SPICE 2012 Media Psychology - Week One Notes
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The document discusses the history and evolution of media psychology, emphasizing its relevance in understanding human interactions with media across various age groups. It outlines key theories, such as the magic bullet theory, and the impact of mass media on social behavior, including historical studies like the Payne Fund studies. Additionally, it delves into the functions of mass media and the progression of leisure and entertainment as integral aspects of human experience.
![Seduction of the Innocent –
Effect?
Wertham misunderstood?
Was not a self-identified Comic Book Crusader
Found fanzines and other science fictions to be
profound communication and creative tools
Focused more on the [media] ecology of the
child (with books as part) than the comic books
themselves! Dr. Wertram
softened his
Pioneered work on: views on
comics later
Body image in life. He
even spoke
Racism/bigotry at the 1974
New York
Comicon!](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/weekone-120608001007-phpapp02/85/SPICE-2012-Media-Psychology-Week-One-Notes-40-320.jpg)
SPICE 2012 Media Psychology - Week One Notes
- 1. MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY AND INFLUENCE Week One – “History” of Media Psychology
- 2. PreGame: Course Introductions Media Psychology and Influence SPICE 2012 (Erfurt) ND Bowman PhD, Instructor
- 3. Outline Introductions Syllabus and class policies History of media Functions of media Primitive mass communication Stages and evolution of mass media
- 5. What is Media Psychology? Why we need it: Media technologies are everywhere People of all ages use media technologies a lot Young people use them most Older people worry about younger people Technology is not going “…I view media psychology as the away intersection of human experience and We all worry if this is good media. In other words, media psychology is or bad or somewhere in- the applied study of what happens when between people interact with media as producers, Psychology is the study distributors, and consumers through the of people of all ages lens of psychology.” ~Dr. Pamela Rutledge Media Psychology Research Center
- 6. What is Media Psychology? Division 46 - Media Psychology focuses on the roles psychologists play in various aspects of the media, including, but not limited to, radio, television, film, video, newsprint, magazi nes, and newer technologies. It seeks to promote research into the impact of media on human behavior; to facilitate interaction between psychology and media representatives; to enrich the teaching, training, and practice of media psychology; and to prepare psychologists to interpret psychological research to the lay public and to other professionals. The Division has liaisons with the APA Education, Practice, Science, and Public Interest Directorates.
- 7. Day One: A History of Media Media Psychology and Influence SPICE 2012 (Erfurt) ND Bowman PhD, Instructor
- 8. Functions of Mass Media Harold Lasswell (1948) said media serve 3 functions (broadly) in society Surveillance Correlation Transmission Laswell was a normative theorist Charles Wright (1960) added Entertainment
- 9. Match the Medium with the Function Functions: Surveillance Correlation Transmission Entertainment
- 10. Charging Bison, Cave painting with natural rock formation. Altamira Caves, Santander, Spain c. 14,000 - 12,000 B.C. One of the paintings described in Schramm (Ch1). What were the artists trying to communicate? Why place the paintings in caves? What sort of tools were used to create the paintings?
- 11. Prehistoric Communication Why caves? Ceremonial, extraordinary If you look carefully at the ground in caves where the floor has been damp and soft, you may see not What use? only footprints but also the imprints of boys' buttocks in the clay in front Artistic of the pictures. Here is where they “sympathetic” magic may have sat while the elders of the tribe instructed them and revealed Education the secrets handed down from generation to generation. In some of the caves there are also marks of dancing feet, where ceremonies must have been conducted. There are chapel-like rooms with both pictures and reliefs. Thus the pictures were probably symbols of great magic and perhaps of great secrets. ~Schramm, pp. 8
- 12. The Sorcerer, recreated by Abbe Breuil One of the mystifying cave paintings copied by the Abbe Breuil. Most of the cave art is highly realistic rendering of the kinds of animals the cave dwellers saw on their hunts. A few, however, are not realistic and seem to have meaning related in some way to the rituals conducted in the cave. This picture, combining animal and human features, has been called The Sorcerer.
- 14. Historical account of communication We often talk about different stages of communication Age of signs and signals (pre-200,000 BC) Age of speech and language (~200,000 to 100,000 BC) Age of writing (~3500 BC) Age of printing (~AD 1500) Age of Mass Communication (~AD 1800)
- 16. Why so important? As our communication patterns changed, so did our society Signs and signals allowed us to communication our internal monologue to others Speech and language allowed us to communicate „in action‟ Writing allowed us to document our thoughts without memorization Printing allowed written word to spread throughout society Mass communication made variables such as time and space irrelevant
- 17. What is a mass medium? We have always had “media” A media (medium) is anything that carries information from one source to another
- 18. What is a mass medium? Some characteristics of “mass” One message, many receivers Message produced by an organization Messages delivered at regular intervals Public communication What would O’Sullivan have to say about all of this?
