A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication

by Harris; Richard Jackson

• ISBN13: 9780805846607
• ISBN10: 0805846603
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-14
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

This textbook examines how our experiences with media affect the way we acquire knowledge about the world, and how this knowledge creates consequences for attitudes and behavior. For courses in media effects, mass communication, and media psychology.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
1 Mass Communication in Society: Swimming in the Media Sea	1	(17)
What Is Mass Communication?	4	(2)
Media Use	6	(8)
Television	6	(3)
Radio	9	(1)
Newspapers	10	(1)
Magazines	11	(1)
Computer-Mediated Communication	12	(2)
Overview of the Book	14	(4)
2 Research and Theory in Mass Communication: How We Study Media Scientifically	18	(35)
Media Research Frameworks	19	(8)
Looking at Content	19	(2)
Looking at Exposure	21	(1)
Looking at Effects	21	(6)
Theories of Mass Communication	27	(12)
Social Cognitive Theory (Social Learning, Observational Learning, Modeling)	27	(1)
Cultivation Theory	28	(2)
Socialization Theories	30	(1)
Uses and Gratifications Theory	31	(3)
Agenda Setting	34	(1)
Schema Theory	35	(4)
Limited Capacity Model	39	(1)
Cognitive Components of the Media Experience	39	(9)
Attention	40	(1)
Suspending Disbelief	41	(1)
Identification	42	(1)
Empathy	43	(1)
Suspense	44	(1)
Humor	45	(3)
Mood Management	48	(1)
Media as Perceived Reality	48	(4)
The Reflection Myth	48	(2)
The Study of Perceived Reality	50	(2)
Conclusion	52	(1)
3 Media Portrayals of Groups: Distorted Social Mirrors	53	(39)
Portrayals of the Sexes	54	(11)
The View of Women	54	(6)
The View of Men	60	(3)
Effects of Gender Stereotyping	63	(2)
The Four Stages of Minority Portrayals	65	(1)
African Americans	66	(4)
How Are They Portrayed?	66	(2)
Blacks as Viewers	68	(1)
Effects of African American Portrayals	69	(1)
Latinos	70	(2)
Native Americans	72	(2)
Asian Americans	74	(2)
Arabs and Arab Americans	76	(2)
Gay and Lesbian People	78	(2)
Older Adults	80	(3)
Persons with Disabilities and Disorders	83	(2)
Physical Disabilities	83	(1)
Psychological Disorders	84	(1)
Occupations	85	(5)
Police Officers	86	(1)
Lawyers and Courtroom Trials	86	(1)
Psychologists and Psychiatrists	87	(1)
Farmers and Rural Life	88	(1)
College Students	89	(1)
Conclusion: So What if They're Stereotyped?	90	(2)
4 Advertising and Marketing: Baiting, Catching, and Reeling Us In	92	(32)
Historical Background	93	(1)
Types of Ads	94	(1)
Psychological Appeals in Advertising	95	(10)
Informational Appeals	96	(1)
Emotional Appeals	96	(3)
Patriotic Appeals	99	(1)
Fear Appeals	100	(2)
Achievement, Success, and Power Appeals	102	(1)
Humorous Appeals	102	(1)
Testimonials (Product Endorsements)	102	(1)
Can Appeals Be Unethical?	103	(1)
A Theoretical Model	104	(1)
Cognition and Marketing: Ads as Information to Be Processed	105	(8)
Stages of Processing	106	(1)
A Constructionist Framework for Understanding Advertising	107	(1)
Deceptive Advertising	108	(1)
Miscomprehension Versus Deceptiveness	108	(2)
True-But-Deceptive Ads (Induced Miscomprehension)	110	(2)
Studying Deception Scientifically	112	(1)
Sex and Subliminal Advertising	113	(5)
Classical Conditioning	113	(2)
Subliminal Advertising	115	(3)
Advertising in New Places	118	(4)
Product Placements	118	(1)
Classrooms and Schools	119	(1)
Advertising on the Internet	120	(2)
Prescription Drug Advertising	122	(1)
Conclusion	122	(2)
5 Children and Media: More Than Just Little Adults	124	(27)
Children's Use of Different Media	125	(2)
Mental Effort and Social Interaction	125	(1)
Information Extraction and Memory	125	(2)
The Medium and Imagination	127	(1)
Prosocial Children's Television	127	(5)
Sesame Street	129	(3)
Other CTW Projects	132	(1)
Commercial TV Contributions	133	(5)
Science Shows for Children	135	(1)
Channel One	135	(1)
Teen Programs	136	(1)
Children's Prosocial Learning from Adult Television	136	(2)
Children's Advertising	138	(6)
Differentiating Ads and Programs	139	(1)
Disclaimers	139	(1)
Television, Toymakers, and the Military	140	(2)
Tobacco Advertising and Role Modeling	142	(2)
Media Literacy	144	(5)
Curriculum Development	146	(1)
What Can Be Done in the Home	147	(2)
Conclusion	149	(2)
6 Sports and Music: Emotion in High Gear	151	(36)
The Emotional (Affective) Side of Experiencing Media	152	(3)
What Is Emotion?	152	(1)
Media as Vicarious Emotional Experience	152	(1)
