Boom or Boomerang - WordPress.com€¦ · Boom or Boomerang A Critical Review of Evidence ... 1998 ). Davies (1996) has emphasized listening, viewing, or reading audiovisual texts

32

Boom or Boomerang

A Critical Review of Evidence Documenting Media Literacy Effi cacy

Smita C. Banerjee and Robert Kubey

ABSTRACT

This chapter advances research on media literacy by reviewing studies that utilize media literacy in either short - term or long - term interventions. Media literacy interventions on a wide array of topics including violence, smoking, alcohol, and advertising are reviewed. Effectiveness of media literacy is dis-cussed using various criteria: duration of intervention, intervention design, target group, intervention modality, causal process, and different strategies for media literacy interventions. Key questions addressed in this chapter ask how media literacy effi cacy is defi ned, and what issues surround media literacy effi cacy.

The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies: Media Effects/Media Psychology, First Edition. Edited by Angharad N. Valdivia, Erica Scharrer.© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Media Literacy Defi ned

Media literacy has been most commonly defi ned as the skills of accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and communicating messages in a number of forms (Aufderheide & Firestone, 1993 ; Hobbs, 1998 ). Davies (1996) has emphasized listening, viewing, or reading audiovisual texts as basic skills that need to be learned by young audiences. The need for learning technical skills to decode the meanings behind the media, and developing a critical understanding of the relationship between different message content, forms the backbone of media literacy education. Kubey (2004) notes that

2 SMITA C. BANERJEE AND ROBERT KUBEY

media literacy involves critical analysis of media messages, evaluation of sources of information for bias and credibility, increased awareness about how media messages infl uence people ’ s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, and production of messages using different forms of media. Similarly, the website of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) (2010a, 2010b) describes the functions of media liter-acy in this way.

Within North America, media literacy is seen to consist of a series of communica-tion competencies, including the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communi-cate information in a variety of forms, including print and non - print messages. Media literacy empowers people to be both critical thinkers and creative producers of an increasingly wide range of messages using image, language, and sound. It is the skill-ful application of literacy skills to media and technology messages.

Despite considerable disagreement among scholars regarding how to conceptual-ize and perform media literacy (Kubey, 1998 ), most scholars agree on a common set of key concepts. The Center for Media Literacy (2007) has endorsed the following fi ve core concepts as central to media literacy: (1) all media messages are social con-structions (i.e., constructed by somebody and never able to refl ect reality entirely); (2) people who make media messages use creative languages that have rules (i.e., creative components such as words, music, movement, camera angle, and others are utilized to develop a media message in different formats such as a magazine cover, advertisement, etc.); (3) different people experience the same media messages differ-ently; (4) producers of media messages have their own values and points of view; and (5) media messages are constructed to achieve a purpose, usually for profi t and/or power.

The common goals of most media literacy curricula focus on helping young people become informed and active participants in the communication process, rather than passive message recipients (Brown, 1998 ). Much empirical research to date has rested on the idea of creating media literacy interventions for protecting young people from negative infl uences of media (e.g., Austin, Pinkleton, & Funabiki, 2007 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Pinkleton, Austin, Cohen et al., 2007 ). Research suggests that interventions help individuals build resistance to specifi c persuasive message strategies as they become aware of marketers ’ strategies, critically weighing evidence and argumentative strategies for learning, constructing one ’ s own argu-ments, and enhancing learning such as from public affairs programming (e.g., Austin, Pinkleton, Hust et al., 2005 ; Hindin, Contento, & Gussow, 2004 ; Wade, Davidson, & O ’ Dea, 2003 ).

What is a Media Literacy Intervention?

The term “ media literacy intervention ” can be understood as an experimental treat-ment that introduces specifi c concepts to study participants (any age group) with the

BOOM OR BOOMERANG 3

aim of increasing awareness and promoting deeper understanding of the meaning contained in media messages. The general goal of interventions is to provide people with the initial tools of media literacy, eventually leading them to build upon the cognitive skills required to process media messages in a more active manner (Potter, 2004 ). Research based on using media literacy interventions is generally directed toward altering those human cognitions involved in the processing of media mes-sages that may serve as a defense against the potential negative effects of media (Byrne, 2005 ).

Several media literacy interventions designed to specifi cally address prejudice (Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ), sexual objectifi cation in advertising (Reichert, LaTour, Lambiase et al., 2007 ), media violence (Scharrer, 2006 ), tobacco use (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Gonzales, Glik, Davoudi et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ), adolescent alcohol use (e.g., Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Chen, 2009 ), and body image (e.g., Wade et al., 2003 ; Watson & Vaughn, 2006 ) have been tested. The question, then, is what the media literacy interventions are trying to accomplish and how. In the section that follows, we summarize recent research that has used media literacy interventions.

Applications and Interventions

Media literacy appears to be a promising framework that can help to increase the critical skills of media consumers and aid in creating more informed and deliberate users. The primary aim of media literacy programs is to increase students ’ awareness of the forms of media messages they encounter in their everyday lives. They should be able to comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and make reasoned choices about advertis-ing jingles, public service videos, news reports, and so forth (Quesada, Miller, & Armstrong, 2000 ). As scholars and practitioners have become aware of its usefulness, media literacy is receiving growing attention as an applied intervention strategy. In this section, applications of media literacy across different contexts are examined, with particular emphasis on smoking prevention, adolescent drinking prevention, violence prevention, body image, and advertising awareness.

Smoking Prevention

Media literacy workshops on cigarette smoking have shown favorable results (i.e., reduction in smoking - related attitudes, intention, and behavior) for both elementary and middle school children (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ; Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ). Unger, Cruz, Schuster et al. (2001) have suggested that media literacy programs should be devel-oped to inoculate adolescents against tobacco marketing strategies. In spite of a


nationwide call to integrate media literacy approaches with school - based tobacco prevention programs ( Media Literacy Drug Prevention Teacher Survey Report , 2002), published examples of research are limited (Beltramini & Bridge, 2001 ).

Recent research suggests that adolescents ’ increased knowledge and understand-ing of advertisers ’ persuasive strategies should lead to increased resistance to adver-tised messages (Austin, Miller, Silva et al., 2002 ). Accordingly, research results indicate that in - school interventions can help young people understand the role of tobacco advertising in encouraging tobacco use among adolescents and identify marketing strategies tobacco companies use in their advertisements (e.g., Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Beltramini & Bridge, 2001 ). This knowledge base may further transfer to development of or change in attitudes that are conducive for smoking prevention efforts (see Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ). For instance, Bergsma and Ingram (2001) tested the effi cacy of a media literacy curriculum in changing knowledge, awareness, and attitudes regarding tobacco use in the movies. Pretests and posttests were con-ducted for children (seventh grade) in experimental and control groups. The results showed that children in the experimental group had an increased knowledge of tobacco product placement in fi lms, awareness of the portrayal of tobacco use in fi lms, and showed negative attitudes toward the use of tobacco in fi lms (Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ).

In another study by Pinkleton, Austin, Cohen et al. (2003) , a media literacy cur-riculum was designed to prevent tobacco use among young people. In a span of six lessons, children were taught about the tools and techniques the tobacco industry uses to target young people and learned to create their own counteradvertising. The results showed that the media literacy intervention increased the understanding of the potential persuasive effects of advertising and intentions to take action against tobacco use. The results suggested that media literacy may have the ability to serve as both a prevention tool targeting initiation among nonsmokers and an intervention tool for targeting cessation among smokers.

