The two step flow theory argues that people are influenced more by those they know than by the media directly. Opinion leaders absorb information from the media and pass it on to less active members of the population, shaping their attitudes. A 1944 study found that informal personal contacts had more influence on voting behavior than direct exposure to radio or newspapers. While the two step theory improved understanding of media influence, it was later expanded by the multi-step flow theory which recognizes more complex networks of influence beyond just opinion leaders.

1. Two step flow
By Kerry-Ann Lewis-
Dunmoodie

2. How it works?
The media is not as powerful as it presents itself to be in influencing people, and
this theory argues that people are more influenced by people that they know. Also
relating to the people that they see on a daily basis and that personal influence
shapes people’s attitudes and beliefs. However, if one group is singled out and
show that they have a particular influence then they are referred to as ‘ opinion
leaders’. The ‘opinion leaders’ absorb information from the media and pass it onto
the less active population, this makes their ideas and views being respected and
them being seen as important. The ‘opinion leaders’ also have strong political
beliefs as they pay very close attention to the media, but these are not rich or
powerful people. They are average people who are especially interested in the
media.
The people who had developed these theories is Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson
and Hazel Gaudet in The People’s Choice. This idea can be seen within elections,
TV , radio and magazines, as well as the film Mean Girls.

3. The Theory
A study in 1944 had focused on the process of decided during a Presidential election campaign. The researchers
had expected to find that the direct influence of the messages ,that the media portrays impacts the voting
intentions. Despite this, they found that the informal personal contacts were more prominent than the exposure
to radio or newspaper as sources of influence on societies voting behaviour. However , there is also an
oppositional view to the needle theory where the audience is described as being ‘passive’.
The two step theory has improved the understanding of how the mass media has influenced decision making.
This theory was discredited by the multi-step flow theory of mass communication or diffusion of innovation
theory. Diffusion of innovation theory predicts that media as well as interpersonal contacts provide information
and influence opinion and judgment. E.M. Rogers (1995) argued that it consists of four stages: invention,
diffusion (or communication) through the social system, time and consequences. The information flows through
networks. The nature of networks and the roles opinion leaders play in them determine the likelihood that the
innovation will be adopted. Innovation diffusion research has attempted to explain the variables that influence
how and why users adopt a new information medium, such as the Internet. Opinion leaders exert influence on
audience behavior via their personal contact, but additional intermediaries called change agents and
gatekeepers are also included in the process of diffusion.