Audience Theories

Mass Audience Theory is where media text consumed could influence a large mass of audience to do a lot of risky and dangerous activities, which could not only affect them but other people too. People usually use interactive media individually so there is no one to explain and contextualise what they are seeing.


Active Audience Theory is the idea that the individual that is using the social media can interpret the content they are seeing in their own way, which may be different to other peoples. These theories also look into why the audience’s interpretation and why it is the way it is. Depending on the stimulus, conducting other experiments will allow researchers to explore these answers further.


Desensitisation Theory is the theory that the more violence that the audience consumes and is exposed to over a period of time, means the less sensitive they will they will likely be to that specific type of content in the future. In addition violence and harm will no longer come as a shock to them. This also expands from the copycat theory, that it is a behavioural state in which people may experience a relapse of empathy towards violence and that it may not have a heavy impact on that individual in the media world. The concern for Desensitisation is that if something violent happens in real life then the individual that has been exposed to a lot of violent content in the media will become immune to being shocked by the situation and that there will be a disconnect between a violent stimulus and emotion.


Copycat Theory is the theory that the audience will desire the urge to replicate any actions they see in media texts. It teases the idea that the media influence the audiences mind sets and behaviours, imply they don’t have a sense of morality. This theory is mainly aimed at children/ a younger audience as they are yet to experience much of life. They feed of the fear of parents not being able to monitor their child and what they are doing. Especially with the normalisation of children being exposed to media texts such as Call of Duty and GTA, which are 18 rated games. A weakness of this would be the fact that the short-term effects will be easy to spot as it is their initial reaction to the media text, however long term psychological effects will be harder to determine and monitor.  


Catharsis Theory is the idea of the emotional effects experienced by the audience who use media texts to evoke and purge negative emotions within themselves such as sadness, anger or fear. Catharsis theory meaning purification, also implies the audience getting rid of and eradicating any aggressive actions under certain conditions. This is more likely to decrease the chance of additional aggression from the individual. The point of catharsis is that observed aggression doesn’t mean that the individual will re-enact out that emotion in real life.


The Effects Model is where the audience’s consumption of media text will lead to a domino effect by influencing their behaviour. This is a negative effect on them because they are more likely to reflect the negative side of the media. The audience in these situations are deemed as passive and don’t have the power to negate the influences apposed upon them by media texts. The power lies in the message being communicated to the audience. This is the more dominated and more professionally accepted theory used many politicians some parts of the media and religious organisations when attributing consumption of violent media texts.


The Hypodermic Theory is the theory of the messages being placed in impactful media texts to further impulse the idea of the audience not being able to recognise the influences, being set upon them, because they are passive and powerless to do anything about it. Therefore the media texts forces as an anecdotal drug which the audience is forced to consume.


Reception Theory Is the theory developed by Stuart Hall in the 1970s/80s. There are 3 different models Hegemonic meaning dominant this is where the audience receives the message of the media text as they should and full accepts the message of the media text. Negotiated is where the audience sometimes understands and accepts the contents of the media text and will sometimes agree with it or modify it to allow it to suit their beliefs. Oppositional is where the audience completely disagrees with the media text and rejects its message and will come to an alternative conclusion.


Cultivation Theory is the idea the focuses more on how media affects peoples attitudes rather than actions. Our over exposure to films/TV and games have in a sense blurred out a sense of reality to the audience. The more exposure After a certain period of time the audience will have a cultivated view on reality. The theory indicates the audience to be in a passive mode therefore being powerless to change the effects and influences of powerful media texts. 



Uses and Gratification Theory created by Bulmler and Katz is the theory that mass media texts are used to the audiences advantage when consumed in order to meet a specific individual requirement. The examples of uses and gratifications for media texts would be to Educate, to inform, to identify, to entertain.