Abstract
Abstract. We propose a social identity model of media usage and effects. This model explains how the media might cultivate power arrangements (i.e., promote social stasis) on the one hand, and contribute to social change on the other. We argue that current media theories are ill-equipped to meet both of these explanatory challenges. The model integrates (1) social identity processes with (2) Herman and Chomsky’s (1988) propaganda model, and (3) Abrams, Eveland, and Giles’s (2003) work on media images and group vitality. Social stasis is produced when the social environment is stable, and when people with status quo-consistent beliefs (i.e., social mobility and social creativity) engage with the media to confirm their beliefs. Social change occurs when people with socially competitive beliefs engage in actions (e.g., riots, peace marches) that re-inform others as to the instability and illegitimacy (among other things) of the current status and power relations in the world. If these actions are sufficiently persuasive, people’s social beliefs will change and, with them, the social world.
Zusammenfassung. Es wird ein Modell vorgeschlagen, das mit dem sozialpsychologischen Konzept der sozialen Identität Mediennutzung und Medienwirkung erklären soll. Dieses Modell erklärt, wie Medien Verhältnisse von sozialer Macht beeinflussen bzw. kultivieren (und auf diese Weise ein soziales Gleichgewicht herstellen können) und wie sie gesellschaftliche Veränderungsprozesse in Gang setzen. Damit geht das Modell über vorherige Konzeptionen hinaus, in denen in der Regel nur einer der beiden Erklärungsansprüche erfüllt wurde. Theoretische Grundlage des Modells sind (1) Überlegungen zur sozialen Identität, (2) Herman and Chomskys (1988) Propaganda-Modell, sowie (3) die Arbeiten von Abrams, Eveland und Giles (2003) zu Medienimages und Group Vitality. Die Grundannahmen sind: Ein soziales Gleichgewicht ist hergestellt, wenn die Umweltbedingungen stabil sind und wenn Personen mit umwelt-konsistenten Einstellungen (z.B. bezüglich sozialer Mobilität oder Kreativität) Medien zu ihrer Bestätigung heranziehen. Soziale Veränderungsprozesse finden hingegen statt, wenn Personen mit Einstellungen, die komplementär zu den gängig vertretenen sozialen Bedingungen sind, andere über die mangelnde Stabilität oder Legitimität des Systems (beispielsweise durch Demonstrationen) informieren. Sofern Aktionen dieser Art hinlänglich überzeugend wirken, können sie nicht nur Einstellungen, sondern auch komplexere soziale Systeme verändern.
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