Two Way and Multi Step Theory

Joyce Anne R. Alejo & Maila Aycocho III-Broadcasting August 22, 2011

PAUL F. LAZARSFIELD

 Austrian American sociologist Founded four university related institutes of applied social research and was a Professor of Sociology at Columbia University for three decades - Research institute dedicated to the application of psychology to social & economic problems - Research Center at the University of Newark - Office of Radio Research Princeton University - Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University

 One of the first to embark on Communications research The first one to introduce the difference between administrative research and critical research regarding media His major interests were the methodology of social research and the development of institutes for training and research in the social sciences

 1925, established a research institute dedicated to the application of psychology to social & economic problems 1925, received his PH.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Vienna 1944, he published The Peoples Choice, his study on the 1940 Presidential election

ELIHU KATZ

 American and Israeli sociologist Have done researches on communication, which focuses on interplay between media, conversation, opinion and action in the public spheres Trustee Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, Unversity of Pannsylvania Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Communication at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem Scientific Director of the Guttman Institute of Applied Social Research

 1955, Katz and Lazarsfield wrote a book, Personal Influence which is a research to observe the flow of influence at the intersections of mass and interpersonal communication 1960, Katz began to commute between his initial post at the University of Chicago and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 Winner of the following:

UNESCO-Canada McLuhan Prize Burda Prize (in media research) Honorary degrees from the Universities of Ghent, Montreal, Paris and Haifa

Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

 1989, he received the prestigious award, Israeli Prize for social sciences 2005, he received the Marshall Sklare Award, given annually by the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry to a senior scholar who has made a significant scholarly contribution to the social scientific study of Jewry

TWO STEP FLOW THEORY

a theory based on a 1940s study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders says that most people from their opinions based on opinion leaders that influence the media

 This model hypothesizes that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders , and from them to a wider population Unlike the hypodermic needle model, which considers mass media effects to be direct, the two-step flow model stresses human agency

 According to Lazarsfield & Katz, mass media information is channeled to the masses through opinion leadership. Based on the two-step hypothesis , the term personal influence came to illustrate the process intervening between the media s direct message and the audiences reaction to the message The two-step theory refined the ability to predict how media messages influence audience behavior & explains why certain media campaigns do not alter audiences attitudes

Two distinct stages

Individuals (opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and its messages receive the information Leaders pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content

MULTI-STEP FLOW THEORY

Is also called the Dimension of Innovations theory, giving its a new dimension and understanding

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY

Predicts that media as well as interpersonal contacts provide information and influence opinion and judgement It focuses on the condition which increases or decreases the likelihood that a new product, idea or practice will be adopted by members of a given society or culture Everett Rogers (1995) argued that it consists os four stages INVENTION, DIFFUSSION (communication through the social system), TIME and CONSEQUENCES

Advantages
Two step flow theory improved our understanding of how the mass media influence decision making The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior, and it helped explain why certain media campaigns may have failed to alter audience attitudes and behavior. It gave way to the multi-step flow theory of mass communication or diffusion of innovation theory

Disadvantages
Two-step hypothesis does not adequately describe the flow of learning Critics argue that most Lazarsfields findings pertain to learning factors involved with general media habits rather than the learning of particular information

Example:
The rise and fall of fashion trends in the society. The Mass media is used by the advertisers of fashion industry to inform people. The celebrities become opinion leaders by endorsing the fashion accessories and fashion wears by fashion designers in organized fashion shows, Page 3 parties, award functions and other related events. Thus, the information about the design or accessory being cool or hot is passed on to the mass audience who adopt is and make it trend. Another example can be of diffusion of electronic gadgets like cell phones, i-pods etc.

 Sources:
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20o f%20theories/macro/Two-Step%20Flow%20Theory.doc/ http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20o f%20theories/macro/Two-Step%20Flow%20Theory.doc/ http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Paul_F_Lazarsfeld.a spx http://www.answers.com/topic/elihu-katz http://www.scribd.com/doc/6446504/Lazarsfeld-Theory