ARYABHATTA KNOWLEDGE UNIVERSITY

ASSIGNMENT
Name - Suryadeep kumar
Course - MAJMC
semester 1 sem
Paper name- Concepts and
Theories of Mass
communication
Topic - Theories of Mass
communication
 WHY STUDY THEORIES

You usually begin the day in the morning with a cup of “the best and most
refreshing green tea in the world” or a glass of milk which is the “only pure
brand that makes your bones strong”. The morning newspaper has so many
colourful segments shouting for attention and as it is time for breakfast, the “best
bread in town” makes your morning complete, rearing you to go. Then as you
travel to your college or work place, the larger than life hoardings look at you
trying to impress why the product/service they are highlighting should be your
preferred choice over others. The FM radio plugged in your ears tells you about
the grand sale on garments, holidays, restaurants and shopping for festivals. In
between it also informs you on news, both national and local mostly sensational
or commercial. Then as you approach the workplace or college, you try to put
things in order by recapitulating the tasks set for the day. These are only the first
few morning hours and you are already bombarded with seamless media messages
the subtle effects of which are not simple for the human mind to gauge.
So how do you know what to do? Whether to believe such media messages or
refrain from it? And if you decide to believe, how much should you believe? The
choice again is to be or not to be. Media messages play games with the human
mind, challenge our intellect, try to influence our behaviour in favour of or against
something or someone and even tell us what choices to make. And they do all
this within the realm of our personal, cultural and social systems.
 CLASSIFICATION OF THEORIES

Mass communication theories are classified in various ways. This is because

theories or the way social processes are explained keep changing or advancing
depending on technological, political and social factors. Most mass media theorists
classify theories based on eras of development of mass media. And rightly so,
because the way the media operated in society and the importance they held
from time to time changed with the change in technology. So while theories are
generally classified as those of the era of mass society, the era of scientific
perspective, the era of limited effects and the era of cultural theory, to facilitate
greater understanding, we classify them as sociological, psychological, critical
and cultural theories and media society theories.

(A) SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Sociological theories explain the role of media with regard to social relationships
and in economic and political contexts.

1. Cultivation Theory

George Gerbner’s cultivation theory tries to draw an equation between symbolic

structures, audience views and behaviour. The theory was advocated when
 television was new and much research was being done on it. Cultivation analysis

explains that television constructs a new reality for the audiences which may

have no bearing on the real world. TV propagates a new reality which is its own

creation and is well accepted socially and culturally by the audiences, especially

heavy viewers. The theory was based on five assumptions:

1) TV requires no additional resources like reading skills, money or mobility.

So TV content can be consumed by people of all age groups at any time of

their choice.

2) TV at that time was the first medium to have shared public messages audiovisually
leading to the creation of a pseudo culture and mainstreaming a TV

created understanding of society.

3) Such pseudo reality does not create attitudinal change, rather creates basic

frames of reference which help audiences make decisions and judgements

in life generally.
4) The TV created reality through its content aimed at stabilising the sociocultural
patterns. This is to maintain the power relationships in a society. So

TV content is not directed to creating any revolution or major change in the

existing socio-cultural set up, it only reinforces the already existing power

relationships.

5) The observable and measurable changes propelled by this TV-created

perception of reality are relatively small due to a number of intervening

variables. At times, the social reality constructed as a result of TV viewing

may bring about alternate changes like a person may start spending less

time on TV.

The active audience theory challenges the long term cumulative effects of

cultivation theory. In the contemporary world where the audiences use multiple

media to satisfy their information, entertainment and various other needs, one
cannot assume that exposure to any one medium can have a major effect on the

audiences’ perception of reality. Nevertheless, the subtle effects of the theory

cannot be negated.

2. Agenda Setting Theory

The idea of agenda setting was first discussed in terms of election campaigns in

1972 by Max Mc Combs and Donald Shaw. According to this theory, the news

media tell the public what the important issues of the day are. For example, the

news that appears first and in prime time is perceived to be more important by

the audience. The media do not tell the audience what to think but they do tell
what to think about. So while the media may make a diplomatic meeting between

several countries look important, they cannot have a say on whether the audience

thinks it will do any good to the country’s economy. The effects of agenda setting

have also been established by research. The agenda setting effects are the

maximum in first stories as they have the maximum audience attention and are

uninterrupted and without distractions. So the placement of stories is important.

Also, there is consistency in importance given to issues across different media.

But powerful videos and images can reduce such effects on the audiences’ mind

as they can emotionally or otherwise divert and absorb attention to the issue .

3. Dependency Theory

Propounded by Melvin De Fleur and Sandra Ball-Rokeach in 1975, this theory

has left behind the limited effects theory. According to this theory the power of a

mass medium is decided by how much the audiences are dependent on that
 medium. There were several assertions that the theory was made of:

1) The power or influence of mass media is composed of the relationship of

the social system of which the media are a part, the media’s role in that

system and the audience relationship to that media.

