Please read the instructions attached in the .pdf file
800-1,000 words
YouTube Video talked about in the instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPN0Zvezh0k
Total Points: 20
Getting to know myself – Personal Culture Essay
Due Sunday by 11:59pm Points 20 Submitting a file upload Available Jan 9 at 12am – Feb 4 at 11:59pm
Getting to Know Myself Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
12 pts
6 pts
2 pts
Start Assignment
Based on the information provided in the Fons Trompenaar video and the PowerPoint on the cultural dimensions, write an essay that describes your personal culture profile as related to each of these dimensions. As you situate yourself on the continua of the various dimensions, think about why you have that orientation, and give specific examples of patterns of thought and/or behavior that exemplify your orientation. Your essay should be 750 – 1000 words.
Content
Includes thoughtful reflection on the dimensions of culture and how your culture aligns with them. Specific examples are given.
12 pts Full Marks
0 pts No Marks
Organization
Clear introduction. Body develops points coherently with supporting information. Clear conclusion summarizes and/or gives final commentary.
6 pts Full Marks
0 pts No Marks
Mechanics
Variety of well-formed sentences. No grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation errors. 2 pts Full Marks
0 pts No Marks
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Chapter 4: How Does the Media Effects Process Work? Media Literacy, Tenth Edition, by W. James Potter
1
Introduction
Reactive perspective.
Proactive perspective.
Four ideas of mass media effects.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
2
Reactive perspective: When the public typically reacts to some terrible event and debates where blame should be placed.
Proactive perspective:
The media literacy perspective is a proactive way of dealing with potential risks through education rather than waiting for the negative occurrences.
This perspective provides greater personal control over the process leading up to a negative effect.
Four ideas of mass media effects:
Media effects are not rare or isolated.
The nature of factors that shape those effects.
A broader perspective on blame.
The effects process can be controlled.
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Media Effects Are Constantly Occurring (1 of 5)
Media as a probability.
Probability of negative effects.
Probability of positive effects.
Influence of the media.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Media as a probability: Instead of being thought categorically, media effects are best thought of as probabilities.
Probability of negative effects: If the probability of negative effects is high, the negative effect can be prevented through proactive steps.
Probability of positive effects: If the probability of positive effects is high, then steps could be taken to increase the probability to 100% for the positive effects to actually occur.
Influence of the media: A better understanding of the influence of the media can help one avoid the negative effects and increase the occurrence of positive effects.
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Media Effects Are Constantly Occurring (2 of 5)
Manifested Effects and Process Effects
Manifested effects.
Process effects.
Public and media critics.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Manifested effects: Media effects that we can easily observe.
Process effects:
The things going on our minds and bodies as a consequence of media influence.
Limiting our attention to only the manifested effects will lead to a skewed understanding of the extent of the media’s influence on us.
Public and media critics:
There is a fixation on manifested effects among public and media critics.
However, from a media literacy perspective, process effects must be considered more.
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Media Effects Are Constantly Occurring (3 of 5)
Baseline Effects and Fluctuation Effects
Baseline: typical degree of risk.
Fluctuation: temporary occurrence that changes the risk level.
Manifestation level: fluctuation effects.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Baseline: Our typical degree of risk that continues over time.
Fluctuation effects: A temporary occurrence that changes the risk level, after which the risk level returns to the base level.
Manifestation level:
A level under which many process effects are constantly occurring which we cannot observe directly.
An occasional fluctuation effect will break through this level.
Media effects typically refer to the fluctuation effects that break through the manifestation level.
We can observe such changes in behavior or knowledge.
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Media Effects Are Constantly Occurring (4 of 5)
Baseline Effects and Fluctuation Effects
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Figure 4.1: Baseline and Fluctuation Effects.
The axes in figures represent time (the horizontal axis) and the degree of risk of experiencing an effect (the vertical axis).
Figure a: Baseline effect.
Figure b: A sudden spike up off the baseline then a rapid return to the baseline; this illustrates a fluctuation effect.
Figure c: Manifestation level.
Figure d: Every once in a while, a fluctuation effect will increase enough to break through the manifestation level.
Figure e: Conditioning in a way that their baseline is very close to the manifestation level.
Figure f: Conditioning in a way that their baseline is very far away from the manifestation level.
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Media Effects Are Constantly Occurring (5 of 5)
Baseline Effects and Fluctuation Effects
Process effects and baselines.
Conditioning of people:
Baseline close to manifestation level.
Baseline far away from manifestation level.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Process effects and baselines:
Baselines are stable over time, although they may decrease or increase gradually.
Baselines are shaped by long-term conditioning.
Conditioning of people: People are conditioned in a way that their baseline is either very close to or very far away from the manifestation level.
Baseline close to manifestation level: A small fluctuation effect is enough to spike above the manifestation level.
Baseline far away from manifestation level: Any media exposure generating a large fluctuation to spike above the manifestation level is unlikely.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (1 of 15)
Shaping of baselines:
Increase in likelihood of manifestation.
Decrease in likelihood of manifestation.
