Thinking about the media: A review of theory and research on media perceptions, media effects perceptions, and their consequences

Authors

  • Douglas M. McLeod University of Wisconsin--Madison Author
  • David Wise University of Wisconsin--Madison Author
  • Mallory Perryman University of Wisconsin--Madison Author

Keywords:

Media Perceptions, Media Effects Perceptions, Media Trust, Media Credibility, Media Bias, Hostile Media Perception, Presumed Influence, Influence of Presumed Influence, Persuasive Press Inference, Third-person Perception

Abstract

This review explicates the past, present and future of theory and research concerning audience perceptions of the media as well as the effects that perceptions of media have on audiences. Before the sections that examine media perceptions and media effects perceptions, we first identify various psychological concepts and processes involved in generating media-related perceptions. In the first section, we analyze two types of media perceptions: media trust/credibility perceptions and bias perceptions, focusing on research on the Hostile Media Perception. In both cases, we address the potential consequences of these perceptions. In the second section, we assess theory and research on perceptions of media effects (often referred to as Presumed Influence) and their consequences (referred to as the Influence of Presumed Influence). As examples of Presumed Influence, we evaluate the literature on the Persuasive Press Inference and the Third-Person Perception. The bodies of research on media perceptions and media effects perceptions have been featured prominently in the top journals of the field of mass communication over the past 20 years. Here we bring them together in one synthetic theoretical review.

Author Biographies

  • Douglas M. McLeod, University of Wisconsin--Madison

    Douglas M. McLeod is the Evjue Centennial Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research develops three lines of inquiry: 1) social conflicts and the mass media; 2) media framing effects, and 3) public opinion. He focuses on the role of the media in both domestic and international conflicts, news coverage of social protest and its effects on audiences. McLeod has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and law reviews. He recently published News Framing and National Security: Covering Big Brother examines how news framing of domestic surveillance influences audience assessments of issues related to national security and civil liberties.

  • David Wise, University of Wisconsin--Madison

    David Wise is a doctoral candidate in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research examines news media practices and content and how they interact with audience predispositions to influence attitudes about the news media and public affairs.

  • Mallory Perryman, University of Wisconsin--Madison

    Mallory Perryman is a doctoral candidate in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her research explores how the news media audience imagines media messages affect others. 

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Published

2017-01-15

Issue

Vol. 5 (2017)

Section

Articles

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