Adolescent Drinking Prevention

“ Media literacy training – which generally teaches young people how to understand and create mediated messages – is a potentially important component of substance abuse prevention campaigns directed to younger audiences ” (Pinkleton et al., 2003 , p. 2). In a study by Austin and Johnson (1997) , general and alcohol - specifi c media literacy lessons were developed to test their effectiveness on children ’ s (third grade) beliefs about alcohol. Pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests were conducted to test curriculum effectiveness. The results showed that children ’ s expectancies (perceived expectation of the meaning alcohol drinking conveys) and behaviors (children ’ s choice of an alcohol or nonalcohol theme product) were becoming more positive toward alcohol over time, and that the media literacy intervention prevented the increase in positive expectancies. The alcohol - specifi c media literacy curriculum was

BOOM OR BOOMERANG 5

most effective in increasing the understanding of persuasive intent, reducing identi-fi cation with characters, desirability of alcohol advertising, and similarity with char-acters in the alcohol advertisements (Austin & Johnson, 1997 ).

Chen (2009) designed and evaluated a media literacy curriculum focusing on alcohol use prevention. A pretest – posttest quasi - experiment with 171 adolescents was conducted to examine the impact of a negative approach and a balanced approach (a combination of negative and positive evaluative approaches) to media literacy on modifying adolescents ’ responses to alcohol messages. Results showed that different media literacy approaches had varying degrees of effectiveness by gender. After receiving a negative media literacy lesson, adolescent boys regarded television char-acters as less realistic and believed that drinking alcohol had negative consequences. Adolescent girls, on the other hand, benefi ted from a balanced evaluative approach as their media skepticism (a cognitive state of incredulity that encourages more thoughtful processing and additional information seeking; Austin et al., 2002 ) was enhanced. Chen (2009) concludes by suggesting that health educators should employ media literacy to enhance adolescents ’ critical thinking skills and to improve their decision - making regarding alcohol.

Violence Prevention

Research studies on the topic of media literacy instruction with children regarding media violence have produced promising results. Media literacy has been shown to increase children ’ s critical attitudes toward media violence, disagreeing that it is harmless, disapproving of characters using violence, and perceiving media portrayals of violence as unrealistic (e.g., Huesman, Eron, Klein et al., 1983 ; Nathanson 2004 ; Robinson, Wilde, Navracruz et al., 2001 ; Rosenkoetter, Rosenkoetter, Ozretich et al., 2004 ; Singer, Zuckerman, & Singer, 1980 ).

In one of the earlier studies, Singer et al. (1980) developed eight media literacy lesson plans to help children understand the different types of television programs, technology behind television production, differences between real and pretend on television, and the purpose and types of commercials. The children (from kindergar-ten through second grade) were divided into experimental and control groups. Pretests, posttests, and follow - up tests were taken to examine the effectiveness of the curriculum. Overall, the results showed an increase in knowledge about how televi-sion works as well as an increase in children ’ s capability to question and discuss the violence shown on television. Thus, improvements were seen in the area of under-standing of concepts and processes of television, and in initiating the development of critical television viewers (Singer et al., 1980 ). Huesman and Eron (1986) were also able to demonstrate that media literacy intervention can reduce aggressive behavior among children.

More recently, Scharrer (2006) utilized fi ve one - hour visits to sixth - grade class-rooms to inform students about media violence and make them critical of the same.


The media literacy curriculum consisted of presentations and discussions around key themes and ethical issues related to media violence, such as rewarded violence, lack of consequences for violence, animated violence, justifi ed violence, and violence perpetrated by likable characters. Statistical comparisons between pretest and post-test responses and between those participating and those in a control group show some increases in the comprehension of key concepts used in the study of media violence and critical thinking about the topic. For instance, learning about lack of consequences in depictions of violence led the participants in the treatment group to express a more critical attitude about the responsibility of media creators (i.e., that they should portray such consequences more). Additionally, qualitative results revealed that post - media literacy program responses were more critical, more precise, and more tuned in to ethical issues than pre - media literacy program responses. Scharrer (2006) concludes: “ We can be fairly confi dent that the media literacy program was, indeed, effective in stimulating participants ’ critical thinking about media violence ” (p. 81).

Body Image

Use of media literacy to address body image is expected to empower students to adopt a critical evaluation of media content so that they can identify, analyze, and ultimately challenge the thin ideal presented in the mass media (Levine, Piran, & Stoddard, 1999 ). Watson and Vaughn (2006) note that there have been many efforts to design intervention programs that prevent the development of eating disorders and associated risk factors, such as body dissatisfaction. Media literacy interventions have been designed to alleviate the negative effect that the media have on body sat-isfaction, but the results have been mixed in terms of effectiveness (Stice & Shaw, 2004 ; see also Chapter 15 , this volume).

Research so far has not shown support for the use of media literacy on eating behavior or attitudes (e.g., Irving & Berel, 2001 ; Levine, Smolak, & Schermer, 1996 ), and mixed support for weight concern (e.g., Levine et al., 1996 ; Wade et al., 2003 ). Watson and Vaughn (2006) examined whether or not the length of a media literacy intervention had an impact on awareness of sociocultural ideals, internalization of sociocultural ideals, and body dissatisfaction. The results suggested that neither short - term nor long - term media literacy interventions increased awareness of socio-cultural ideals of attractiveness. However, both short - and long - term media literacy interventions that challenged the perceived realism of the media had the potential to reduce internalization of sociocultural ideals. Overall, the long - term intervention was more effective at decreasing body dissatisfaction than the short - term media lit-eracy intervention.

Wade et al. (2003) used a controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of a self - esteem program and a media literacy program in reducing general and specifi c risk factors for eating disorders, namely self - esteem, weight and shape concern, dietary

BOOM OR BOOMERANG 7

restraint, and body dissatisfaction. Results showed that only weight concern was signifi cantly impacted by the intervention. Specifi cally, the media literacy interven-tion was moderately successful in decreasing weight concern among participants over time as compared with the control group, thereby suggesting implications for future research and greater effi cacy. Wade et al. (2003) conclude by stating that “ delivery of a media literacy program within an interactive, student centered, self - esteem building framework may potentially be a safe and effective way of reducing risk factors for eating disorders ” (p. 381), but clearly this needs greater research atten-tion. Given that internalization of attractiveness norms, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating ensue not only from media but also from peers, family, and society at large, it is not surprising that media literacy efforts focusing only on media mes-sages have not achieved desirable results (Irving & Berel, 2001 ; Stice & Shaw, 2004 ; Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe et al., 1999 ). Perhaps combining traditional media lit-eracy interventions with self - esteem interventions or other cognitive approaches will provide a more effi cacious way of addressing body image concerns.

Advertising Awareness

Among media literacy ’ s aims is to help students recognize attempts at manipulation. Research on media literacy and advertising has shown that elementary and middle school children can be taught to identify and understand the persuasive intent behind advertising (e.g., Collins, 1999 ; Hoffman, 1999 ; Ward, Wackman, & Wartella, 1977 ). Hoffman (1999) developed media literacy workshops for middle school children to teach them the process of advertising and other forms of media. The results showed that children ’ s ability to identify media values (values or concepts media people use in making decisions on what to report as news), media processes, and advertising and propaganda techniques increased signifi cantly from the pretest to the posttest levels (Hoffman, 1999 ).

In another initial study by Ward et al. (1977) , children as young as kindergarten - aged were able to learn how to fi lter advertising messages so that the persuasive effects of advertisements were mitigated. Ward et al. (1977) suggested that the fi lter for advertising messages could be used in four different ways. First, it can be used to help children recognize that commercials are trying to sell products. Second, it can be used to help children become skeptical of advertising claims. Third, the fi lter might reduce the frequency of children ’ s asking for products that they have seen in advertisements. Fourth, it can be used to direct children toward performance and functional attributes of products. The implications of the study point toward the need for a focused and simple media literacy endeavor to make children advertise-ment savvy.

