Research and Planning: Audience Theories

The Hypodermic Model. This theory suggests that the message that is being shown from the media, is directly received and accepted by the audience. People say its as though its like a needle that's going straight into the brain.

The Cultivation Theory. This theory suggests that the more exposure we get, the more we start to believe it. For example if we watch the news and it tells us constantly that there is lots of increasing crime, we will start to believe it.

The Desensitization Theory. This theory suggests that people nowadays are becoming too exposed to violence in the media and that we are becoming desensitized. For example years ago we had horror films like Dracula and now there's films like Saw and the horror has increased a lot.

The Copycat Theory. This theory states that copycat crimes are acts that are modeled on previous crimes and it's something in the media that we copy. For example the case study of "Nuclear submarine rampage sailor shot dead officer to copy video game Graft Theft Auto."

The Uses And Gratifications Theory. This focuses more on the audience and more on how we use media and not how the media effects us.