Students

Chapter 1

Mass communication in our digital society: The changing media landscape

  1. Prevalence of mass communication
  2. What is mass communication?
  3. The media of mass communication
    1. Newspapers
    2. Magazines
    3. Radio
    4. Television
      1. Group Differences
      2. Time-of-Day Differences
      3. Video
    5. Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)
  4. Media applications, Chapter 1: Media literacy as a compass for the media landscape
  5. Overview of the Book

Chapter 2

Research and theory in mass communication: How are media studied scientifically?

  1. Media research frameworks
    1. Looking at content
    2. Looking at exposure
    3. Looking at effects                                      
      1. Behavioral effects
      2. Attitudinal effects
      3. Cognitive effects
      4. Physiological effects
      5. Caveat: the third-person effect
      6. The strength of effects
  2. Theories of mass communication
    1. Social cognitive theory (social learning, observational learning, modeling)
    2. Cultivation theory
    3. Uses and gratifications theory
    4. Agenda setting theory
    5. Schema (script) theory
    6. Limited capacity model
  3. Media applications, Chapter 2: Using media research to influence school curriculum
  4. Conclusion

Chapter 3

The Psychology of mass communication: Thinking about our media use

  1. Children’s distinctive use of media
    1. Mental effort and social interaction
    2. The medium and imagination
  2. Information extraction and memory in children and adults
  3. Cognitive components of the media experience
    1. Attention
      1. Multitasking
      2. Attending to changes
    2. Suspending disbelief
    3. Transportation
    4. Identification
  4. Media as perceived reality
    1. The reflection myth
    2. The study of perceived reality
    3. Parasocial media relationships
  5. Conclusion
  6. Media applications, Chapter 3: Using cognitive and developmental psychology to discuss TV with children

Chapter 4

Emotions and media: Music and sports as exemplars

  1. The emotional side of experiencing media
    1. What is emotion?
    2. Media as vicarious emotional experience
    3. Emotional expression and media
  2. Media and a few specific emotions
    1. Empathy
    2. Suspense
    3. Humor
  3. Mood management
  4. Emotional exemplar 1: Music
    1. The emotional uses and gratifications of popular music
    2. Content
    3. Effects
    4. Music as a memory cue
  5. Emotional exemplar 2: Sports
    1. How TV changed sports
      1. The telegenic factor
      2. Institutional changes
      3. The Olympics and TV
        1. TV reveals (or creates?) an emotional side to the Olympics
    2. The psychology and emotion underlying sports media consumption
      1. Sports media consumption as a social event
      2. Sports violence
      3. Hero worship
      4. Emotional benefits
  6. Conclusion
  7. Media applications, Chapter 4: Bias in sports coverage
    1. Gender roles and Bias
    2. Racial bias

Chapter 5

Media portrayals of groups: Distorted social mirrors

  1. Portrayals of the sexes
    1. The view of women
      1. Numbers
      2. Physical appearance
        1. Don’t look old!
        2. Don’t get fat!
        3. Placement of women’s bodies in advertising
        4. Body image and media
      3. Concerns of women
      4. Women and Violence
    2. The view of men
      1. Emotionless beings
      2. Physical appearance
      3. Male friendships
      4. Domestic roles
    3. Some overall effects of media gender stereotyping
  2. Families
    1. Family composition and portrayals
    2. Mom as superwoman
    3. Dad as buffoon
    4. Family solidarity
    5. The influence of media on family life
  3. Portrayals of minorities
    1. The four stages of minority portrayals
    2. African Americans
      1. Depictions of African Americans
        1. Animated portrayals of African Americans
        2. News portrayals of African Americans
      2. Some additional effects of African American portrayals
      3. Black viewers
    3. Latinos
    4. Native Americans
    5. Asian Americans
    6. Arabs and Arab Americans
    7. Sexual minorities
    8. Older adults
    9. Persons with physical or psychological disabilities and disorders
      1. Physical disabilities
      2. Psychological disorders
  4. Portrayals of people of faith and religion
    1. Religion in entertainment
    2. Religion in the news
    3. Religious programming
    4. Effects of television on religion
  5. Portrayals of occupations
    1. Lawyers, judges, and courtroom trials
    2. Psychologists and psychiatrists
    3. Farmers and rural life
    4. College students
  6. Conclusion: So what if they’re stereotyped?
  7. Media applications, Chapter 5: Responding to media stereotypes
    1. Dealing with stereotypes in the home
    2. Influencing the media

