Reinforcement and Schema Theories

Reinforcement Theory:

• All people posses mental collections (Schema's) of possible behaviors that can be used in carious situations
• If they come into contact with meditated content that coincides, that schema is reinforced
• The mental schema then becomes increasing entrenched

Reinforcement is increased if:
-The meditated violence is rewarded
-Occurs within a reinforcing context
-The violent character is glamours
-The violent character is a role model
-The violent character is similar to the viewer
-If violence is seen as entertaining

Schema Theory:

• Everyone has an organized knowledge of how to think about something or how to act in a certain situation
• Some people create schemas from what they see on television or on the internet

Uses and Gratifications Theory and Agenda-Setting Theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory:

• Audiences play an active role in choosing the media they will be subjected to and will be gratified by this media
• This theory argues that audiences aren't passive and will choose media that will benefit them

Agenda-Setting Theory:

• The press may not be successful in telling people what to think, but it's very successful in telling people what to think about.
• Theory is that news media helps set the public agenda by displaying certain stories more often than others

- Shaw and McCombs 1st tested this theory in the 1968 Election; Nixon vs. Humphry

YOUTUBE VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bTqsbDaleU 

SocializationTheory

Socialization Theory:

• Television teaches us about our world and where we fit in it
• It can be seen as a person's introduction into our social life. 
• This theory can be helpful to children or those in a culture other than their own to see how it is socially acceptable to act. 

Modeling Theory and Cultivation Theory

Modeling Theory: (Social Learning)

• An individual perceives a form a behavior described or portrayed by a character in media content
• The individual judges this behavior to be attractive and potentially useful for coping with some personal situatuion
• The reproduced behavior proves useful or effective in coping with the situation thus, rewarding the individual
• With model use, the behavior becomes habitual for that situation
• Copycat effect - you do what you see

-Centers for disease control and prevention recommendations- 1994
They began telling news media how to portray news media about suicide to prevent copy cat

 Cultivation Theory:

Reality -> News -> Perceived Reality

• People create their vision of reality based upon what they see in TV
• News leads us to believe that crime happening is more than it truly is

Desensitation vs. Sensitization Theories

Desensitization Theory:

• Over time media can reduce a persons sensitivity to a certain subject

Sensitization Theory: 

• Over time more people will become more sensitive to the subject

YOUTUBE VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2QUIXA-QBE&feature=player_embedded

Disinhibition Theory

Disinhibition Theory:

• Throughout our lives we have acquired a set of moral and personal ethics
• Over time if exposed to a behavior that was considered wrong but continually see it portrayed as okay, you will eventually believe it is okay
• Once we lose our inhibitions, we become more likely to engage in these behaviors

Theories of Uniform Influences and Theories of Selectives Influences

Theories of Uniform Influence: (Direct)

•  Members of society, although products of different social situations all have an essentially similar human nature and are alike in terms of emotions and outlook
• The media present messages to the members of the mass society who perceive them more or less uniformly
• Such messages are stimuli that influence the individuals emotions and sentiments strongly
• The stimuli lead individuals to respond in a somewhat uniform manner, creating changes in those actions that are like those change in other people.
• Also known as the Magic Bullet

Research Team at Colombia University : Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelso, Hazel Gaudet
- They disregarded many of the Theories of Uniform Effects

Theories of Selective Influences: (Indirect)

• Media presents ideas and then they are received and interpreted by society
• Changes amoungst society because each person has a very unique and powerful beliefes, attitudes, values, and needs. 
• Thus, effects of the media are not uniform powerful or direct
• Society has the choice to respond or not to respond to media

Research: Joseph Klapper