Research literature.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Shaping of baselines:
Factors from the media and from our own lives shape our baselines.
While some of these factors increase the likelihood of a particular effect, others may decrease it.
Increase in likelihood of manifestation: The baseline will gradually ascend to higher levels of risk.
Decrease in likelihood of manifestation: The baseline will gradually descend.
Research literature:
The research literature on the factors influencing media processes in huge.
Media scholars have identified hundreds of such factors.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (2 of 15)
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Figure 4.2: Factors Influencing the Baseline.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (3 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Demographics:
Differences in exposure patterns.
Erosion of value of the indicators.
Focus of research: active-type variables.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
10
Differences in exposure patterns:
Testing demographic variables as predictors of media effects was popular practice in the early days of media research.
These attributes were useful in explaining differences in exposure patterns.
Example: young children have different media preferences than adults.
Erosion of value of the indicators:
However, with the proliferation of media and content choices, the value of demographic indicators has eroded.
Researchers shifted away from testing the ability of attribute variables like demographics to predict media effects to testing the ability of active variables.
Focus of research:
Testing the ability of active variables like developmental maturity.
Sex, ethnicity, income, and education were replaced by active-type variables such as cognitive abilities, personal locus, knowledge structures, sociological factors, and media exposure habits; found to be much better predictors of media effects.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (4 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Developmental Maturities:
Age and maturity.
Developing cognition in children.
Maturity and emotional reactions.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Age and maturity:
With age, our cognitive, emotional, and moral abilities also mature.
This enables us to process more information and apply more sophisticated skills, allowing our baselines to move closer to the manifestation level for the effects we want to experience.
Developing cognition in children:
With developing cognitive abilities, children can understand context more fully and engage in meta-thinking.
This helps them monitor their media exposures and the potential effects of those exposures.
Maturity and emotional reactions:
Less matured people are limited in their capacity to control their emotions and behavior.
Example: Smith and Wilson (2002) found that fear reactions from news are affected by age.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (5 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Cognitive Abilities:
Age appropriate limits to reasoning.
Developmental potentialities and abilities.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Cognitive abilities: At a given age, there are limits to what people can understand and how they go about reasoning.
Developmental potentialities and abilities: Possession of the same potential does not translate to the same level of cognitive abilities, such as IQ and the seven skills of media literacy.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (6 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Personal Locus:
Combination of goals and drives.
Determines factors influencing baseline.
Strong locus and awareness of the effects.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Personal locus: The combination of an individual’s goals and drives for media exposures.
Determines factors influencing baseline.
Personal locus is the most important factor influencing a person’s baseline.
It serves to activate the other factors of media effects, such as maturities, skills, knowledge structures, sociological factors, and lifestyle.
It also determines a person’s media exposure habits:
Strong locus and awareness of the effects:
A strong personal locus means more awareness of the effects process.
It also means that the person is aware of some effects that they do not want to manifest themselves, so they construct baselines for those effects far from the manifestation level.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (7 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Knowledge Structures:
Learning from media.
Power of media as a socializing influence.
Change in perceptions of entertainment.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Knowledge Structures: Learning from media: A well-developed knowledge structure means a person will be able to acquire more information quickly, assess its credibility, and incorporate that new information more effectively into more elaborate knowledge structures.
Power of media as a socializing influence:
The media’s socializing influence stems from the fact that it is the primary source of information for many topics.
It is impossible to make valid judgments about the accuracy of media portrayals as viewers do not have an opportunity to check out fiction in their real lives.
Change in perceptions of entertainment:
Increase in the amount of viewing increases one’s perceptions of the reality of TV entertainment programs.
One is more likely to believe the real world is like the TV world.
It mostly influences children, who have the least amount of variety of real-world experiences.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (8 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Sociological Factors:
Degree of socialization: amount of influence.
Communicating social information.
Susceptibility to media influence.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Sociological Factors: Degree of socialization:
Consistent socialization with particular values over a long period of time will result in a stable baseline which will be resistant to change.
In such cases, the media is unlikely a strong enough influence to cause a fluctuation.
Communicating social information:
As norms are learned by observing others in real life and through the media, a lot of social information is communicated to viewers through the presentation of characters in the media.
These messages are especially influential on the socialization of children.
Susceptibility to media influence: People who have less experience in real life to counterbalance the media portrayals tend to accept the stories the media present as accurate.
15
Factors Influencing Media Effects (9 of 15)
Baseline Factors
Media Exposure Habits:
Attention on various types of media.
Effect of messages on baseline.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Media Exposure Habits:
Media exposure habits are usually set in individuals.
These habits focus a person’s attention on certain media and certain types of messages presented by them.
Effect of messages on baseline:
People who are exposed to a very wide range of messages are likely to have not much effect on their baseline.
People who spend considerable time playing violent video games are likely to have a baseline close to the manifestation level for aggressive behavior.
16
Factors Influencing Media Effects (10 of 15)
Fluctuation Factors
Content of the messages.
Context of portrayals:
Derived by meaning of the experience.
Portrayal of violence: dangerous.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Content of the messages: What you expose yourself to during an exposure session matters.
