Two-step flow

1. Two-step flow Cognitive Dissonance Cultivation Theory Tajfel- Social Identity Theory Hypodermic Syringe Theory Implicit Personality Theory Cohen’s Moral Panics Tessa Perkins- Qualifications of Stereotypes Reception Theory Dominant ideology Mise-en-scene Uses and gratifications

2. -Cultivation theory is a social theory which examines the long-term effects of television. "The primary proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend “living” in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social reality portrayed on television." -Two-step- Also known as the Multistep Flow Model is a theory based on a 1940s study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders. The majority of people receive much of their information and are influenced by the media secondhand, through the personal influence of opinion leaders. -Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions (e.g., ideas, beliefs, values, emotional reactions) simultaneously. In a state of dissonance, people may feel surprise, dread, guilt, anger, or embarrassment. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychologyproposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements. -Social Identity Theory- people have an inbuilt tendency to categorize themselves into one or more "ingroups", building a part of their identity on the basis of membership of that group and enforcing boundaries with other groups. Social identity theory suggests that people identify with groups in such a way as to maximize positive distinctiveness; groups offer both identity(they tell us who we are) and self-esteem (they make us feel good about ourselves). The theory of social identity has had a very substantial impact on many areas of social psychology, including group dynamics, intergroup relations, prejudice and stereotyping, and organizational psychology. The hypodermic syringe theoryis a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The model is rooted in 1930s behaviourism and is largely considered obsolete today. Implicit personality theory (IPA) concerns the general expectations that we build about a person after we know something of their central traits. For example, when one believes that a happy person is also friendly, or that quiet people are shy. Individuals hold a network of assumptions that are based around relationships among various traits, and behaviours. Individuals who identify that there is one particular trait associated with someone will also assume that the individual possesses other character traits, which may or may not be true. One example might be someone who is considered unpredictable is also dangerous or someone who speaks slowly is slow-witted.

3. A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a populationabout an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972) and credited as creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests." Those who start the panic when they fear a threat to prevailing social or culturalvalues are known by researchers as "moral entrepreneurs," while people who supposedly threaten the social order have been described as "folk devils." Reception Theory.-this approach to textual analysis focuses on the scope for negotiation and opposition on the part of the audience. This means that a "text"—be it a book, movie, or other creative work—is not simply passively accepted by the audience, but that the reader / viewer interprets the meanings of the text based on their individual cultural background and life experiences. In essence, the meaning of a text is not inherent within the text itself, but is created within the relationship between the text and the reader. A basic acceptance of the meaning of a specific text tends to occur when a group of readers have a shared cultural background and interpret the text in similar ways. It is likely that the less shared heritage a reader has with the artist, the less he/she will be able to recognize the artist's intended meaning, and it follows that if two readers have vastly different cultural and personal experiences, their reading of a text will vary greatly. Different readingsare- ‘dominant’ through ‘negotiated’, to ‘oppositional’ Tessa Perkinsbelieved that stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenged. The dominant ideology, is the set of common values and beliefs shared by most people in a given society, framing how the majority think about a range of topics. The dominant ideology is understood to reflect, or serve, the interests of the dominant class in that society - if the dominant ideology conflicted with the legitimacy of the dominant class's rule, then society would have to be in a state of war with itself, with the dominant class appearing as an illegitimate occupation. This theory is summarized in the slogan: The dominant ideology is the ideology of the dominant class. Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why people actively seek out specific media outlets and content for gratification purposes. The theory discusses how users proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion .  It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfil specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.

4. Uses and Gratifications • Researchers Blulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their own in 1974, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes (ie uses and gratifications): • Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine. • Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, eg) substituting soap operas for family life • Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts • Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living eg) weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains Representation is not an easy concept to define in a simplistic way. It can have a number of different senses. Dyer, suggests 4 variations; • A selective Re-presentation of reality. This is obvious in newspapers, where the form is completely different from the events reported, but less so in television serials, which often succeed in creating the illusion of a transparent window on the world with a similar time frame and rhythm to our own. • A typical or representation of reality Media often use stereotypes to typify particular social groups as a form of shorthand. i.e. gender,race,age • The process of speaking on behalf of or as a representative of a particular position. Whose views are being put forward in particular messages? Whose voices are being heard. • The meanings which media messages represent for audiences. What do readers bring to messages which affects how they interpret them? What actual sense is made when particular messages are understand?