Chapter 15: Social Scientific and Cultural Approaches to
Media Research
True/False
1. Textual analysis is able to demonstrate the effects of the media on audiences.
2. Social psychology studies measure the attitudes, behavior, and cognition of individuals.
4. One key difference between content analysis and textual analysis is the greater emphasis on
counting, measurement, and reliability in content analysis.
5. Harold Lasswell’s Crystallizing Public Opinion is considered by many academics to be the
founding book in American media studies.
6. Between 1930 and 1960, “who says what to whom with what effect” became the key question
“defining the scope and problems of American communications research.”
7. The minimal-effects model of mass media research holds that the media reinforce existing
behaviors and attitudes rather than change them.
8. Agenda-setting theory refers to the media’s ability to change public opinion on controversial
issues.
Multiple Choice
Note: The correct answer is asterisked.
9. The notion that people engage in selective exposure and selective retention when experiencing
various media is a component of which model of media research?
10. The 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds made millions of listeners believe that Martians
were invading Earth; most listeners, however, did not believe that the story was real. Those
outcomes ultimately helped support which research model?
11. The results of this kind of research method are usually generalizable to a larger population.
12. This line of research suggests that heavy viewers of television are more likely than light viewers
to perceive reality in ways that are more consistent with “TV reality.”
13.Which kind of research method employs a control group for comparison?
14. For this kind of method, researchers systematically code and measure media content.
15. The close reading and interpretation of the meaning of cultural forms is called
16. Which of the following is characteristic of a cultural studies approach to mass media research?
17. The idea that the media tell us what to think about rather than what to think is key to which
theory of media effects?
18. TV viewers who believe that crime is more prevalent than it really is provide evidence for
which theory of media effects?
A. Bullet theory
Fill in the Blank
19. Between 1930 and 1960, “who says what to whom with what ______________” became the
key question “defining the scope and problems of American communications research.”
20. Researchers associated with the minimal-effects model argued that people engage in selective
_________________ and selective retention with regard to the media.
21. In social science research, the ______________ group has not been exposed to the particular
phenomenon or media content being studied.
22. In media research, the ______________studies approach tries to understand how the media and
culture are tied to the actual patterns of communication used in daily life.
23. __________ are typically call-in, online, or person-in–the-street polls that news media use to
address a “question of the day.”
24. The ____________________ theory, which links the mass media, social psychology, and the
formation of public opinion, proposes that people who find that their views on controversial
25. _______________ theory is a theory within media effects research that suggests a link between
the mass media and behavior.
Matching
Select from the following list of terms to match the question with the best answer.
A. Agenda-setting
B. Cultivation effect
C. Content analysis
D. Experiment
E. Survey
26. This kind of research method reveals correlations between two variables.
27. The results of this kind of research method are usually generalizable to a larger population.
28. In this method, researchers systematically code and measure media content.
29. This line of research suggests that heavy viewers of television are more likely than light viewers
to perceive reality in ways that are more consistent with “TV reality.”
30. This line of research helps explain why coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 sparked a
increase in public concern about the disaster.
Essay
31. What is the scientific method? Be sure to mention all the steps.
32. Explain the study used to discount the magic bullet, or hypodermic-needle, theory.
33. How does a cultural studies approach to media research differ from an experimental, scientific
approach?
34. What is the spiral of silence?
35. Explain the process of the social learning theory as it relates to media violence and aggression.
36. What are pseudo-polls? Why are they used?
37. What problems do academic studies face? How have academics tried to solve these problems?