22 May Uses and Gratification Theory To assist you with the assigned readings, I have developed an outline of questions for you to answer. Think about this as a key for what information to pay at
Uses and Gratification Theory
To assist you with the assigned readings, I have developed an outline of questions for you to answer. Think about this as a key for what information to pay attention to in the reading. Research shows that students learn and retain information better when they can write it down in their own words.
Try to answer the questions within these guides in your own words rather than copying and pasting the content from readings/lectures. The idea is to see if you can succinctly answer the question in your own words based on the knowledge you gained from your readings/lectures. Try to answer each question within one to three sentences.
- How was uses and gratification theory different than other media theories at the time?
- What were the three objectives Blumer & Katz (1974) had for developing uses and gratification theory?
- What are the two key concepts of uses and gratification theory?
- What is the five proposition of uses and gratification theory?
- Does the uses and gratification approach consider audiences to be active or passive consumers? Why?
- Your textbook discusses many reasons why audience members may experience gratification when watching media. Describe three reasons in your own words.
- Describe one theoretical and one methodological criticism uses and gratification theory has faced.
- How does uses and gratification theory explain the idea of selective perception and why two people may walk away with entirely different interpretations of the same media message? (asynchronous lecture)
- What are parasocial relationships? How do they influence the ways in which media affect us? (asynchronous lecture)
- What is the idea behind mood management theory? What did the results of Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003 study reveal about why people select the songs they do? (asynchronous lecture)
Uses and Gratification
Week 8
Previous focus:
▹ How media affect people
▹ Effects are uniform
▹ Passive viewers
U & G focus:
▹ How and why people choose their media
▹ Effects are person specific
▹ Active viewers
2
Uses and gratification
1
How people use media to gratify their needs
2
Underlying motives for media use
3
Positive and negative effects of individual media use
3
Three objectives in developing uses and gratification
Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
1
Uses:
What media do you select
Behavioral effect Immediate or long-term
Gratification
How does it fulfill your needs/goals?
What satisfaction do you receive from it?
Emotional effect
Experienced during or immediately after exposure
4
Conceptualization of media effect
Why people use media?
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Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
3
9
Distinct from identification Don’t necessarily want to be the target but think of the target as a companion “pseudo friends”
Unidirectional
Mediated
“Seeming face to face relationship” with media personality
Parasocial relationships
Too Descriptive
Too much focus on describing why people use media but not associating it with differential effects
Clarity
Not scientific
What are gratifications? If every individual is affected
differently than how is theory
Needs?
Motivations? Satisfactions?
useful for explaining human behaviors?
Active audience
Do people really make conscious choices all the time about which media to consume?
Faulty measurement
Can people accurately report their reasons for consuming media in a self-report?
7
Criticisms
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
8
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
10
All human beings have a need to belong
Extension of normal social connection to the mediated world
Especially likely for those who are lonely or socially excluded
12
Why does this happen?
Parasocial relationships
▹ Behavioral component:
▸ Discussing the target
▸ Defending the target
▸ Attempting contact
▸ Wanting a relationship
▸ Taking action on their behalf
Beyhive
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management Selective
People use media to
perception
manage their mood People walk away
with different perceptions of the same message
13
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
People tend to arrange their stimulus environments so as
to increase the likelihood that bad moods are short lived… that good moods are prolonged… and that bad moods are terminated and superseded by good moods…
14
Mood management theory
Mood-management Theory
(Zillmann)
▹ Levels of excitement within a normal range increase feelings of well-being
▹ Excitatory levels must be balanced and maintained
▸ Avoid noxious states
▸ Increases relief and enjoyment
Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
5
Support for Mood Regulation
▹ Link between participants’ mood and media selection
(Bryant & Zillman, 1984)
▹ Stressed
▸ Prefer calming and soothing media
▹ Bored and under-stimulated
▸ Prefer exciting media = increases arousal
What about sad and depressive songs?
“And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs So sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the
radio?”
Relationship status and song selection
Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
6
▹ How does relationship status influence song choices?
▹ Examines how song selection can be used to manage mood
▹ If I broke up, do I want to hear love songs celebrating love?
▹ Do I want to hear someone who has been “in my shoes” and “knows what I feel”?
Sad vs. happy love songs
(Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
▹ Participants surveyed about romantic satisfaction (among other filler items)
▸ 3 categories:
· Happy Steadies: in a steady relationship
· Happy Daters: presently dating
· Unhappy Roamers: looking but don’t have
anyone in mind, unattached and not looking
▹ Given 10 minutes to listen to music
▸ Time spent listening to song recorded
|
Love celebrating |
Love lamenting |
|
|
Female singer |
|
|
|
Male singer |
Love Lamenting Song
Song choices
(Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
7
Love-lamenting songs (Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
▹ Results:
▸ Unhappy roamers preferred love-lamenting songs more than the other two conditions.
▸ Significant interaction between sex of respondent X sex of performer in unhappy roamer condition.
Love-lamenting songs
(Knobloch & Zillmann, 2003)
Why?
