Research and Planning - Audience Theories

This is a sheet I have annotated during an exam lesson on a few of the different theories that I will be covering his year.

The hypodermic needle theory.

This theory suggests that the audience is powerless to what they are shown in the media, it says the media receive and accept the message from the text immediately and directly.

Cultivation theory.

This theory suggests that the more media we are exposed to, the more we take in and accept. For example, a person that watches Crimewatch weekly and listens to it telling them that crime is on the rise, would believe it and be more paranoid than that of someone whom doesn't watch Crimewatch.

Desensitisation theory.

Desensitisation suggests that people in modern day and times are less affected when they see violence and explicit content due to the media they have been exposed to. It suggests that when people see something horrific, they are not as affected by it as they simply know it is fiction. 

Modelling/Copycat theory.

This theory says people are more likely to copy something they have seen either on television or on a game, the audience are easily influenced by things they have seen.

Uses and Gratifications model.
This theory suggests that the audience will take in a text and use it to mean different things. The theory takes the individuals into account, and states that things taken from watching media will not overpower experiences taken from real life experiences.