International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Because of the extensive penetration of media into society, and the different purposes and types of information conveyed, there are a number of possible media effects. For the sake of simplicity, these possible media purposes are categorized as those intended to persuade (e.g., →  advertising , →  propaganda ), inform (e.g., →  news ), or entertain (e.g., narrative television, film). In addition, these effects operate on different aspects of the person, affecting their beliefs (mental association between objects and attributes), →  attitudes (evaluations of objects), and values (abstract ideals). Persuasive media effects have often been thought to be powerful (→  Media Effects, History of ). This public belief in massive media effects reached its apex around the time of World Wars I and II, when extensive research was conducted to understand and harness the supposed power of propaganda. Indeed, the power of Adolf Hitler was often used as an example of a strong effect of mass-mediated propaganda. However, the validity of the belief in massive media effects began to be challenged by empirical research. As previous research was analyzed across studies, and new studies were conducted, scientists were finding that persuasive media did not always induce expected attitude change. For example, studies showed that military training films increased knowledge about issues but did not change ... log in or subscribe to read full text