Despite numerous implications for media literacy effi cacy, Kunkel, Wilcox, Cantor et al. (2004) noted that there exists no study that has examined the statistical relation between children ’ s understanding of advertising ’ s persuasive intent and the impact


of advertising and that “ there is little evidence that media literacy interventions can effectively counteract the impact of advertising on children of any age, much less the younger ones who are most vulnerable to its infl uence ” (p. 21). In fact, Chernin (2008) showed that a media literacy intervention aimed at showing the persuasive techniques used in junk food marketing made children more likely to choose junk food in an experimental situation, irrespective of age. She hypothesized that children were primed by the intervention or they learned to pay more attention to ads (which increased and not decreased their persuasive power). Therefore, there seems to be more unanswered questions about the link between increase in knowledge or recognition of propaganda in advertising and the impact of advertising; as Chernin (2008) concludes: “ Future research should explicitly test the moderating role of knowledge of persuasive intent in the persuasion process and examine how children ’ s affective responses to commercials infl uence their preferences for advertised prod-ucts ” (p. 115).

Media Literacy Effi cacy: Key Issues

Duration of Intervention

Various media literacy interventions have been evaluated, and the duration of these interventions has ranged from single - session (Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ), to dual - session (Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ), to 3 – 6 sessions (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ), to 8 – 10 sessions (e.g., Gonzales et al., 2004 ) and longer (e.g., Duran, Yousman, Walsh et al., 2008 ).

An unresolved issue within the realm of media literacy research concerns optimal dosage and the length of expected effects on target audiences ’ attitudes and behav-iors. The fi ve or six sessions (or even more) incorporated in some media literacy curricula engage students in analyzing, critiquing, and sometimes producing media messages (e.g., Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ; Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ). These kinds of programs have been shown to produce signifi cant knowledge gains among participants but mostly modest short - term effects on atti-tudes and behavior. It can be argued, then, that the results show an additive effect of receiving the same antismoking message over a span of fi ve or six days that results in a temporary shift in attitudes. Importantly, similar effects were observed for sig-nifi cantly shorter (one - or two - session) interventions (e.g., Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Byrne, 2005 ; Nathanson & Cantor, 2000 ; Ridolfi & Vander Wal, 2008 ), suggesting that brief media literacy interventions work equally well as longer ones. For purposes of theory building and explanation, it is important to know what features of an intervention program produce necessary changes. Because the interventions incur cost (time and money), it is important to understand what kinds of strategies/programs work and do not work.

BOOM OR BOOMERANG 9

Intervention Design

Media literacy interventions are most often designed as experimental designs with a pretest and posttest (e.g., Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ; Hoffman, 1999 ), with a treatment and control group (e.g., Austin et al., 2007 ; Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ), or a combination of the treatment and control group design with pretest and posttest measures (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Chen, 2009 ; Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ; Singer et al., 1980 ).

The combination designs present a more intensive yet effi cacious model for inter-ventions. The use of control groups enables researchers to distinguish program - related cognitive and attitudinal changes from effects that might result instead from other ongoing statewide, national, or community prevention programs taking place simultaneously. The pretest – posttest designs allow for evaluation and change over time. Additionally, the inclusion of both pretest – posttest and posttest - only conditions makes it possible to identify and exclude possible testing effects (Pinkleton et al., 2007 ).

One limitation of media literacy interventions is the lack of random assignment, a must in most experimental research. Due to the practical limitations of conducting research in schools, researchers often randomly assign classes to experimental condi-tions rather than randomly assigning participants, thereby taking a more quasi - experimental stance. Random assignment is necessary for precluding group - based differences contributing to (or causing) any change that occurs. However, statistical controls must be put in place prior to analyses and differences examined on key vari-ables at baseline.

Target Group

Most interventionist media literacy work has been done with elementary and middle school children (e.g., Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Austin et al., 2005 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006 ; Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ; Chen, 2009 ; Hoffman, 1999 ; Huesman et al., 1983 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ; Singer et al., 1980 ), and some with high school students (e.g., Gonzales et al., 2004 ). According to Anderson (1983) , media content like violence, materialism, body image, risk - taking behaviors, and stereotyping of race, class, sexual identity, and gender seems to offer relevant topics for media literacy curriculum development. Underlying persuasive intent, perceived negative effects of such media messages and “ value ” laden pedagogy may be easily delivered to a young audience (Anderson, 1983 ). The research in this area is scarce and needs a much more in - depth examination of curriculum effectiveness. There are many organizations that develop media literacy curricula (e.g., National Telemedia Council, Center for Media Literacy, Media Education Foundation, Center for Media Education), but studies on effi cacy and outcomes are not abundant (Heins & Cho, 2002 ).


In recent years, media literacy interventions have been developed and tested on a more mature subset of the population, namely undergraduate students (e.g., Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ). Media literacy interventions are rarely adequately tailored to the cognitive capabilities and developmental stage of the target audience. For example, they seem to overlook the importance of one ’ s experience with persuasive messages (and substances) as a factor intervening in cog-nitive responses to media literacy programs. Though children have limited cognitive capacities and largely lack experience as persuaders and have diffi culty recognizing and critically evaluating persuasive efforts, adolescents possess more advanced cogni-tive skills and are experienced persuaders (O ’ Keefe, 2002 ). Hence, typical media lit-eracy interventions that emphasize both passive learning and active skill acquisition better fi t the cognitive abilities and needs of younger children. Research fi ndings are consistent with this rationale, demonstrating favorable effects of these programs on elementary and middle school - aged children (e.g., Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Austin et al., 2005 ; Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ).

However, research also demonstrates that the effects of educational interventions on children and young adolescents decay over time as they age and are exposed to other sources of infl uence such as peers (Bauman & Ennett, 1996 ; Prinstein, 2001 ). This is likely related to the tendency of older adolescents to grow skeptical of passive educational efforts that lack sophistication matching their cognitive capabilities and experience with persuasion ( Jacobsohn, 2007 ). One result is that traditional media literacy approaches are not as successful with this subpopulation as they are with younger subpopulations (e.g., Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Wilksch, Durbridge, & Wade, 2008 ). Media literacy interventions targeting older adolescents need to establish similar success rates to gain appropriate recognition from scholars and practitioners.

Intervention Modality

Media literacy interventions have been designed and presented using different modal-ities, such as videotaped instruction (Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ) or workshops with participants (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Chen, 2009 ; Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ). Different interventions use different combinations of lessons and exercises, such as critical analysis of clips, producing one ’ s own message, and assigning home-work done without the direct supervision of the teacher. Future research on media literacy should also examine effective practices that must be embraced by media education teachers (however, no research to date has compared intervention across modalities).

Today, children learn as much (or maybe less) from traditional media as they learn from new media such as the Internet. Hobbs and Frost (2003) note the challenges posed by new electronic media forms as opposed to traditional print or mass elec-

BOOM OR BOOMERANG 11

tronic forms such as television. The effects and effi cacy of media literacy interven-tions need to be considered in the context of new and evolving media forms and media convergence (Livingstone, 2004 ; Rothenberg, 2002 ) and the combination of strategies such as advertising, information, and entertainment within the same media message (Grigorovici & Constantin, 2004 ; Shrum, 2004 ). For instance, a media lit-eracy intervention could look at the most widely used information source on the Internet, Wikipedia (and possibly other informational sites), to identify and analyze the accuracy of information, intellectual property, the perspective of the producer addressing issues such as who is presenting what to whom, and why ( Jenkins, Purushotma, Weigel et al., 2009 ).

Causal Process

Much research on media literacy is atheoretical and there is a lack of clarity about the causal process (or processes) through which media literacy interventions infl u-ence attitudes and behaviors of their target audience (e.g., Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ). Whereas there have been some efforts by scholars to explain the cognitive involvement and subsequent change in beliefs and attitudes (e.g., Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ), much work still needs to explicate those mechanisms underlying the effects.

