Citation

Wartella E, Reeves B. J. Commun. 1985; 35(2): 118-133.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1985, International Communication Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1985.tb02238.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

For the past several years, scholars of mastication have reflected on the history of American media research and found it lacking. This article is an attempt to address questions about the history of mass communication research in the United States by examining a particular research domain, that of media affects on children. Our study is part of a larger ongoing analysis of the history of public controversy about the media affects on children and youth. A major thesis of our project is that the traditional history of media affects research is biased toward considerations of public opinion, propaganda, Public affairs, and voting. As embodied in basic textbooks, this history can be outlined as follows. Earliest concerns about the mass media at the turn-of-the-century and Through the 1920s twenties and early 1930s Took the form of the direct effect or "hypodermic needle" model of media impact.

Language: en