The Impact of Media Influence

The basic assumption of normative theory is that 'the press always take on the form and coloration of the social and political structure within which it operates.' An example of a normative theory of the press is the social responsibility theory, which emphasizes the media's responsibility to serve the public interest and promote democratic ideals.

The six normative theories of the press are Authoritarian theory, Libertarian theory, Social responsibility theory, Soviet communist media theory, Democratic participant theory, and Developmental theory. Each theory describes an ideal way for a media system to be controlled and operated, based on different political and economic circumstances.

The founder of Behavioral theory is John B. Watson. The notion associated with this theory is that all human action is a conditioned response to external environmental stimuli.

The selective process refers to the way individuals filter and choose the information they receive from the media based on their existing beliefs, attitudes, and preferences.

The behavioral perspective explains learning and behavior in terms of stimulus-response relationships.

The magic bullet theory posits that media messages are injected into the audience's mind, causing instant reactions.

The hypodermic needle theory views the audience as passive and impressionable, immediately impacted by media messages.

Cultivation theory examines the long-term effects of television, suggesting that regular exposure affects attitudes and behaviors.

Cultivation theory posits that heavy television viewing can lead to the 'mean and scary world syndrome'.

Freudianism posits that human behavior is influenced by conflict between the Id, Ego, and Superego.

Freudianism saw people as highly vulnerable to media manipulation, using propaganda to appeal directly to the Id.

Propaganda is communication used to influence or persuade an audience, often selectively presenting facts to produce an emotional response.

Social Learning Theory, hypothesized by Albert Bandura, explains how people observe and model their behavior after others.

Albert Bandura's famous Bobo Doll experiment demonstrated that children imitate aggressive behavior observed in the media.

The main focus of the information processing theory is to outline the method in which the human mind observes, stores, and retrieves information.

An example of inhibitory effects is watching the police punishing a person for stealing in the shop, which decreases the likelihood that observers will exhibit that behavior.

An example of disinhibitory effects is superheroes providing an aggressive role model in the name of justice, which can increase the likelihood that consumers will exhibit aggressive behavior.

The information processing theory explains that only a tiny fraction of sensory information is singled out for attention and processing, and finally stored in long-term memory, while much of the brain activity never reaches consciousness.

The developmental perspective seeks to describe and explain the nature of the communicative differences between children at different stages of intellectual and communication development, and their interaction with media.

Exposure to age-appropriate educational programs is associated with cognitive and academic enhancement, while exposure to pure entertainment and violent content is associated with poorer cognitive development and lower academic achievement.

Well-designed, age-appropriate, educational television programs can be beneficial to children of preschool age.

Exposure to violent content is associated with poorer cognitive development and lower academic achievement.

An example of an age-appropriate program designed around an educational curriculum is not provided in the text.

Cognitive distraction when viewing television can result in the missing of important auditory information and waste precious cognitive resources processing compelling pictures.

The information processing theory explains that people have limited cognitive resources, and if more resources are directed toward one task, another task will be performed poorly.

Exposure to compelling pictures while watching television can result in distraction and waste of precious cognitive resources.