USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY

PRESENTED BY:

 MUQQADAS AFZAAL

 ZAUHA TARIQ

 KHADIJA SHAHID
ORIGIN/ BACKGROUND HISTORY

Paul Lazarsfeld West and Turner

• UGT in radio listeners, studying children comic books
• UGT was an extension of Needs and Motivation Theory
and absence of newspapers

1940 1954

1944 1954
West and Turner Wilbur Schramm
• Herzog interviewed various soap opera fans and was • Wilbur Schramm developed the fraction of selection, a
able to identify three types of gratifications. Emotional, formula for determining which form of mass media an
wishful thinking, and learning individual would select.
 Elihu Katz first introduced the Uses and
Gratification Approach, when he came up
with the notion that people use the media to
their benefit. The perspective emerged in the
early 1970’s as Katz and his two colleagues,
Jay Blumler and Michael Gurevitch continued
to expand the idea. This theory was
contemporary because it contradicted older
views that assumed the audience was a passive
group. The Uses and Gratifications Approach
views the audience as active, meaning that
they actively seek out specific media and
content to achieve certain results or
1970 Jay G. Blumler gratifications that satisfy their personal needs.

and Elihu Kartz

The sources of the media chosen are
distinctive. As Jay Blumler points out in his
book The Use of Mass Communication,
“Studies have shown that audience
gratifications can be derived from at least
three distinct sources: media content, exposure
to the media per se, and social context that
typifies the situation of exposure to different
media.”(Blumler 24)
 “It explains how people use
the media for their own need
and get satisfied when their
needs are fulfilled. In other
words, it can be said that the
theory argues what people do
with media rather than what
media does to people.”

Jay G. Blumler Elihu Katz

KEY POINTS
ACTIVE AUDIENCE
Uses and gratifications characterizes people as active and motivated in
selecting the media they choose to consume. They are engaged and
motivated in their media selections.

MEDIA SELECTION
Second, people are aware of their reasons for selecting different media
options. They rely on their knowledge of their motivations to make
media choices that will help them meet their specific wants and needs.
 Jay Blumler presented a number of interesting points, as to why Uses and
Gratifications cannot measure an active audience. He stated, "The issue to be
considered here is whether what has been thought about Uses and Gratifications
Theory has been an article of faith and if it could now be converted into an
empirical question such as: How to measure an active audience?" (Blumler,
1979). Blumler then offered suggestions about the kinds of activity the
THE ACTIVE audiences were engaging with in the different types of media.
 Utility : "Using the media to accomplish specific tasks“
AUDIENCE  Intentionality: "Occurs when people's prior motive determine use of
 media" Selectivity: "Audience members' use of media reflect them
 existing interests" Imperviousness to Influence: "Refers to audience
members' constructing their own meaning from media content"
 USES AND GRATIFICATIONS ELEMENTS

In 1974, Katz, The social and psychological origins of

Blumler and Needs which generate
Gurevitch
Expectations
realized that
most Uses and Of mass media or other sources, which lead to
Gratification Differential patterns of media exposure (or engagement in other activities), resulting in
studies were
Need gratifications and
most concerned
with; Other consequences, perhaps mostly unintended ones (Severin and Tankard, 1997)
ASSUMPTION
S Active Audience
In 1973-74 McQuail, Blumler
and Brown were joined by Elihu
Katz, Michael Gurevitch and Media is selected based on the expectation that it will satisfy
Hadassah Haas, in their media specific needs and desires.
exploration. The collaborative
research began to indicate how
people saw the mass media. Five
Media are in competition with other forms of communication
basic assumptions were stated in
the book Mass Communication
for an individual’s attention
Research, of Katz, Blumler, and
Gurevitch in 1974 as follows.
They provide a framework for Media influence on behavior is filtered through social and
understanding the correlation psychological factors.
between media and audiences.

People are usually in control of media and therefore are not

particularly influenced by it.
 Information and Education
REASONS OF MEDIA USE
Entertainment

The uses and Personal Identity

gratifications theory
assumes the audience
chooses what it wants to
watch for five different Social Interactions
reasons

Escapism
 INFORMATION

Finding out about relevant Seeking advice on practical Satisfying curiosity and Learning; self-education Gaining a sense of security
events and conditions in matters or opinion and general interest through knowledge
immediate surroundings, decision choices
society and the world.
 ENTERTAINMENT

