EVERYBODY KNOWS THE MEDIA IS TO BLAME: MEDIA 'EFFECTS'

KCB102, Week 2Dr Stephen Harrington

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

We see violence on television

so

We commit violent acts ourselves

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

We see sex on television

so

We become sexually active ourselves

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

We see images of skinny people in fashion magazines

so

We become anorexic

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

We see ads for junk food

so

We become fat

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

We see pornography

so

We become sexually depraved

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

Is anchored firmly in the 'silver bullet' and 'hypodermic needle' concepts of media influence.

THE MEDIA 'EFFECTS' LOGIC

But, is deeply problematic for...

• Gauntlett: 10 reasons

• Me: 4 (closely related) reasons

1: DECONTEXTUALISED VIEW OF MEDIA CONTENT

• Reduces complex range of behaviour to physical 'effects'...

• Not the full range of audience responses.

1: DECONTEXTUALISED VIEW OF MEDIA CONTENT

"So this one's dedicated to them girls

That let us flop around on top of them

If you're near or far, whether short or tall

We wanna thank you all for lettin' us f--k you"

- Akon & The Lonely Island, "I Just Had Sex"

1: DECONTEXTUALISED VIEW OF MEDIA CONTENT

1: DECONTEXTUALISED VIEW OF MEDIA CONTENT

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

• E.g. Bandura's Bobo Doll

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

One study:

“Watching violent media content might have harmful biological effects on the brain, according to research published by a Kansas State University professor.

John Murray, professor of family studies and human services, recently completed a 10-year study of the effects of violent images on children's brains.

… Murray and his team of researchers showed children between the ages of 8 and 13 a violent boxing clip from the film Rocky IV while scanning their brains using a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine …

… The violent scene … triggered activity in the brain's premotor cortex. Murray said that while the children could not move inside the MRI machine, this activity indicates the children were thinking about imitating the boxing moves they saw in the movie”

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

• Correlation, not causation...

• E.g. How do you study the 'effects' of pornography?

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

It does not fit with existing evidence:

• Society is less violent than ever, and crime rates are falling

• Attitudes towards women and minority groups are constantly improving

• People are smarter than ever (see: Flynn effect)

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

2: QUESTIONABLE APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

3: IT CHOOSES ITS TARGETS SELECTIVELY

3: IT CHOOSES ITS TARGETS SELECTIVELY

Never:

• Shakespeare

• The Bible

• News

• Ideologies

Always:

• Pop culture

• New media

• Media for kids

• Media for women

McKee et al (2008) tested the relationship between the consumption of pornography and negative attitudes towards women.

Statistically there was no correlation between the amount of pornography consumed and negative attitudes towards women.

But there was a statistically significant correlation between voting for a right-wing party and having a negative attitude towards women

And yet – there has never been any work done on the negative effects of being exposed to right-wing politicians.

3: IT CHOOSES ITS TARGETS SELECTIVELY

"Some may interpret pornographic images as calls to [violent, misogynist] action of some kind, as others may interpret the Bible as a call to kill prostitutes, or the Koran to kill 'infidels'." (McNair, 2013: 82)

3: IT CHOOSES ITS TARGETS SELECTIVELY

Paul Jennings Hill:

3: IT CHOOSES ITS TARGETS SELECTIVELY

• Starts with pre-determined/assumed cause and works backwards.

• Focus on media first, rather than people.

(correlation, not causation...)

4: DIRECTION OF REASONING

WHY DOES IT PERSIST, THEN?

• Because it (implicitly) provides easy answers to complex problems.

• Because the studies are 'scientific' and therefore replicable. (Questions of discipline, knowledge and 'evidence')

• Other thoughts?

CONCLUSION: 'EFFECTS' AND AFFECT

• Of course, media does have 'effects'!

• But, they're complex, subtle, and often counter-intuitive.

• More than purely media/cause--behaviour/effect.