1. COM 226, Summer 2011 PPT #3 Includes chapters 4-7 of DeFleur textbook
The Contributions of Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology to Mass Communication Theory
COM 226, Summer 2011
PPT #3
Includes chapters 4-7 of DeFleur textbook

2. Political Science: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)
From political philosophy to political science
Plato (c. 400 B.C.)--Opinion (doxa) vs. knowledge (episteme)
Opinion as untrustworthy, transient
How has this changed?
Political Science: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)

3. Political Science: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)
A Theory of Public Opinion as Shaped by the Press
The press monitors the social/political environment through the surveillance function; selects issues for coverage
GATEKEEPING, FRAMING
The public selectively attends to and interprets the information
Members of the public form individual opinions
BRYCE’S THEORY OF PUBLIC OPINION
Opinion Formation  Opinion Crystallization  Controversy/debate  Changes in the political system
These opinions are shared with others, and a consensus is reached (or more than one, by different segments…)
SPIRAL OF SILENCE
These public opinions, shared by segments of society, become widely known; these opinions can be ascertained by systematic public opinion polling (surveys)
Political Science: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)

4. Psychology: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)
Sensation and perception
Learning and memory
Cognitive Processing
Selective Attention
Selective Perception
Selective Retention/Limitations on Memory
Schemata and memory
Psychology: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)

5. Sociology: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)
From Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft (Ferdinand Toennies):
Gemeinschaft: Traditional Society
Gesellschaft: Industrialized Society (“Business Company”)
Shared informal rules for behavior
Contracts
A restricted division of labor with interdependency
Division of labor, anonymity and anomie
A social order based on trust
Diversity and a loss of trust
Limited need for media
Decline of interpersonal communication; increased dependence on mass media
Sociology: Some Basic Concepts (textbook)

6. OVERALL—a Comparison of Disciplines
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
Communication (Science)
For each, where is the focus?
What are the concerns?
OVERALL—a Comparison of Disciplines

7. OVERALL—a Comparison of Disciplines
Political Science—Formal organizations
Psychology—The individual
Social psychology—The individual and his/her relations with others
Sociology—Social groupings
Communication (Science)—Messages, their origins and their effects
For each, where is the focus?
What are the concerns?
OVERALL—a Comparison of Disciplines