ABSTRACT
The notion that media have powerful, direct effects on individuals is arguably more widely accepted by the general public than by scholars in media effects. Consistent with social scientific conceptualizations of more nuanced media influence, studies in media effects often report small to moderate effect sizes-a situation that has allowed some critics to suggest that the media have no effect or that the effects of media are completely overwhelmed by other social forces. This chapter acknowledges the importance of unexplained variance, and, like some critics, sees it as an issue deserving of attention. However, we take the position that unexplained variance represents the very thing that makes humans interesting, unique, and infinitely worthy of our research attention: individual differences.
