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Theories of Communication MCM 511

LESSON 17

MODELING FROM MASS MEDIA

Modeling from mass media, then is an efficient way to learn wide range of behavior and solution to

problems that we otherwise learn slowly or not at all, or pay too high a price to learn in the actual

environment. And according to Bandura things people experience in their environments e.g. mass media

can affect people's behaviors and that affect is influenced by various personal factors specific to those

people.

Learning from Media Content and Modeling

Whenever a person sees a character on the screen expressing some strong emotion or performing some

powerful action, the viewer is affected or aroused.

The viewer remembers similar experiences and emotions, and these thoughts and images serve as cues

that trigger self-arousal.

E.g. ET, Jaws, horror movies--fear reaction.

Such experiences of arousal are not always fleeting in nature, several studies have shown that audience

members sometimes develop lasting emotional reactions, attitudes and behaviors after viewing

emotional content that arouses them.

Social construction of reality and cultivation

Some studies show that realities depicted on television programs do not always reflect the true state of

affairs in the real world. Some scholars believe that heavy viewing of television tends to shape or

cultivate viewers' perceptions and beliefs so that they are more in line with the world portrayed on

television than with that of the real world. Media scholars call this media effects phenomenon the social

construction of reality. E.g. chances of being on the plane and it will crash; chances of being a victim of

a violent crime; stereotypical portrayals of men and women especially in terms of their profession.

Effects of viewing televised or film violence

Through the years, most media effects studies have examined the negative effects that result from the

vicarious capacity, such as the learning of aggressive behavior by viewing televised or filmed violence.

When carried to it s worst extreme, the modeling of such behavior has been linked to violent and brutal

"copycat' crimes such as rape, murder.

Learning good things from media

In recent years, a growing body of research that examines children's television programming has

yielded promising findings. These studies have shown that many children's television shows have pro-

social or positive effects. Children improve literacy, science, and mathematics skills and learn positive

social behavior, enhance their imaginative powers and develop problem solving.

Longitudinal studies have revealed that positive effects, in terms of academic achievement and reading

skills especially from viewing Sesame Street as preschool.

Positive benefits of educational programming for children are enhanced whenever parents or care givers

view programs with the children and reinforce the messages.

Social prompting or persuasion

Advertising campaigns and other efforts of persuasion serve as excellent examples of social prompting,

another example of modeled behavior. Social prompting does not involve learning new behavior, and

therefore it differs from observational learning and disinhibition. Social prompting implies that a person

is offered an inducement (an incentive) to act in a particular way that has already been learned. E.g.

most people are not inclined to try a new product unless of course , the new product is shown to offer

great benefits of inducements- toothpaste

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Theories of Communication MCM 511

Diffusion by way of symbolic modeling

One important area of media effects research involves the study of diffusion or spread of an innovation

a new technology, tool behavior, farming techniques- throughout the society or a large group of people.

Diffusion of innovations research examines the different strengths of media and interpersonal influences

in adoption of new behavior.

Social changes have occurred due to the influences of television on elite societies of viewers who model

the various behaviors, styles and ideas that they see and learn

Recent research

Social cognitive theory serves as the theoretical basis for many types of media effects research- from

media violence studies and fright reactions to media content to effects from sexually explicit content

and effects from persuasive media messages.

In recent years, social cognitive theory of mass communication has proven especially useful as the

theoretical underpinning for communication campaigns and their design, for health communications,

election campaigns etc

Summary

Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory serves as the basis for many other theories of media effects.

It provides a framework to analyze human cognitions that produce certain behaviors and describe

mental processes at work, whenever a person learns. Social cognitive theory is an offshoot of Bandura's

more comprehensive social learning theory, which explains behavior by examining the triadic reciprocal

causation process, or the interaction among cognitive, behavioral and environmental factors.

Cognitive traits

Social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of several distinct cognitive traits that set human

beings apart. These include the symbolizing, self regulatory, self-reflective, and vicarious.

Social cognitive theory helps explain cultivation effects, priming effects and pro-social effects in terms

of cognition, observational learning and modeling.

The basis for many persuasion effects or social prompting from mass media can be found in social

cognitive theory, which recognizes that motivations or influences to model new behavior or adopt new

ideas are dynamic and usually a combination of outside factors and personal cognitions and

characteristics.

Diffusion of innovations, another important arm of media effects research, also finds a conceptual basis

in social cognitive theory. Diffusion of an innovation throughout a society or a large group o f people is

explained in terms of symbolic modeling, persuasion or social prompting and motivation

PRIMING EFFECTS

Often questions like these bother the researchers about violent content in the media

Does media violence cause viewers to make associations with angry or critical thoughts stored in their

own memories? Does the viewing of mediated violence and the mental associations it arouses make

viewers more likely to commit acts of violence themselves? These questions are related to the

psychological processes present whenever media effects do indeed occur.

Priming occurs when exposure to mediated communication activates related thoughts that have been

stored in the mind of an audience member. Media message content triggers concepts, thoughts, learning,

or knowledge acquired in the past that are related to the message content. In this way, message content

is connected, associated, or reinforced by related thoughts and concepts that it brings to mind. For a

certain period after viewing such content, a person is more likely to have thoughts or memories become

permanently associated with the message content, or stimulus.

E.g. if one views a rail accident or air accident the viewer might recall an accident he is part of. his

interest in he news story and his reaction to it may well be affected by his existing knowledge and

previous experiences.

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Theories of Communication MCM 511

In other words his memories primed him to react in a particular way to the story. The priming activation

may also influence a person's behavior, causing him or her to act or react in some way, sometimes with

undesirable consequences. The most sensational example of undesirable priming, in this case operating

with social learning theory may be that of COPYCAT crimes- especially murder or other violent crimes

that occurred after the person was PRIMED by movie or program

Instance of copycat crimes are grave extremes of priming. Such cases represent a very small percentage

of the population experience priming affects so completely that they actually MODEL OR IMITATE

the viewed behavior. Priming effects from the viewing of media violence are normally much more

subtle but even that level they represent cause for concern.