Psychology of mass communication. The role of mass communication in modern society

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Communication technologies are an integral part of our life. Their importance cannot be underestimated, no matter from what position they are considered. After all, even the lives of ordinary ordinary people who are far from communication-related activities, for example, workers or housewives, still largely depend on information media.

All people daily watch television, use phones, listen to the radio, communicate on social networks, spend their leisure time playing online games. And all this is nothing but communication technologies used by people and having a direct impact on them. Of course, psychology, as a science, could not stand aside and ignore such an aspect of life as the influence of information media on people's consciousness. In this science, this topic is devoted to a whole direction, which is actually an independent discipline. Psychologists are actively studying not only how radio, television and other media affecton human consciousness, but also many other things related to this topic.

What is mass communication? Definition

Each person puts his own meaning in this term. Some people associate public communications exclusively with mass information, while others, on the contrary, immediately recall the Internet and various means intended for direct communication.

What do psychologists mean by this term? The subject of the psychology of mass communication is nothing more than the process of producing information and exercising influence on the mass consciousness. Of course, the processes of formation of public opinion are also the subject of study. Science deals with issues related to the ways of transmitting information, its assimilation, and the significance of certain technologies that provide communication processes.

Accordingly, mass communications are special forms of information exchange, communication or communication between people.

How important is mass communication in Russia and the rest of the world?

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of various communications. For example, how do people get the news? Or do they contact their loved ones, relatives, acquaintances, who are far away? To do this, they use the means of information exchange. Accordingly, these technologies are an integral and very important part of the lives of both individuals and society as a whole.

Various communications have become so firmly established in all socially significant areas that it is simply impossible to imagine the world without them. Politics, economics,culture, and indeed the entire social infrastructure, in fact, "keep" on mass communications. Moreover, the media shape people's idea of something.

Does the media misrepresent events?

For example, Russian media often cover certain events a little differently than Western journalists do. It is not difficult to make sure of this, you just need to use the Internet and look at publications in foreign media. Moreover, the difference lies in the presentation of information, that is, there is no question of distorting events. Nevertheless, this specificity provokes some people to independently search for information on the Internet. Politicians who are at the very beginning of their career often "parasite" on the same phenomenon, presenting the media as a kind of monster that zombifies the country's population.

In fact, a certain specificity of the presentation of any information is inherent in absolutely all communication means. For example, how was the destruction of the Pearl Harbor base covered in the USA and Japan? The Americans turned the actual professional unfitness of their military into true heroism, tragedy and martyrdom. Film directors also picked up the same manner of presenting information. The Japanese, on the other hand, praised their heroes, somewhat exaggerating the enemy's defenses and his readiness for battle.

This example clearly illustrates the presence of an initial bias in the presentation of information. Accordingly, the Russian media are no different from all others.

Each communication tool in one way or another forms an idea ofevent or phenomenon, creates public or private opinion. Even if a person himself learns information from another, located at the scene, he still receives a biased presentation. For example, if you talk to the inhabitants of the B altics about the economic situation, then some people will tell you how good it is for them to go to work in the EU countries and about other advantages. However, other people will talk about how unfavorable everything is for them, as arguments they will cite the need to travel to neighboring EU countries in order to earn money.

Accordingly, the source of information always influences the socio-psychological processes of perception and awareness. And this problem is also studied by psychologists.

What influences mass communications themselves?

It may seem paradoxical, but they themselves have the main influence on mass communications. Scientists involved in social psychology, however, do not see a particular paradox in this phenomenon.

Since the term refers to everything that is somehow connected with the production, storage, transmission, distribution and mass perception of various information, the development of communications occurs in proportion to their availability. In other words, the emergence of the World Wide Web has had a revolutionary impact on the media and communications. This technology has become a kind of breakthrough and brought radio, television and other media to a new evolutionary stage of development.

The advent of television had the same effect earlier. And before him, a similar effect broughtthe advent of radio communications and the telegraph. The psychology of mass communication, considering the history of this concept, does not go deeper than the beginning of the last century. However, even the appearance of the postal message, not to mention the emergence of newspapers, at one time had the same revolutionary impact on the communication sphere as the Internet.