Chapter 6

Advertising: Baiting, catching, and reeling us in

  1. Historical background
  2. Types of ads
  3. Psychological appeals in advertising
    1. Informational appeals
    2. Emotional appeals
    3. Patriotic appeals
    4. Fear appeals
    5. Achievement, success, and power appeals
    6. Humorous appeals
    7. Testimonials (product endorsements)
  4. Can appeals be unethical?
  5. A theoretical model
  6. Cognition and advertising: Ads as information to be processed
    1. Stages of processing
      1. Memory for ads
        1. Violent media, advertising, and memory
        2. A constructionist framework for understanding and remembering advertising
  7. Deceptive advertising
    1. True-but-deceptive ads
    2. Studying deception scientifically
    3. Sex and subliminal advertising
      1. Classical conditioning
      2. Subliminal advertising
        1. Subliminal existence vs. behavioral effect
  8. Advertising to Children
    1. Differentiating ads and programs
      1. Disclaimers
      2. Television, toymakers, gender, and marketing
    2. Tobacco advertising and role modeling
  9. Advertising in newer and unexpected places
    1. High-tech billboards
    2. Product placements
    3. Classrooms and schools
    4. Advertising online
    5. Prescription drug advertising
  10. Conclusion
  11. Media applications, Chapter 6: Addressing advertisers

Chapter 7

News: Setting an agenda about the world

  1. Television news history and trends
    1. Parasocial TV news relationships
  2. Internet news trends
  3. What is news?
    1. Primary characteristics of a newsworthy event
      1. Personalization
      2. Drama and conflict
      3. Action
      4. Novelty and deviance
      5. Link to ongoing themes
    2. Secondary characteristics of a newsworthy event
      1. Inoffensiveness
      2. Credibility
      3. Sound bites
      4. The local hook
  4. News media as creating a perceived reality
    1. Fake news
      1. Why did fake news emerge?
      2. How is fake news created?
      3. Who consumes fake news?
      4. What can be done about fake news?
    2. Manipulation of news
      1. Direct censorship
      2. Intimidation
      3. Blocking access
      4. Indirect censorship
      5. Manipulation by timing
      6. Media self-censorship
      7. Consolidation of news-gathering organizations
      8. “Disguising” the news as entertainment
        1. News and comedy shows
        2. The docudrama: Fact or fiction?
  5. Effects of news coverage
    1. The impact of different points of view
    2. Memory for the news
    3. Effect of news on attributions and decision making
    4. Responses to crime coverage in media
      1. How news distorts the reporting of dangers
      2. Effects of sensationalized reporting
        1. TV news and crime fears
        2. Counteracting fear
        3. Do we actually like sensational reports?
    5. How media affect governmental policy
      1. Compelling images
      2. The Vietnam War
      3. Iraq and Afghanistan
      4. Terrorism
  6. Conclusion: News and perceived reality
  7. Media applications, Chapter 7: Understanding research findings reported in the media

Chapter 8

Politics: Using news and advertising to win elections

  1. Closing the distance between the candidate and the public
  2. Cognitive processing of political media
  3. Political behavior on the internet
    1. Social media
  4. News coverage of politics and political campaigns
    1. What is heavily covered?
    2. What is lightly covered?
    3. Interpretation by the press
    4. Political candidate debates
      1. Televised debate coverage
        1. Effects on viewers
  5. Candidates’ use of news media
    1. Setting the agenda
    2. Framing the candidates
      1. The unstable rebel and the frail criminal
      2. The weeping woman and the militant black couple
      3. Pinocchio and Dumbo
      4. Changing frames
    3. Creating pseudo-events
    4. Dealing with attacks from the opponent
    5. The need to be taken seriously
  6. Case study: Press coverage of the 2000 U.S. Presidential election
    1. Election night coverage
    2. Premature overconfident projections
    3. Framing the electoral uncertainty
  7. Political advertising
    1. Purposes
      1. Name recognition
      2. Agenda setting
      3. Image building
      4. Issue exposition
      5. Fund raising
    2. Appeals in political advertising
    3. Negative advertising
    4. Effects of political advertising
  8. Conclusion
  9. Media applications, Chapter 8: Can we moderate our political attitudes through our media choices?
    1. Has our polarized media affected TV’s moderation effect?
    2. What can individual media consumers do?
      1. Crosscutting media

