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© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Chapter 13 – Social and Political Issues:
Shaping the Arguments
Chapter Outline
• Early Mass Media Studies Assess Impact
• Scholars Look for Patterns
The Payne Fund Studies
The Cantril Study
The Lasswell Model
• How TV Affects Children’s Behavior
Television in the Lives of Children
Television and Social Behavior
The Early Window
Television Advertising to Children
Linking TV to School Performance
• Do the Mass Media Cause Violence?
• National Political Campaigns Depend on Mass Media
The Fireside Chats
The People’s Choice
The Unseeing Eye
Election Campaigns on Television
• Cost of Political Advertising Skyrockets
• Voters and Campaigns Use the Internet and Social Media
• Mass Media Reflect Social Values
Silencing Opposing Viewpoints
Losing a Sense of Place
Stereotyping
• Mass Media Slow to Reflect Ethnic Diversity
• Mass Media Face Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues
• How to Analyze Media Effects
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Suggested Activities, Discussions, and Exercises
1. Invite an elected public official to class to discuss the ways media affect
not only elections but also how the public views politicians. Have the
students brainstorm questions to ask the speaker, either individually or in
groups.
2. Ask students to pick a news topic of interest and consider whom they turn
to as an opinion leader in a two-step or multi-step flow of information on
that subject. Ask them also to consider whether they themselves serve as
an opinion leader for someone else on some topic. Ask them to discuss
these issues in class or to write a paper about their opinion-leader
experiences.
3. Have students apply Neil Postman’s media analysis questions to the
Internet as a medium of news and entertainment. Ask students to write a
brief paper and be prepared to discuss their ideas in class.
4. Ask each student to select three primetime entertainment shows, view an
episode, and assess whether
a. minorities—including African Americans, Latinos, Asians and
Native Americans—are fairly portrayed;
b. women are fairly portrayed.
Ask students to write a brief paper or to discuss their findings in class or in
an online discussion forum.
5. Ask students to go to YouTube to examine political videos. Have students,
working in groups of two or three, select a political video to show on
YouTube in class. Watch several of the students’ choices in class, and
discuss what made the videos especially effective. Then, for the next class
period, have the students write a brief paper discussing the impact of the
video.
Activity Pages
Use the following activity pages as class handouts for exercises and to
accompany some of the classroom Ideas described above.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Stereotypes in Advertisements
Find five examples of advertisements from newspapers, magazines, or the
Internet that present a variety of stereotypes—of women, men, older people,
ethnic groups, and so on. Then find five examples of ads that you think do not
stereotype groups of people. For each ad, indicate where it ran, the date on which
it ran, and why it does or does not present a stereotype. Attach this sheet to your
ads; use the back of the page or more paper, if necessary. Bring all of the ads to
class and be prepared to discuss what you found.
1. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
2. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
3. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
4. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
5. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s stereotypical:
6. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s not stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
7. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s not stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
8. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s not stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
9. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s not stereotypical:
-------------------------------------------------
10. Brief description of ad:
Where it ran:
Date:
Why it’s not stereotypical:
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Doing an Informal Mass Media Study
To see how people in your area feel about the mass media, interview at least five
people in your community of differing ages, ethnic backgrounds and genders.
(You may wish to record and later transcribe the answers.) Ask each person you
interview two sets of questions—start with Group A and follow with Group B.
Questions about different media in Group B (see following page) may be assigned
to different class members working either as groups or as individuals. Make sure
you ask everyone you interview the questions in Group A first. (Be sure your
interviewees realize they can choose “Decline to State” as their answer on any of
the questions.) Assemble the answers to the questions as directed by your
instructor.
Group A Questions
(must be asked of every participant first)
• Gender: Male ______ Female _____
• How old are you?
• What is your ethnic background?
(African American, white, Asian
American, Latino, Native American, and
so on)
• What is your religious preference, if
any? (Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist,
Muslim, other)
• What is your political party affiliation?
• Are you single or married?
• Do you have children? If so, how
many?
