Task 2- Audience Resources

The hypodermic needle model

the hypodermic needle is also known as the hypodermic syringe and is a form of communication suggesting that an intended message is directly received and fully accepted by the receiver. although this reaction only exist as a short term effect, this is a passive theory not a active theory.

for example within the game 'manhunt' there were various scenes in the game like walking up to a person and putting a plastic bag over their heads to suffocate them or hitting someone over the head with a baseball bat with nails in it. this game got banned in so many countries as people went round actually doing what they have seen in the game.

The inoculation model

This theory shows that the longer an audience gets influenced and exposed to a certain sort of media message, the audience starts to get immune to the media message. In video game, its shows that various forms of violence methods is dealing with an in game enemy over a long period of time becomes less interesting and less shocking towards the player that is playing it.

This theory ‘inoculation theory states that to avoid persuasion it is needed to tighten pre-existing attitudes, beliefs or opinions, firstly the receiver must be warned of an imminent attack. This then inaugurates recognition of vulnerability and starts to make defences to future attacks. This means, the idea is when a weak argument is presented in the inoculation message their process of refutation will prepare for stronger persuasion later. It is critical that the attack is strong enough to keep the receiver defensive, but weak enough to not actually change those pre-existing ideas.

the two-step flow model

This theory asserts that information from the media moves in two distinct stages. First, individuals (opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and its messages receive the information. Opinion leaders pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content. The term ‘personal influence’ was coined to refer to the process intervening between the media’s direct message and the audience’s ultimate reaction to that message. Opinion leaders are quite influential in getting people to change their attitudes and behaviours and are quite similar to those they influence. The two-step flow theory has improved our understanding of how the mass media influence decision making. The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior, and it helped explain why certain media campaigns may have failed to alter audience attitudes an behavior. The two-step flow theory gave way to the multi-step flow theory of mass communication or diffusion of innovation theory.

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/macro/Two-Step%20Flow%20Theory/

The uses and gratifications

it is known that there is lots of different audiences across the planet and that a persona will seek out information for many different purposes, these can be listed in to 3 things

personal identity

integration and social interaction

entertainment

personal identity

this is when people compare their own values with similar roles and values that have been represented in the media for example buying call of duty because on of your friends have told you to get it and you go get it and you don't like the game so you ave wasted your money.

integration and social interaction
establishing with others and gaining the sense of belonging with others. it also helps to connect with family,friends and other people in the world,so basically having a substitute for real-life companionship. this can be through hearing the radio all day long for company or like a social media like Twitter. 

entertainment
Is basically why you play games do you play games for a sense of fantasy by escaping from the real world being diverted into it. people might play games for relaxation either they had a very stressful day at work or even some people will play games to fill the time gap if hey had spare time to waste they may go and have a couple of games on fifa to pass the time.

The Reception Theory

Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's reception of a literary text.  It is more generally called audience reception in the analysis of communications models. This is split up into 3 different parts;

Dominant or sometimes called hegemonic reading is where the reader shares the text’s doe and accepts and repeats the preferred reading (a reading which may not have been the result of any conscious intention on the part of the author) in such a great stance the code seems a lot more natural and transparent.

Negotiated reading is where the reader will partly share the text’s code and broadly accept the preferred reading however sometimes resists and modifies it in a way which reflects their own position, experiences and interests however this position involves a lot of contradictions.

Oppositional or sometimes called counter-hegemonic reading this is basically where the readers, whose social circumstances places them in a directly oppositional relation to dominate the code and this makes the reader understand the preferred reading but does not share the texts code and rejects this reading, thus bringing to bear an alternative frame of reference.