- 21. Our mediated selves Today‟s world is viewed through screens For children (8 to 18), nearly 7.5 hours of each day is spent in front of screens! Facebook
- 22. Day Two: Moral Panic Media Psychology and Influence SPICE 2012 (Erfurt) ND Bowman PhD, Instructor
- 23. Outline The Magic Bullet Metaphor Examples of early studies Invasionfrom Mars Seduction of the Innocent The Payne Fund Studies
- 24. Magic Bullet Theory 24 The Metaphor Three Assumptions Direct Large Uniform *
- 25. Magic Bullet Theory Where does this come from? These perspectives assume a passive audience
- 26. Magic Bullet Theory 1. Industrialization: IndustrialRevolution starts, end of 18th C Transfer from agrarian to manufacturing society Alienation from society Bureaucracy as a form of social organization
- 27. Magic Bullet Theory 2. Urbanization Folks moved away from home into large, normless cities Major population shift brings unlike people together Anomie: “Normless-ness” Trustfrom social norms misplaced by distrust and skepticism of fellow man Ex. Replacing handshakes with contracts Reliance on regulations over norms for social order
- 28. Magic Bullet Theory 3. Modernization Innovations in society led to convenience Notion of schedules and workday (also re: industrialization) separated work from leisure time Media becomes important aspect of leisure Films, radio, etc. Timefor leisure leads to increased interest in world affairs newspapers
- 30. Magic Bullet Theory Assumed that in Mass Society, people: …are socially isolated …have uniform instincts …are not influenced by social ties …So them must: …hear the same messages …interpret those messages similarly …respond to those messages similarly
- 31. Magic Bullet Theory Theory claimed that the mass media acts as symbolic bullets: Striking every eye and every ear of everyone Having direct, immediate, po werful, and uniform effects on everyone
- 32. Invasion from Mars The windup… Timing MercuryTheatre Orson Welles …and the pitch!
- 33. Invasion from Mars The Broadcast Style News format People and places Audience size Coincidences
- 34. Invasion from Mars The Response Supposed Response Real Response (c) ND Bowman, 2011 *
- 35. Invasion from Mars Why did people panic? Program characteristics Channel effects Style of Program Tuning in Late – Personal Characteristics • Critical Thinking • Self-confidence • Emotional Security • Religious Beliefs
- 36. Invasion from Mars – Effect? Was everybody scared? 1/6 of audience reported any ill effects… …ill effects were often isolated and exemplified… …and most effects seem to have a non-mediated cause! Is this evidence of Direct Large Uniform
- 37. Seduction of the Innocent America in post-WWII Wertham (1954) and the Seduction of the Innocent *
- 38. Seduction of the Innocent Among the Methods of Wertham themes ClinicalInterviews Wertham found were: Projective Testing • Crime Content analysis (four major themes) • Horror • Misogyny • Bondage • Homosexuality • Fascism All of these were seen as „injurious to the eye‟
- 39. Seduction of the Innocent Understanding Wertham Clinically Interesting Not scientific – WHY? Sensationalism v. truth Outcomes Salesplunges Industry self-regulation “Seduction issues” *
- 40. Seduction of the Innocent – Effect? Wertham misunderstood? Was not a self-identified Comic Book Crusader Found fanzines and other science fictions to be profound communication and creative tools Focused more on the [media] ecology of the child (with books as part) than the comic books themselves! Dr. Wertram softened his Pioneered work on: views on comics later Body image in life. He even spoke Racism/bigotry at the 1974 New York Comicon!
- 41. Payne Fund Studies Series of studies in 1920s looking at the influence of film on children Why? Advances in science (parametric statistics in social science) + popularity of Hollywood (125% increase in movie attendance by 1930) = funding for research
- 43. Payne Fund Studies Dozen+ studies designed to 1. Assess the content of films and composition of audiences 2. Assess effects of content on audiences
- 44. Payne Fund Studies Content of Films Audience Composition N ~ 1500 films (OH) Nearly ½ (40M) of weekly contained Specific focus movie audiences were Crime on: children; 17M under 14; many Sex • Story themes 5-8 y.o.! Love • Heroes/heroines • Style and dress Children > Adults Mystery • Relationships War • engaging in Boys > Girls Children crimes • vulgarity Overall, children attended History • substance at least one film per week Travel abuse Comedy 75% of films were Propaganda Crime, Sex, or Love
- 45. Payne Fund Studies Sample of results Attitude change about social groups and issues
- 46. Payne Fund Studies Sample of results Influencing conduct Encouraged „scene re-enactment‟ Imitation of (unhealthy?) behaviors Daydreaming and fantasy Emotional contagion Fear and fright, physiological effects Promotion of unhealthy behaviors Smoking, drinking, etc. Eroding moral standards Screen mores ≠ social mores
- 48. Day Three: Entertainment+Leisure Media Psychology and Influence SPICE 2012 (Erfurt) ND Bowman PhD, Instructor
- 49. Outline for Today Human Motivation A History of Leisure Entertainment Media as Leisure
- 50. Human Motivation “What a man can be, he must be.” ~Maslow, 1954
- 51. What is Leisure? Leisure is understood as: Time left after survival needs are met Time when we are free to do things that are intrinsically gratifying (autotelic) THINK – “What separates us from the wild?”
