One silly example is that Television viewing sucks your brain waves and makes you stupid.
In this case, the cause or INDEPENDENT VARIABLE is: Television viewing [hours]
And the effect or DEPENDENT VARIABLE is: Stupidity [intelligence].

The scientific approach holds that THEORIES should be tested to see if they are correct.
The traditional scientific method involves:

1. forming a HYPOTHESIS,
2. carrying out an appropriate testing procedure, and
3. interpreting the results to see if they are consistent with the hypothesis.

First, it ORGANIZES OUR EXPERIENCES. It focuses us on the most relevant factors.
Second, it EXTENDS OUR KNOWLEDGE. It leads us to generalizations and predictions.
Third, it STIMULATES AND GUIDES RESEARCH to search for explanations and causes.

There are 5 REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD THEORY

1. It EXPLAINS current observations
2. It PREDICTS future events
3. It is TESTABLE [theory can be falsified]
4. It is SIMPLE. Or at least simpler than other explanations
5. It is USEFUL [has practical applications].

• Psychological theories and methods
• Applied to the problem of new media and their use
• "What are these technologies (or the content) doing to people?"

Uses and Gratifications Theory

• can be traced to Lazarsfeld, 1944 and 1948 Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1974
• Needs determine media use. If you are tired, you will probably seek entertainment Surveillance needs leads to news viewing
• Media experiences leads to expectations. We expect Friends to entertain us. We expect news to inform us
• Use leads to gratifications and other effects. People learn to watch Friends for entertainment
• 7 Motivations: Learning, habit, pass time, companionship, escape, arousal & relaxation.

• Bandura, 1977 (Stanford)
• Behaviorism If you are rewarded, you will exhibit behavior. But what if you are not rewarded directly?
• First Experiments Psychologists: Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961, 1963 Kids who saw violence rewarded beat up Bobo doll
• Social Cognitive Theory, 1986 People can learn through observing rewards
• Applications: Violence, ethics, advertising, sexual behavior, etc.

• Gerbner, 1977
• Television viewing distorts our perceptions The more TV you watch, the more scared you become More TV, perception of more cops, lawyers and doctors
• Mainstreaming Convergence of outlooks for heavy viewers Heavy viewers are "middle-of-the-road"
• Resonance Television events remind people of real events
• Therefore, memory is "colored" by television

• McCombs (Stanford) & Shaw (Wisconsin), 1972 Cohen "may not tell us what to think...but what to think about"
• The studies Content analysis examined news coverage
• surveys examined what people thought was important -- correlated
• "Split cable" experiment showed that importance can be altered
• Implications Lewin's "Gatekeeping" is important in determining public agenda What editors choose to cover or not cover can influence politics.

• Horton & Wohl, 1955 (psychologists)
• People were talking about characters as if real
• Examples Calling an actor by a character's name Sending "Get Well" cards to soap opera characters Extreme identification such as John Hinkley
• Possible reasons Acting is an attempt to "become" a character Person "comes into your home" every week (in character)
• Applications: Advertising, Public Service Announcements

• Communication theories are rooted in psychology theories
• Some are extensions of psychology theories (SLT, PI)
• Some were rooted in the early "communication" research
• Individual based Why people behave the way they do
• Why people watch what they watch
• Generally cognitive, affective, or behavioral
• Examining what people think, what people feel, or what people do
• Not only what the media do to people, but under what conditions the media have effects