Chapter 10
Mass Communication
Chapter Summary
Mass communication is the delivery of messages to the general public through media messages.
In this chapter the various forms of mass media, media effects theories, and additional mass
media theories are introduced.
Types of Mass Communication
Mass communication is delivered through various mediums, including print, broadcast and
social, with a particular emphasis on how these messages affect the opinion and behavior of the
audiences.
Media Effects Theories
Since the 1920s and with the growing popularity of the mass media in US, along with the growth
of propaganda, researchers became interested in this new line of research, and early
communication theories such as the hypodermic and magic bullet theories were proposed to
explain the effects of media on society and the audience. However, these theories assumed the
audience to be passive receivers of messages and ignored their abilities to learn and choose, and
did not consider the role of external factors in the process of mass communication.
Understanding Communication Theory, by Stephen Croucher
© Taylor & Francis 2015
Social Cognitive Theory and Uses and Gratifications Theory
Taking into consideration the relationship between learning about the surrounding world and the
messages from the media paved the way for theories such as social cognitive theory. Resulting
from the social learning theory, social cognitive theory describes the formation and development
of certain behaviors and behavioral intervention strategies among individuals. Various
environmental, social, and demographic elements can affect behavior. Observational learning is
another effective element in this theory, which explains the process of learning from observing a
model such a family member or friends and in the mass media scale, celebrities, politicians, etc.
Self-efficacy is another considerable notion of social cognitive theory. Previous studies in this
field have shown that exposure to mass media such as TV or video games can model the same
exposed behaviors among audiences.
Another significant theory of mass communication is uses and gratifications theory (U&G). This
approach to mass media consumption assumes that people have different patterns of media use
because they have different social and psychological needs; accordingly these different use
patterns result in different gratifications. Scholars have proposed various typologies of the
gratifications that individuals seek out of media use. The distinction between gratification sought
and gratification obtained is an important theoretical development in this theory. Scholars have
used U&G in different studies of TV, radio, video games, and online media consumption. This
model has been criticized because researchers in this field have not tested the theory wholly, and
have given too much credit to an active audience who is believed to be in control of media
effects. Another criticism is that U&G does not explicitly explain the decoding mechanism,
which differentiates gratifications obtained from gratifications sought.
Understanding Communication Theory, by Stephen Croucher
© Taylor & Francis 2015
Agenda Setting Theory and Spiral of Silence Theory
A popular approach to media studies is to investigate the effects of media on public opinion and
how the media manipulate these opinions. Agenda setting theory, one of the most studied
theories in this approach, deals with the role of media in determining the mind of the public
through focusing on three types of interdepending agendas—media, public, and policy—but for
the mass communication researchers, the causal relationship between the media agenda and
public agenda is of special importance. According to agenda setting theory, the media, through
allocating more time and space to certain topics, indirectly influence the public to think about
and pay attention to these topics. However, some elements such as the relevance, importance,
and obtrusiveness of the topic, and the audience’s need for attitude can influence the effect of
media on the public mindset. This theory also differentiates first-level agenda setting (the issues
that are part of public agenda), and second-level agenda setting (how the audience thinks about
those issues). Framing, another central notion in this theory, means focusing on special aspects
of stories. This theory has been studied vastly.
Spiral of silence asserts that when people feel their viewpoints are in minority, they are less
willing to express their ideas. Arguments such as being afraid of isolation for different
viewpoints, expressing ideas according to the attitudes of others, attempting to express the
viewpoint with less risk of isolation and expressing viewpoints similar to the majority viewpoint
can help detect a spiral of silence effect in a population. Media could help with recognizing the
climate of opinion, that is to detect which viewpoints are in the position of the majority or not.
Once individuals recognize their viewpoints are far from the climate they may feel fear of
isolation, and this could lead to a spiral of silence.
Understanding Communication Theory, by Stephen Croucher
© Taylor & Francis 2015