Auidence Theory

Key Words

•  Media Effects

the idea of media effects can be split into four areas:

• direct effect theories
• indirect effect theories
• diffusion theories
• the pluralistic approach 

media effects model:

• the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence upon the audience

• it is often considered that this effect is negative

• power lies within the message

direct effect theories:

• these theories center on media texts having a direct influence behavior, beliefs or attitudes of the audience

hypodermic model:

• the message in the media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful, syringe-like media

• the audience is powerless to resist

• therefore, the media works like a drug and audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped

• rooted in 1030s behaviorism

• suggests the audience is directly affected by the media text

• suggests that the media text is wholly accepted and not questioned by the audience

• audience is passive

key examples sited as causing or being contributory factors are:

• the film child's play 3 in the murder of James Bulger in 1993

• the game Manhunt in the murder of Stefan Pakeerah in 2004 by his friend Warren LeBlanc

• the film a clockwork orange (1071) in a number of rapes and violent attacks

• the film severance (2006) in the murder of Simon Everitt

1. in each cases there was a media and political outcry for the texts to be banned
2. in some cases laws were changed, films banned and newspapers demanded the burning of films
3. subsequently in each case it was found that no case could be proven to demonstrate a link between the text and violent acts

 cultivation theory

• suggests that repeated exposure to belief in the accidence

• suggests more the audience sees the same message, the more they believe it

• attitudes and values can become NORMALIZED

• the audience may become DESENSITIZED to violence