2) Whether the media is able to exercise influence to alter the beliefs and

behaviour of the audiences is decided by the degree of dependence of

audiences on that media.

3) In modern society, the dependence on media is at multiple levels like, to

understand the outside world, to find meaning and take meaningful actions

in a given social set up and to find fantasy and escape.

4) The degree of dependence on mass media increases with (i) greater number

of functions that we put a media system to serve (ii) when there is greater
 change and conflict in a society as the audience depends more on media to

make opinions or take decisions.

(B). PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

The work done on psychological aspects of communication was probably the

most important in the times of post-World War I. The bearings of the human

mind and the way media affect it, how communication influences the decisions

and actions that an individual makes and various nuances related to them were

studied under this. Some of the psychological theories covered under it include

attitudinal change theories, individual difference theory, persuasion and attitude

and social learning theory.

 2. Attitudinal Change Theory

Before you understand the processes of selectivity, it is important to understand

the related concept of dissonance. The dissonance theory argued that when an

individual confronts new information, one faces a mental discomfort. This could

be due to change in the comfort zone of an individual which may involve action,

decision making or may be purely situational.

Carl Hovland and his team of researchers tested the effectiveness of this theory

in 1949. The theory of attitudinal change suggested that in order to overcome

dissonance, the human mind on a conscious or subconscious level makes use of

three selective processes.

Selective exposure: This process explains that when an individual is

confronted with a situation leading to dissonance, in order to reduce it, one

exposes oneself or gives attention to only that information which is consistent

 with one’s attitudes and beliefs. One’s pre-existing experiences, perception

of reality, preferences, interests, values and beliefs lead to formation of one’s

attitude. These are the decisive factors for selection of information one

chooses to expose himself to.

For example, if you are asked to attend a session in a seminar or a talk or

lecture, you choose the subject depending on your area of interest. So you

are selective about what you expose yourself to.

2) Selective perception: After one has chosen what to expose one’s mind to,

all of the exposed information is not perceived meaningfully. The

interpretation of messages will take place selectively on the basis of message

consistency with one’s pre-existing attitudes and beliefs.

For example, in the talk or lecture that you attended, a number of points
 were made. But you did not think of each of them. You gave a further thought

to a few select ideas. This is called selective perception.

3) Selective retention: Of all that is perceived, the human mind is selective

about what it retains for long and the messages retained depend on how

consistent they are with one’s pre-existing attitudes and beliefs.

For example, a few days after the talk or lecture, only a few ideas remain with

you. The rest of the content you do not remember. This is called selective retention.

2. Reinforcement Theory

Joseph Klapper in his book ‘The Effects of Mass Communication’ (1960)

explained the reinforcement theory with selective processes as the basis, focusing

on limited effects of media. TV had not yet become a mass medium then.

According to this theory, mass media are not capable of bringing any change by

them, it depends on what Klapper called a nexus of mediating factors and

 influences like social and religious factors which primarily affect the audiences

and media play a supportive role. Whenever media have had direct effects, it has

been either because the mediating factors have not been operational or when the

mediating factors themselves have been impelling towards change. This theory

stressed that there are minimal situations where media can have direct effects on

the audience and whether media act as a contributory agent of bringing about

change or are directly responsible for it would depend on communication situation

or on different aspects of media and communication.

For example, when as a result of a certain political ideology, there are communal

riots at a place, the media are expected to report with ethical restraint and without

creating sensationalism, but the media cannot be expected to calm the situation

or take any fruitful action in such a situation. Another example can be when a
certain economic decision is taken the politics of the country tries to gain mileage

by playing on economic sentiments while gaining political mileage out of it. But

the media alone cannot change the way audiences respond to it or force a rational

mindset. It only reports the predominant perceptions of the influential class of

society, polity and religion which affect the audiences to varying degrees.

( C). CRITICAL AND CULTURAL THEORIES

Critical and cultural theories look at the process of culture production ‘critically’.

These theories analyse the social structures and practices that shape them. Culture

in terms of media terminology refers to various products of media, which could

include a photograph, language, a film or an article.

1 .Marxist Theories

Marxism is a broad ideology which in essence is economic. Some of you with a

commerce or arts background might be aware of it. In a nutshell it states that

 those who hold the means of production produce according to their needs .
are known as bourgeoisie. The proletariat consists of the workers who toil to

create the products and are still deprived of using them to their full potential.

Translating to the media scenario, the media messages are seen as the products

and media channels as means of production. The elite who own the media channels

are the current day bourgeoisie and the audiences are the proletariat. Media and

their messages constitute a part of the common culture, and their production is

the process of culture production.

