Audience Effect Theories: Direct effect paradigm, Limited effect paradigm, Alternative paradigm (Cultural effect) (1.5.1)

 Audience Effect Theory refers to the ways in which the presence and behavior of an audience can influence the performance and behavior of an individual or group. The theory suggests that individuals may behave differently depending on the presence or absence of an audience, as well as the perceived characteristics of the audience.

Direct Effect Paradigm:

The Direct Effect Paradigm refers to the idea that media messages can directly and immediately affect the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of the audience without any intervening variables. 

It assumes that media messages have a powerful and direct impact on the audience and that the audience is passive and easily influenced by these messages.

The Direct Effect Paradigm was popularized in the 1930s and 1940s when researchers conducted studies on the effects of media messages on audiences. 

However, in the 1950s and 1960s, researchers began to question the assumptions of the Direct Effect Paradigm. They argued that the audience was not passive and that the effects of media messages were not always direct and immediate. They suggested that there were intervening variables, such as the audience's existing attitudes, beliefs, and values, that could moderate the impact of media messages.

Limited Effect Paradigm:

The Limited Effect Paradigm suggests that media messages have limited effects on audiences and that these effects are influenced by a variety of factors, including the audience's existing attitudes and beliefs, their social and cultural environment, and their individual characteristics. 

This paradigm emerged in the 1950s and 1960s as a response to the Direct Effect Paradigm, which suggested that media messages had a powerful and direct impact on the attitudes and behaviors of the audience without any intervening variables.

The Limited Effect Paradigm suggests that media messages have a more indirect and subtle impact on audiences and that this impact is often mediated by other factors, such as interpersonal communication, social networks, and cultural norms. 

According to this paradigm, audiences are active and engaged in interpreting and making sense of media messages, and they are influenced by a variety of factors beyond the content of the message itself.

Alternative Paradigm:

The Alternative Paradigm is a concept in communication studies that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as a critique of the dominant paradigms of media effects research, including the Direct Effect Paradigm and the Limited Effect Paradigm. 

The Alternative Paradigm suggests that media messages and their effects are shaped by the social, political, and cultural contexts in which they are produced and consumed and that the relationship between media and society is reciprocal and dynamic.

The Alternative Paradigm is sometimes referred to as the Cultural Studies Paradigm or the Critical Paradigm. 

It emphasizes the importance of understanding media as a cultural form that is deeply embedded in social and political structures and power relations. 

This paradigm argues that media messages are not neutral or objective, but rather are shaped by the social and cultural context in which they are produced and that they reflect and reinforce dominant ideologies and power relations.

The Alternative Paradigm also emphasizes the importance of understanding the ways in which audiences actively engage with media messages, interpreting and appropriating them in different ways.

This paradigm suggests that media audiences are not passive, but rather are active participants in the construction of meaning and the negotiation of social and cultural identities.