Attribution Theory and Dependency Theory
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This document discusses two communication theories: attribution theory and media dependency theory. Attribution theory proposes that people try to understand events by attributing them to internal characteristics or external factors. Media dependency theory suggests people rely more on media that meets their needs, especially during times of crisis or uncertainty when social institutions are challenged. The document provides examples and origins of the theories, and poses discussion questions about applying them to social media and the Syrian refugee crisis.
Attribution Theory and Dependency Theory
- 1. Attribution Theory and Media Dependency Theory By Amelia, Emilee and Maggie
- 2. "Concerned with how people interpret events and how this relates to their thinking and behavior" - University of Twente Assumes that people try to determine people why people do what they do "commonsense psychology" Strong need for individuals to understand events by attributing them to the “actors disposition or characteristics of environment.” Attribution Theory http://s3.amazonaws.com/stripgenerator/strip/15/12/67/00/00/full.png
- 3. Internal v. External Attribution Internal Attributing the cause of someone’s behavior to their personality or abilities Example: Someone receives a bad test grade. “I guess they didn’t study well enough.” “They didn’t understand the concepts.” “They weren’t serious about the exam.” External Attributing the cause of someone’s behavior to situational or outside factors Example: You receive a bad test grade. “That teacher is a harsh grader.” “I didn’t have much time to study with all this other work.” “The notes from class were unhelpful.”
- 4. Origin and History Proposed by Heider in 1958. Heider: classified this as “naive” or “commonsense” psychology. Heider: believed people were like amateur psychologists trying to understand the behavior of others by piecing together information until they reach a reason or cause. Weiner and colleagues created theoretical framework that
- 6. Discussion How can we apply attribution theory to the groups of people in these videos?
- 7. Attribution Theory and Social Media Social media is a vehicle for comparison "Likes" on Facebook Followers on Twitter Likes and follows on Instagram News
- 8. Do you agree or disagree with the reasoning behind this theory? Are there other ways attribution theory applies to social media? Discussion
- 10. Discussion Have you ever been in a time of crisis? How did you rely on media? What types of media did you rely on? Ex. ACA Civic Association Shooting
- 11. Media Dependency Theory Media depends on social context Depend on media to meet certain needs Two dependency factors: 1. Become more dependent on a type of media that will meet more needs than a type of media that will only meet a few needs. 2. When social change and conflicts are high, institutions, beliefs and practices are challenged: forces others to reevaluate and make new choices. Therefore, reliance on media increases. When times are more stable, reliance goes down.
- 12. Origin Developed in the 1970s Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur Formed from uses and gratification Relates to agenda setting One of the first theories to recognize the audience as an active piece of the communication process
- 13. Discussion Can you think of any other examples of media dependency theory in our society?
- 14. Media Dependency and Social Media Do we turn to social media in times of crisis? “Check-ins” on Facebook Many people use social media as their main sources for news and communication with others. Do our lives drastically change if we lose those channels of communication? Have we become too dependent on social media? ● Turn to social media to hear what others are saying about the news, not just to consume news. Police brutality: when we see any police related articles shared on social media
- 15. Discussion Questions Are there any benefits to being dependent on social media or media in general? Do you think you are dependent on media? If so, what platforms? Were you dependent on media 5 years ago?
- 16. Criticism of Media Dependency Critics: Theory attempts to describe the media's role during crises Flexible and descriptive theory (qualitative) Power of the theory isn't clearly described Difficult to prove in terms of numbers and science