0:00:09.433,0:00:12.399
Uses and Gratification studies taught us that [br]people were

0:00:12.400,0:00:15.733
actively seeking out media to fulfill their needs.

0:00:15.733,0:00:20.066
It makes sense that when people are able to [br]open themselves up to specific content,

0:00:20.066,0:00:22.832
they can also close themselves off to certain [br]messages.

0:00:22.833,0:00:27.199
Closing oneself off to messages may be seen [br]as a coping mechanism.

0:00:27.200,0:00:29.766
Scientists who studied the brain discovered that,

0:00:29.766,0:00:34.699
since we are constantly bombarded with [br]sensory input, in order to make sense of the

0:00:34.700,0:00:36.833
world around us, and not get overwhelmed,

0:00:36.833,0:00:40.933
we have become very adept in blocking [br]unnecessary input

0:00:40.933,0:00:44.866
and at the same time selecting and amplifying [br]relevant data.

0:00:44.866,0:00:48.766
Note that these processes are usually [br]unconscious,

0:00:48.766,0:00:53.332
meaning that they also occur when we do not [br]intend to filter out information.

0:00:53.333,0:00:58.966
A simple example of this, in a crowded room our [br]brain will filter away background noise

0:00:58.966,0:01:03.499
and conversations that we are not interested in, [br]focusing on the people we are talking to.

0:01:03.500,0:01:06.833
Amplifying their voice and blocking other [br]sounds.

0:01:06.833,0:01:10.999
But if someone in one of those other [br]conversations would suddenly drop our name,

0:01:11.000,0:01:14.200
we would probably hear that.

0:01:14.200,0:01:18.266
Because our brain knows that we are interested [br]when people start talking about us!

0:01:18.266,0:01:22.432
Hastorf and Cantril studied this phenomenon in [br]1954.

0:01:22.433,0:01:26.633
They asked several university students from [br]Princeton and Dartmouth to count the

0:01:26.633,0:01:29.733
amount of violations in a Princeton-Dartmouth [br]football game.

0:01:29.733,0:01:34.866
Princeton students reported more Dartmouth [br]violations and Dartmouth students

0:01:34.866,0:01:39.199
had ‘seen’ more Princeton violations. Both [br]groups,

0:01:39.200,0:01:44.400
despite the fact that they had to observe [br]seemingly simple and objective facts, had

0:01:44.400,0:01:47.200
processed the message in a different way,

0:01:47.200,0:01:51.966
filtering out unwanted information – whenever [br]their own team made a violation – and amplifying

0:01:51.966,0:01:56.232
information that corresponded with their [br]predispositions.

0:01:56.233,0:02:01.799
These and similar findings later led to the [br]proposal of the so called Hostile Media Effect.

0:02:01.800,0:02:06.166
In 1982, the first major study of this [br]phenomenon was undertaken

0:02:06.166,0:02:11.066
by Vallone, Ross and Lepper. Pro-Palestinian [br]students and pro-Israeli students

0:02:11.066,0:02:15.399
were shown the same news and asked to count [br]the amount of pro- and anti-Israeli

0:02:15.400,0:02:18.666
and pro- and anti-Palestinian references.

0:02:18.666,0:02:23.532
Both sides found that the media were biased [br]against their side.

0:02:23.533,0:02:28.799
Pro-Israeli students counted more anti-Israel [br]references and fewer pro-Israel references

0:02:28.800,0:02:33.933
than the students who favoured the Palestinians. [br]And vice versa.

0:02:33.933,0:02:37.466
These studies indicate that there is an actual [br]difference of perception

0:02:37.466,0:02:40.499
between members of the same audience.

0:02:40.500,0:02:46.200
They see, hear, remember and process [br]messages differently on a subconscious level.

0:02:46.200,0:02:50.266
This is called a cognitive bias.

0:02:50.266,0:02:53.332
We think we are objectively watching the news [br]or a sports game

0:02:53.333,0:02:57.399
but in reality our mind is already serving as a [br]filter.

0:02:57.400,0:03:03.666
Making selections and blocking out unwanted [br]information. There are many reasons for this.

0:03:03.666,0:03:07.166
We’ll discuss some of them in the next section [br]of our MOOC.