Media literacy programs employ a variety of strategies but previous evaluations of media literacy intervention programs assessed changes in attitudes and/or behav-iors without providing explanations of why and how the participants change attitude and/or behavior when exposed to these programs. Such interventions limit the outcome measures to knowledge or behavior. It is important to explain why and how change occurs to fully understand the role of the intervention (Derzon & Lipsey, 2002 ). What kind of cognitive processes do the program participants engage in that causes them to change their attitudes, norms, and subsequent behavior? Relatedly, in many instances, attitude change does not lead to behavior change (see Hornik, 2002 ). To understand how an intervention produces long - term change in attitude, which further results in changed behavior, it is important to understand the learning process. This process - oriented aspect of intervention effi cacy is undocumented to this point.

The only consistent effort made in this direction is by Austin and colleagues in their development and use of the message interpretation process (MIP) model (Austin & Knaus, 2000 ; Austin & Meili, 1994 ; Austin, Pinkleton, & Fujioka, 2000 ). The MIP is a decision - making theory and specifi cally targets individuals ’ interpretations of mediated messages. According to the MIP model, individuals ’ decision - making is composed of both logic - and affect - based decision - making processes, including perceived realism, desirability, similarity, identifi cation, and expectancies, all of which lead to individuals ’ behavioral intention and enactment of actual behavior (Austin et al., 2000 ). Media literacy research utilizing MIP has shown that media


literacy interventions can affect the decision - making process of adolescents, further leading to changes in attitudes and/or behaviors (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Chen, 2009 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ). More research is needed that is strongly grounded in social - cognitive and behavior change theories to allow for a causal explanation of how media literacy interventions work.

Diff erent Strategies for Media Literacy Interventions

According to Davies (1996) , the backbone of media literacy education involves learn-ing technical skills to decode the meaning behind the media and developing a critical understanding of the relationship between different message content. In terms of strategies for media literacy education, two different kinds of media literacy work-shops have been designed and evaluated by researchers, one focusing on analysis and the other on production of media messages – the two key components of media literacy curricula (Aufderheide & Firestone, 1993 ).

Analysis Masterman (2001) stresses the signifi cance of making the textual investigation of any medium more systematic and rigorous by understanding the key concepts, which include: genre (specifi c kinds of media content, e.g., drama, comedy, situation comedy, talk shows, news, advertising, cartoons), narrative structure (traditional devices used to tell a story, including setting, character development, confl ict, confl ict resolution, and conclusion), sources (creator and disseminator of information, could be a person via a blog, organization through a website, or television channel), and encoding/decoding (messages are created, or “ encoded, ” by media producers with a preferred meaning in mind, and then consumed, or “ decoded, ” by a receiver or audience). This approach to media education allows students to analyze media mes-sages by describing “ what ’ s going on ” in detail. Because the students are involved in a critical examination of media messages, this strategy is called the “ analysis ” module of media literacy. The analysis module can be used for messages that are both pro - and anti - risk behaviors but research to date has not separated and evaluated these two kinds of messages.

Production Another kind of media literacy program focuses on understanding and applying the production process of television (or any other media form), including lighting, camera angles, sound, time and motion (Fisherkeller, 2000 ; Mudore, 2000 ; Singer et al., 1980 ; Zettl, 1998 ). This kind of information provides children with an under-standing of how media messages are constructed and how interactions among various production techniques produce specifi c effects. The production approach of media literacy, however, encompasses some amount of analysis too. According to Kubey (2000) , providing opportunities for children to create their own media stories,


documentaries, or news can help students understand the entire process of media production. In addition, students learn best by doing and getting hands - on experi-ence. Tyner (1992) cautions production - centered media educators because the excitement of creating their own media can often lead to a lack of critical understand-ing of the media message by students. Nevertheless, the production approach to media literacy is often credited for increasing student self - esteem by engaging them and providing opportunities for self - expression (Tyner, 1992 ). Because the students are themselves involved in creating media messages, this strategy is called the “ pro-duction ” module of media literacy.

Examining Analysis vs. Production Strategies The two strategies of media literacy training, analysis and production, are utilized in the creation of media literacy curricula (see Austin & Johnson, 1997 ; Bergsma & Ingram, 2001 ; Pinkleton et al., 2003 ). However, for practical and economic purposes, it becomes necessary to evaluate the difference in effi cacy of the two strategies. A review of the available literature suggests that no research to date (with the exception of Banerjee & Greene, 2006, 2007 ) has tested message analysis versus message pro-duction strategies for changing attitude, intention, and behavior. Banerjee and Greene ’ s (2006, 2007) research provided greater support in favor of the production approach in bringing about desired changes in intention to smoke and attitude toward smoking. In terms of cognitive processes, there was an overall support for production workshops eliciting more attention and more positive workshop percep-tions than analysis workshops.

Most of the media literacy interventions are focused almost exclusively on having participants acquire the knowledge/skills needed to resist infl uence from persuasive media messages but generally fail to form students ’ motivation to resist such infl u-ences. In many interventions (Hafstad & Aaro, 1997 ; Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2007 ; Siegel & Biener, 2002 ; Sly, Hopkins, Trapido et al., 2001 ; Worden & Flynn, 2002 ), students either passively (when they are “ told ” rather than a two - way discus-sion) receive persuasive messages/advertisements or engage through discussion activities. Ample research demonstrates that actively engaging audiences in preven-tion interventions is a more effective strategy than passive reception (Botvin & Griffi n, 2007 ; Tobler, Roona, Ochshorn et al., 2000 ).

Understanding Media Habits and Media Literacy Another approach to media literacy can involve having young people examine and come to better understand their media habits. One area that can be pursued is for young people, as well as adults, to learn the ways that various media, television in particular and also videogames, get us to view or play longer than we intended. Television frequently teases the next program and tries to hold viewers longer. Videogames are highly habit forming because players want to achieve higher scores or advance through levels and opponents. Videogames also inculcate the experience of “ fl ow ” wherein a person concentrates deeply, enjoys the experience, and keeps


playing for long periods of time as long as the challenges of the activity are well in line with the person ’ s skill level (Kubey & Csikszentmihalyi, 1990 ).

Flow often comes about when the challenges of an activity closely match the skill of the person. As importantly, rapid feedback is critical to a person experiencing fl ow. In videogame play, the game keeps getting harder and stays well matched with the player ’ s skill level, which is also increasing, and the feedback is nearly instantaneous. Further, players today are often playing with others in the same room or online and form teams, and a player cannot readily be pulled from the game without letting his or her teammates down. By learning how television, videogames, and the Internet hold our attention, either by their nature or intentionally by the creators, people can become more aware of how they get pulled in and why it is often so hard to pull oneself away.

Following on the work of Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi (1990, 2002) that demon-strated that television viewing could be habit forming, Brock (2006) ran an experi-ment with children and was able to show that having young people go without television for a month was, indeed, possible. Indeed, some children volunteered to go even further and do without television for three months. The key, which surprised the researchers, was that so many children succeeded and it was clearly the result of the enterprise being a group effort. One child by herself might not have lasted long, but a whole class of fellow students made the difference. It became a social, team enterprise.

Young people can be helped to become more aware of their media habits by keeping a personal diary of media use to see how many hours each day or week are spent on television, videogames, the Internet, and so on. The idea is not to demonize these media but to heighten student awareness of how refl exive media use can be.

A Final Word on Effi cacy

Some media literacy interventions do seem to help participants to become better “ critical thinkers ” about media content, processes, and effects (e.g., Austin et al., 2005 ; Gonzales et al., 2004 ; Pinkleton et al., 2007 ; Reichert et al., 2007 ; Scharrer, 2006 ). Media literacy instruction also appears to trigger some thought about media content and its comparison to “ the real world ” (e.g., Rosenkoetter et al., 2004 ; Scharrer, 2006 ). Gonzales et al. (2004) conclude: “ Media literacy within the conceptual context of social infl uence emphasizes the importance of environmental metacontingencies that can infl uence behavior change and offers an important rationale for understand-ing mechanisms that could contribute to sustained behavior change ” (p. 197).

