A E J M C Morality Methodology ( Mina Tsay)

Methodological Issues
in the Study of
Morality and Media
The Case for Morality and Media:
Overviewing, Reviewing, and Previewing our Understanding of Morality in Media Uses and Effects
AEJMC 2011 St. Louis
Mina Tsay, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations
College of Communication
Boston University

Questions of Interest
Does morality impact:
Media choices?
Response to media content?
Characters
Narrative
Gratifications
Our moral codes and values?
Does content reflect cultural differences in morality?

Methodological Challenges
Conscious vs. unconscious processing/ emotional reactions
Moral judgment vs. feeling?
Self-reports of moral reasoning, character perceptions, and overall media experience
Tapping into social justice, feelings of guilt, rationalization, empathy, enjoyment => all “imply” moral justification or disengagement

Methodological Challenges (cont.)
Dichotomy of “good” vs. “evil” is problematic
Consideration of morally ambiguous characters

Moral ambiguity based on:
Traits?
Behaviors?
Anticipated outcome?
Character liking?
Empathy?
Character similarity?
Or a combination?

Morality subcultures
Within and across different nationalities
Cultural/socialization considerations
Morality across media platforms
Traditional vs. interactive

Interactive Games

Moral codes/boundaries
Narrative vs. real world
If video games enhance “interactivity,” how do we accurately “measure” their true impact on moral codes exhibited in the real world?
Behavioral/physiological measures
May need to depend on measures outside of affective, perceptual, and cognitive ones

Food for Thought
Need to consider:
Context (changing media landscape)
Triangulation of methods and measures (qualitative and quantitative)

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A E J M C Morality Methodology ( Mina Tsay)

by West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies on Sep 22, 2011

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