BAMC THEORY 2014: POSITIVISM PRESENTATION-GROUP7B

Historical context Key thinkers key assumptions Epistemology Strengths Weaknesses/criticisms Application of the theory

APPROACH

It is also known as the Dorminant Paradigm. Traced back to the 17th Century from the

philosophical works of John Locke’s Treatise on Government (1689).

Man is bound by the laws of nature by which they live and act.

The laws of nature are the Universal laws that guide our existence.

Historical context

Sociologists: Emile Durkheim and Auguste Comte used the Lockean thesis to draft their Positivist arguments.

They positioned and related their studies of societal structures and human conditions with the scientific method of the natural and physical sciences.

Emile Durkheim

Auguste Comte

Synthesizes how knowledge derives from scientifically processed and analyzed data about a phenomenon.

That which can be tested with the five senses of man, is fit to be used in examining human behavior.

Cont.…..

Key thinkers of this approach are; Max Weber

Protagonists: Walter Lippmann, Harold Laswell, Emile Durkheim, Auguste Comte, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, Bernard Berelson, Kurt Lewin, Robert E. Park and Ithiel de Sola Pool.

Antogonists: Wilhem Dilthey and Max Weber.

Key scholars

Auguste Comte believed that the scientific study of society should be confined to collecting information about phenomena that can be objectively observed and classified .

He argued that the sociologists should not be concerned with the internal meanings, motives, feelings and emotions of individuals since these mental states exist only in the person’s consciousness, they cannot be observed and so they cannot be measured in any objective way.

Influenced by the Utopian socialist Henry Saint- Simon, Comte developed the positive philosophy in an attempt to remedy the social malaise of the French Revolution, calling for a new social doctrine based on sciences.

Cont.

Emile Durkheim(1858-1917) ; he claimed to have discovered the laws of human behavior that governed the society.

Positivists and Durkheim believe the law of human behavior can be discovered by the collection of objective facts about the social world in a statistical form by the careful analysis of these facts and by repeated checking of findings in a series of contexts. From this point of view, humans have little or no choice about how they behave.

Cont.

Durkheim conceived of sociology as the scientific study of reality suigeneris, a clearly defined group of phenomena different from those studied by all other sciences, biology and psychology included. It was for these phenomena that Durkheim reserved the term social facts.

He also believed that the scientific study of society should be confined to collecting information about phenomena that can be objectively observed and classified. Comte argued that the sociologists should not be concerned with the internal meanings, motives, feelings and emotions of individuals. Since these mental states exist only in the person’s consciousness, they cannot be observed and so cannot be measured in any objective way.

Cont..

The positivism theory assumes ; Media influences public opinion. Knowledge derives from human experience

and his relation with the physical world. The human mind, body and the world are

three different entities. Humanity and progress is governed by

Universal laws, or laws of nature.

Key assumptions

The media is neutral and it sides with no individual, organization or group.

The media serves the interests of the mass such as educating, informing and entertaining them.

Cont…

Research Methodologies; Functionalism: The media has functions that

should be realized in society. Functions include: informing, entertaining,

persuading and educating. Empiricism: Knowledge derives from human

experience. This is based on the Lockean thesis which

provides for evidence based on concrete reasoning. Reason based on what can be smelt, touched, heard, seen and tasted.

Epistemology

Behaviorism: This is a cognitive science of human behavioral studies.

The approach seeks to explain the effect of media on human behavior.

Emphasis is thence on how humans act once they are exposed to media messages, either positively or negatively.

Cont…

Accumulation theory. Through persistence, consistence and corroboration, communicated messages will likely cause significant changes in people’s perceptions.

Modelling theory. It talks about the copy cat nature of humans.

Humans adopt the behaviors as seen on television and infer them into their actions.

Adopted behaviors later become habits, such as smoking, dress code, walking style, language and so on.

Agenda setting theory. The media shapes our thinking during discussions and debates.

Theories under Positivism.

Social expectation theory. The media helps us to realize our positions, roles and responsibilities in society. E.g media campaigns on human rights, killer diseases, hygiene, etc.

Adoption theory. New ideas are acquired through exposure to persuasive media messages like adverts, or any other propaganda.

Cont…

It promotes objectivity. There is no room for personal opinions.

It appeals to the general public. Therefore it is not selective in conduct.

Outlines the functions of the media. Prioritizes balance between structures of the society,

ie political, social, economical, cultural etc. Provides a standard system of how a phenomena

should be approached, examined and understaood.

Strength of the Approach

It looks at society in a general perspective. The individual will to power is not

considered. It falsely assumes that the media is neutral.

There are therefore no forces that influence media content.

Certain standards have to be followed as set.

Weaknesses of the Approach

They assume that human behavior is an observable response to stimuli, this is not true because they are underlying cognitive response.

They assume that phenomena are governed by universal laws and this is not true because people have a different thinking, reasoning and capabilities.

Cont.

Using the agenda setting theory, the media has shaped public opinions.

It has influenced the way people think and tackle topical issues.

It dictatorial states, the media has been used lucratively to spread and demand for democratic reforms in societies courtesy of the assumptions of the accumulation theory.

Through the social expectation theory, the media has create awareness among the publics.

How positivism has been applied

Cultural changes have been witnessed courtesy of the modeling theory.

The adoption theory, has shaped the way companies advertise their goods and services to the public.

The media is a platform for education through programs like debates.

Cont.

The approach has ensured objectivity among media practitioners. Positivism may also be applied in Uganda through using the media to

improve society. The media is seen as a neutral tool capable of serving a wide

range of purposes.. The media in Uganda has been observed to mediate between

parties whenever there are conflicts. It seeks to improve information flow. Creates awareness about marketable goods and

services.

Relevance of the Approach in Uganda.

The purpose of Positivism is to discover universal laws that govern the relationship between man and his physical world.

The other purpose is to provide a detailed explanation of the world phenomena through a scientific methods.

Purpose of the Approach

Positivism seeks to explain human behavior through studying the effects of the media. By this sought, they are able to identify the factors that cause man to act the way he does without getting into his mind. Therefore, the Positivists are behaviorist in their focus

Focus of the Approach.

Since Positivists do not seem to observe thoughts (human

mind), they seek to explain that only knowledge derived for our experience is valid.

They only believe in what can be observed and tested, This drives research to provide a scientific description of the

phenomena under study

Conclusion