors of those around us
“Every representation of movement awakes to some degree the movement it represents.”
“Watching an action sequence speeds up your own performance of the same sequence, even if you cannot explicitly distinguish and recognize that sequence.”
Mirror neurons (27)
The physical structures in the brain responsible for our ability to imitate and our inclination to do so
Complexes of feeling, thinking, and doing help us imitate actions Help us empathize – originally meant the ability to directly imitate a
behavior.
What are the elements of high-risk portrayals? (33)
Most likely to cause child viewers to learn aggressive attitudes and behaviors
o a perpetrator who is attractive o violence that seems justified o violence that goes unpunished o minimal consequences to the victim o violence that seems realistic to the viewer National Television Violence Studies (NTVS) (32)
Senator Simon challenged the television industry to commission a comprehensive set of studies to be conducted by top social scientists, independent of industry influence
Result was a three-volume set of books exploring factors ranging from television ratings to an in-depth analysis of the impact of violence as related to the ways in which the violence was portrayed
Conclusions:
o television violence poses a serious issue of harm to children o television presents violence in ways that encourage children to
behave aggressively and to increase their aggressive thoughts and attitudes and their fears
Self-actualized (37) Abraham Maslow
high-achieving, highly evolved people who seemed to walk their own paths without sweating what other people thought about it
media literate can also be thought of as being a critical viewer
moving away from passively accepting all media messages as harmless entertainment and moving toward an active model in which we assume that media influence us – critical users
Digital divide/Digital crevasse (43)
On the one side are teens, their thumbs flying as they text a friend, while Mom feels good that she knows how to google something, and the neighbor feels left out because he doesn’t know all these terms he hears bandied about on TV – like blog and avatar
In the end, youger people identify with digital technology while older people often feel dumb and ignorant around technology.
One result is that parents may not feel able to monitor some of their kids’ media use
Bushman and Anderson’s study – journalistic coverage of media violence research (44)
While the scientific data linking media violence and aggression has grown stronger over time, journalists have changed their stance on the issue over the years, most recently trending toward reporting that there is a weak link between media violence exposure and aggression.
Confusion caused by the fact that the newspapers reporting these stories may also be owned by large conglomerates that sell violent video games and the like.
“We scientists could do a better job at translating the research to the public.”
4 dimensions of mass media communication: cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, moral (45)
cognitive
o we have the information that is being shared: an expression of concern for a friend and some reasons for that concern
emotional
o we can interpret a variety of feelings felt by the communicator including worry and anxiety
aesthetic dimension
o judgments about the communicator’s artistry, from her strength as an orator to judging whether what she says is genuine, or whether she is trying to make it appear genuine
moral
o relates to values: what judgment is the speaker making about the kind of behavior that is proper for her friend?
Framing (48)
When those who make their money from media call media criticism
“censorship,” they are “framing” their argument, or hoping audiences will view it in the way they’ve defined it.
Chameleon effect (86)
Chartrand and Bargh’s finding that we unconsciously and passively imitate the behaviors of those around us.