Chapter 9

Violence: Media mayhem matters

  1. Effects of media violence
    1. Fear
      1. Fear-inducing images
      2. Responses to fear
      3. Fearful media memories
      4. Brain correlates
    2. Modeling
      1. How modeling works
      2. Basic social learning and field research
    3. Sensitization
      1. The role of empathy on sensitization
      2. Sensitization and graphic violence
    4. Desensitization
      1. How desensitization works
      2. Consequences of desensitization
    5. Cultivation
  2. Important interactive factors
    1. Model attributes
    2. Reinforcement and justification of violence
    3. Perceived reality
    4. Personality characteristics of the viewer
    5. Viewer cognitions
    6. Arousal
    7. Age and gender
    8. Context of violence
  3. Catharsis
  4. Who watches media violence and why?
    1. Social factors
    2. Individual differences
  5. Longitudinal studies
  6. Violent video games
    1. Violent video game effects
      1. Violent video games and the brain: fMRI research
      2. Meta-analyses on violent video game effects
  7. Putting this all together: Making sense of the body of research on violent media
    1. Research versus the public perception
      1. Media factors
      2. Psychological factors
  8. Conclusion
  9. Media applications, Chapter 9: Helping children deal with violent media
    1. Institutional solutions
      1. The V-chip
      2. Television content ratings
    2. Mediation and media literacy training
      1. Classroom training
      2. Personality development
      3. Parental mediation

Chapter 10

Sex: Is tuning in turning us on? Sexuality through a media lens

  1. The nature of sex in media
    1. Definitional issues
      1. Defining sexual violence
      2. History of sex in media
  2. Media sex today
  3. Effects of viewing media sex
    1. Arousal
    2. Attitudes and values
      1. Sexual details in the news
      2. Casual sex
      3. Extramarital sex
      4. STI education and birth control
      5. Comedic vs. serious sex
      6. Attitudes toward women
      7. Attitudes toward different sex acts
    3. Behavioral and cognitive effects
      1. Teaching new behaviors
      2. Disinhibition of known behaviors
      3. Sex crimes
      4. Socialization of adolescent behavior
      5. Catharsis
      6. Sexting
      7. Interference with cognitive processing
      8. Positive socialization effects
  4. Context of sexuality
  5. Sexual violence
    1. Erotica as stimulator of aggression
    2. How the woman is portrayed
    3. Individual differences in male viewers
    4. Sexual violence: Conclusions
    5. Slasher films
      1. Sex + violence in mainstream movies
      2. Effects of viewing slasher films
      3. Slasher films: Conclusions
    6. Press coverage of sexually violent crimes
  6. Media applications, Chapter 10: Counteracting negative effects of sexual media
    1. Mitigating the negative effects of sexual violence

Chapter 11

Socially positive media: Teaching good things to children (and the rest of us)

  1. Prosocial children’s television
    1. Sesame Street
      1. What the show is like
      2. Effects of watching Sesame Street
      3. Other CTW/Sesame workshop projects
    2. Commercial TV contributions
    3. Science shows for children
    4. International contributions
    5. Channel One
    6. Teen programs
    7. Children’s prosocial learning from adult television
  2. Media use in social marketing
    1. Obstacles to social marketing
    2. Considering the audience
    3. Positive effects of social marketing
    4. Public health media campaigns
      1. Multiple channels: Cardiac risk reduction projects
      2. HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns
  3. Entertainment-Education (E-E) media
    1. Sample E-E programs
      1. Televisa’s descendants
      2. Africa
        1. Soul City
        2. Shuga
      3. India
    2. Conclusions
    3. E-E in the United States
    4. E-E or social marketing?
  4. Conclusion
  5. Media applications, Chapter 11: Harnessing media technology to instigate change

Chapter 1

  1. Define and discuss the “mass” and the “communication” elements of mass communications.
  2. What are the two basic types of mass media? Discuss the basic requirements of each. Give at least two examples of each.
  3. Based on the figures given in the text, discuss why television might be considered the most influential form of media in history.
  4. Briefly discuss how Computer-Mediated Communication has affected media use of television, radio, newspapers, and magazines.
  5. Discuss the five qualities of Computer-Mediated Communication. How could each of these elements potentially affect the cognitive processing of mass communication?
  6. What are the two broad categories of intended outcomes that media literacy interventions can have? Give an example of each.

Chapter 2

  1. Why is it important to look at content, exposure, and effects of media? What are the limitations of each approach?
  2. What are the four general types of effects that media can have? Give two examples of each.
  3. What is the Third-Person Effect and how is it important to keep in mind as we think about the effects of media?
  4. Explain why hedonic and eudaimonic factors may be important components for entertainment.
  5. Briefly discuss how framing can be used to set an agenda.
  6. What is the basic approach of each of the six theories of mass communication discussed in the chapter?