(Knobloch & Zillman, 2003)
▹ “The presenters of love-lamenting songs might be thought of as ‘soul-mates’ for the lovelorn, possibly evoking feelings of being understood, and thereby providing some comfort”
▹ Social comparison at work
▸ Where I am compared to others
· If others are better off = Sad
· If others are worse off = Happy
Comm 102
5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M.
10
Downward
▸ Comparing to “worse” others,
makes us happier
▸ Terminal cancer patients feel better (and live longer) when in a room with someone whose death is imminent
▸ Moderately depressed people feel better when exposed to severely depressed patients
Upward
▹ Comparing to “better” others
makes us feel sad
▹ Relative deprivation
▹ Ideal-actual discrepancy
25
Social Comparison
Downward social comparison
Comparing to “worse” others, makes us happier
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
27
Selective perception
▹ Media interpretation is subjective
▸ Challenges the assumption that media effects are uniform
▹ Individuals selectively pay attention to things that confirm their pre-existing beliefs
▸ Your beliefs will determine what message you walk away with
▹ Interpretation of sarcasm/comedy
28
Selective perception
▹ Case study: Archie Bunker
▸ Vidmar & Rokeach, 1973
Selective perception
▹ High and Low prejudiced viewers
▸ Found show equally enjoyable and entertaining.
▸ However, identified with and liked character that fit existing attitudes.
▹ High prejudice viewers were less likely to believe ethnic slurs were wrong:
"All findings seem to suggest that the program is more likely
reinforcing prejudice and racism than combating it"
Use of race in comedy
Uses and gratification theory
▹ Focused on why people select media
▸ Uses and gratification
▹ How does that affect people differently
▸ Parasocial relationships
▸ Mood management
▸ Selective perception
▹ Focused away from passive to active audience
33
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Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 1
Uses and Gratification Week 8
Previous focus:
▹ How media affect people
▹ Effects are uniform
▹ Passive viewers
Uses and gratification
U & G focus:
▹ How and why people choose their media
▹ Effects are person specific
▹ Active viewers
2
2 Underlying motives
for media use
1 How people use
media to gratify their needs
3 Positive and
negative effects of individual media use
Three objectives in developing uses and gratification
3
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 2
Uses:
What media do you select
Behavioral effect
Immediate or long-term
Conceptualization of media effect
Gratification
How does it fulfill your needs/goals?
What satisfaction do you receive from it?
Emotional effect
Experienced during or immediately after exposure
4
Why people use media?
5
Social interaction
Escape
Companionship
Relaxation
Information
Enjoyment
Passing time
Excitement
Discussion prompt
Think about one of your media selections this week. Can you
identify the reasons behind why you chose that type of media in
that moment? 6
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 3
Criticisms
Too Descriptive Too much focus on describing why people use media but not associating it with differential effects
Clarity What are gratifications?
Needs?
Motivations?
Satisfactions?
Not scientific If every individual is affected differently than how is theory useful for explaining human behaviors?
7
Active audience Do people really make conscious choices all the time about which media to consume?
Faulty measurement Can people accurately report their reasons for consuming media in a self-report?
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
8
9
“Seeming face to face relationship” with media personality
Mediated
Unidirectional
Distinct from identification Don’t necessarily want to be
the target but think of the target as a companion
“pseudo friends”
Parasocial relationships
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 4
Parasocial relationships
▹ Behavioral component: ▸ Discussing the target ▸ Defending the target ▸ Attempting contact ▸ Wanting a relationship ▸ Taking action on their behalf
10
Beyhive
Extension of normal social connection to the mediated world
All human beings have a need to
belong
Especially likely for those who are
lonely or socially excluded
Why does this happen?
12
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 5
Research based on the uses and gratification theory
Parasocial relationships
People use media to gratify a need for social connection
Mood management
People use media to manage their mood
Selective perception
People walk away with different perceptions of the same message
13
Mood management theory
People tend to arrange their stimulus environments so as to increase the likelihood that bad moods are short lived… that
good moods are prolonged… and that bad moods are terminated and superseded by good moods…
14
Mood-management Theory (Zillmann)
▹ Levels of excitement within a normal range increase feelings of well-being
▹ Excitatory levels must be balanced and maintained ▸ Avoid noxious states ▸ Increases relief and enjoyment
Comm 102 5/14/2021
(c) Saleem, M. 6
Support for Mood Regulation
▹ Link between participants’ mood and media selection (Bryant & Zillman, 1984)
▹ Stressed ▸ Prefer calming and soothing media
▹ Bored and under-stimulated ▸ Prefer exciting media = increases arousal
What about sad and depressive songs?
“And I'm so sick of love songs So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of love songs So sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?”
Relationship status and song selection
▹ How does relationship status influence song choices?
▹ Examines how song selection can be used to manage mood
▹ If I broke up, do I want to hear love songs celebrating love?
▹ Do I want to hear someone who has been “in my shoes” and “knows what I feel”?
