ABSTRACT
In different ways, these four examples suggest the main theme of this book: that our experience with media is a major way that we acquire knowledge about the world; this knowledge then has consequences in terms of attitudes and behavior. We may call this a cognitive approach to mass communication because the emphasis is on the way that our minds create knowledgeindeed, even a mental reality-about the world based on our experience with the media. This mental reality then becomes the basis for various attitudes and behaviors, which have a great impact on our lives. Instead of the media being a more or less accurate reflection of some external reality, it has become the reality against which the real world is compared. The media view of the world has become, to many people, more real than the real world itself.
