Media

1. Audience Theories
3 Different types of audience theories:
Effects Model (Hypodermic needle model)
Uses and Gratification model
The Influence model

2. Hypodermic Needle Model
The hypodermic needle theory suggests that the media as a whole directly affects people in different ways. For
example, if somebody sees a pair of ‘Beats’ headphones in a music video, they are likely to go out and buy some,
just because they saw the brand in a clip with their favourite singer in. It’s called this because it acts like a drug,
having a lasting effect on the audience. The theory argues that the media directly influences people, usually in
negative ways, such as model’s creating unrealistic expectations for the human body. People are vulnerable to
this, as you can pick up ideas from the media without even realising it.

3. Hypodermic Needle Theory in the
government/world
 One theory is that the media is controlled this way in order to benefit the government, as they use it to
control the audience, and change how they see things. For example, TV advertisements may promote a
specific body image, which is unrealistic, therefore more people will purchase products to help change the
way they look.
 The Hypodermic Needle Model is the most popular theory when it comes to the government and religious
organisations.
 Some pieces of media have been blamed for certain crimes committed. For example, when the video game
Grand Theft Auto was released, a boy in America supposedly copied the actions in the game, as he stole a car,
and then shot down 3 police officers. Shortly after he was to show immense regret, and insisted that he didn’t
know what he was doing.

4. The Bobo Doll Experiment
 This was an experiment conducted by Albert Bandura. Bandura gathered a number of children to take part in the
experiment. They were shown to a room with several different toys. Then they were then led into another room with
bobo dolls. Before this, the children were separated into 3 groups. One group were exposed to a violent model, who
would hit and throw the bobo doll around. The second group saw a model treat the bobo doll gently. The third group
were used as a control group, that the others could be compared to, they saw no model. This experiment was
conducted to find out whether the children would imitate the behaviour of the model, or if it would have no effect at
all. Results backed up Bandura’s hypothesis, as 85% of the children exposed to the violent model acted out similar
behaviour, such as punching, kicking, and shouting. Only 11% of the children who watched a gentle model were
violent, meaning 89% also imitated the behaviour. This suggests that people are directly influenced by what they see,
especially in the media. However, this experiment isn’t too reliable when compared to the Hypodermic Needle Model
because children may be influenced much easier than adults, as they can speak for themselves.