Escaping, Or Being Getting Intrinsic

Diverted, From Relaxing Cultural Or Aesthetic
Problems Enjoyment

Filling Time Emotional Release Sexual Arousal

 PERSONAL IDENTITY

FINDING FINDING MODELS OF IDENTIFYING WITH GAINING INSIGHT INTO

REINFORCEMENT FOR BEHAVIOR VALUED OTHER (IN THE ONESELF
PERSONAL VALUES MEDIA)
SOCIAL INTERACTION

01 02 03 04 05
Gaining Insight Into Identifying With Finding A Basis For Helping To Carry Out Enabling One To
Circumstances Of Others And Gaining A Conversation And Social Roles Connect With Family,
Others; Social Sense Of Belonging Social Interaction Friends And Society
Empathy Having A Substitute
For Real-life
Companionship
 Katz, Gurevitch and Haas, also in 1973, saw
mass media as a means by which individuals
connect or disconnect themselves with others.
They developed 35 needs taken from the largely
speculative literature on the social and
psychological functions of the mass media and
put them into five categories
CATAGORIZATION OF
NEEDS
Personal
Cognitive Affective
Integrative
Needs Needs
Needs

Social
Tension
Integrative
Free Needs
Needs
 USES AND
GRATIFICATI
ONS MODEL
OF AUDIENCE
EFFECTS
 • There is a lack of substantive
research which supports this theory
CRITISIMS OF USES • Marxists argue it exaggerates
AND audiences’ capacity to interpret
media content, ignoring the power of
GRATIFICATIONS agenda setting.
MODEL OF • Postmodernists argue there are an
even wider set of uses individuals
AUDIENCE make of media.
EFFECTS
 Uses and gratification is the optimist’s view of the media. The theory takes
out the possibility that the media can have an unconscious influence over
our lives and how we view the world. The idea that we simply use the
media to satisfy a given need does not seem to fully recognize the power of
the media in today’s society.
 Individualistic Nature: Critics think that the theory does not meet the
standards to be called a theory and can only be taken as an approach to
analyze as research relies on recollection of memory. Katz, Elihu; Blumler,
Jay G.; Gurevitch, Michael (1973)
 It is more audience-oriented study. Audience might not always be active.
Ruggiero, Thomas E. (February 2000)
 The theory has been denounced by media hegemony advocates who say it
goes too far in claiming that people are free to choose the media and the
interpretations they desire. Severin, Werner J; Tankard, James W (1997)
 Blumler (1979) and other critics have argued that line between gratification
and satisfaction is blurred, and Blumler wrote that "the nature of the theory
underlying uses and gratifications research is not totally clear. Blumler, Jay
G. (January 1979).
 "The nature of the theory underlying Uses and Gratifications
research is not totally clear" (Blumler, 1979)
 The biggest issue for the Uses and Gratifications Theory is
its being non-theoretical, being vague in key concepts, and
being nothing more than a data-collecting strategy (Severin
and Tankard, 1997)
 It seems that using this sociologically-based theory has little
to no link to the benefit of psychology due to its weakness in USES AND
operational definitions and weak analytical mode
GRATIFICATION
 It is focused too narrowly on the individual and neglects the
social structure and place of the media in that structure PROBLEMS
(Severin and Tankard, 1997)
 It goes too far in claiming that people are free to choose the
media fare and the interpretations they want
 Other motives that may drive people to consume media may
involve low level attention, a habit or a mildly pleasant
stimulation
USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS
AND NEW MEDIA
Many researchers (and mass media
consumers) believe we will change the way
we watch television and use media in general
in the future. According to the research, goals
for media use can be grouped into five uses.
The audience wants to
• Be informed or educated
• Identify with characters of the situation in
the media environment
• Simple entertainment
• Enhance social interaction
• Escape from the stresses of daily life
 An Example of Modern Applications of Uses and Gratifications

In general, people use mobile phones for the following uses and gratifications;
• Affection/sociability
• Entertainment
• Instrumentality
• Psychological reassurance
• Fashion/status
• Mobility
• Immediate access
 Twitter-positive correlation
between active time spent on
Internet usage- The Internet
Twitter and the gratification of a
provides a new and deep field for
need for "an informal sense of
exploring UGT
camaraderie"—connection—with
other users

Friend-networking sites-
socialization might be finding old
friends, making new friends,
learning about events, creating
social functions, and feeling
connected

Instant messaging – Relaxation, Online gaming- Achievement,

Entertainment, Fashion, enjoyment and social interaction
Inclusion, Affection, Sociability, are all motivations for starting to
Escape play an online game
 According to West and Turner, in 2010s, the most recent interest surrounding UGT is
the link between the reason why media is used and the achieved gratification. UGT
researchers are developing the theory to be more predictive and explanatory by
connecting the needs, goals, benefits, and consequences of media consumption and
use along with individual factors. Work in UGT was trailblazing because the research
of Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch built on Herzog's research and caused a paradigm
shift from how media influences people to how audiences use media, diminishing the
dominance of the limited effects approach to mass media studies.
IN TODAY’S
Scholars have noted that new media includes several attributes that weren’t part of
WORLD older forms of media. Users have greater control over what they interact with, when
they interact with it, and more content choices. This opens up the number of
gratifications that new media use could satisfy. An early study published in the
journal Cyber Psychology & Behavior on uses and gratifications of the internet
found seven gratifications for its use: information seeking, aesthetic experience,
monetary compensation, diversion, personal status, relationship maintenance, and
virtual community.