The theory works in two stages: first is media ownership. People who own the

media channels will use media to serve their vested interests, consciously or

subconsciously. The popular is not always what the masses want, but rather what

the media elites think the masses want. You may have heard that in the context of

the current television news scenario in India, it is often debated and discussed
 that a channel is owned by a big business group or a minister or a political party

and as a result it gives a particular angle to the news stories to popularise their

ideology. Second is the audience interpretation. It is further dependent on modes

of access and reach for the audience segment. Studying this helps in understanding

who comprehends what and why.

Another view came from Stuart Hall, famous for his theory of encoding and

decoding. He argued that the media channels appear to reflect reality while they

are actually constructing it. Besides the mass media not only function in the

interests of the owners of production means, but they are also ‘a field of ideological

struggle’. Hall further explained the readings in three types:

Dominant reading: by the ones whose social context favours the preferred

reading
 Negotiated reading: by the ones who modulate the reading according to

their social set up

Oppositional reading: by the ones whose social positions are in opposition

with the reading

(D)MEDIA – SOCIETY THEORIES

1 Technological Determinism

The theory undermines the growth of culture or ownership patterns on content

creation, but focuses on the availability and use of technology in a given society.

This practically means that with mass production comes mass access and

consumption. Without the invention of the printing press, there would be no

mass consumption of books and neither would the literacy level of the society

increase.

The theory can be further divided:

 Hard determinism: This branch believes that technology is independent

from social concerns. Humans align themselves in accordance with

technology and we do not hold much choice in the manner how and why. A

social system whose structure allows a technology to grow will imbibe its

features and thus become more advanced than a structure which does not.

Soft determinism: This branch believes in greater flexibility. It opines that

technology could be the guiding force in human evolution, but it is not the

only factor. Also, cultures and traditions will vary how the technology is

adapted and applied in a society.

 2.Media and Public Sphere

The concept of public sphere was formulated sometime in the eighteenth century.

It is basically a space where people come together to discuss social problems

without any hierarchy. The discussion leads to suggesting a political action. The

discussion comprises all perspectives from various sections of society. Jurgen

Habermas theorised this space in 1991 as a space where public meets private.

3. Audience Theories

In the process of creating and disseminating media messages, discussing the role

of the audience is imperative. Who is the audience, how are they engaging with

the media messages, what messages are being preferred over others? The term,

‘audience theory,’ refers to any theory which explores the relationship between

the audience and the media text. It includes:

a) Hypodermic needle model: Where the text is received without negotiation

and accepted by the receiver. Just like a needle penetrates the skin and no

resistance can be offered, so do media messages affect the audience. This

was the first theory that tried to explain the effect of media messages on the

audience.

b) Two step flow: This theory talks about the opinion leaders, who usually are

people with high media literacy, who filter and diffuse the media content to

the masses. In this case, the power does not solely lie with the media, but

also with the opinion leaders in the society up to some extent.

c) Reception theory: This theory emphasizes the process of understanding of

texts. Underlining the heterogeneous cultural background of the people

constituting the audience, this theory propounds that the meaning derived

of a text will differ for all individuals.

 d) Active audience theory: A study by Zimmerman and Bauer revealed that

an audience also plays an active role in the production of media messages.

In times of social media and user generated content on sites like YouTube,
this theory does not need any further examples.
4. Feminist Media Theories

Feminist theories are an umbrella term for a group of theories that explore the

definition and representation of gender or concepts related to gender. The theorists

of this branch argue that almost all aspects of life can be deciphered in relation to

gender. They also opine that gender defines the division of power and

responsibilities in the society. The feminist theorists not only work to document

the inequality, but also to suggest and shift the balance to equilibrium.

Feminism has not remained as a mere bunch of theories but has manifested itself

as a social movement in recent times. While largely unorganised, three different

 versions have emerged prominently:

1) Liberal feminism: It has been the foundation of the movement, propagating

that women have been deprived of equal rights and have been oppressed as

a group in the public sphere.

2) Radical feminism: It believes that giving equal social rights won’t help until

we change our social structures. Rights are mere extensions to regularise

what the society believes to be just. Without changing the social fabric,

many women will not even be able to avail the rights.

3) Marxist feminism: The theorists belonging to this branch believe that the

means of production have always lied with men, thus depriving women,

social equity.

Feminist theorists largely study the following:

1) Representation of gender in media texts: While portrayal of women has

 been a subject of constant debate, at times men also suffer from the rigid

rules of patriarchy. This stems from the discussion that gender is not merely

polar, but fluid. One could be a male, and yet not confirm to the societal

regulations for the male gender completely.

2) Production of media texts: How many filmmakers are female? How do their

stories differ from the stories told by the male film makers? When the means

of production lie in the hands of the other, how does the product change?

3) Reading of the text: What are the different ways of consumption of media

texts based on the consumer’s gender? Why does a man like watching action

movies more than a woman?