• What do you do for a living?
• How long have you done this job?
• Did you attend college? Public or
private?
• If you did attend college, what was
your major?
• Do you have a bachelor’s degree? If
so, in what?
• Do you read a major newspaper every
day? If so, which one(s)? How much
time do you spend reading the
paper(s)?
• Do you watch a major television news
broadcast every day? If so, which
one(s)?
How much time do you spend watching
the show(s)?
• Which television news programs do
you prefer? Why?
• Do you listen to radio news every day?
If so, which station? How much time do
you spend listening?
• Which magazines do you read? How
much time do you spend reading them?
• How much time do you spend on the
Internet?
• What are your favorite sites on the
Internet to visit for news? List five.
(Continue with Group B questions on the next page)
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Doing an Informal Mass Media Study: Group B Questions
After your interviewees answer the Group A questions, ask them the Group B
questions with the following possible responses—if they: a. agree totally; b. agree
somewhat; c. disagree somewhat; d. disagree totally; or e. don’t know. Ask why
and take notes about their reactions.
• Americans are bombarded by the mass
media.
• By and large, people believe what they
see, hear, and read in the mass media.
• Televised violence has a direct relationship
to violence in society.
• Televised violence makes aggressive
people more aggressive.
• Children watch too much TV.
• Young children do not know the difference
between TV programs and TV commercials.
• Children who watch “pro social” programs,
such as Sesame Street, are more likely to
act responsibly.
• Children who watch less TV score higher
on academic achievement tests.
• Adults watch too much television.
• Too much television is harmful to people.
• Children spend too much time playing
videogames.
• Advertising has a useful function.
• Advertising has no social goals and no
social responsibility for its influences.
• Better-educated people are more likely to
be more critical of the media and to
determine when media are biased.
• Political TV commercials reinforce people’s
beliefs.
• The Internet has very little influence on
people’s voting habits.
• Family and friends have more influence on
people’s political choices than TV does.
• Politicians spend too much money on
political advertising.
•Political ads on TV help me make up my
mind on important issues.
• Reporters are only interested in getting a
good story; they are not responsible.
• The mass media tell people what people
want to hear.
• The mass media reflect the prevailing
climate of opinion—they do not challenge
conventional wisdom.
• The American mass media are doing a
good job and giving me the information I
need to be a responsible citizen.
• The American mass media are biased.
• The mass media persist in delivering anti-
feminist, racist stereotypes and ignore
people of color altogether.
• I trust the American mass media to tell me
the truth.
• The Internet is a wonderful new media tool.
• I trust traditional media (newspapers,
radio, television) more than the Internet to
deliver reliable news.
• If I want the truth, I primarily use the
Internet to find the information I want.
• The Internet has made it too confusing to
find out what the facts are on a particular
issue, so I avoid using it
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Chapter 13 Quiz
Multiple Choice
1. _____ analyzes how people use information they receive from the media.
a. The theory of selective perception
b. Media effects research
c. The magic bullet theory
d. The media behavior theory
2. Marshall McLuhan is best remembered for which concept?
a. Advertising fulfills an economic function.
b. The medium is the message.
c. Television is too violent.
d. Children are greatly influenced by the movies they see.
3. Studies by media scholar Carolyn Martindale concluded:
a. that non-white groups are visible “only in glimpses” in the media.
b. that Latinos are often portrayed as successful professionals on television.
c. that a climate of bi-racial coexistence is present in America’s newsrooms.
d. that non-white groups are presented as an integral part of American society.
4. The 1971 study of violence and TV (Television and Social Behavior),
conducted by George Gerbner, found that:
a. there was no connection between TV programming and aggressive behavior.
b. TV violence affected some children who were already predisposed to violence.
c. only two of ten prime-time TV programs could be called “violent.”
d. TV violence had a “magic bullet” effect, leading to violent behavior among a
majority of children.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
5. The two-step flow of communication is:
a. between TV advertisers and children.
b. from presidential candidates to the public.
c. the transmittal of information from mass media to opinion leaders and then to
friends.
d. the connection between TV programs and aggressive behavior.
