Media Effects Research

Media effects is a research paradigm concerned with the consequences of media use or exposure. As it is generally used in the study of communication, media effects refers to the consequences of media use experienced by the individual message recipient or audience member. These effects can be cognitive, affective, attitudinal, or behavioral; they can occur in domains as diverse as health, politics, aggression, sexuality, education, child development, and persuasion. Media effects can be driven by characteristics of media messages (e.g., the effects of violent or sexual content), the characteristics of the medium of communication by which those messages are conveyed (e.g., the effects of screen size), or the unique intersection between message and medium. This entry provides a brief overview of the most ...

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