Two Step Flow: First introduced by Paul Larzarfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet in 1944. It suggests that media travels in two individual stages. Firstly, individual people who look closely at the media/specific text absorb it and the information it is conveying. Next, they pass on their own interpretation as well as the media text themselves. 'Personal influence' is the term used to describe the intervention between what the media is directing and the audiences reaction to the message of the media text. 'Opinion leaders' (individuals who give their personal influence) influence a wider audience to change the way they behave towards the text or their attitude towards it. The people they influence often have similarities in their characteristics. This theory has improved the understanding of how people can influence a mass audience and their decision making. Using this theory it is easier to predict audience behaviour towards a text and helped to explain why some media messages failed to change audience behaviour.
Reception Theory: This theory provides a better understanding about how texts are read by audiences. It can help to understand the experience of going to the cinema or reading a certain text etc. and how meaning is created through that. A main concept of the reception theory is that the media text has no permanent meaning. Instead meaning is created by the interaction between the viewer and the text as the viewer processes the text. It argues that contextual factors rather than textual factors influence the viewer more. These contextual factors include where and when the viewer is viewing the text, the viewers identity, thoughts about the text before viewing, the genre or production of the text and social/political/historical issues. This theory places the viewer in context and considers all other influential factors that might change the way the viewer creates meaning from the text.
Hypodermic Needle: This theory is also described as a 'Magic Bullet' or 'Hypodermic Syringe'. It is a model of how media communicated with it's audience and how the audience is affected. This theory states that the media text intends to send a specific message to it's receivers and that the people receiving the message instantly accept that message. It is described as a needle shooting the information into the mid of it's receiver. It has never been accepted very widely, however. This theory was based on assumptions of human behavior rather than study and research. The assumption was that humans were controlled by biological instincts in which they would then react to instantly. This theory applies to more of a passive audience who are more vulnerable towards media.
Uses & Gratifications: This theory looks at what people do with media rather than what the media does to them. It focuses on the consumer of the media text and says that audiences are responsible for choosing what media they decide to view as it is done to meet their own needs. Audiences take an active role in what media they want to have in their lives and use that media for specific gratifications. The media compete with each other who provide similar information or messages so that they make sure the audience view their piece of media rather than from an alternative source. In todays society, people have a slight sense of pressure to know facts from the media which motivates the media to provide them to fulfill these needs. Media dependency happens when a text meets more needs than one that many only meet a few. The more alternative sources of information reduces the amount of media dependancy.
Reception Theory: This theory provides a better understanding about how texts are read by audiences. It can help to understand the experience of going to the cinema or reading a certain text etc. and how meaning is created through that. A main concept of the reception theory is that the media text has no permanent meaning. Instead meaning is created by the interaction between the viewer and the text as the viewer processes the text. It argues that contextual factors rather than textual factors influence the viewer more. These contextual factors include where and when the viewer is viewing the text, the viewers identity, thoughts about the text before viewing, the genre or production of the text and social/political/historical issues. This theory places the viewer in context and considers all other influential factors that might change the way the viewer creates meaning from the text.
Hypodermic Needle: This theory is also described as a 'Magic Bullet' or 'Hypodermic Syringe'. It is a model of how media communicated with it's audience and how the audience is affected. This theory states that the media text intends to send a specific message to it's receivers and that the people receiving the message instantly accept that message. It is described as a needle shooting the information into the mid of it's receiver. It has never been accepted very widely, however. This theory was based on assumptions of human behavior rather than study and research. The assumption was that humans were controlled by biological instincts in which they would then react to instantly. This theory applies to more of a passive audience who are more vulnerable towards media.
Uses & Gratifications: This theory looks at what people do with media rather than what the media does to them. It focuses on the consumer of the media text and says that audiences are responsible for choosing what media they decide to view as it is done to meet their own needs. Audiences take an active role in what media they want to have in their lives and use that media for specific gratifications. The media compete with each other who provide similar information or messages so that they make sure the audience view their piece of media rather than from an alternative source. In todays society, people have a slight sense of pressure to know facts from the media which motivates the media to provide them to fulfill these needs. Media dependency happens when a text meets more needs than one that many only meet a few. The more alternative sources of information reduces the amount of media dependancy.
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