Media and Society Lecture (Week 4) Presented by Dr. Inas Hussein Table of contents 01 02 What is Public Opinion Political Ideology 03 ELM Model 04 Agenda Setting and News Framing 05 Case Study 01 What is Public Opinion Today we are going to talk about how the media shape the public opinion. First let’s define what the public opinion is! This is when a group reaches a consensus (agreement) about issues of political nature after a discussion guided by information. Public opinion refers to the collective attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of a population on issues or events at a given time. It is shaped by social, cultural, political, and media influences. Public opinion can influence policy-making, elections, and societal behavior. Usually political ideology gives birth to knowledgeable public opinion. 02 Political Ideology Political ideology is a set of general principles about how society should function including views on government roles, freedoms, and responsibilities. Media channels can either reinforce ideological views or shift opinions. People tend to align with ideologically consistent media (e.g., conservative audiences gravitating to Fox News, liberals to MSNBC). Confirmation Bias: Audiences prefer information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs, further polarizing public opinion. For researchers, this area is important in media studies because they wanted to know how persuasion happens. This led to the formation of the ELM model. 03 ELM Model The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo in the 1980s is a general theory of persuasion or attitude change. Cognition The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. The adjective which comes from it is “cognitive”. I am trying to persuade you. This is Persuasive communication Are you motivated to process? This is relevant to you, need for cognition (acquire knowledge), personal responsibility etc. Ability to process This includes distraction; prior knowledge; message clarity; etc. • • Elaboration refers to the extent to which people think carefully and critically about persuasive messages. Likelihood refers to the probability that a person will engage in this deeper cognitive processing. The name ELM captures the idea that not everyone will elaborate on a message with the same intensity—whether someone thinks deeply depends on their motivation and ability. In order to get to a full understanding of the ELM, some concepts need to be explained such as pseudo-opinion vs informed, and elites, and nonelites. Informed public opinion is the thoughtful, rationally-based opinion formed after consideration and discussion with informed others. Public pseudoopinions, on the other hand, are opinions expressed by various publics who do not have a correct information base, and the information coming from dialogue and debates. The distinction between elites and the nonelites is essential because it indicates their relative position in regards to dealing with messages. For elites, information from the media becomes just one of many sources of data, whereas for the nonelites, media coverage is their only source of information. All these distinctions are essential in understanding how persuasion happens for the public, and how their opinion gets to be shaped. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) explains how people are persuaded in two ways: Central Route: - Used when people are interested and motivated. - They focus on facts, logic, and the quality of the message. - Leads to long-lasting attitude change (e.g., deciding to eat healthy after reading research). Peripheral Route: - Used when people are less interested or distracted. - They rely on surface cues like emotions, celebrity endorsements, or visuals. - Leads to temporary attitude change (e.g., buying a product just because it’s advertised by a famous actor). 04 Expressions Agenda setting: This is a theory about the news media’s power to structure the importance of political issues in the public’s mind (which is more important & less important) News framing: This means that how the news is presented also affects what people think about issues, people, and events. 05 Case Study Case Study: COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns (2020-2021) Governments and health organizations launched vaccination campaigns to encourage public uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaigns utilized both central and peripheral routes to persuade diverse audiences. Application of ELM Central Route of Persuasion: 1. Provided scientific data on vaccine safety and efficacy. 2. Experts explained the importance of vaccination, engaging informed audiences. Peripheral Route of Persuasion: 1. Used celebrities and influencers to promote vaccines through catchy slogans (e.g., “Get the Shot, Save Lives”). 2. Visual appeals fostered emotional engagement, reaching less motivated individuals. Pseudo-Opinions vs. Informed Opinions Informed Opinions: Those who sought credible information formed stable views supporting vaccination. Pseudo-Opinions: Others based their views on misinformation or social media trends, leading to less stable opinions. Takeaways • • Vaccination campaigns effectively combined the central route (scientific facts) for critical thinkers and the peripheral route (emotional messaging) to engage broader audiences. The ELM model illustrates the need to tailor communication strategies based on audience motivation and engagement levels. I. Decide whether the following statements are (True) or (False): 1. Public opinion is mostly not related to matters of political nature. ( ) 2. Media channels can reinforce ideological views or shift opinions . ( ) 3. Audiences prefer information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs, further polarizing public opinion. ( ) 4. The ELM model stands for the Elaboration Lately Model. ( ) 5. Pseudo-opinions are shaped based on an incorrect information base. ( ) 6. The nonelites get their information from multiple sources. ( ) 7. News framing involves an understanding of how the public opinion is shaped based on how the news about issues, events, and people are presented. ( ) 8. When media tell you what issues are more important than others, this is "agenda setting“. ( ) II. Complete the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Pubic opinion can be defined as ………………………………………………… Public opinion can shape …………………, ………………….and ……………………………. Cognition can be defined as ……………………………………………………. In the ELM model, ……………... refers to the extent to which people think carefully and critically about persuasive messages. ……………….. refers to the probability that a person will engage in this deeper cognitive processing. ………………………. is a theory about the news media’s power to structure the importance of political issues in the public’s mind ……………………means that how the news is presented also affects what people think about issues, people, and events. 06 Summary Public opinion: collective attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of a population on issues or events at a given time, shaped by social, cultural, political, and media influences and can influence policy-making, elections, and societal behavior. Political ideology: a set of general principles about how society should function including views on government roles, freedoms, and responsibilities. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): Cognition: The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. • Elaboration refers to the extent to which people think carefully and critically about persuasive messages. • Likelihood refers to the probability that a person will engage in this deeper cognitive processing. Central Route: Used when people are interested and motivated. They focus on facts, logic, and the quality of the message leading to long-lasting attitude change. Peripheral Route: Used when people are less interested or distracted. They rely on surface cues like emotions, celebrity endorsements, or visuals leading to temporary attitude change. Informed public opinion: the thoughtful, rationally based opinion formed after consideration and discussion with informed others. Public pseudo-opinions are opinions expressed by various publics who do not have a correct information base, and the information coming from dialogue and debates. For elites, information from the media becomes just one of many sources of data, For the nonelites, media coverage is their only source of information. Agenda setting: a theory about the news media’s power to structure the importance of political issues in the public’s mind. News framing: how the news is presented also affects what people think about issues, people, and events.