Chapter 3

  1. How do children process media differently from adults? What should parents keep in mind when trying to understand how their young children process media?
  2. Name each of the four cognitive components of the media experience and give an example of how that might operate as someone watches a movie or TV.
  3. What factors can determine the amount of attention used when multitasking?  What is two-screen viewing?
  4. Discuss change and inattentional blindness and how it can benefit filmed entertainment.
  5. What is the common belief that media only reflect the reality that is out there in the world? What is wrong with this belief about media?
  6. What are two levels at which media may be “real” for the consumer? Give an example of each.

Chapter 4

  1. Name the two emotional components of the media experience and give an example of how that might operate as someone watches a movie or TV.
  2. Describe three emotions often tied to consuming media and provide an example of each.
  3. Explain the concept of catharsis in relation to understanding media humor.
  4. Discuss how different age and gender groups can have varied interpretations of music content.
  5. How might different music lyrics elicit different forms of behaviors? What factors could contribute to having a positive or negative reaction towards music lyrics.
  6. Briefly discuss how television has influenced sports to undergo several visual and institutional changes.
  7. What kind emotional benefits and responses can be seen through the consumption of sports media?

Chapter 5

  1. Discuss at least one way that media portrayals of females may actually be harmful to females who encounter such portrayals.
  2. Name and briefly describe the four stages of minority portrayals in the media.  Using African Americans as an example, give actual media examples (e.g., names of TV shows and characters) of each of these stages.
  3. Other than African Americans, name an ethnic minority group that has been misrepresented in the media and give a real example (e.g., name a TV show or movie) that has perpetuated this misrepresentation.
  4. Of the groups discussed in the textbook, which do you think has been portrayed most inaccurately by the media?  Why do you feel this way?  Support your opinion with real examples and/or research cited in your textbook.
  5. Your textbook describes portrayals of several occupations.  Name one of these occupations and discuss how the media tends to portray people who have that occupation.
  6. In your own experiences with media, which groups do you think have been most defined for you by the media?  Explain.
  7. Discuss why females are commonly underrepresented in different forms media, and how aspects concerning physical appearance can have an effect.
  8. Describe how males are portrayed emotionally and physically in media. How are men shown when handling friendships and domestic roles?
  9. Briefly discuss the commonly used television portrayals of mothers as superwoman and fathers as buffoons.
  10. Discuss how people of faith are often portrayed in media, and why producers may choose to avoid religious themes.
  11. How are psychologists and psychiatrists portrayed in entertainment media? Provide an example of how this could effect someone’s perspective on psychotherapy?

Chapter 6

  1. Discuss why an ad may be used for purposes other than persuading someone to buy a product?
  2. How might the context in which an ad appears affect how it’s processed and remembered?
  3. Briefly discuss how true-but-deceptive ads operate and describe a type of linguistic construction.
  4. Is there conclusive evidence that subliminal stimuli can have an effect on behavior? Explain.
  5. Discuss how the relationship between television and toys can be used to produce marketing segmentation by gender.
  6. In what ways has advertising coverage spread in response to the efforts of screening technology?
  7. What is the difference between primary, selective, and service advertising?  Give an example (real or hypothetical) of each.
  8. Give an example (real or hypothetical) of each of these: elliptical comparison, implied causation, hedge words, implied slur on the competition, misuse/abuse of statistics.
  9. Name (or describe) four characteristics that are common to most TV commercials targeted at children.
  10. Do you believe advertising to children is ethical?  Explain your opinion.
  11. What are disclaimers?  Give an example (real or hypothetical) of a disclaimer that might be used in a TV commercial aimed at children.  Discuss how this disclaimer might be deceptive to some children.
  12. What is product placement?  Give an example (real or hypothetical) of product placement that might be used in a movie.  Do you think that product placement is ethical?  Explain/defend your position.

Chapter 7

  1. What are the primary and secondary characteristics of a newsworthy event? Give an example of a news story high in each one.  Why do you think stories higher in more of these characteristics receive more media coverage?
  2. How is fake news defined? How did it emerge? Who consumes fake news?
  3. How can media be censored or altered, short of actual censorship?  Give several examples.
  4. How can coverage of local crime affect what people are afraid of? What are some negative effects of excessive fear?  What are some threats we perhaps should worry more about?
  5. How can the news coverage of wars affect public support of that war? What is the conventional wisdom about the effects of media coverage of the Vietnam War and why is it most likely not accurate? How has this belief affected coverage of later wars?

