ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the theories that focus on the individual’s relationship to the mass media. It focuses on several key theories of the active audience including: Uses and gratifications and Media system dependency theory. The chapter examines selective processes and media effects on attitudes and behavior including: Social learning theory, Schema and information processing theory and Third person effect. It also examines models of attitude change with special relevance to mass media: Social judgment theory and source credibility, Maguire’s information processing model and Elaboration likelihood model. Some of these theories actually began as psychological or interpersonal communication theories and are only by extension related to the mass media. Mass communication was generally viewed as one-way: messages were sent out from a source to a “mass” audience, which was seen as a homogeneous group of message-receivers. The work of Axelrod and Graber points up an inextricable link between the concept of schemas and another theory, information processing theory.
