"In media studies, mass communication, media psychology, communication theory, and sociology, media influence and the media effect are topics relating to mass media and media culture's effects on individuals' or audiences' thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors."
The ways in which media messages can influence people's attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions.
Agenda Setting: The process by which the media sets the public agenda by controlling what issues and topics are highlighted and discussed.
Framing: How the media frames a story or issue can influence how the audience interprets and understands it.
Cultivation Theory: The long term effects of exposure to media, including how it shapes our perceptions and beliefs about the world.
Social Learning Theory: How we learn behavior through observation and modeling of others, including the media.
Uses and Gratifications Theory: Why audiences choose to consume certain media and what needs they fulfill through media consumption.
Spiral of Silence: How the media can silence the voices of minority viewpoints through the perception of a dominant opinion.
Third-Person Effect: The belief that media messages affect others more than ourselves.
Media Literacy: The ability to critically analyze media messages and understand the power of media in shaping our perceptions of the world.
Propaganda: The deliberate use of media to influence public opinion and behavior in order to achieve a specific goal.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: How individuals deal with conflicting information and beliefs presented by the media.
Priming: How exposure to certain media messages can influence our cognitive processing of subsequent information.
Selective Exposure: The tendency to seek out and consume media that confirms our existing beliefs and attitudes.
Framing Effects: How the way information is presented can have an impact on people's opinions and attitudes.
Gatekeeping: The process by which media outlets choose what content to cover and how it is presented to the audience.
Persuasion: How the media can be used to persuade audiences to change their attitudes or behaviors.
Agenda-Setting: This theory states that media determines what topics people discuss and think about.
Cultivation: This theory says that long-term exposure to media shapes our perceptions of reality.
Dependency Theory: This theory claims that media can influence our behavior depending on how much we depend on it.
Uses and Gratifications: This theory looks at how media consumption satisfies individual needs and wants.
Social Learning: This theory posits that people learn from observing and imitating what they see in the media.
Priming: This theory suggests that exposure to media can influence how people interpret subsequent stimuli or situations.
Spiral of Silence: This theory postulates that people are hesitant to speak up if they perceive their opinion to be in the minority, based on the impression they get from media messages.
Framing: This theory looks at how media presents information in a certain context to influence how people perceive it.
Selective Exposure: This theory examines how people choose to consume media that aligns with their existing beliefs and attitudes.
Cognitive Dissonance: This theory explains how media messages can cause conflicting thoughts or emotions, leading to psychological discomfort or stress in individuals.
"Through written, televised, or spoken channels, mass media reach large audiences."
"Whether a media message has an effect on any of its audience members is contingent on many factors, including audience demographics and psychological characteristics."
"These effects can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short-term or long-lasting."
"Not all effects result in change; some media messages reinforce an existing belief."
"Researchers examine an audience after media exposure for changes in cognition, belief systems, and attitudes, as well as emotional, physiological and behavioral effects."
"The influences of mass media (or 'media effects') are observed in various aspects of human life, from voting behaviors to perceptions of violence, from evaluations of scientists to our understanding of others' opinions."
"The overall influence of mass media has changed drastically over the years, and will continue to do so as the media itself develops."
"In the new media environment, we have dual identities - consumers and creators. We not only obtain information through new media, but also disseminate information to wide audiences."
"Thus, it is important for physicians to discuss with parents their child's exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of any media, including television, radio, music, video games, and the Internet."
"Bryant and Zillmann defined media effects as 'the social, cultural, and psychological impact of communicating via the mass media'."
"Perse stated that media effects researchers study 'how to control, enhance, or mitigate the impact of the mass media on individuals and society'."
"Lang stated media effects researchers study 'what types of content, in what type of medium, affect which people, in what situations'."
"McLuhan points out in his media ecology theory that 'The medium is the message'."
"Media influence is the actual force exerted by a media message, resulting in either a change or reinforcement in audience or individual beliefs."
"Through written, televised, or spoken channels, mass media reach large audiences."
"Whether a media message has an effect on any of its audience members is contingent on many factors, including audience demographics and psychological characteristics."
"These effects can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short-term or long-lasting."
"Not all effects result in change; some media messages reinforce an existing belief."
"Researchers examine an audience after media exposure for changes in cognition, belief systems, and attitudes, as well as emotional, physiological and behavioral effects."