However, some media literacy interventions have shown mixed or inconclusive results. For instance, Wilksch et al. (2008) examined the effi cacy of a media literacy intervention targeting perfectionism and media literacy compared to control classes in reducing eating disorder risk with adolescent females aged around 15 years. Perfectionism was defi ned by personal standards (the extent to which an individual


sets and tries to achieve high standards for himself/herself; Shafran, Lee, Payne et al., 2006 ) and concern over mistakes (the extent to which an individual has exces-sive concern about making mistakes and consequences for self - worth and others ’ opinions; Bulik, Tozzi, Anderson et al., 2003 ). In eight sessions each, the perfection-ism intervention addressed issues related to eating disorders such as what is perfec-tionism, assessment of self - perfectionism, what and who infl uences perfectionism, and changing behavior. Media literacy intervention, on the other hand, addressed issues such as stereotyping, media advertising, pressures from media, and consumer activism. The perfectionism intervention was overall more successful than the media literacy intervention or control group on some outcomes. Media literacy interven-tion, however, recorded no statistical improvements across the assessment points, and results for the media literacy program were comparable to those of the control condition. Wilksch et al. (2008) conclude by stating that “ further investigation is required to determine the demographic most likely to benefi t from media literacy ” (p. 939).

In another study, Robinson et al. (2001) tested their media literacy curriculum designed with the goal of reducing children ’ s exposure to media violence on third and fourth graders. The 18 lessons included topics such as budgeting time spent with media, participating in a “ turnoff ” exercise, and selectively choosing media. Children who participated in the curriculum experienced a signifi cant drop in aggressive play-ground incidents but there were no signifi cant changes in their perceptions of the world as mean and dangerous. A media literacy study was designed by Dorr, Grave, and Phelps (1980) to develop and test media literacy curricula based on “ industry ” (production of entertainment programs and industry ’ s economic system), “ process ” (processes and sources for evaluating television content), and “ social reasoning ” (role - taking skills). The overall results showed that children learned the curricula and used the curricula to discuss television ’ s reality. However, children ’ s attitudes did not change as a result of learning the curricula.

Ramasubramanian and Oliver (2007) caution against sporadic use of media liter-acy and conclude that “ media literacy training might have a boomerang effect by activating prejudice instead of decreasing such feelings ” (p. 641). In their study, Ramasubramanian and Oliver (2007) explored the role of media literacy training and counterstereotypical media exemplars in decreasing prejudicial responses toward Asian Indians, African Americans, and Caucasian Americans. Participants were exposed to a media literacy video or a control group video, followed by an activity to analyze stereotypical or counterstereotypical news stories. The media literacy video introduced participants to the harmful effects of media and the tendency of media consumers to make generalizations based on biased media exemplars. The video also focused on strategies for becoming critical and refl ective consumers of media messages. In contrast, the control video focused on various journalistic writing styles such as hard news, feature writing, and so on. Contrary to the researchers ’ expectations, results revealed that the media literacy video seemed to increase preju-dicial responses as compared to the control video. One of the reasons for such a


fi nding could be attributed to the fact that the media literacy training utilized in this study was primarily a didactic one - way exercise and did not involve any discussions or interactions between participants, which cautions us against the use of media literacy as a purely “ preachy ” or “ didactic ” strategy.

In fact, Byrne (2009) suggests that using media literacy activities in the classroom without involving a cognitive activity may actually backfi re. In a study on reducing aggression from exposure to violence in the media, Byrne (2009) demonstrated that fourth and fi fth grade students who were exposed to a purely didactic media literacy lesson without involving a cognitive activity reported greater likelihood of using aggression as compared to participants who were exposed to the didactic media lit-eracy lesson combined with a cognitive activity after the lesson. One of the reasons for this fi nding may be that the media literacy didactic lesson increased participant attention to violence in the media but did not give students any cognitive skills to resist the effects of violence (Byrne, 2009 ). Therefore, it can be concluded that media literacy interventions need to take on a more participatory role wherein both teach-ers and students are engaged in tasks involving critical thinking skills. Giving greater empowerment or “ voice ” to the younger audience while teaching them certain ana-lytic skills may improve effi cacy of media literacy interventions.

Conclusion

Research on media literacy remains in its infancy in the United States. It is, after all, a relatively new fi eld. We believe we can expect better studies in the years ahead that will shed more light on what sorts of media literacy education interventions are most effective. The future is bright for media literacy education and research, but increased funding is also needed, especially on basic research problems. Although interspersing media literacy research with social or health - related issues makes it diffi cult to design the research so that it focuses exclusively on media literacy, designing media literacy interventions to address a relevant social or health issue allows for better funding opportunities to examine media literacy effi cacy with a greater focus on appropriate outcomes. Media literacy intervention research is a ripe area for future research endeavors to help develop not just effi cacious interventions but to examine the causal processes that make such interventions effi cacious.

REFERENCES

Anderson , J. A. ( 1983 ). The theoretical lineage of critical viewing curricula . Journal of Communication , 30 , 64 – 71 .

Aufderheide , P. , & Firestone , C. ( 1993 ). Media literacy: A report of the national leadership confer-ence on media literacy . Queenstown, MD : Aspen Institute .


Austin , E. W. , & Johnson , K. ( 1997 ). Effects of general and alcohol - specifi c media literacy training on children ’ s decision making about alcohol . Journal of Health Communication , 2 , 17 – 42 .

Austin , E. W. , & Knaus , C. ( 2000 ). Predicting the potential for risky behavior among those “ too young ” to drink as the result of appealing advertising . Journal of Health Communication , 5 , 13 – 27 .

Austin , E. W. , & Meili , H. K. ( 1994 ). Effects of interpretations of televised alcohol portrayals on children ’ s alcohol beliefs . Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media , 38 , 417 – 435 .

Austin , E. W. , Miller , A. R. , Silva , S. , et al. ( 2002 ). The effects of increased awareness on college students ’ interpretations of magazine advertisements for alcohol . Communication Research , 29 , 155 – 179 .

Austin , E. W. , Pinkleton , B. E. , & Fujioka , Y. ( 2000 ). The role of interpretation processes and parental discussion in the media ’ s effects on adolescents ’ use of alcohol . Pediatrics , 105 , 343 – 349 .

Austin , E. W. , Pinkleton , B. E. , & Funabiki , R. P. ( 2007 ). The desirability paradox in the effects of media literacy training . Communication Research , 34 , 483 – 506 .

Austin , E. W. , Pinkleton , B. E. , Hust , S. J. T. , et al. ( 2005 ). Evaluation of an American Legacy Foundation/Washington State Department of Health media literacy pilot study . Health Communication , 18 , 75 – 95 .

Banerjee , S. C. , & Greene , K. ( 2006 ). Analysis versus production: Adolescent cognitive and attitudinal responses to anti - smoking interventions . Journal of Communication , 56 , 773 – 794 .

Banerjee , S. C. , & Greene , K. ( 2007 ). Anti - smoking initiatives: Examining effects of inoculation - based media literacy interventions on smoking - related attitude, norm, and behavioral intention . Health Communication , 22 , 37 – 48 .

Bauman , K. E. , & Ennett , S. T. ( 1996 ). On the importance of peer infl uence for adolescent drug use: Commonly neglected considerations . Addiction , 91 , 185 – 198 .

Beltramini , R. F. , & Bridge , P. D. ( 2001 ). Relationship between tobacco advertising and youth smoking: Assessing the effectiveness of a school - based antismoking intervention program . Journal of Consumer Affairs , 35 , 263 – 277 .

Bergsma , L. J. , & Ingram , M. ( 2001 ). Blowing smoke: Project evaluation fi nal report . Tucson, AZ : University of Arizona Health Sciences Center .

Botvin , G. J. , & Griffi n , K. W. ( 2007 ). School - based programmes to prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use . International Review of Psychiatry , 19 , 607 – 615 .

