Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.4 Selective Processing

Uses and Gratification studies taught us that
people were

actively seeking out media to fulfill their needs.

It makes sense that when people are able to
open themselves up to specific content,

they can also close themselves off to certain
messages.

Closing oneself off to messages may be seen
as a coping mechanism.

Scientists who studied the brain discovered that,

since we are constantly bombarded with
sensory input, in order to make sense of the

world around us, and not get overwhelmed,

we have become very adept in blocking
unnecessary input

and at the same time selecting and amplifying
relevant data.

Note that these processes are usually
unconscious,

meaning that they also occur when we do not
intend to filter out information.

A simple example of this, in a crowded room our
brain will filter away background noise

and conversations that we are not interested in,
focusing on the people we are talking to.

Amplifying their voice and blocking other
sounds.

But if someone in one of those other
conversations would suddenly drop our name,

we would probably hear that.

Because our brain knows that we are interested
when people start talking about us!

Hastorf and Cantril studied this phenomenon in
1954.

They asked several university students from
Princeton and Dartmouth to count the

amount of violations in a Princeton-Dartmouth
football game.

Princeton students reported more Dartmouth
violations and Dartmouth students

had ‘seen’ more Princeton violations. Both
groups,

despite the fact that they had to observe
seemingly simple and objective facts, had

processed the message in a different way,

filtering out unwanted information – whenever
their own team made a violation – and amplifying

information that corresponded with their
predispositions.

These and similar findings later led to the
proposal of the so called Hostile Media Effect.

In 1982, the first major study of this
phenomenon was undertaken

by Vallone, Ross and Lepper. Pro-Palestinian
students and pro-Israeli students

were shown the same news and asked to count
the amount of pro- and anti-Israeli

and pro- and anti-Palestinian references.

Both sides found that the media were biased
against their side.

Pro-Israeli students counted more anti-Israel
references and fewer pro-Israel references

than the students who favoured the Palestinians.
And vice versa.

These studies indicate that there is an actual
difference of perception

between members of the same audience.

They see, hear, remember and process
messages differently on a subconscious level.

This is called a cognitive bias.

We think we are objectively watching the news
or a sports game

but in reality our mind is already serving as a
filter.

Making selections and blocking out unwanted
information. There are many reasons for this.

We’ll discuss some of them in the next section
of our MOOC.