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Information Theories

The document discusses Information Flow Theory and the Two-Step Flow Theory, highlighting their development and key findings regarding how media influences public opinion and behavior. Information Flow Theory emphasizes the limited impact of media on audiences, while the Two-Step Flow Theory reveals that personal communication from opinion leaders plays a more significant role in shaping voting decisions. Both theories have strengths and limitations, particularly in their historical context and the methods used to assess media effects.

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2 views

Information Theories

The document discusses Information Flow Theory and the Two-Step Flow Theory, highlighting their development and key findings regarding how media influences public opinion and behavior. Information Flow Theory emphasizes the limited impact of media on audiences, while the Two-Step Flow Theory reveals that personal communication from opinion leaders plays a more significant role in shaping voting decisions. Both theories have strengths and limitations, particularly in their historical context and the methods used to assess media effects.

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dsg8246
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Information flow theory

During the 1950s, social scientists conducted many surveys and field experiments
to assess the flow of information from media to mass audiences. The overall
objective of this work was to measure the effectiveness of media in transmitting
information to mass audiences.

The research was patterned after persuasion research, but instead of measuring
shifts in attitudes, it investigated if information was learned. Survey research rather
than controlled experiments was used to gather data. This work drew on methods
pioneered by both Lazarsfeld and Hovland.

Information flows research-addressed questions researchers thought to be quite


important. Many believed that if our democracy was to survive the challenges of
the Cold war, it was critical that Americans be well informed about a variety of
issues.

For example, Americans needed to know what to do in the event of a nuclear


attack. They also needed to know what their leaders were doing to deal with threats
from abroad.

Information flow theory is the theory of how information moves from media to
audiences to have specific intended effects. News flow research found that most
U.S. citizens learned very little about hard news because they were poorly
educated, made little use of media for hard news, had low interest in it, and didn’t
talk to other people about it.

Except for major news events such as President Eisenhower’s heart attack or the
Assassination of President John F Kennedy, most people didn’t know or care much
about national news events.

The most important limitation of this information flow theory is that it is a


simplistic, linear, source dominated theory. Information originates with
authoritative or elite sources(the established media or the government, for
example) and then flows outward to “ignorant” individuals.
The two-Step Flow Theory
History
In 1944 Paul Lazarsfeld, (1901-1976) an American social researcher Bernard
berelson (1912-1979) and Hazel Gaudete was introduced the two-step flow of
communication in the book called “the people’s choice: how the voter makes up
his mind in a presidential campaign.

Introduction
The purpose of the study was focused on presidential election campaign and the
people decision making process towards the campaign. All three researchers were
wanted to find out practically whether the mass media messages affect direct
influence in voting decision among the people.

Unexpectedly they found the media messages (like radio and newspapers) are very
less influence then an informal, personal communication on voting behavior.
Based on this researched data, the two step flow communication theory of mass
communication was developed by Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld.
Explanation
There are two types of opinion leaders. The first being monomorphic
meaning they are only influential on one topic and the other.
Polymorphic which means the leader is influential on a variety of
topics. These opinion leader will then pass their own interpretations of
the information as well the actual content the media put out, to opinion
receivers/seekers.
 In public, Political leader is an opinion leader. Here few people are
not influenced the leader and their political views and thought.
These people won’t support opinion leaders and isolated from the
population.
 Katz and Paul seems “the flow of media messages from radio and
print to opinion leaders and then the leaders leads the messages to
lesser active users in the population.
 Through this transformation of message, the leaders may add their
opinion on the actual content, which may affects the low active
users.
 In some cases the opinion leaders are filtering, the actual content
ensures the people need the information. Mostly the opinion
leaders are selective and they pass the messages to the group.
 Low-end media users: Poor, Worker and People who are not
affordable for getting information directly.
Example
Amar watching news in Geo channel they flash the headlines with
“research reveals some toys are leads the children’s to aggressive and
violent”.
That day Amar calls his little son and went for shopping and warn his
son some toys are not good and made skin allergy which leads her son to
avoid those toys.
 Opinion Leader: Father
 Audience: His Son
 Added information in actual content: Skin allergy
Strengths Limitations
1. Focuses attention on the environment 1. Is limited to its time (1940s) and
in which affects can and can’t occur media environment (no television)

2. Stresses importance of opinion leaders 2. Uses reported behavior(voting) as


in formation of public opinion only test of media effects

3. Is based on inductive rather than 3. Downplays reinforcement as an


deductive reasoning important media effect

4. Effectively challenges simplistic 4. Uses survey methods that


notions of direct effects underestimate media impact

5. Later research demonstrates a multi


step flow of influence.

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