Passive audience models and the effects debate

Overview

Passive audience model, hypodermic needle model and moral panic.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is a passive audience model?

   Model answer

   A passive model treats the audience as receiving media messages without resistance. Meaning is assumed to pass straight from producer to viewer.

2. 2

   What is the hypodermic needle model?

   Model answer

   The hypodermic needle model claims that media messages are injected directly into a passive audience. Attitudes and behaviour are assumed to follow automatically.

3. 3

   Why did the hypodermic needle model gain influence in the twentieth century?

   Model answer

   Mass propaganda and the rise of radio and cinema made the media look overwhelmingly powerful. Wartime persuasion appeared to prove the point.

4. 4

   Give one criticism of the hypodermic needle model.

   Model answer

   The model ignores differences between audience members and their capacity to disagree. Evidence for direct and uniform effects has never been strong.

5. 5

   What is desensitisation?

   Model answer

   Desensitisation is the reduction of emotional response after repeated exposure to shocking material. Violent media are often said to produce it.

6. 6

   What is a moral panic?

   Model answer

   A moral panic is a wave of public alarm about a perceived threat to social values. Media coverage amplifies the reaction beyond the evidence.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.