The document discusses several theories of media effects and audience behavior: 1) The hypodermic needle theory views audiences as passive recipients who are directly influenced by media messages. 2) Uses and gratifications theory sees audiences as active in choosing media to fulfill needs and goals. It focuses on understanding audience motives and consequences of media use. 3) Preferred readings theory by Stuart Hall recognizes that media texts aim to influence audiences in certain ways but audiences can also interpret messages oppositionally or through negotiation based on their own views.

1. AUDIENCE
THEORIES
Maria Dikova
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2. MEDIA EFFECTS THEORIES
 Different theories see audience in different ways. Audience can be
active or passive.
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3. HYPODERMIC THEORY
The hypodermic needle model or the ‘magic bullet’ model implies
that the mass media has a direct and powerful effect on its
audiences. Back in the days, mass media were perceived as
powerful influence on behavior change, due to some factors like:
 the popularisation of radio and TV
 emergence of advertising
It is a model of stating that an intended message is straightly
received and wholly obtained by the receiver. It ‘injects’ the idea of
something, reflecting on influencing the audience to do something,
taka a specific action, regarding the topic.
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4. BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT
The bobo doll experiment is the collective name of a few experiments
conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961. It demonstrated that children
are able to learn through observing adults’ behavior. More
specifically, the experiment consisted of researchers who physically
and verbally abused an inflatable doll in front of children, who later
repeated the adults actions.
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5. USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
THEORY
It originated in 1970s as a reaction to the mass communication
research, as it focused on the active audience and user instead.
The uses and gratification model tries to explain the uses and
functions of the media for individuals, groups, society.
There are 3 objectives in establishing uses and gratifications theory:
i. To explain how individuals use mass media to gratify their
needs
ii. To discover underlying motives for individuals’ media use
iii. To identify the positive and negative consequences
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6. BLUMLER AND KATZ’S MODEL
Blumler and Katz’s user and gratification theory suggests that an
individual plays an active role in choosing and using the media, as
they are goal orientated. It assumes that people use the media to
fulfill specific needs. However, uses and gratifications points out that
there exist alternate choices of satisfaction.
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Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs

7. PREFERRED READINGS THEORY
The theorist that explores the preferred/ dominant readings theory is
Stuart Hall. This model refers to the creators of various media texts
that expect you to perceive them in a certain way.
For instance, McDonalds Big Mac advertisement encourages
feelings of hunger in the audience, therefore influencing their
decision to buy one. However, the next time you pass by McDonalds
you might choose to buy it, or you might not. The audience is still
characterised as active, meaning that they will take conscious
decisions.
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8. The audience may reject the preferred reading, receiving their own
alternative message. This is called an opposition reading.
Negotiated reading is when audiences acknowledge the preferred
reading, but modify it to suit their own values and opinions – a
compromise.
Stuart Hall has identified 3 different types of reading:
 Dominant – agrees with message from the TV programme
 Oppositional – understands the TV programme message but
rejects it
 Negotiated – the viewer who agrees with the message in the TV
programme but doesn’t agree with all of the ideas
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