- 52. What is Leisure? Time left after work: In1850, the average work week was 70 hours By 1950, this shrunk to 40 hours (de Grazia, 1962). In the industrial world, we have between 30 and 35 percent of our days that we can dedicate to leisure (Szalai, 1972).
- 53. Emergence of Leisure Time Leisure evolved around 600,000 years ago alongside the species Homo Why? Because man: „organize the hunt‟ (Lee & DeVore, 1968) „domesticated‟ fire (Pfeiffer, 1971) Neolithic Era (4000 – 2000 B.C.) First sign of art and music for leisure purposes
- 54. Emergence of Leisure Time Ancient Egypt and China Evidence of „highball parties‟ Egyptian nobles employed laborers and slaves to do their work, thus creating a “high society” Chinese officials had lavish banquets For the „blue-collar man‟, the first beer halls for communal tale-telling appeared Organized sports were played, but not for competition
- 55. Emergence of Leisure Time Early Elitism (Greece 500 – 300 B.C.) Entertainment dichotomy develops A starkdifference between leisure for the privileged vs. the common man Greeks were the first to consider social role of entertainment Aristotle(trans. 1984) endorsed only the „finest‟ of leisure activities, but… …he also considered the Catharsis Doctrine, the “proper purgation of … emotions”
- 56. Emergence of Leisure Time Rome: The Leisure State • The first signs of mass entertainment and the democratization of leisure. – From 93 to 200 holidays per Coliseum year (50,000 cap.) hosted gladiator wars, and animal- baiting Circus Maximus (250,000 cap.) hosted chariot races, brass bands, acrobats and clowns
- 57. Christians are no fun. 313 A.D. – Constantine converts the Roman Empire to Christianity Effects on leisure: Christians objected to unnecessary violence of gladiator fights and chariot races… …were offended by the „raunchy‟ theatre Objected to the required worship of Roman deities before all leisure activities Relegated leisure to Sunday, the day of rest Advent of leisure sub-cultures (i.e. histriones, pagans, etc.); leisure went underground
- 58. Rebirth of Merriment? Later Christians saw value in leisure as a way to teach morality The „Passion Play‟ and other moral allegories An early way of “repackaging” God? However, disenchanted clergy took the theatre back to the „common people‟, and “dropped the God-talk.”
- 59. Mass Audience for Entertainment 17th Century First audiences (re)emerge 18th Century A middle-class economic force A new market for “popular” culture 19th Century Media appeals to „The LCD‟ 20th Century The popular market expands The “culture debate” ensues
- 60. The Culture Debate What is the relative merit of elite versus mass cultural art forms? Historical perspectives differ: Pascal said cultural art forms should inspire nobility (argument for Highbrow) Montaigne said cultural art forms should gratify needs (argument for all three really, and individual preference argument)
- 61. The Culture Debate-Recent Shils (1971) Elite Theory distinguishes three levels of culture: Highbrow – superior and refined, containing the best qualities of society (i.e. opera) Middlebrow – the mediocre that aspires to be highbrow but which lacks originality, subtlety or depth (i.e. independent film) Lowbrow – the brutal and worthless aspects of a culture (i.e. Hollywood)
- 62. The Culture Debate-Recent “Mass (pop) culture is Bad” argument It dissolves cultural distinctions (McDonald) The only link connecting masses is the least common denominator Eventually it drives out elite culture It does not refine tastes or inspire (Vanden Haag) Total effect is to distract us from boring lives and isolate people from each other
- 63. The Culture Debate-Recent “Mass (pop) culture is not so Bad” argument Relative increase in exposure to elite culture (Shils) Shared emotional experiences from media create common ground (Buck) Social links are developed from mass audiences “Global Village” notion based on emotional grounds more so than informational grounds
- 65. Modern-Day Media Spending According to the 2002 U.S. Census: $944 billion spent annually 4.1 million people are employed Revenue in $Billions Employment in Thousands 423 303 75 58 78 514 1089 242 412 6 73 1,440 40 291 Film/Music Publishing Broadcasting Internet Publishing Film/Music Publishing Telecommunication Internet Services Performing Arts/Sports Broadcasting Internet Publishing Telecommunication Internet Services Performing Arts/Sports
- 66. Time spent with leisure
- 67. What is entertainment? Literally, something to “hold the attention of” or be “agreeably diverting” Can be A particularly neat Product aspect, as experiences are Service perishable and intangible; in Experience economics we refer to an “experience good” as one who‟s value is only known after consumption!
- 68. Leisure as play Play defined as an autotelic process: Voluntary Setapart from reality Bounded, limited Rules-governed Persistent social community Sacred, profound
- 69. Experience of play Media can provide play Passive absorption Active cognition Fantasy spaces “Aesthetic” of media?