TWO STEP FLOW THEORY

-

INFLUENCE OF MEDIA MESSAGES

History and Orientation
The two-step flow of communication hypothesis was first introduced by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet in The People's Choice, a 1944 study focused on the process of decision-making during a Presidential election campaign. These researchers expected to find empirical support for the direct influence of media messages on voting intentions. They were surprised to discover, however, that informal, personal contacts were mentioned far more frequently than exposure to radio or newspaper as sources of influence on voting behavior. Armed with this data, Katz and Lazarsfeld developed the two-step flow theory of mass communication.
Core Assumptions and Statements
This theory asserts that information from the media moves in two distinct stages. First, individuals (opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and its messages receive the information. Opinion leaders pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content. The term ‘personal influence’ was coined to refer to the process intervening between the media’s direct message and the audience’s ultimate reaction to that message. Opinion leaders are quite influential in getting people to change their attitudes and behaviors and are quite similar to those they influence. The two-step flow theory has improved our understanding of how the mass media influence decision making. The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior, and it helped explain why certain media campaigns may have failed to alter audience attitudes an behavior. The two-step flow theory gave way to the multi-step flow theory of mass communication or diffusion of innovation theory.
Conceptual Model
 
Source: Katz & Lazarsfeld (1955)
Favorite Methods
To be added.
Scope and Application
All kinds of mass media can be researched with this theory (TV, radio, internet).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ALTERCASTING THEORY

-
ALTERCASTING A tactic for persuading people by forcing them in a social role, so that they will be inclined to behave according to that role. History and orientation Although the term altercasting is used quite frequently, it is not a very well-known or elaborated theory of persuasion. Core assumptions When a person accepts a certain social role, a number of social pressures are brought to bear to insure that the role is enacted. The social environment expects the person to behave in a manner that is consistent with the role; the role also provides the person with selective exposure to information consistent with the role. Altercasting means that we ‘force’ an audience to accept a particular role that make them behave in the way we want them to behave. There are two basic forms of altercasting: Manded altercasting  means that we ‘tell’ people who they are (or are supposed to be) by making an existing role salient (‘You as a Christian should....’), by placing others in
Read more

LANGUAGE EXPECTANCY THEORY

-
EFFECTS OF LINGUISTIC VARIATIONS ON PERSUASIVE MESSAGES History and Orientation Brooks (1970) provided a spark to begin developing the Language Expectancy Theory. He had expectations about what a source might or might not say in persuasive messages. Burgoon, Jones and Stewart (1975) added the impact of linguistic strategies. They claimed that strategic linguistic choices can be significant predictors of persuasive success. In 1995 Burgoon provided a detailed version of the formulation of the Language Expectancy Theory. Core Assumptions and Statements Language Expectancy Theory is a formalized model about message strategies and attitude and behavior change. Message strategies include verbal aggressions like fear appeal, explicit opinions and language intensity which are more combat. Language Expectancy Theory assumes that language is a rule-governed system and people develop expectations concerning the language or message strategies employed by others in persuasive attempts (B
Read more

ADAPTIVE STRUCTURATION THEORY

-
ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN ORGANIZATION CHANGE History and Orientation Adaptive Structuration Theory is based on Anthony Giddens' structuration theory. This theory is formulated as “the production and reproduction of the social systems through members’ use of rules and resources in interaction”. DeSanctis and Poole adapted Giddens' theory to study the interaction of groups and organizations with information technology, and called it  Adaptive Structuration Theory.  AST criticizes the technocentric view of technology use and emphasizes the social aspects. Groups and organizations using information technology for their work dynamically create perceptions about the role and utility of the technology, and how it can be applied to their activities. These perceptions can vary widely across groups. These perceptions influence the way how technology is used and hence mediate its impact on group outcomes. Core Assumptions and Statements AST is a viable approach for st
Read more