ANS: C
6. After studying the 1972 presidential race (The Unseeing Eye),
researchers Thomas Patterson and Robert McClure concluded that political
advertising on television:
a. always worked to get voters to switch their support to any candidate.
b. affected the way a majority of people decided to vote.
c. was able to manipulate about 7 percent of voters.
d. is the least cost-effective method of reaching registered voters.
7. Researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann says the media discourage
people from expressing views that disagree with the prevailing point of
view. She calls this effect:
a. the spiral of silence.
b. the consensus factor.
c. media antipathy.
d. the magic bullet.
8. Children who watch a lot of television, according to a 1981 California
study:
a. have higher scores on math, reading and writing tests.
b. have lower scores on math, reading and writing tests.
c. do the same on math, reading, and writing tests.
d. are more likely to go to college than children who watch less TV.
9. Who was the first “media president”?
a. Franklin Roosevelt, with his Fireside Chats
b. Lyndon Johnson, sworn in on television
c. JFK, with his Cuban Missile Crisis address
d. Barack Obama, with his Internet presence
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
10. A recent study by Common Sense Media found that:
a. most toddlers don’t watch very much TV.
b. children who watch children’s programming, like Sesame Street, are smarter
than other children.
c. there is no direct correlation of viewing violence on television with aggressive
behavior.
d. Children under age 8 are spending more time than ever using mass media.
11. After Congress held hearings on violent content in television
programming in 1993, cable operators and network broadcasters agreed:
a. to develop violence ratings for TV programming.
b. to create a government commission to review programming for violent content.
c. that government had no business interfering in programming matters.
d. that cable operators should be allowed to air violent content but not the
networks.
12. Which medium first prompted scholars to widely expand their study
and analysis of the effects of media on society?
a. newspapers
b. books
c. radio
d. television
13. The cost of national and statewide political campaigns has:
a. dropped since the year 2000.
b. remained the same from 2000 to the 2008 election.
c. skyrocketed since the year 2000.
d. experienced gradual growth since the year 2000.
14. According to David M. Potter, in his book People of Plenty, when does
advertising begin “to fulfill a really essential economic function”?
a. in an economy of scarcity
b. when potential supply outstrips demand
c. when producers can sell as much as they produce
d. when demand exceeds supply
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
15. The first U.S. election where the Internet began to play a role in national
politics was:
a. the 2008 presidential election.
b. the 2004 presidential election.
c. the 2000 presidential election.
d. the 1996 presidential election.
True/False
1. Media scholar Marshall McLuhan argued that electronic media messages
essentially are no different from print messages.
2. The Television Advertising to Children study suggested that many young
children think of advertising as just another form of programming and don’t
distinguish between programs and ads.
ANS: T
3. According to a National Institute of Mental Health study, it is possible to predict
which children will behave aggressively after watching violence on television.
4. One legacy of John F. Kennedy’s use of TV in the 1960 presidential campaign
is that national political campaigns came to depend almost entirely on TV to
promote presidential candidates.
ANS: T
5. Syndicated newspaper comic strips have managed to avoid confronting gay
and lesbian issues.
Essay Questions
1. Identify the conclusions of the following studies:
a. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s “spiral of silence”
b. The California Assessment Program
c. Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-Produced Fantasies for Women by
Tania Modleski
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
2. How is the Internet transforming media consumption of political
campaigns?
3. Describe how cable operators and network broadcasters responded to
Congressional hearings on the subject of violent television programming
content.
4. Discuss how media content creators have addressed gay, lesbian, and
transgender issues. What has been the response by content distributors,
government, and the general public? How has this changed over the
years?
5. Discuss the study that established the original “magic bullet” theory of
media effects. Assess the validity of its methods and findings. Contrast its
findings with the Cantril study that examined the effect of Orson Welles’
1939 “War of the Worlds” broadcast.
