Previous edition: 2013.

Additional resources are available at companion Web sites for students, accessible at www.cengagebrain.com, and instructors, accessible with an instructor account at www.login.cengage.com (see preface, page xviii).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Preface. 1. A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF MEDIA EFFECTS. Ways of Knowing. Goals of Science. How are the Goals of Science Achieved? Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 2. SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN MEDIA EFFECTS RESEARCH. Analyzing Media Content. The Sample Survey. The Search for Causal Relationships. The Experimental Method. Controversy about Research Methods. Other Methodological Approaches. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 3. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDIA EFFECTS RESEARCH. Setting the Stage. 1929-1932-The Payne Fund Studies. The Invasion from Mars. Early Theory of Media Effects: The Magic Bullet Model. The People"s Choice Study: A New View of Media Effects. The Decatur Study: The Two-Step Flow of Communication. The Evils of Comic Books. The Dawn of Television. Many Types of Media Effects. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 4. TIME SPENT WITH MASS MEDIA: REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES. The Uses and Gratifications Perspective. The Problem with Self-Reports. The Raw Numbers: Media Minutes Add Up. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 5. EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE. The Presence of Violent Content. The Causal Link Between Viewing Violence and Behaving Aggressively. Desensitization to Violence. What about Video Games? Are They Training Kids to Kill? How Do Violent Video Games Cause Aggression? Why Do People Like Media Violence? Where Does Research on Media Violence Go Now? Why Do So Many People Doubt the Effects of Media Violence? Concluding Comments. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 6. SEXUAL CONTENT IN THE MEDIA. Human Sexuality Brings Out Passionate Opinion. Sorting Out Definitions and Terms. The Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. Research Following the Commission Report. The Meese Commission Report on Pornography. Sex on Prime-Time TV. Sex and the Internet. Control Over Media Content. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 7. MEDIA THAT STIR EMOTIONS. Fright Reactions to Media are Prevalent. Developmental Theory: What Scares One Child May Not Scare Another. Experimenting with the Incredible Hulk. Why is the Paranormal So Scary? Why Do Some Media Fears Linger for So Long? A Theory of Differential Brain Processing. Theory about Emotional Coping: What"s a Parent to Do? Is It Fun to Be Scared? Beyond Fear: Other Emotional Reactions to Media. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 8. PERSUASIVE EFFECTS OF THE MEDIA. What Is Persuasion? How Media Messages Persuade Without Even Trying. Intentional Persuasion in the Media. Key Principles of Media Persuasion. Subliminal Persuasion: The Magic Key? Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 9. THE EFFECTS OF NEWS AND POLITICAL CONTENT. Thinking about the News. The Role of Emotion. Another View of News: Do Certain News Reports Cause More People to Die? Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 10. THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA STEREOTYPES. Stereotypical Representations in the Media. Racial Stereotypes. The Imbalance in Media Research on Stereotypes. An Intriguing and Under-Studied Media Depiction: Faces. Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 11. THE IMPACT OF NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES. The Revolution in New Media Technology. Computers and the Internet: Connection or Alienation? Summary. Questions to Focus Your Attention. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. 12. MEET MARSHALL MCLUHAN: A LESS SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO MEDIA IMPACT. Is There any Value to Considering Marshall McLuhan? Meet Marshall McLuhan. The Eras of Communication History. The Medium is the Message. The Effects of Electronic Media on Human Beings. Why Does McLuhan"s "Theory" Fail as a Scientific Approach? McLuhan"s Influence. Final Reflections. Summary. Key Terms and Concepts. Notes. Important Sources on Marshall McLuhan. Glossary: Theories and Theoretical Concepts Discussed in the Text (By Chapter). Name Index. Subject Index.

Helps you understand the true impact of media today. This book explains how the effects of mass media are measured and what the research has concluded about media's influence on our lives.