Brock , B. ( 2006 ). Living outside the box . Spokane, WA : Eastern Washington University Press . Brown , J. A. ( 1998 ). Media literacy perspectives . Journal of Communication , 48 , 44 – 57 . Bulik , C. M. , Tozzi , F. , Anderson , C. , et al. ( 2003 ). The relation between eating disorders and

components of perfectionism . American Journal of Psychiatry , 160 , 366 – 368 . Byrne , S. ( 2005 ). Effective and lasting media literacy interventions . Proceedings of the

International Communications Association , 1 – 35 . Byrne , S. ( 2009 ). Media literacy interventions: What makes them boom or boomerang?

Communication Education , 58 , 1 – 14 . Center for Media Literacy . ( 2007 ). Five key questions . Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://

www.medialit.org/reading_room/article661.html . Chen , Y. ( 2009 ). The role of media literacy in changing adolescents ’ responses to alcohol advertising .

Paper presented to the Children, Adolescent, and the Media Interest Group of the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Chicago, IL.


Chernin , A. ( 2008 ). The effects of food marketing on children ’ s preferences: Testing the moderating roles of age and gender . Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 615 , 101 – 118 .

Collins , J. ( 1999 ). Media literacy: From viewing to doing . Book Report , 18 (2), 23 – 25 . Davies , J. ( 1996 ). Educating students in a media - saturated culture . Lancaster, PA : Technomic

Publishing . Derzon , J. H. , & Lipsey , M. W. ( 2002 ). A meta - analysis of the effectiveness of mass commu-

nication for changing substance - use knowledge, attitudes and behavior . In W. D. Crano & M. Burgoon (Eds.), Mass media and drug prevention: Classic and contemporary theories and research (pp. 231 – 258 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Dorr , A. , Grave , S. B. , & Phelps , E. ( 1980 ). Television literacy for young children . Journal of Communication , 30 ( 3 ), 71 – 83 .

Duran , R. L. , Yousman , B. , Walsh , K. M. , et al. ( 2008 ). Holistic media education: An assess-ment of the effectiveness of a college course in media literacy . Communication Quarterly , 56 , 49 – 68 .

Fisherkeller , J. E. ( 2000 ). “ The writers are getting kind of desperate ” : Young adolescents, television, and literacy . Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy , 43 , 596 – 606 .

Gonzales , R. , Glik , D. , Davoudi , M. , et al. ( 2004 ). Media literacy and public health: Integrating theory, research, and practice for tobacco control . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 189 – 201 .

Grigorovici , D. M. , & Constantin , C. D. ( 2004 ). Experiencing interactive advertising beyond rich media: Impacts of ad type and presence on brand effectiveness in 3D gaming immer-sive virtual environments . Journal of Interactive Advertising , 5 ( 1 ), 1 – 26 .

Hafstad , A. , & Aaro , L. E. ( 1997 ). Activating interpersonal infl uence through provocative appeals: Evaluation of a mass media - based antismoking campaign targeting adolescents . Health Communication , 9 , 253 – 272 .

Heins , M. , & Cho , C. ( 2002 ). Media literacy: An alternative to censorship . New York, NY : Free Expression Policy Project .

Hindin , T. J. , Contento , I. R. , & Gussow , J. D. ( 2004 ). A media literacy nutrition education curriculum for Head Start parents about the effects of television advertising on their chil-dren ’ s food requests . Journal of the American Dietetic Association , 104 , 192 – 198 .

Hobbs , R. ( 1998 ). The seven great debates in the media literacy movement . Journal of Communication , 48 , 16 – 32 .

Hobbs , R. , & Frost , R. ( 2003 ). Measuring the acquisition of media - literacy skills . Reading Research Quarterly , 38 ( 3 ), 330 – 355 .

Hoffman , G. ( 1999 ). Media literacy study . ETC: A Review of General Semantics , 56 , 165 – 171 . Hornik , R. C. ( 2002 ). Public health communication: Making sense of contradictory evidence .

In R. C. Hornik (Ed.), Public health communication: Evidence for behavior change (pp. 1 – 22 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Huesman , L. R. , & Eron , L. D. ( 1986 ). Television and the aggressive child: A cross - national com-parison . Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Huesman , L. R. , Eron , L. D. , Klein , R. , et al. ( 1983 ). Mitigating the imitation of aggressive behaviors by changing children ’ s attitudes about media violence . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 44 , 899 – 910 .

Irving , L. M. , & Berel , S. R. ( 2001 ). Comparison of media - literacy programs to strengthen college women ’ s resistance to media images . Psychology of Women Quarterly , 25 ( 2 ), 103 – 111 .


Jacobsohn , L. S. ( 2007 ). Explaining the boomerang effects of the national youth anti - drug media campaign . Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences , 68 , 1717 .

Jenkins , H. , Purushotma , R. , Weigel , M. , et al. ( 2009 ). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century . Cambridge, MA : MIT Press .

Kubey , R. ( 1998 ). Obstacles to the development of media education in the United States . Journal of Communication , 48 , 58 – 69 .

Kubey , R. ( 2000 ). Media literacy: Required reading for the 21st century . High School Magazine , 7 (8), 29 – 34 .

Kubey , R. ( 2004 ). What is media literacy and why is it important? Television Quarterly , 34 , 21 – 27 .

Kubey , R. , & Csikszentmihalyi , M. ( 1990 ). Television and the quality of life: How viewing shapes everyday experience . Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Kubey , R. , & Csikszentmihalyi , M. ( 2002 , February). Television addiction is no mere meta-phor . Scientifi c American , 286 , 74 – 80 .

Kunkel , D. , Wilcox , B. L. , Cantor , J. , et al. ( 2004 ). Report of the APA taskforce on advertising and children . Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Echawisconsin%2Eorg%2FObesity%2FO2ChildAds%2Epdf & images=no .

Levine , M. P. , Piran , N. , & Stoddard , C. ( 1999 ). Mission more probable: Media literacy, activ-ism, and advocacy in the prevention of eating disorders . In N. Piran , M. P. Levine , & C. Steiner - Adair (Eds.), Preventing eating disorders: A handbook of interventions and special chal-lenges (pp. 3 – 25 ). Philadelphia, PA : Brunner/Mazel .

Levine , M. P. , Smolak , L. , & Schermer , F. ( 1996 ). Media analysis and resistance by elementary school children in the primary prevention of eating problems . Eating Disorders , 4 , 310 – 322 .

Livingstone , S. ( 2004 ). What is media literacy? Intermedia , 32 , 18 – 20 . Masterman , L. ( 2001 ). A rationale for media education . In R. Kubey (Ed.), Media literacy in

the information age: Current perspectives ( 2nd ed., pp. 15 – 68 ). New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Publishers .

Media literacy drug prevention teacher survey report . ( 2002 ). New York Times Newspaper in Education Program with Sponsorship from the Offi ce of National Drug Control Policy. Retrieved February 23, 2006, from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/NIE/medialiteracy/intro.pdf .

Mudore , C. F. ( 2000 ). Does TV violence kill? Current Health , 26 ( 6 ), 24 – 26 . Nathanson , A. I. ( 2004 ). Factual and evaluative approaches to modifying children ’ s responses

to violent television . Journal of Communication , 54 , 321 – 336 . Nathanson , A. I. , & Cantor , J. ( 2000 ). Reducing the aggression - promoting effect of violent

cartoons by increasing children ’ s fi ctional involvement with the victim: A study of active mediation . Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media , 44 , 125 – 142 .

National Association for Media Literacy Education . ( 2010a ). Retrieved January 13, 2010, from http://www.amlainfo.org/media - literacy/defi nitions .

National Association for Media Literacy Education . ( 2010b ). Retrieved January 13, 2010, from http://www.amlainfo.org/media - literacy/support - statements .

O ’ Keefe , D. J. ( 2002 ). Persuasion: Theory and research ( 2nd ed. ) Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage . Pinkleton , B. E. , Austin , E. W. , Cohen , M. , et al. ( 2003 , June). Effects of media literacy training

among adolescents and the role of previous experience . Paper presented at the Alliance for Media Literate America Conference, Baltimore, MD.


