MCOM 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Carl Hovland, Selective Perception, Social Class

• School: Towson University
• Department: Mass Communication
• Course: MCOM 101
• Professor: John Kirch

Document Summary

Limited effects theory is the notion that mass media have minimal (or limited ) effects on the public. This theory states that media effects are cancelled out by other factors. The theory says that media rarely change public opinion. Most people are sheltered from direct media influence by family and friends. People don"t believe everything they see in the media. Most adults have strongly held belief systems that help them deflect media influence. When media effects do occur: they will be modest and isolated, they will influence only small group of people, they will influence people who are isolated from society or generally uninformed. If you don"t know anything about an issue, then it is likely to have more of an effect on you. Mass media opinion leader opinion followers: opinion leaders are small group of people who really study into the media and the information, the followers generally do not pay much attention to it.