Why are we affected by media?

Why are we affected by media?

Why are we affected by media?

In order to understand why we are affected by different types of media and their messaging, several cognitive processes must be examined.

Script Theory

One explanation of media’s influence involves the consideration of script theory, which posits that memory scripts are activated by exposure to related media content (Hansen & Hansen, 1988). Essentially, what we see in various forms of media can influence the way we perceive our lives. Romantic content in media can give us a reference point from which we draw conclusions and make judgements regarding our own romantic relationships. This ideology is further demonstrated in one piece of research (Holmes & Johnson, 2009), which observed higher levels of dissatisfaction about previous romantic relationships to be reported by single college students after viewing a romantic comedy film. Script theory helps to explain how media influences behavior as well. For example, viewing aggression will activate related (already established) aggressive behavioral scripts that make someone more likely to act aggressively. Josephson (1987) emphasizes that aggressive behavior will be most likely to occur for individuals who already have aggressive personality tendencies. This makes sense because people with more aggressive tendencies have more of those types of behavioral scripts, which would be exercised by viewing violent media.

Parasocial Relationships

Parasocial relationships are those that involve a one-sided interaction. These relationships develop when a viewer gets invested in the plot/characters of film to the point of immersion. This immersion allows the viewer to perceive characters as friends and become distanced from reality. The premise of this immersion is similar to script theory, involving the facilitation of endorsement of the underlying beliefs within the plot. When it comes to romantic media, this means that individuals engaged in parasocial relationships will be less likely to critically analyze or question the health and realism behind on-screen romantic relationships (Driesmans et al., 2016). Parasocial relationships can also involve the common “celebrity crush,” as these experiences can also maintain a dependence on idolization and fantasy (Erickson & Cin, 2018). Parasocial relationships are not associated with success. In fact, researchers Erickson and Cin (2018) determined that parasocial romances are damaging, emphasizing both gender-related stereotypes and the need for a romantic relationship as means for feelings of self-acceptance and self-worth.

Romantic and sexual media exposure does have an impact on the forming of related beliefs, education, and norms. It might be the case that adolescents learn about these aspects of life in part from what they see on television and in films. After all, we know from social learning theory that media can be instructional for viewers, pointing to the norms associated with beliefs and behavior on a given topic (Bandura, 2001). These ideas fall in line with the overarching concept of socialization, which explains beliefs and behavior to result from norms learned and accepted in society. Sexual socialization, then, would involve the same process but specifically in the context of romantic relationships and sex (Erickson & Cin, 2018). It is logical that if media is socializing in other aspect of life, it would also be a socializing force in a society or individual’s understanding of romance and sex.

Desensitization

The idea of desensitization is crucial in understanding how media affects viewers. Desensitization occurs when viewing something over time produces a numbness or lack of concern about its meaning. It explains how cognitive distortions about what kinds of behavior are acceptable originate. Much research has explored this concept in relevance to violent video games, asserting that the aggression increases after playing are due to the desensitization of violence from viewing it on the screen (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). This concept has also been used to explain how listening to music with sexually aggressive explicit lyrics leads to sexual aggression in experimental studies (Barongan & Hall, 1995).

Cultivation Theory

Media messaging is very influential in the foundation of a culture’s identity, values, and agendas (Gerbner, 1977). Cultivation theory broadly explains the impact of all types of media messaging on our beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors. Essentially, being exposed to messages in media has an effect on the people who use that media (Hammermeister et al., 2002). The definition includes the idea that how people interact with messaging influences the way the messages become manifested in culture and life (Shanahan & Morgan, 1999). Some criticisms of cultivation theory add that it is best used in conjunction with a mental models approach, which takes the specific situational, mental, and cultural aspects of interaction with media into account (Roskos-Ewoldsen et al., n.d.). This addition allows cultivation theory to explain how media messages influence individuals based upon cultural and situational context.