Pinkleton , B. E. , Austin , E. W. , Cohen , M. , et al. ( 2007 ). A statewide evaluation of the effec-tiveness of media literacy training to prevent tobacco use among adolescents . Health Communication , 21 , 23 – 34 .

Potter , W. J. ( 2004 ). Theory of media literacy: A cognitive approach . Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage . Prinstein , M. J. ( 2001 ). Adolescents ’ and their friends ’ health - risk behavior: Factors that alter

or add to peer infl uence . Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 26 , 287 – 298 . Quesada , A. , Miller , E. , & Armstrong , S. ( 2000 ). The media literacy imperative . Technology

and Learning , 21 ( 3 ), 49 – 54 . Ramasubramanian , S. , & Oliver , M. B. ( 2007 ). Activating and suppressing hostile and benevo-

lent racism: Evidence for comparative stereotyping . Media Psychology , 9 , 623 – 646 . Reichert , T. , LaTour , M. S. , Lambiase , J. J. , et al. ( 2007 ). A test of media literacy effects and

sexual objectifi cation in advertising . Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising , 29 , 81 – 92 .

Ridolfi , D. R. , & Vander Wal , J. S. ( 2008 ). Eating disorders awareness week: The effectiveness of a one - time body - image dissatisfaction prevention session . Eating Disorders , 16 , 428 – 443 .

Robinson , T. N. , Wilde , M. L. , Navracruz , L. C. , et al. ( 2001 ). Effects of reducing children ’ s television and video game use on aggressive behavior: A randomized controlled trial . Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine , 155 , 17 – 23 .

Rosenkoetter , L. I. , Rosenkoetter , S. , Ozretich , R. A. , et al. ( 2004 ). Mitigating the harmful effects of violent television . Applied Developmental Psychology , 25 , 25 – 47 .

Rothenberg , R. ( 2002 ). Convergence likely to render restriction of liquor ads futile . Advertising Age , 73 ( 7 ), 14 .

Scharrer , E. ( 2006 ). “ I noticed more violence ” : The effects of a media literacy program on critical attitudes toward media violence . Journal of Mass Media Ethics , 21 , 69 – 86 .

Shafran , R. , Lee , M. , Payne , E. , et al. ( 2006 ). The impact of manipulating personal standards on eating attitudes and behaviour . Behavior Research and Therapy , 44 , 897 – 906 .

Shrum , L. J. (Ed.). ( 2004 ). The psychology of entertainment media: Blurring the lines between enter-tainment and persuasion . Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Siegel , M. , & Biener , L. ( 2002 ). The impact of antismoking media campaigns on progression to established smoking: Results of a longitudinal youth study in Massachusetts . In R. C. Hornik (Ed.), Public health communication: Evidence for behavior change (pp. 115 – 130 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Singer , D. G. , Zuckerman , D. M. , & Singer , J. L. ( 1980 ). Helping elementary school children learn about TV . Journal of Communication , 30 , 84 – 93 .

Sly , D. F. , Hopkins , R. S. , Trapido , E. , et al. ( 2001 ). Infl uence of a counteradvertising media campaign on initiation of smoking: The Florida “ truth ” campaign . American Journal of Public Health , 91 , 233 – 238 .

Stice , E. , & Shaw , H. ( 2004 ). Eating disorder prevention programs: A meta - analytic review . Psychological Bulletin , 130 , 206 – 227 .

Thompson , J. K. , Heinberg , L. J. , Altabe , M. , et al. ( 1999 ). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance . Washington, DC : American Psychological Association .

Tobler , N. S. , Roona , M. R. , Ochshorn , P. , et al. ( 2000 ). School - based adolescent drug preven-tion programs: 1998 meta - analysis . Journal of Primary Prevention , 20 , 275 – 336 .

Tyner , K. ( 1992 ). The tale of the elephant: Media education in the United States . In C. Bazalgette , E. Bevort , & J. Savino (Eds.), New directions: Media education worldwide (pp. 170 – 176 ). London, UK : British Film Institute .


Unger , J. B. , Cruz , T. B. , Schuster , D. , et al. ( 2001 ). Measuring exposure to pro - and anti - tobacco marketing among adolescents: Intercorrelations among measures and associations with smoking status . Journal of Health Communication , 6 , 11 – 29 .

Wade , T. D. , Davidson , S. , & O ’ Dea , J. A. ( 2003 ). A preliminary controlled evaluation of a school - based media literacy program and self - esteem program for reducing eating disorder risk factors . International Journal of Eating Disorders , 33 , 371 – 383 .

Ward , S. , Wackman , D. B. , & Wartella , E. ( 1977 ). How children learn to buy: The development of consumer information processing skills . Beverly Hills, CA : Sage .

Watson , R. , & Vaughn , L. M. ( 2006 ). Limiting the effects of the media on body image: Does the length of a media literacy intervention make a difference? Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention , 14 , 386 – 400 .

Wilksch , S. M. , Durbridge , M. , & Wade , T. D. ( 2008 ). A preliminary controlled comparison of programs designed to reduce risk for eating disorders targeting perfectionism and media literacy . Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 47 , 939 – 947 .

Worden , J. K. , & Flynn , B. S. ( 2002 ). Using mass media to prevent cigarette smoking . In R. C. Hornik (Ed.), Public health communication: Evidence for behavior change (pp. 23 – 34 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Zettl , H. ( 1998 ). Contextual media aesthetics as the basis for media literacy . Journal of Communication , 48 , 81 – 95 .

FURTHER READING

Austin , E. W. ( 2006 ). The Message Interpretation Process model . In J. J. Arnett (Ed.), Encyclopedia of children, adolescents, and the media (pp. 535 – 536 ). Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage .

Austin , E. W. , Chen , M. , & Grube , J. W. ( 2006 ). How does alcohol advertising infl uence under-age drinking? The role of desirability, identifi cation and skepticism . Journal of Adolescent Health , 38 , 376 – 384 .

Austin , E. W. , Chen , Y. , Pinkleton , B. E. , et al. ( 2006 ). The benefi ts and costs of Channel One in a middle school setting and the role of media literacy training . Pediatrics , 117 , 423 – 433 .

Austin , E. W. , Pinkleton , B. E. , Van de Vord , R. , et al. ( 2006 ). How orientations toward media use affect media literacy outcomes in a test focused on Channel One news . Academic Exchange Journal , 10 , 115 – 120 .

Banaji , S. , & Burn , A. ( 2007 ). Creativity through a rhetorical lens: Implications for schooling, literacy and media education . Literacy , 41 (2), 62 – 70 .

Bergsma , L. J. ( 2002 ). Media literacy and prevention: Going beyond “ just say no. ” In Thinking critically about media: Schools and families in partnership (pp. 13 – 18 ). Alexandria, VA : Cable in the Classroom .

Blosser , B. J. , & Roberts , D. F. ( 1985 ). Age differences in children ’ s perceptions of message intent: Responses to TV news, commercials, educational spots, and public service announce-ments . Communication Research , 12 , 455 – 484 .

Buckingham , D. ( 1990 ). Watching media learning: Making sense of media education . London, UK : Falmer .

Buckingham , D. ( 1993 ). Children talking television: The making of television literacy . London, UK : Falmer .


Buckingham , D. ( 1998 ). Media education in the UK: Moving beyond protectionism . Journal of Communication , 48 , 33 – 43 .

Comer , J. S. , Furr , J. M. , Beidas , R. S. , et al. ( 2008 ). Children and terrorism - related news: Training parents in coping and media literacy . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 76 , 568 – 578 .

Considine , D. M. , & Haley , G. E. ( 1992 ). Visual messages: Integrating imagery into instruction . Englewood, CO : Teachers Ideas Press .