How did this concept come about?

Psychology, as a scientific discipline, became interested in the influence on the "minds of the masses" of various communication means at the beginning of the last century. This concept itself was formed in the 20s of the last century in the United States. The term "communication" was originally understood not only as the work of journalists, that is, mass information, but also communication, communication and other similar aspects of social relationships.

At the beginning of its existence, the social psychology of mass communication paid much attention to the fact that the media, trying to bypass competitive companies, seek to give the public what it craves. In other words, when covering certain events, the media "speculate" on people's expectations, for the sake of this, distorting or withholding part of the information, or publishing only what is known to evoke a response from the broad masses of the population. This phenomenon has persisted to this day. Today it is called "yellow press".

In Russia, this term came into use much later than in the West. In our country, for the first time, scientists began to appeal to this concept only in the 60s of the last century. Officially, in Russia, or rather in the Soviet Union, the term wasintroduced by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1970, on the basis of a memorandum submitted for consideration by the leadership of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University.

What characterizes this concept?

Psychology of mass communication considers the subject of its study in great detail, endowing it with a number of characterizing factors.

Scientists refer to the characteristics inherent in communicative means as follows:

• interests of participants in the communication sphere and their changes related to living conditions;
• the process of forming specific cultural values and ways of thinking;
• emotional and semantic identification with certain tendencies or factors, that is - identification;
• effect of persuasive influence and construction of the type of public perception, consciousness;
• presence and spread of such phenomena as imitation and diffusion;
• use of influence on the masses in any interests, for example, advertising by businessmen of goods and services.

Of course, the aspects that characterize the concept are not the only things that psychologists endow with social communications.

What are the characteristics of mass communications?

The Ministry of Digital Development of Communications and Mass Communications designates the ability to form public opinion as the main feature. Social psychologists do not argue with this, moreover, scientists expand the “official postulate”, adding possibilities to the thesis:

• building certain types of consciousness;
• shaping fashion trends, tastes and preferences in all areas of life.

Of course, the technical nuances of organizing the exchange of information are also among the features.

What does this mean? In simple terms, we are talking about the way information is transmitted and the presence or absence of feedback. For example, publicly available information on the Internet may be presented in the form of an article or a film, and not be expected to have discussions in the comments under the material. Or, on the contrary, it can be a kind of "platform" for people's statements, exchange of opinions and thoughts.

The same division is typical for other technologies. For example, various television programs and talk shows use feedback tools such as "call in the studio", live chat, SMS voting, and others. Radio feedback is especially active. Newspapers, almanacs, magazines and other periodicals keep in touch with readers through letters or by providing the opportunity to comment on materials, if there is an online version, of course.

What is a "communicator", "recipient"?

Like any scientific discipline, the psychology of mass communication has its own terminology. The main concepts in this socio-psychological discipline are "communicator" and "recipient".

Communicator is nothing but a source of some information. In other words, it is an active link,the initiator of the processes characteristic of mass communications. In this capacity, both an organization, for example, a specific mass media, and an individual can act.

For example, if someone publishes something on his page on a social network that causes a public response and influences the minds of other people, then this person acts as a communicator. This process is clearly demonstrated daily by famous personalities in social networks, especially on Instagram. For example, if some popular singer or actress posts her picture in pink checkered trousers, then this is inevitably followed by a wave of imitation among some of her fans. That is, girls buy the same things and take pictures in them. Similarly, the activity of the media, acting as a communicator, is manifested.

The recipient is the "receiving party", that is, those people to whom the activity of communicators is directed. However, the recipient can become a communicator as soon as he begins to disseminate the information received, to tell others about it.

In simple terms, the person who likes another's post is a recipient. He plays the passive role of the consumer of the information offered. But if this person not only likes it, but also reposts the material, thereby contributing to its distribution, then he is already a communicator at the same time.

Subject of study?

