1) The Hypodermic Needle Model

This was one of the first theories used as an attempt to explain

how audiences act to media. It suggests that the audience,
passively (without realisation) receives information via media
text and the audience would not challenge or process the
information.
The theory came about when mass media wa
s still very new and it was used,
primarily as propaganda. The Hypodermic Needle Theory
implies that the mass media has an incredibly powerful
and direct effect on the audiences. Fears about the power of
media texts began as the governments wanted to
communicatewith their citizens through advertisement
campaigns. Many of the Posters produced for World War One
were overly patriotic and xenophobic. English advertisements
provoked strong Anti-German feelings because they depicted
German soldiers killing babies with bayonets. This
demonstrates the incredible power the media has to influence
peoples thinking and is how the Hypodermic Needle Model
came into being.
The Hypodermic Needle Model is often referred to when
discussing moral panics. It is said that certain groups in society
should not be allowed to receive certain media texts because
they could watch/ read about sexual or violent behaviour and
then reenact what they have seen.




3) Uses and Gratification
3) Uses and Gratification
In the 1960s, the first generation that grew up with the
television became adults. Media Theorists noted that audiences
made choices about what they did when consuming media
texts. The audiences were made up of individuals who actively
consumed texts for many different reasons.
Lasswell suggesed (in 1948) that the media texts had specific
functions for individuals and society.
1. Surveillance
2. Correlation
3. Entertainment
4. Cultural Transmission
This theory was then expanded in 1974, when researchers
Blulmer and Katz published their own theories, stating
individuals might choose and use texts for
Diversion/Entertainment: Audiences can use media texts
as a form of escapism as well as relaxation. They can also
be used as a means of filling time and as an emotional
release or, even sexual arousal.
Personal Relationships/ Social Interaction: Media texts
can help people identify with others and gain a sense of
belonging and provide a basis for conversation and social
interaction. It can also act as a substitute for real life
companionship. Texts can also help others gain an insight
to other peoples lives and share a sense of social empathy.
Personal Identity: Media texts can help people find
reinforcement for their personal values and models of
behaviour. It can also help the audience gain an insight to
them-self
Surveillance/Information: Audiences can use media texts
to educate themselves about relevant events/conditions
(e.g. the weather) or look to it for advice about practical
matters or assist in decision making. It helps to satisfy
viewers curiosity and general interest and provides a
feeling of security throughout knowledge.
The theory does not, however, consider the power of the media
and is more audience centred.

Reception Theory
4) Reception Theory
This theory pushed the concept of active audiences even
further. In the 1980s and 1990s, extensive research was done,
looking into the way individuals receive and interpret texts. Also
their age/gender/social class/ethnicity effects how they read the
text.
This theory is based upon the findings of Stuart Hall.
Stuart Hall looked at this relationship between text and the
audience, he believed that the media texts have messages
encoded into them by its producer and the audience decodes
that messages. The codes, however, can be read in a multitude
of different ways. However, when the producer uses codes/
techniques that are easily recognised the audience will find it
easier to decode. By using the reception theory, the producers
can position the audience, they expect certain things from a
certain genre for instance or a certain type of film from an actor
and so on. It is almost like an unspoken agreement between
those that make the media texts and the viewers, agreeing
upon what the code means. This is known as preferred reading.
2) The Two-Step Flow of
Communication Theory
2) The Two-Step Flow of Communication Theory
This is a more modern communication theory.
Put simply, the Two-Step Flow
Theory is about how KEY PEOPLE affect other people.
This hypothesis was first introduced by Paul Lazarsfeld,
Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet in a 1944 study which
focused on the process of making decisions around the time of
a Presidential election campaign called The Peoples Choice.
The expected result was that the mass medias messages
would have a direct influence of peoples votes however the
researchers were surprised to find out this was infact not the
case at all. It was the personal and informal contact that had
more of an impact on voting behaviour as apposed to exposure
to radio or newspapers. With the results of the research, they
developed the two-step flow theory of mass communication.
The Two-Step Flow Theory claims that the information we
receive from the mass media moves in two stages.
1. Firstly, individuals:- the opinion leaders, who take into
account the media and the messages and receives the
information it is outputting. There are opinion leaders in all
groups, whether that be occupational, social, community or
otherwise. The leadership may change from time to time
and are dependant on the issue but they are the most
influential when interest is shared by the group. There are
two types of opinion leaders. The first
being monomorphic, meaning they are only influential on
one topic and the other, polymorphic which means the
leader is influential on a variety of topics.
2. These opinion leader will then pass their own
interpretations of the information as well as the actual
content the media put out, to opinion receivers/seekers.
The theory has helped with our understanding of how the
media influences our decisions as well as refining our ability to
predict the effects of the medias messages on audience
behaviour.