April 30, 2012
Becoming cultural anthropologists—taking your “field notes”
and turning them into grounded theory.
Deductive (theory to data) vs. Inductive (data to theory)
Deductive:
Use the example of cultivation theory, which states, “the
more time we spend in the world of the media, the more we come to believe that
its representation of the world is real (George Gerbner).”
If I were engaging in cultivation analysis (a quantitative
approach to research), I could use this theory as my starting point because it
tells me the two types of data I need to collect: a) time spent with media
(independent variable) and b) beliefs about some aspect of the world (dependent
variable).
It tells we where to look and what to test from the very
beginning.
Note the problem of the underrepresentation of theory (can
our theory explain unanticipated observations or data?).
Inductive:
In this approach (which is more qualitative or
naturalistic), we do not start by having a predetermined theory tell us where
to look. We simply identify phenomena of interest (in our case for the blog
assignment: what happens when I watch a scary movie or when I play a violent
video game?).
So, we start by going out into the “field” and making observations.
Our observations become our data.
We sift and cull through our data looking for patterns. We start to develop ideas
about what we are observing in the data and we test how well all the data fit
these ideas.
We may find several patterns; so we look to see how these
patterns fit together into a broader explanatory pattern, which we call a grounded theory.
Have the groups developed grounded theory explanations from
their field observations and then discuss these patterns.
Excitation Transfer Theory
Primary Assumptions:
1) We respond physiologically to communication stimuli (we
call this physiological excitation and it can me measured by heart rate change,
skin response, pupillary response, etc.)
2) This state of excitation carries over into subsequent
activities through a process known as priming.
a) the
state of arousal extends beyond the moment of exposure
b) priming
activates certain schema and predispositions that we can
normally manage (see Freud’s discussion
on super ego, id, and ego)
What would be some of the carry-over effects? What would the
class predict?
Cultivation Theory
Primary Assumptions:
1) The more time we spend in the world of the media, the
more we come to believe that the media’s representation of the world is real
a)
cultivation of normative beliefs and schema
b) focus on
beliefs, not on behavioral reactions
Secondary Assumptions:
1) Resonance
2) Mainstreaming effect
Effects:
1) fear, skewed perceptions of world
2) attitudes and beliefs toward violence and aggression
3) desensitization (emotional and cognitive)
a)
emotional: numbing or blunting of reactions to events that would normally
produce stronger reactions
b)
cognitive: restructuring or altering normative beliefs
4) Cognitive rehearsal
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