[224] MEDIA EFFECTS RECONSIDERED Some New Strategies for Communication Research

Arguments are presented for looking at cognitive outcomes as dependent variables in communication research rather than placing emphasis only on affective realms. This approach also brings attention to the independent-dependent variable emphases found in the communication literature over the last few decades. The social context of media use and the motivations that spring from this contextual embeddedness are also discussed with regard to information utility and the distribution of information availability. Finally a comment is offered on how these perspectives may relate to developments in new media technology. e have at least one reason to be thankful for research on w the consequences of televised violence and pornographic materials. These inquiries have reinstated the belief that mass communication media may exert discernible effects on people’s lives. Two decades of null findings about communication and voting behavior had threatened to drown confidence in the. power of mass communication under a sea of references to &dquo;reinforcement&dquo; and &dquo;selective exposure.&dquo; Processes leading to learning of aggression or display of sexual behavior may not be equivalent to those involved in learning about government. But our curiosity is stimulated, at least, to reexamine null results about media effects. ’ It may be that conventional variables and sterile research designs have a great deal to do with widespread doubts about the effectiveness of media in society.’ at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 11, 2016crx.sagepub.comDownloaded from [225] Antidotes to the no-media-effects theme can be found in a variety of new research enterprises. The work of McCombs an