Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.1 An introduction to the Reception and Signification Perspective

Welcome back to Introduction to
Communication Science.

This is week 4 of our MOOC. So far we have
discussed the history

of our field, in week 2, and the linear
transmission perspective, last week.

I’m very glad to see that our course is inspiring
many

discussions on our forum. I’m also grateful for all
your suggestions for further reading.

You’ve probably noticed that I have frequently
added your suggestions to the Little Box of

Nuance section. So thanks for helping improving
this course.

That's what a MOOC is all about. As you know
by now I’m using a very broad distinction

into our field. I’ve said before that these
categories are by no means fixed,

but I find them useful nonetheless. First, we
have the linear transmission perspective.

Then a focus on reception and signification,
that's the topic of this week.

And at roughly the same time a focus on social
and cultural effects of communication.

The topic for this week is the second approach.

The reception and signification perspective.

Or perhaps I should say perspectives, because
there is a distinction here that I will cover later.

Next week we’ll talk about communication as a
social and cultural force.

I will use week 6 to answer questions you might
have.

Post your questions on our forum. I’ll make a
selection of recurring themes and

further explain some of the more complicated
theories and concepts that we discussed.

Week 6 is all about class interaction, so let me
know which topics you want to cover.

Week 7 is of course very exciting, because it is
our exam week.

You need to do the self-evaluation tests each
week and pass the exam

to complete this course and get a certificate of
accomplishment.

In week 8 we’ll discuss the exam and look back
at our MOOC. It’s a behind-the-scene look on

how it was made, why it was made and for who
it was made.

I would also love to say something about who
you are, what your background is and

why you enrolled in this course. There is already
a survey in place to get this information.

It would be great if you participate.

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Last week we
started with the linear perspective. I explained

how the First World War fueled research into our
field

and led to a belief in direct and uniform effects.
The audience was seen as passive and

defenseless against mass communication as a
hypodermic needle or a magic bullet.

Later this belief in the power of the media
became more nuanced.

When scientific studies failed to prove the all
powerful media hypothesis,

this led to the more skeptical minimal effects
hypothesis.

But World War Two and the rise of television
clearly showed that mass communication

indeed could have huge effects under some
circumstances.

It was now appreciated that effects were not
always direct, uniform, and short term,

but quite often non-immediate, long term,
indirect, and different from person to person.

Eventually the negotiated effects paradigm
balanced a belief

in powerful effects with the notion that the
audience was actually capable of selecting

and blocking messages and using them for their
own ends. This line of thought was also very

apparent in the reception and signification
approach

that had gradually developed since the sixties.

We'll further discuss this approach this week.