All areas of science tend to conduct research,collection and systematization of data and other similar activities. This scientific discipline is no exception.

Psychology of mass communication explores everything related to the processes of information exchange. In other words, the subject of research in this science is all the numerous aspects that make up the variety of socio-psychological nuances of the influence exerted on people individually and society as a whole by the processes inherent in mass communications. What does this mean? What is being studied is both the mass communications themselves, and the functions and models inherent to them, as well as the reactions, processes they cause in society.

Since the concept of mass communication includes an extremely wide range of issues, directions and factors, the research of scientists is devoted to a variety of issues of social development and, as a rule, are interdisciplinary in nature. That is, they are at the junction of various scientific fields.

What is the scientific theory in this discipline?

Each scientific discipline has its own, basic, or basic theory. Of course, the direction of social psychology, dealing with problems and issues related to the processes of mass communications, is no exception.

The very concept of mass communication lies at the basis of the original initial theory that laid the foundation for this scientific direction. That is, the theory was based on the consideration of such factors as communication and communication in accordance with social needs and nuances.mass perception.

The Ministry of Digital Development of Communications and Mass Communications pays special attention to the practical application of theories built by social psychologists. Of course, not only the Russian Ministry is interested in providing adequate data by analysts, but by researchers - results that have practical benefits. Of course, this nuance has an impact on the development of a scientific discipline and affects its basic theory.

Accordingly, the basic or fundamental scientific theory in this discipline is not unshakable, fundamental. It develops in exactly the same way as science itself. This development, in turn, is directly related to the democratization of society and technological progress. For example, as soon as people were able to independently search for information on the Internet, this was immediately reflected in the basic scientific theory.

processes occurring during globalization.

Role and forms of communication

It is impossible to unequivocally define this role, since mass communications affect almost all spheres of life of both individuals and society as a whole. The role of mass communication in modern society directly depends on the form in question.

Socialpsychology identifies the following main communication forms:

• culture;
• religion;
• education;
• propaganda and advertising;
• mass promotions.

This separation is due to the fact that any exchange of information or its provision somehow interacts with one of these forms.

For example, the role of communication processes affecting the educational sphere is that they contribute to the development of both an individual and society as a whole. That is, they enrich people with new knowledge, provide an opportunity to assimilate certain experience and, accordingly, disseminate it.

That is, one should not understand the educational communication process as an analogy of learning at a school, institute or technical school. As a form of mass communication, this concept is much broader. For example, a person who watched a cooking show and learned the recipe for a new dish gained experience and gained knowledge. As soon as this person told his acquaintances about what he learned from the television program, he spread the experience. Of course, something else can be used as an example, for example, documentaries or analytical talk shows. That is, education, as a form of mass communication, includes all the processes associated with the acquisition of new knowledge and human development.

Propaganda should be understood as any communication process, the initial purpose of which is to form a specific public opinion inregarding any phenomenon or issue, event. In other words, the political agitation that unfolds before the election of officials is far from all that is included in the concept of "propaganda". That is, scientists refer to this form of mass communication absolutely all processes carried out artificially and with the aim of influencing society's perception of the surrounding reality. The same form of mass communication includes all kinds of manipulations of public consciousness, as well as influence on the opinions, judgments and behavior of people.

Religion, as a form of mass communication, includes those processes of information exchange that have an impact on the worldview and spiritual values of society. Mass culture is understood as the perception by society of the entire spectrum of works of art accessible to mankind in all known genres and styles. Of course, the concept includes not only the art itself, but also the reaction it causes.

Mass actions are the "youngest" form of communication. Nominally, it includes all options for public events held with the aim of introducing any social or political changes. However, various flash mobs that occur in social networks both spontaneously and in an organized manner fall under the same concept. Such actions may not carry any political or economic background and are not carried out with the aim of any changes.

For example, not so long ago in the networks people massively posted their pictures from the past, from the 90s of the last century, combined with modern photographs. This promotion did notno political and economic background, but nevertheless it fell under this form of mass communication. Accordingly, in the near future, scientists will revise and expand their understanding of this form.