audience theories
THE HYPODERMIC SYRINGE THEORY
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The 'hypodermic syringe theory', also known as the 'magic needle' or 'hypodermic needle model' is a theory that presents the idea that the mass media can influence and communicate ideas or information to a large amount of people directly without them realising, i.e it is unmediated. . This involves 'injecting' information or messages at audiences with the intention of getting a desired response.
The hypodermic syringe theory expresses the idea that messages and information from the media can be 'injected' into people passively so that they are influenced. As people don't realise this, it can be a theory which proves to be very dangerous, as the audience have no power over what they are being communicated and how they receive it - the mass media have the control. This means that this theory suggests audiences are very passive and easy to manipulate - accepting everything that is communicated through the media since it is such a powerful source. The theory is sometimes mentioned at times of moral panic, when people believe that some groups should not be targeted by the media due to the ideas presented in this theory (e.g, children)
The hypodermic syringe theory expresses the idea that messages and information from the media can be 'injected' into people passively so that they are influenced. As people don't realise this, it can be a theory which proves to be very dangerous, as the audience have no power over what they are being communicated and how they receive it - the mass media have the control. This means that this theory suggests audiences are very passive and easy to manipulate - accepting everything that is communicated through the media since it is such a powerful source. The theory is sometimes mentioned at times of moral panic, when people believe that some groups should not be targeted by the media due to the ideas presented in this theory (e.g, children)
the reception theory
The 'reception theory' involves ideas of producers encoding messages into their media and audiences decoding and interpreting them. This theory expresses the idea that a producer may create a piece of media by 'encoding' different messages that he or she wishes to communicate into it. This piece of media then reaches its audience, who decode the text and interpret what has been communicated. However, the idea is that audiences may not decode the text in the way that the producer had encoded it, thus receiving different ideas and information from a media text entirely.
This does not mean messages cannot be correctly communicated altogether. Producers who understand the theory can work around it by understanding codes and conventions of the type of media they are creating. By undersanding the desires and expectations of their audiences, and the effect that social factors like age and gender have on the decoding of a text, a producer can have the ability to 'position' an audience by creating their media text according to these expectations and conventions. This means that the audience can now decode the text in the way that the producer had intended. This is known as a 'preferred reading'
This does not mean messages cannot be correctly communicated altogether. Producers who understand the theory can work around it by understanding codes and conventions of the type of media they are creating. By undersanding the desires and expectations of their audiences, and the effect that social factors like age and gender have on the decoding of a text, a producer can have the ability to 'position' an audience by creating their media text according to these expectations and conventions. This means that the audience can now decode the text in the way that the producer had intended. This is known as a 'preferred reading'
THE TWO-STEP FLOW THEORY
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Many people realised that the hypodermic syringe theory did not prove to be completely true when the media started to become a very large part of life. A new theory was created which explored the connection between audiences and the media in more detail. This is called the 'two step' theory. This theory explains that the media does not directly 'inject' people's mind with information that they are forced to accept, however passes information on to 'opinion leaders' who then communicate this to people below them or persons whom they have an influence on. This means that the media isn't directly feeding people information passively however are passing it on to sources that then pass it on to groups of people who will consider this information to be true as it is from a trusted, respected source. This means there are in fact layers to media communication, rather than a direct response as observed in the hypodermic syringe theory - hence the name, 'two step'