Chapter 8

  1. What aspects of a political campaign receive relatively heavy coverage and what aspects receive lighter coverage? Do you think these emphases reflect actual importance to the voter? Why or why not?
  2. How have electronic media brought political candidates’ lives into the public realm in a way they never had been previously? Do you see this as good or bad?
  3. How can a political candidate successfully use the news media to get free positive coverage of him/her?
  4. Give an example of how candidates were framed in a recent U.S. presidential election.
  5. How did the media coverage of the undecided 2000 Presidential election affect an emerging consensus and the ultimate outcome? In the future, how should we decide the winner in elections that are, statistically, literally too close to call?
  6. What are the purposes of political advertising? What are its effects?

Chapter 9

  1. What is desensitization? How can this concept be applied to media violence? Does research support the concept of media violence leading to desensitization? Explain.
  2. Briefly compare and contrast the concepts of sensitization and desensitization as related to media violence consumption.
  3. Name and briefly describe three interactive factors that tend to make people likely to model media violence.
  4. What is catharsis? How does it apply to the concept of media violence?
  5. How can the personality trait of sensation seeking relate to the increased consumption of violent media?
  6. How might violent video games effect a person’s behavior? Explain.
  7. Based on the reading, discuss two ways of helping children cope with media violence.

Chapter 10

  1. How has the concept of desensitization been applied to sexually explicit media?
  2. What is sexual violence? Give an example (real or hypothetical) of a media depiction of sexual violence.
  3. Explain why defining “pornography” can be problematic.
  4. Discuss how media depictions of sex may affect viewers’ perceptions of women.
  5. What is catharsis and how has the concept been applied to sexually explicit media?
  6. Discuss the research on sexual violence depictions of women “enjoying” being assaulted.
  7. Discuss the “virgin” vs. “vamp” depictions of sexual crime victims by the news media.

Chapter 11

  1. What has research shown with regard to the short-term and long-term benefits to children who watch Sesame Street?
  2. Discuss the possible ethical implications of students watching Channel One.
  3. What is social marketing? Give an example.
  4. Discuss why Entertainment-Education may be more effective in developing countries than in nations like the United States.
  5. Discuss possible effects of social marketing.

Chapter 1

Common Sense Media:
www.commonsensemedia.org/
Center for Media Literacy:
www.medialit.org/
Federal Communications Commission:
www.fcc.gov/
National Association of Broadcasters:
www.nab.org/
Motion Picture Association of America:
www.mpaa.org/
Pew Internet and American Life Project:
www.pewinternet.org/

Chapter 2

Cognitive Dissonance:
www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media:
www.seejane.org/
The Nielsen Company:
www.nielsen.com/us/en.html
Reefer Madness (full movie):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEx0Hvojwm4
Social Cognitive Theory:
www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Chapter 4

Timeline of Ivory Coast politics and music:
www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/467423/Ivory-Coast-MusicPolitics/
Radio Sawa streaming:
www.liveonlineradio.net/arabic/radio-sawa.htm

Chapter 5

Killing Us Softly 4 (advertising and women) trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_493134379&feature=iv&src_vid=PTlmho_RovY&v=jWKXit_3rpQ
Some historical Aunt Jemima depictions:
www.gawker.com/397129/just-how-racist-was-aunt-jemima
Resources for responding to media depictions of groups, especially women:
www.jeankilbourne.com/resources/
TV tropes:
www.tvtropes.org/

Chapter 6

Federal Trade Commission:
www.ftc.gov/
Ad Council:
www.adcouncil.org/
Music backmasking:
www.jeffmilner.com/backmasking/

Chapter 8

John Oliver’s ads targeting President Trump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i296CJMOZpk

Some political ads from the 2017 Virginia governor’s race:
www.theroot.com/va-governor-s-race-conservatives-shed-white-tears-aft-1820006787

Bob Graham’s 100 Workdays
www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/bobgraham/

Chapter 9

Entertainment Software Ratings Board description of video game ratings:
www.esrb.org/
Television Content Ratings System:
www.tvguidelines.org/ratings.htm
How to Set Parental Controls on Streaming Devices:
www.lifewire.com/set-parental-controls-on-streaming-devices-4154531
Parental Controls on Netflix and YouTube:
www.ebuyer.com/blog/2017/01/how-to-set-up-parental-controls-on-youtube-and-netflix/

Chapter 11

Hollywood, Health, and Society:
www.hollywoodhealthandsociety.org/about-us/overview

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources for Entertainment Writers:
www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/ToolsTemplates/EntertainmentEd/

Some international versions of Sesame Street:
www.muppet.wikia.com/wiki/International_Sesame_Street