HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY
"Hypodermic needle theory"/Magic Bullet Theory
The "hypodermic needle theory"
implied mass media had
a direct,
immediate and
powerful effect on its audiences.
The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were
perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change.
Several factors contributed to this
"strong effects" theory of communication,
The fast rise and
popularization of radio and television
The emergence of the
persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda
eg. focused on the impact
of motion pictures on children, and
Hitler's
monopolization of
the mass media during World war II to unify the German public behind the Nazi party
Core Assumptions and Statements
1.The theory suggests
that the mass media could influence a very large group of people
directly and uniformly by
‘shooting’
or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired
response.
2.This theory (a bullet
and a needle) suggest a powerful and direct flow
of information from the sender to the receiver.
3.The bullet theory
graphically suggests that the message is a bullet,
fired from the "media gun" into the viewer's "head".
4. The hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight
into a passive audience which
is immediately influenced by the message.
They express the view that the
media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver
or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the
message.
There is no escape
from the effect of the message in these models. The population is seen as a sitting duck
and passive. They are seen as having a
lot media material "shot" at them. People end up thinking what they
are told because there is no other source of information.
Media theorists have
classified the "War of the Worlds" broadcast as the
archetypal example of the Magic Bullet Theory.This is exactly how the theory
worked, by injecting the message directly into the "bloodstream"
of the public, attempting to create a uniform thinking.
The effects of the broadcast
suggested that the media could manipulate a passive and gullible public,
leading theorists to believe this was one of the primary ways media authors
shaped audience perception.
i feel it does in a way. because we can see today how the media influence our daily activities
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