Britni Fisher and Drew Kennedy

COM 601

Gerbner: Cultivation Analysis: An Overview

1. Page 349
a. In your own words, describe the basic idea of cultivation theory. (Refer to the textbook, p. 349)

2. Page 177
a. What are interpretive communities? From a media standpoint, why is it important to understand
them?

3. Page 178
a. On page 178, it says Compared to other media, television provides a relatively restricted set of
choices for a virtually unrestricted variety of interested and publics Viewing decisions depend
more on the clock than on the program. What are your thoughts on this statement? Why do you
watch the programs you watch? Is this still the case with modern options such as Netflix and
Hulu?

4. Page 180
a. Is the process of cultivation unidirectional or gravitational? Explain what this means.

5. Page 183
a. Explain what mainstreaming is. (refer to the textbook, p.350)

6. Page 186
a. TV seeks large and heterogeneous audiences. They balance opposing perspectives, and
steer to a middle course. How does this impact how heavy and light viewers identify with
political viewpoints?

Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication

1. Page 266
a. Sociocognitive perspective is interested in capabilities that are distinctly human. What are these
capabilities?

2. Page 267
a. Summarize what it means to say that humans are capable of self-regulation.

3. Page 269
a. Identify the four modes of verification used within self-reflection.

4. Page 270
a. What are your thoughts about the following excerpt: Among self-referent thought, none is more
central or pervasive than peoples belief in their efficacy to exert control over their level of
functioning and events that affect their lives.

5. Page 275
a. Identify three processes in which people acquire rules from modeled information.

6. Page 276
a. What are vicarious incentives and how are they significant?

7. Page 278
a. Explain how moral justifications promote transgressive conduct.

8. Page 278-280
a. Summarize the three different sets of engagement practices.

9. Page 281
a. Heavy exposure to this symbolic world may eventually make the televised images appear to be
the authentic state of human affairs. What are your thoughts on this statement? How does
social media impact what we believe?

10. Page 287

a. What is social diffusion? Identify the three constituent processes social cognitive theory uses to
analyze social diffusion.

Perloff: Mass Communication Research at the Crossroads: Definitional Issues and Theoretical
Directions for Mass and Political Communication Scholarship in an Age of Online Media
1. Page 532
a. Chaffee and Metzger said characteristics of the new media are cracking the foundations of our
conception of mass communication. Describe some of the characteristics of the second age of
media.

2. Page 535
a. More than 70% of American adults watch local TV news and 65% view network news over the
course of a month. For 18-29-year-olds, 65% said they receive a majority of their news from the
Internet in 2010. From which medium do you receive a majority of your news? Do you not have
a preference?

3. Page 338
a. What is the difference between mass communication and mediated communication?

4. Page 544
a. Why is agenda-setting still a relevant concept to talk about in the age of social media?

5. Page 549
a. Can you relate to any of the new gratifications of new media that the article listed? Can you
identify any that the article did not list?

Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models
*If there is time, be prepared to briefly discuss your thoughts on this article.