2nd Edition
Mass Communication Theories Explaining Origins, Processes, and Effects
The second edition of this innovative textbook provides a comprehensive overview of mass communication theories, as well as their origins and empirical supports in psychology, sociology, political science, and philosophy.
Each chapter presents a specific theory, describing its basic structure in simple formal terms and providing an accessible summary of the research studies and scholarly writings from which it developed. It breaks each complex theory down into five or six interlinked basic propositions, making them easily digestible for students. This new edition includes up-to-date research; improved coverage of all theories presented; expanded treatments of theories such as cultivation theory, the spiral of silence, and framing; contemporary and social media examples; chapter discussion questions; and informative charts and figures.
This textbook serves as an accessible core text for undergraduate and graduate Mass Communication, Communication Theory, and Communication and Society courses.
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: SHAPING THE AMERICAN MASS MEDIA: AN OVERVIEW
Chapter 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE ORIGINS, NATURE, AND USES OF THEORIES
PART I: THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF MEDIA STUDIES
Chapter 3: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY: THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
Chapter 4: PUBLIC OPINION AS SHAPED BY THE PRESS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Chapter 5: COGNITIVE PROCESSING: THE CONTRIBUTION OF PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 6: THE CONCEPT OF MASS SOCIETY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIOLOGY
PART II: THE BEGINNINGS: EARLY THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION
Chapter 7: JAMES BRYCE’S 19th CENTURY THEORY OF PUBLIC OPINION AND THE PRESS
Chapter 8: WALTER LIPPMAN’S 1920s THEORY OF UNINTENTIONAL NEWS
DISTORTION
Chapter 9: THE "MAGIC BULLET" THEORY OF UNIFORM EFFECTS
PART III: THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION PROCESSES AND EFFECTS
Chapter 10: THE SELECTIVE AND LIMITED INFLUENCES THEORY
Chapter 11: THE TWO-STEP FLOW OF COMMUNICATION THEORY
Chapter 12: GATEKEEPING THEORY
Chapter 13: AGENDA-SETTING THEORY
Chapter 14: FRAMING THEORY
PART IV: THEORIES OF INFLUENCES ON INDIVIDUALS
Chapter 15: USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY
Chapter 16: MODELING BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
Chapter 17: SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS THEORY
PART V: THEORIES OF INFLUENCES ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Chapter 18: MEDIA-INFLUENCED DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY
Chapter 19: A THEORY OF AUDIENCE AND MEDIA DEPENDENCY ON POPULAR CULTURE
Chapter 20: CULTIVATION THEORY
Chapter 21: CRITICAL CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES: INTERPRETATIONS OF MEDIA INFLUENCES ON INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY
Chapter 22: ADDITIONAL THEORETICAL FORMULATIONS AND CONCEPTS
Biography
Melvin L. DeFleur held the title of Distinguished Professor at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. Previously, he was Director of the School of Mass Communication at Boston University and held the John Ben Snow endowed Chair at Syracuse University. He served on the faculties of eight universities and was responsible for the development and administration of several Ph.D. programs. Melvin DeFleur is one of the most recognized scholars in the field of mass communication. He wrote numerous articles and books, including Milestones in Mass Communication Research, many of which have been translated into several languages.
Margaret H. DeFleur is Professor Emerita at Louisiana State University. She served as Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the Manship School of Mass Communication. Previously, she was the director of a graduate program in the College of Communication at Boston University and also taught at Syracuse University. She is the author or co-author of a number of articles and books, including Fundamentals of Human Communication: Social Science in Everyday Life.
