CUMULATIVE EFFECTS THEORY By Samantha Bastien Hannah Onder

CUMULATIVE EFFECTS THEORY By: Samantha Bastien, Hannah Onder, and Guadalupe Sanchez

ELISABETH NOELLE – NEUMANN • German political scientist • Credited with coining the term “Cumulative Effects Theory” • Credited with coining the term, “spiral of silence” theory in 1974.

CUMULATIVE EFFECTS THEORY • Cumulative effects theory is theory that nobody can escape the media or the media’s message - The media repeatedly sends messages so over time it shapes our opinion - The media’s messages are driven home through redundancy and have profound effects over time - Cites advertising campaigns that repeatedly hammer the same message 0

CUMULATIVE EFFECTS THEORY AND THE MEDIA • Elisabeth Noelle – Neumann’s theory has some troubling effects - despite surface appearances, the media work against diverse, robust public consideration of issues. - Based on human psychology - Those who feel they hold majority viewpoints will speak out confidently - Said views grow in credibility when carried out by the media

HOW IT EFFECTS THE POPULATION • Multimedia advertising campaigns often hammer away with the same message - No missing the point - News reports are redundant - Media focuses on the same event

SPIRAL OF SILENCE • Coined by Elisabeth Noell – Neumann in 1974 • Spiral of Silence is when minority views are intimidated into silence by the majority views. - An individual is reluctant to challenge the majorities opinion silence. - minority views are intimidated into

SPIRAL OF SILENCE • Some theories as to why spiral of science exists include: - Fear of isolation when the group or public realizes that the individual has a divergent opinion from the status quo - Fear of reprisal or more extreme isolation, in the sense that voicing their opinion might lead to a negative consequence beyond isolation (loss of job, status, etc). - Strong, moral component is necessary for the issue to activate the

Spiral of silence – 1: 20

SPIRAL OF SILENCE AND MASS MEDIA • The Spiral of Science theory and mass media are strongly correlated - The media’s characteristics as a communication tool further effect people’s perception of their own ideas in regard to public opinion. - The assessment of one’s social environment will not always correlate with one’s reality - Elisabeth Noelle – Neumann states, “the reader can only complete and explain the world by making consciousness which in large measure has been created by the mass media.

EXAMPLE In times of war, some may be concerned about civilian casualties inflicted on the other side, but they wont speak out about the issue if they feel that most disagree.

BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS THEORY • Studies the effects of media on society - Typically, people think about the negative effects that come from watching “too much” bad media - Examples of behavioral effects include - Body image - Stereotypes - Violence

BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS • Motivational Messages: • 1950 s: Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychiatrist, theorized that the human mind is unconsciously susceptible to suggestion. • Ernest Dichter pioneered motivational research and accepted Freud’s claim that people act on motivations they aren’t aware of. Dichter felt these motivations could be exploited in advertising messages. • • Motivational Research: Seeks subconscious appeals that can be used in advertising. Subliminal Messages: Messages that cannot be consciously perceived • 1957: Jim Vicary inserted messages like “Drink Coca-Cola” and “Eat Popcorn” into movies. The messages were flashed too fast but the brain was able to recognize it and claimed that people got up mid-movie to the snack bar. • Psychologists identified a phenomenon called subception • Subception: Receiving subconscious messages that trigger behavior, “hidden messages”

EXAMPLES • Subliminal Messages and Motivational Messages

SOURCES • Adler, R. , & Rodman, G. (2003). Understanding Human Communication. Retrieved from http: //www. csus. edu/indiv/s/stonerm/adler-rodman-mediatedcommunication. pdf • Spiral of silence. (2012, March 8). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from https: //masscommtheory. com/theoryoverviews/spiral-of-silence/ • Retrieved October 17, 2016 from http: //idyeah. com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/popcorn-coca-cola. jpg • Beats 1 Radio. “Taylor vs. Treadmill. ” Online video clip. You. Tube, 1 April 2016. Web. 17 October 2016. • The. Metal. Ghost. “Mc. Donald’s TV Commercial, ‘Unapologetic Big Mac’ S. ” Online video clip. You. Tube. • Vivian, J. (2012). The media of mass communication (11 th You. Tube, 13 February 2015. Web. 17 October 2016. ed. ). Boston, MA, United States: Pearson. • Retrieved October 18, 2016 from • Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http: //pixel. nymag. com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2015/08/10/ http: //www. sociology. org. uk/AS_Media_effects. pdf 10 -donald-trump-debate. w 750. h 560. 2 x. jpg • Retrieved October 12, 2016 from https: //thesocietypages. org/socimages/tag/gender-bodies/ • Retrieved October 18, 2016 from http: //www. gp. org/ • Retrieved October 18, 2016 from http: //baltimorepostexaminer. com/war-on-terror-is-far-fromhttp: //theodysseyonline. com/tennessee/finding-truthover/2013/08/12 news/80135