Emotional Expression and Media	153	(2)
Sports	155	(23)
How Television Has Changed Sports	157	(9)
Psychological Issues in Sports and Media	166	(12)
Conclusion	178	(1)
Music	178	(8)
Uses and Gratifications of Popular Music	180	(1)
Content	181	(2)
Effects	183	(2)
Music as a Memory Cue	185	(1)
Conclusion	186	(1)
7 News: Setting the Agenda About the World	187	(38)
What Is News?	191	(8)
Primary Characteristics of a Newsworthy Event	192	(3)
Secondary Characteristics of a Newsworthy Event	195	(4)
News Media as Creating a Perceived Reality	199	(9)
Manipulation of News	200	(5)
The 1991 Persian Gulf War Coverage: Case Study	205	(3)
Effects of News Coverage	208	(12)
The Impact of Different Points of View	208	(1)
Memory for the News	209	(2)
Effects of News on Attributions and Decision Making	211	(1)
Responses to Crime Coverage in Media	212	(5)
Suicides: Triggered by News?	217	(1)
How Media Affect Foreign Policy	217	(3)
Conclusion: Fiction Becomes Reality	220	(5)
The Docudrama: Fact or Fiction?	221	(1)
Limits of Media Influence	222	(3)
8 Politics: Using News and Advertising to Win Elections	225	(30)
Closing the Distance Between the Candidate and the Public	227	(1)
Coverage of Political Campaigns	228	(9)
What Is Heavily Covered	228	(3)
What Is Lightly Covered	231	(2)
Interpretation by the Press	233	(2)
The U.S. Presidential Debates	235	(2)
Candidates' Use of News Media	237	(5)
Setting the Agenda	237	(1)
Framing the Candidates	238	(2)
Creating Pseudo-Events	240	(1)
Dealing With Attacks From the Opponent	241	(1)
The Need to Be Taken Seriously	242	(1)
Case Study: Press Coverage of the 2000 U.S. Presidential Campaign and Election	242	(3)
Election Night Coverage	243	(1)
Framing the Electoral Uncertainty	243	(2)
Political Advertising	245	(6)
Purposes	246	(2)
Appeals in Political Advertising	248	(1)
Negative Advertising	249	(1)
Effects of Political Advertising	250	(1)
Television as Cultivator of Political Moderation	251	(2)
Conclusion	253	(2)
9 Violence: Watching All That Mayhem Really Matters	255	(32)
Effects of Media Violence	257	(18)
Fear	257	(3)
Modeling	260	(4)
Sensitization	264	(3)
Desensitization	267	(2)
Cultivation	269	(1)
Important Interactive Factors	269	(5)
Catharsis	274	(1)
Who Watches Media Violence and Why?	275	(2)
Social Factors	275	(1)
Individual Differences	276	(1)
Longitudinal Studies	277	(2)
Research Versus the Public Perception	279	(1)
Violent Video Games	280	(2)
Helping Children Deal With Violent Media	282	(3)
Institutional Solutions	282	(1)
Parental Mediation and Media Literacy	283	(2)
Conclusion	285	(2)
10 Sex: Pornography, Innuendo, and Rape as a Turn-On	287	(30)
The Nature of Sex in Media	288	(4)
Definitional Issues	288	(1)
History of Sex in Media	289	(1)
Media Sex Today	290	(2)
Effects of Viewing Media Sex	292	(13)
Arousal	292	(1)
Attitudes and Values	293	(7)
Behavioral Effects	300	(3)
Catharsis	303	(1)
Prevailing Tone	303	(2)
Sexual Violence	305	(9)
Erotica as Stimulator of Aggression	305	(1)
Effects Depend on How the Woman Is Portrayed	305	(1)
Individual Differences in Male Viewers	305	(2)
Slasher Movies	307	(4)
Mitigating the Negative Effects of Sexual Violence	311	(1)
Press Coverage of Sexually Violent Crimes	312	(2)
Conclusion	314	(3)
11 Teaching Values and Health: Media as Parent, Priest, Physician, and Moral Arbiter	317	(35)
Media's Teaching of Values	318	(2)
Family Values	320	(8)
Family Composition	321	(1)
Family Solidarity	322	(3)
The Influence of Television on Family Life	325	(3)
Religion	328	(7)
Religion in TV Series	328	(1)
Portrayals of Religious Professionals	329	(1)
Religion in the News	330	(3)
Religious Television	333	(1)
Effects of Television on Religion	334	(1)
Media Use in Social Marketing	335	(9)
Obstacles to Social Marketing	336	(2)
Considering the Audience	338	(1)
Positive Effects of Social Marketing	339	(2)
Public Health Media Campaigns	341	(1)
Stanford Five-City Multifactor Risk Reduction Project	342	(1)
AIDS Awareness Campaigns	343	(1)
Entertainment-Education Media	344	(5)
Sample E-E Programs	344	(2)
Effects of E-E Programs	346	(3)
Conclusion	349	(3)
12 Handling Media: Living With New Technologies and Communicating About Media	352	(19)
The Future and New Technologies	353	(8)
The Reach of Media	353	(3)
New Technologies	356	(5)
Influencing the Media	361	(4)
Individual Efforts	362	(1)
Group Efforts	363	(2)
Communicating Media Research Findings to the Public	365	(2)
Conclusion: What Is Mass Communication? (Revisited)	367	(4)
References	371	(72)
Author Index	443	(18)
Subject Index	461