Media Effects

Does exposure to media violence make us more violent? Do stereotypes in the media affect the way we see different social groups? Do media institutions play any role in social change?  Media Effects is a concise introduction which studies the ways in which media use affects society. James Shanahan explores how researchers and society became interested in media effects, outlines the important developments in the field, and looks at how research on narrative is playing a progressively important role in revealing what we know. The book also provides a timely interweaving of different perspectives, ranging from concerned and critical voices within media studies to quantitative psychological approaches which tend to be more sceptical about powerful media effects.  Concise and authoritative, Media Effects is the go-to text for students and scholars getting to grips with this fascinating and important topic.

Preface Acknowledgments 1 Introduction “Media effects”: What are they? “Media effects”: An etymology Opinion “Mass” communication “A word has appeared”: Propaganda Public opinion Toward media effects Another way Critical studies Cultural studies Other concerns and outlooks Summary and outline Notes 2 A Narrative Perspective The narrative perspective Narrative theories, communication, and media Media effects: Reluctantly focused on persuasion Recovering orality Narrative structure Narrative psychology and the evolution of narrative The evolution of narrative Notes 3 Media and Violence Imitation and social learning Scientific agreement New technologies and new concerns: Guns, video games, institutional opinions An uneasy consensus Cultural indicators The Violence Profile Cultivation Violence as a cultural indicator Cultivation and narrative Notes 4 Media and Social Representation Representation and effects Women African Americans Sexual minorities and social change Summary Notes 5 Media Use and Social Control Cultural indicators and social control Authoritarianism The irony of the turn from propaganda: The reality of powerful media effects Summary Notes 6 “New” Media, New Narratives? Categories of media effects research The “new” new media? Post-mass media Networks and media theory Two Americas? Did technology change narrative? Convergence culture Digital degradation Summary Notes 7 Conclusion Media as conversation Conversations and narratives Symptoms, Dx, and Rx References Index