Researching Media Effects
•	Observations: in situ; measurement; questionaires: Louis; North Van Schools 
•	Correlations/ risks: YRBS
•	Isolating Causes: before/ after ie longitudinal studies (Schramm/ Huesmann)
•	Controlling Determinants: comparison under know conditions (Kline/Greenfield:  exposure to ads/ TV)
•	Case Studies: dynamics of influence in situation and over time (Pageant Girls/ Rescue Heroes)
Observing the Digital Generation: Researcher POV
North Shore Fans
•	Who would you like to meet?
•	Why Fav TV character:
–	                  Boys        Girls        Tot
–	Funny           25            25           50
–	Cool               8               4           12
–	Power           10               0           10
–	Stupid             6               3            9
–	Smart              3                3           6
–	Attractive        0                6           6
–	Good/ saves    4                0            4
Media Effect School  Achievement
Television and School Achievement
•	Schramm:  TV has positive and negative effects on children’s study and schooling 
•	Heavy viewing poorer reading and maths scores (but class and family environment related to homework displacement ie control and support) 
•	Rosengren et al. 1989. (Process of becoming a reader) 
•	Displacement:  Different ways that kids use tv to escape or complement their studies 

Media and fitness levels
Effects:What part does TV play in the issue of children’s obesity 
–	Direct Effects: 
•	Physiological fact: 1/3 children (by age 12) are 20% over normal body fat 
•	Content Analysis: 85% of all food ads in children’s TV are for hi-sugars hi fat products 
–	Content Effects: 
•	Ads role in dietary habits and comfort eating - advertising and snacking (J Andrews, et al. Consumer generalization of nutrient content claims in advertising,Journal of Marketing, Vol 62 #4 1998) 
•	The beauty myth - body consciousness and desire for thin-ness ( A. Crouch, D. Degelman Influence of female body images in printed advertising on self -ratings of physical attractiveness by adolescent girls, Perceptual and Motor Skills, Vol 87 #2 1998)

Indirect Effects
–	Indirect Effects of TV 
•	Reduction in physical activity 
•	Interest in sports and participation 
•	Do overweight children enjoy advertisements for sweet vs healthy breakfast cereals more than normal weight children? 
–	Robinson:  test of effects
•	Reduce exposure to TV (test school vs control) 
•	Measure BMI/ skin folds
•	No control for diet knowledge and activity
•	Result (significant difference in BMI)

Complexified Models of Cultural Learning in Mediated Environments:
•	Predisposition (gender, personality, developing preferences) 
•	Media (medium, genre, content, use)- ie viewing vs vs specific programmes 
•	Context and Socio-cultural (family, school, class region- eg family regulation) 
•	Viewing Behaviour (attention, comprehension, interpretation, identification) 
•	Nature of Consequences (behavioural/ attitudinal ie mean world, short term/ long term, specific- general)
7% solution; why focus on the relationship between media and violence
Complexified effects:
Macbeth: indirect effects such as displacement and mediation
•	1973 - BC natural experiment (compare communities 2 years apart) 
•	Study of Notel -before and after introduction of TV 
•	Compare with Unitel (CBC only) 
•	Multi-tel (CBC, CTV, NBC, ABC, CBS) 
•	Introduction creates TV watchers 
•	Notel 20.9 hr; Unitel 21, Multitel 29.3 
•	Need to distinguish direct from indirect effects of viewing - ie displacement, diversity of experience, multiple sources of information, social mediation
Natural Experiment: McBeth 1986
•	Community Study 1970’s (as TV is brought into the community)
•	Notel, Unitel,  Multitel sites chosen as broadcast into valley
•	Measures taken: before and after:
–	Aggression
–	Reading and School Acheivement
–	Creativity
–	Community Activities
–	Psychological  factors
Macbeth Results
•	Reading ability, vocabulary, amount of time spent on homework, spatial ability 
•	TV becomes an alternative for those kids experiencing difficulties in learning to read, consolidating a pattern, and diminishing the enjoyment of reading 
•	Reduced TV viewing is not sufficient to encourage reading  (notel)
•	Minimal effects on vocabulary 
•	Negative spatial ability and tactile shape recognition
•	Aggression
•	Creative Fluency
McBeth:Effects on Creativity
•	2 measures of ideational fluency ie the ability to generate many ideas
–	Alternate uses task (Notel> Multi or Unitel but after similar)
–	Pattern recognition - negative correlation with TV viewing, but similar in all towns and positive with sports and reading
–	Used correlation with other activities to explain effects creativity enhanced  by “wider variety of experiences” ie like camping, hobbies, reading

TV, Fantasy Play and Imagination:
•	Singer studies (measures of imaginativeness and fantasy play - imaginary friends)
•	Greenfield et al. -Trolls, Smurfs and Transcendent Imagination -1st and 2nd graders, same sex dyads
–	Smurf story, Smurf cartoon, smurf story- low
–	Smurf story, dots game, smurf - High
–	Troll story, smurf cartoon, troll story - medium
•	McBeth:  Measured creative and imitative imagination - “the source rather than the amount of creativity

Mediated Marketplace: Impact on Children’s Culture
•	gendered framing of play and culture
•	displacement of other activities
•	theories of play and identity formation
–	aggression and desensitization
–	anti-social attitudes/ mean world
–	Identification: Superheroes and role models

Gender Identity: The Great Divide in Socialization
•	Bifurcation of Play Cultures
–	Style Wars vs Star Wars
–	activity vs passivity 
–	technology vs fashion
–	social relations vs social skills
–	aggression vs competition for self esteem
–	solving problems vs experiencing problems
Case Studies of Gender Identity Socialization:
•	Case Studies as critical reflection on the extremes to reveal  the complex dynamics
•	Beauty Pagents and Superheroes as exemplar play cultures:
–	Preferences for media based on character: personality as a value system
–	aspirations and identification - affective component
–	Role models: incorporation of other into the self/ performance and presentation
Beauty Myths: 
Baby Dolls: becoming Mommy
•	Barbie: models as role models 
•	Spice Girls: early sexualization vs gender identity
•	Pagent Cosmology: 
–	Self on show: under the gaze- priveleges Beauty
–	Strategies of presentation the constancy of self presentation - life is a performance: poise and grace
–	The Smile: non threatening; pleasure of being viewed
–	Playing to the Judge: competition pits females against each other