SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
CHAPTER 15
Science and the Mass Media
Section 1: Science as a Social Institution
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Science as a Social Institution
Objectives:
 Identify factors that have contributed to the
institutionalization of science.
 Explain how the norms of scientific research
differ from the realities of scientific research.
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Science as a Social Institution
The Institution of Science
 Science emerged as a recognizable system of
study in Greece during the 300s B.C. and was
reborn in Europe in the 1300s as a result of the
following factors:
 The scientific revolution emerged in the 1500s
 Industrialization led to the emergence of modern
science in the late 1800s and early 1900s
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 1: Science as a Social Institution
Norms and Realities of Science
 NORMS:
Universalism, organized skepticism,
communalism, disinterestedness
 REALITIES:
Fraud, competition, Matthew effect,
conflicting views of reality
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
Objectives:
 Trace the major developments in the history of
mass media, and identify the types of mass
media in the United States.
 Explain how the sociological perspectives of
mass media differ.
 Discuss some contemporary mass-media
issues.
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
History of Mass Media
 Writing and Paper – a written language was
needed to record business and other
transactions. Paper was developed some time
between 3100 and 2500 B.C.
 Printing Press – during the 1450s Johannes
Gutenberg developed moveable type
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
History of Mass Media
(continued)
 The Industrial Age – with rising standards of
education and increasing requirements for
factory work and life in the city, more people
learned to read and write
 The Computer and the Information Society –
the digital computer completely transformed
the way people store and access information
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
Types of Mass Media
 Print Media –include newspapers, magazines,
and books
 Audio Media – sound recordings and radio
 Visual Media – movies, television,
videocassettes, and DVDs
 Online Media – Internet
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
Sociological Perspectives of Mass Media
 The Functionalist Perspective – focuses on the
ways in which mass media help to preserve
social stability
 The Conflict Perspective – focuses on how
mass media serve to maintain the existing
social order
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
SOCIOLOGY THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Section 2: Mass Media as a Social Institution
Contemporary Mass Media Issues
 Influence on children
 Effect on civic and social life
 Power in shaping public opinion
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HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON