The Influence of Media on the Voting Choices of the Audience Presentation

Introduction

• Media has effect on:
  • People and their opinions;
  • Individual behavior;
  • Communication behavior;
  • Cognitive patterns (Rutledge, 2012);
  • Shaping people’s vision of the leader;
  • Promotion of election campaigns;
  • The voting process
• Media changes:
  • People’s behavioral patterns;
  • Behavioral mechanisms of society;
  • People’s attitudes;
  • Current trends in mass culture;
  • People’s vision of political leaders;
  • Outcomes of the elections.

Thesis Statement

Because of the impact which media has on the population, as well as because of its ability to shape people’s perception of leadership and the image of a leader of a certain political movement, media can be considered the major factor that influences the voting choices of the audience, shaping and changing them.

Media Effect on Various Realms of People’s Lives: Positive

• Selection trends: Checking the entire palette of choice.
• Social lives: The tendencies to a less disclosed lifestyle.
• Perception of viewpoints: Readiness to accept the viewpoints of others.
• Behaviors: Learning more about models of behavior and trying new ones.
• Beliefs: Exploring the variety of existing beliefs.

Media Effect on Various Realms of People’s Lives: Negative

• Selection trends: Considering only the regularly emphasized ones (Lane, 2007).
• Social lives: Involvement into dubious social/political activities; getting a wrong idea of a certain political organization.
• Perception of viewpoints: Threat to be subjected to a wrong idea.
• Behaviors: Acceptance of gullible and commonly practiced behavior; blending with the crowd.
• Beliefs: Accepting extremely easily new ideas without checking their veracity/usefulness/negative aspects.

Media Impact on the Voters’ Choices

• Media creates images of perfect politicians and their conniving opponents;
• Media impacts the emotional life of voters with the help of the above-mentioned images/legends (Duflo, 2008);
• Media shapes people’s perception of a political leader/party/idea;
• People change their viewpoints, behaviors and beliefs;
• Voters pick the candidates which media has approved off.

Theoretical Models of Media Impact on Population

• Four-Factor Model of Sensation Seeking:
  • boredom
  • susceptibility,
  • disinhibition,
  • experience seeking
• Two-Factor Emotional Theory:
  • Process of physical arousal;
  • Cognition of the arousal process;
  • Labeling the arousal process
• Two-Factor Emotional Theory:
  • Process of physical arousal;
  • Cognition of the arousal process;
  • Labeling the arousal process

The Political Purpose of Media: Data for Informational Analysis

• Media Effects: Changing…
  • The perception of facts;
  • Data interpretation;
  • Application of the information;
  • Developing responses to other information types.
• Derived Information:
  • Threats which political leaders can face;
  • Challenges which political leaders will have to overcome;
  • Opportunities that political leaders have;
  • Actions which political leaders can undertake (Steele, 2012).

Conclusion

• Media (pictures, audios, etc.) serves as means of a mediated communication between voters and candidates;
• Media is crucial for the efficacy of voting campaigns;
• Media incorporates psychological frameworks and voters’ choices;
• Media influences campaign events, activities, theoretical models and practices;
• Media not only shapes, but often predetermines people’s voting decisions.

Reference List

Duflo, E. (2008). Does the mass-media have political influence?. Web.

Lane, L. (2007). The influence of the media in politics, campaigns and elections. Web.

Leslie, A. (2012). Presidential voting results are in from Dixville Notch, NH. Web.

Rutledge, P. (2012). What is media psychology?. Web.

Steele, C. (2012). Election 2012: How social media will convert followers into voters. Web.