Media influence on an individual or an audience’s thoughts, attitudes and behavior.
Characteristics of Media Effects
- Timing (immediate or long term)
- Valence (positive, neutral, negative / according to whom)
- Intentionality (intentional, unintentional / awareness of effects)
Types of Effects
- Cognitive (what we know – what we believe to be TRUTH)
- Belief (what we think – faith that something is real or true))
- Attitude (what we think about people, places or things – often stereotypical)
- Physiological (how our body responds – heart rate, blood pressure, sweaty)
- Emotional (how we feel – fear, sad, rage, lust, joy)
- Behavioral (how we act or what we do)
Factors Influencing These Effects
- Demographics
- Developmental maturity
- Education
- Socialization
- Personal perspective (goals and drives for media exposure)
Third Person Effect Theory
- Predicts that individuals will perceive media messages to have greater effects on other people than on themselves.