Covington , W. , Jr . ( 2004 ). Creativity in teaching media literacy . International Journal of Instructional Media , 31 ( 2 ), 119 – 124 .

Desimoni , C. ( 1992 ). Breaking new ground: Experimental work in the canton of Vaud . In C. Bazalgette , E. Bevort , & J. Savino (Eds.), New directions: Media education worldwide (pp. 31 – 41 ). London, UK : British Film Institute .

Eagle , L. ( 2007 ). Commercial media literacy: What does it do, to whom – and does it matter? Journal of Advertising , 36 (2), 101 – 110 .

Engeln - Maddox , R. , & Miller , S. A. ( 2008 ). Talking back to the media ideal: The development and validation of the critical processing of beauty images scale . Psychology of Women Quarterly , 32 , 159 – 171 .

Flood , J. , Heath , S. B. , & Lapp , D. ( 1997 ). Handbook of research on teaching literacy through the communicative and visual arts . New York, NY : International Reading Association/Macmillan .

Fuller , H. A. , Damico , A. M. , & Rodgers , S. ( 2004 ). Impact of a health and media literacy curriculum on 4th - grade girls: A qualitative study . Journal of Research in Childhood Education , 19 ( 1 ), 66 – 78 .

Galician , M. - L. ( 2004 ). Introduction: High time for “ dis - illusioning ” ourselves and our media: Media literacy in the 21st century, Part I: Strategies for schools (K - 12 and Higher Education) . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 7 – 17 .

Halloran , J. D. , & Jones , M. ( 1992 ). The inoculation approach . In M. Alvarado & O. Boyd - Barrett (Eds.), Media education: An introduction (pp. 10 – 13 ). London, UK : British Film Institute .

Hart , A. ( 1997 ). Textual pleasures and moral dilemmas: Teaching media literacy in England . In R. Kubey (Ed.), Media literacy in the information age (pp. 199 – 211 ). New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Publishers .

Hart , A. ( 1998 ). Introduction: Media education in the global village . In A. Hart (Ed.), Teaching the media: International perspectives (pp. 1 – 22 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Hartley , J. , Goulden , H. , & O ’ Sullivan , T. ( 1985 ). Making sense of the media . London, UK : Comedia .

Hobbs , R. ( 1998 ). Media literacy in Massachusetts . In A. Hart (Ed.), Teaching the media: International perspectives (pp. 127 – 144 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Hobbs , R. ( 1999 ). Assignment: Media literacy . Bethesda, MD : Maryland State Department of Education/Discovery Communications .

Hobbs , R. ( 2001 ). Expanding the concept of literacy . In R. Kubey (Ed.), Media literacy in the information age: Current perspectives ( 2nd ed., pp. 163 – 186 ). New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Publishers .

Hobbs , R. ( 2004 ). A review of school - based initiatives in media literacy education . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 42 – 59 .

Hobbs , R. , & Frost , R. ( 1999 ). Instructional practices in media literacy education and their impact on students ’ learning . New Jersey Journal of Communication , 6 , 123 – 148 .


Horton , R. W. , & Santogrossi , D. A. ( 1978 ). The effect of adult commentary on reducing the infl uence of televised violence . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 4 , 337 – 340 .

Hundley , H. L. ( 2004 ). A college professor teaches a fourth - grade media literacy unit on televi-sion commercials: Lessons learned by the students – and by the teacher . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 84 – 91 .

Kavoori , A. P. ( 2007 ). Media literacy, “ thinking television, ” and African American communica-tion . Cultural Studies – Critical Methodologies , 7 , 460 – 483 .

Kline , S. , Stewart , K. , & Murphy , D. ( 2006 ). Media literacy in the risk society: Toward a risk reduction strategy . Canadian Journal of Education , 29 , 131 – 153 .

Lewis , J. , & Jhally , S. ( 2000 ). The struggle over media literacy . In H. Newcomb (Ed.), Television: The critical view (pp. 439 – 450 ). New York, NY : Oxford University Press .

Livingstone , S. , & Helsper , E. J. ( 2006 ). Does advertising literacy mediate the effects of adver-tising on children? A critical examination of two linked research literatures in relation to obesity and food choice . Journal of Communication , 56 , 560 – 584 .

Masterman , L. ( 1985 ). Teaching the media . London, UK : Routledge . McBrien , J. L. ( 1999 ). New texts, new tools: An argument for media literacy . Educational

Leadership , 57 , 76 – 79 . Merskin , D. ( 2004 ). Reviving Lolita? A media literacy examination of sexual portrayals of girls

in fashion advertising . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 119 – 129 . Natharius , D. ( 2004 ). The more we know, the more we see: The role of visuality in media

literacy . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 238 – 247 . Park , S. H. , & Kwon , S. H. ( 2008 ). Development of a media literacy education programme

for children based on activity theory: Colloquium . British Journal of Educational Technology , 39 , 732 – 733 .

Piette , J. , & Giroux , L. ( 2001 ). The theoretical foundations of media education programs . In R. Kubey (Ed.), Media literacy in the information age: Current perspectives ( 2nd ed., pp. 89 – 134 ). New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Publishers .

Pinkleton , B. E. , & Austin , E. W. ( 1998 ). Media and participation: Breaking the spiral of disaf-fection . In T. J. Johnson , C. E. Hays , & S. P. Hays (Eds.), Engaging the public: How government and the media can reinvigorate American democracy (pp. 75 – 86 ). Boulder, CO : Rowman & Littlefi eld .

Primack , B. A. , Gold , M. A. , Land , S. R. , et al. ( 2006 ). Association of cigarette smoking and media literacy about smoking among adolescents . Journal of Adolescent Health , 39 , 465 – 472 .

Rogow , F. ( 2004 ). Shifting from media to literacy: One opinion on the challenges of media literacy education . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 30 – 34 .

Ryan , M. ( 2008 ). Engaging middle years students: Literacy projects that matter . Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy , 52 , 190 – 201 .

Scheibe , C. L. ( 2004 ). A deeper sense of literacy: Curriculum - driven approaches to media literacy in the K - 12 classroom . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 60 – 68 .

Silverblatt , A. ( 2001 ). Media literacy: Keys to interpreting media messages ( 2nd ed. ). Westport, CT : Praeger .

Sobers , S. ( 2008 ). Consequences and coincidences: A case study of experimental play in media literacy . Journal of Media Practice , 9 ( 1 ), 53 – 66 .

Tisdell , E. J. , & Thompson , P. M. ( 2007 ). “ Seeing from a different angle ” : The role of pop culture in teaching for diversity and critical media literacy in adult education . International Journal of Lifelong Education , 26 , 651 – 673 .


Torres , M. , & Mercado , M. ( 2006 ). The need for critical media literacy in teacher education core curricula . Educational Studies , 39 , 260 – 282 .

Tyner , K. ( 1998 ). Literacy in a digital world: Teaching and learning in the age of information . Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Vande Berg , L. R. , Wenner , L. A. , & Gronbeck , B. E. ( 2004 ). Media literacy and television criticism: Enabling an informed and engaged citizenry . American Behavioral Scientist , 48 , 219 – 228 .

Vargas , L. ( 2006 ). Transnational media literacy: Analytic refl ections on a program with Latina teens . Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences , 28 , 267 – 285 .

Voojis , M. W. , & van der Voort , T. H. A. ( 1993 ). Learning about television violence: The impact of a critical viewing curriculum on children ’ s attitudinal judgments of crime series . Journal of Research and Development in Education , 26 ( 3 ), 133 – 142 .

Yates , B. L. ( 1999 ). Media literacy: A health education perspective . Journal of Health Education , 30 ( 3 ), 180 – 184 .

Documents

Boom or Boomerang - WordPress.com€¦ · Boom or Boomerang A Critical Review of Evidence ... 1998 ). Davies (1996) has emphasized listening, viewing, or reading audiovisual texts