Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of the Hypodermic Syringe Model of the Mass Media (33 marks) The Hypodermic Syringe Model suggests that the media are strong and the audience is weak and passive. This means that the messages the media portrays, society will instantly believe without questioning the ideas and morals behind this. The model suggests that children are more susceptible to the messages in the media and accept the information provided as they have not fully developed social skills.
In addition to this, the media is thought to ‘inject’ the audience with their beliefs, of whom would automatically agree with this view. The Hypodermic Syringe Model notes a direct correlation between violence portrayed in the media and anti-social behaviour in society. This view is supported by Bandura et al (1963) who investigated whether media content caused violence in children. Bandura showed the children real violence, film violence and violence in a cartoon.
All of these acts of violence were towards a Bobo Doll. Children were allowed into a room with several other toys and a Bobo Doll whilst being observed through a one-way mirror. Bandura found that those who watched the violence acted violent towards the Bobo Doll and imitated this behaviour however the control group who did not view the violent film did not act aggressively. This shows that media content may lead to Copycat Violence where children imitate this negative behaviour.
This would support the Hypodermic Syringe Model because the media has ‘injected’ certain behaviour into the children who did not question this and instantly acted in an aggressive manner. However, this point can be criticised as the role models who acted aggressively at first were not punished for this yet through the media, children will see people being punished for their actions e. g. on the news. The Hypodermic Syringe Model has also had an effect by those using radio as a source of media, for example the radio broadcast in 1938 regarding The War of the Worlds.
This radio broadcast discussed an invasion of Martians to a particularly rural area of the USA. When this was broadcast, many people reacted to this broadcast as if it was real; they chose not to question this and instantly believed the information provided as this was the only reliable source of information at the time. Despite many believing this radio broadcast, not all six million listeners acted in a similar way to that of the few, suggesting that the Hypodermic Syringe Model is not as influential as first
thought. A study relating to this broadcast and the Hypodermic Syringe Model was conducted by Cantril (1940) who found many factors that would reduce the effects of the Hypodermic Syringe Model, one of which was the listener being unable to check if this was real by using another source. At the time of broadcast, there was only Radio as a source of information meaning people only trusted the radio and those around them.
This would criticise the Hypodermic Syringe Model in today’s society as people have many sources of information that they can use to check news stories which may suggest that the Hypodermic Syringe Model is not effective in this society. The Hypodermic Syringe Model is thought to prevent violence and benefit the individual who is engaging in the viewing of aggressive and violent behaviour. People who view the violence will allow them to release their emotions, this is called Catharsis.
This is supported by Fesbach and Sanger (1971) who used a large sample of boys from both residential homes and private schools and were given a strict TV regime for six weeks. There were two groups, one group who watched constant violent and aggressive behaviour on TV and another group who watched non-violent TV shows such as Neighbours. Fesbach and Sanger found through observation at the end of the study that those who watched the violent TV were less aggressive through their behaviour than those who watched non-violent TV.
This implies that violent TV shows releases aggressive energy as the viewer can interact or relate to the individual, making them less violent in their behaviour. This criticises the Hypodermic Syringe Model as the model suggests that people who view the behaviour will not question this and will act in this way in the future. The Hypodermic Syringe Model fails to acknowledge that the media provides the viewers with the effects of the violence on the individual.
The viewer is less likely to repeat the images and violence acted upon in the media after viewing the violence and the effects this could have on themselves therefore suggesting that the Hypodermic Syringe Model does not ‘inject’ their messages into the minds of the viewers. It can be suggested that there is not enough research in this particular area of Sociology as many findings are as a result of artificial surroundings, for example the Bandura experiment. With little support for the Hypodermic Syringe Model, the assumptions of this model can neither be true or false.
This can be supported by Gauntlett (2008) who found that most of the studies on the Hypodermic Syringe Model or media violence and imitation were conducted in an artificial environment, this meaning that some of the effects recorded from this experiment may be due to other factors, not how the person would act in a real situation. The Hypodermic Syringe Model suggests that children are more vulnerable to the violence and messages portrayed in the mass media, however this can be criticised as children may not be affected as much by the content in the media as first thought.
A study in support of this view was conducted by Buckingham (1993) who investigated how children interpreted and reacted to violence sown in the media via the news. Buckingham found that children were media literate meaning they could understand the difference between fictional violence and real violence. This research would undermine the Hypodermic Syringe Model as children have been found to be more sophisticated and understanding of violence in the media which also suggests that the audience of the media is not passive and does not imitate these actions as often as the Hypodermic Syringe Model suggests.
One of the main suggestions of the Hypodermic Syringe Model is that the audience are passive; however recent research implies that this is not the case and the audience are not homogeneous. The model cannot be seen as useful as this does not take into consideration the different opinions expressed by the general public as the model does not acknowledge that the audience are not homogenous. Everyone has different characteristics will affect their decision about whether or not to accept the message; some of these characteristics include social class, age and family background.
For example if the media broadcast a message regarding the unemployment levels in the UK then those who are younger may not be interested in this message and will ignore this, this goes against the idea of the Hypodermic Syringe Model that the messages are ‘injected’ into the mind of the viewer or listener. Research into active audiences has found that the audience generally have a positive relationship with the media and can form arguments against these messages rather than believing them.
The Hypodermic Syringe Model can be criticised by the two step flow model created by Katz and Lazarsfeld (1965). The basic assumption of this model is that people form a relationship with an opinion leader, someone who they perceive as their role model, for example a teacher or a family member. The Opinion Leaders usually have strong views on certain aspects due to knowledge gathered from a range of sources.
These messages are then passed on to the members which are highly influenced by these people. There are two stages to this model, the first is the opinion leader being exposed to the media content and secondly those who respect this role model will then interpret this message from the opinion leader and accept the opinion leader’s message. This suggests that the audience are not directly influenced by the media itself and rather those who are seen as more knowledgeable and trustworthy.
This model criticises the Hypodermic Syringe Model as the views expressed by the opinion leaders may disagree with the messages provided in the media therefore this implies that the audience is active rather than passive as they create their own opinions about the stories in the media. Overall, this suggests that the Hypodermic Syringe Model is not useful for the mass media and proves to be ineffective as the assumptions of this model are heavily critiqued. Substantial evidence has been provided suggesting that this model is not as realistic as others such as The Two Step Flow Model.