Context of portrayals:
Meanings of messages are derived from how they are portrayed, especially if they are social lessons.
Portrayal of violence: dangerous:
Both the good and the bad guys can commit acts of violence.
However, when the good guy does it, violence is portrayed as an essential and successful means of resolving conflict.
From this experience, viewers learn that the use of violence is okay.
17
Factors Influencing Media Effects (11 of 15)
Fluctuation Factors
Cognitive complexity of content
Easier processing by people.
Semantically redundant information.
Importance of emotional cues.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Cognitive complexity of content:
Easier processing by people: The lesser the cognitive demands of the content on the audience, the easier for the people to process its meaning.
Semantically redundant information: learning is achieved better when a medium provides information in several channels at once, such as pictures, words, and sound, and when the information is semantically redundant by complementing and reinforcing each medium.
Importance of emotional cues: the use of emotional cues in media messages also enable people to remember information better.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (12 of 15)
Fluctuation Factors
Motivations:
Conscious need of experience.
Passive learning unlikely.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Motivations:
Conscious need of experience: People actively seek out an experience in the media when they have a particular need for that experience.
Moreover, people with higher levels of education and higher intelligence are more driven to seek out information from the media, especially those that have the greatest utility to them.
Passive learning unlikely: Learning can still occur when one is passive, but it is unlikely.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (13 of 15)
Fluctuation Factors
States
Temporary reaction.
Media induces arousal.
Cognitive states and media literacy.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Motivations:
People actively seek out an experience in the media when they have a particular need for that experience.
Moreover, people with higher levels of education and higher intelligence are more driven to seek out information from the media, especially those that have the greatest utility to them.
States:
A state is a temporary drive or emotional reaction that occurs in response to some stimuli.
Media induces arousal:
Media alters our psychological states, inducing arousal.
Media techniques inducing arousal include fast cuts, quick motion within a frame, loud music, and sound effects.
Narrative conventions as suspense, fear, life-threatening violence, and erotica can lead to arousal.
Cognitive states are especially important with respect to media literacy.
Cognitive state of ignorance is usually associated with emotional states of frustration or despair, which are emotions we try to avoid.
Viewing ignorance as an opportunity rather than a burden is likely to lead to positive emotional states triggered by the pleasure of achievement.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (14 of 15)
Fluctuation Factors
Degree of identification:
Forming strong attachments to characters.
Two-step process of establishing relationship.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Degree of identification:
People typically pay more attention to those characters in the media with whom they identify.
The stronger the attachment, the stronger the probability of an effect (Bandura, 1986, 1994) that will show up as a fluctuation.
Two-step process of establishing relationship:
The first step is the judgment of how much a person is attracted to a character.
The second step involves the engagement of the person in an “as if ” experience in which the person imagines themselves in the role of the character.
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Factors Influencing Media Effects (15 of 15)
Process of Influence
Factors rarely act alone.
Factors work in a complex process.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Process of influence:
A complex process: the factors influencing media effects rarely act alone.
A combination of factors must work together in a complex process for changes to occur.
Factors rarely act alone: A complex process: the factors influencing media effects rarely act alone.
Factors work in a complex process: A combination of factors must work together in a complex process for changes to occur.
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Thinking About Blame
The blame game.
Multiple influences.
Questioning who is to blame.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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The blame game:
Different groups will blame other groups upon the occurrence of an incident.
The reality is that many factors contributed to the event, so blame needs to be apportioned across all these factors.
Multiple influences:
We live in a complex society where a single element seldom causes an effect.
Similarly, a combination of multiple factors cause media effects.
These include media portrayal, factors in the life of the people involved, and factors about the real-world situation.
Questioning who is to blame:
The answer depends on how the question is asked.
It is imperative to recognize the multiple influences and not allow any one of the influences to be absolved.
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Becoming More Media Literate (1 of 2)
Media effects process is complex.
Varying media effects.
Constantly occurring media effects.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Media effects process:
The process is “complex.”
The interaction between many factors about the media, their messages, and their audience explains media influences.
However, to be media literate, it is not necessary to understand all these nuances.
Varying media effects: There is a wide variety of media effects that vary by time, valence, intentionality, and type.
Constantly occurring media effects:
When an effect is manifested, it is usually a fluctuation off a person’s baseline.
The appearance of the effect is explained by both the nature of a person’s baseline and the particulars of the fluctuation.
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Becoming More Media Literate (2 of 2)
Factors shaping each person’s baseline.
Managing positive media effects.
Managing negative media effects.
Potter, Media Literacy, Tenth Edition. © SAGE Publications, 2021.
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Factors shaping each person’s baseline:
The more knowledge one has about the factors, the more can be understood where your baseline is on each effect.
One can more accurately assess the probability of experiencing an effect with increased knowledge.
Managing positive media effects: One needs to shape one’s baselines for positive effects in a way that it will take little effort for a fluctuation to manifest itself.
Managing negative media effects: One needs to shape one’s baselines for negative effects in a way that it will be rare that any fluctuation will result in the manifestation of any of those negative effects.
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