Communication technology is an integral part of our lives. Their importance cannot be underestimated, regardless of the position from which to consider them. After all, even the lives of ordinary ordinary people, far from occupations related to communications, for example, workers or housewives, still largely depend on information tools.
Every day, people watch television programs, use phones, listen to the radio, talk on social networks, and spend leisure time playing online games. And all this is nothing but the communication technologies used by people and having a direct impact on them. Of course, psychology, as a science, could not stand aside and ignore such an aspect of life as the influence of information tools on people's minds. In this science, a whole area is devoted to this subject, which is actually an independent discipline. Psychologists are actively studying not only how radio, television and other media influence the human consciousness, but also many other things related to this topic.
What are mass communications? Definition
Each person puts their own meaning in this term. Some people associate publicly accessible communications exclusively with mass information, while others, on the contrary, immediately recall the Internet and various means intended for direct communication.
What do psychologists understand by this term? The subject of the psychology of mass communication is nothing but the process of producing information and exercising influence on the mass consciousness. Of course, the processes of forming public opinion are also a subject of study. Science is also engaged in issues related to the methods of transmitting information, its assimilation, and the importance of certain technologies that provide communication processes.
Accordingly, mass communication is a special form of information exchange, communication or communication between people.
How significant are mass communications in Russia and the rest of the world?
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of various communications. For example, how do people find out the news? Or do they get in touch with their loved ones, relatives, acquaintances, who are far away? To do this, they use information exchange tools. Accordingly, these technologies are an integral and very important part of the life of both individuals and society as a whole.
Various communications are so firmly entrenched in all socially significant spheres that it is simply impossible to imagine a world without them. Politics, economics, culture, and the entire social infrastructure actually "stick" to mass communications. Moreover, the media in people form an idea of something.
Do media create a false impression of events?
For example, the Russian media often cover certain events in a slightly different way than Western journalists do. It is not difficult to verify this, just use the Internet and view publications in foreign media. Moreover, the difference lies in the supply of information, that is, there is no talk of distortion of events. Nevertheless, this specificity provokes some people to independently search for information on the Internet. Politicians at the very beginning of their careers often “parasitize” this phenomenon, presenting the media as a kind of monster that zombies the country's population.
In fact, a certain specificity of the presentation of any information is inherent in absolutely all communication tools. For example, how was the defeat of the Pearl Harbor base in the United States and Japan covered? The Americans turned the actual professional unsuitability of their military into true heroism, tragedy and martyrdom. The same manner of presenting information was picked up by filmmakers. The Japanese, however, glorified their heroes, somewhat exaggerating the enemy's defenses and their readiness for battle.
This example clearly illustrates the initial bias in presenting information. Accordingly, the Russian media are no different from all the others.
Each communicative means in one way or another forms an idea of an event or phenomenon, creates a public or personal opinion. Even if a person himself learns information from another person located in the place of events, he will still receive a biased feed. For example, if you talk with the residents of the Baltic states about the economic situation, then some people will talk about how they feel good, you can go to work in the EU countries and other pluses. However, other people will say how bad everything is with them, as arguments they will cite the need to travel to neighboring EU countries for the sake of earning.
Accordingly, the source of information always influences the socio-psychological processes of perception and awareness. And this problem is also being studied by psychologists.
What affects mass communication itself?
It is not paradoxical, but they themselves have the main influence on mass communications. Scientists involved in social psychology do not see a particular paradox in this phenomenon.
Since the term refers to everything that is somehow connected with the production, storage, transmission, dissemination and mass perception of various information, the development of communications occurs in proportion to their availability. In other words, the emergence of a worldwide network has revolutionized the media and communications. This technology was a breakthrough and brought radio, television and other media to a new evolutionary stage of development.
Exactly the same effect was previously exerted by the advent of television. And before him a similar effect was brought by the appearance of radio communications, telegraphs. The psychology of mass communication, considering the history of this concept, does not go deeper than the beginning of the last century. However, even the appearance of a postal message, not to mention the appearance of newspapers, at one time had the same revolutionary impact on the communication sphere as the Internet.
How did this concept come about?
Psychology, as a scientific discipline, became interested in the influence on the "minds of the masses" of various communicative means at the beginning of the last century. This concept itself was formed in the 20s of the last century in the United States. The term “communication” was originally understood to mean not only the work of journalists, that is, mass information, but also communication, communication, and other similar aspects of social relationships.
At the initial stage of its existence, the social psychology of mass communication paid great attention to the issue that the media, trying to get around competitive companies, are trying to give the public what they crave. In other words, when covering certain events, the media “speculate” on people's expectations, for the sake of this, distorting or concealing part of the information, or publishing only what will deliberately cause a response from the broad masses of the population. This phenomenon has survived to this day. Today it is called the "yellow press."
In Russia, this term came into use much later than in the West. In our country, for the first time, scientists began to appeal with this concept only in the 60s of the last century. Officially in Russia, and more precisely in the Soviet Union, the term was introduced by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1970, on the basis of a memorandum submitted for consideration by the leadership of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University.
What characterizes this concept?
The psychology of mass communication considers the subject of its study in great detail, endowing it with a number of characterizing factors.
The characteristics inherent in communication tools, scientists include the following:
- interests of the participants in the communication sphere and their changes related to living conditions;
- the process of forming specific cultural values and ways of thinking;
- emotional and semantic identification with certain trends or factors, that is, identification;
- the effect of a persuasive effect and building a type of public perception, consciousness;
- the presence and spread of phenomena such as imitation and diffusion;
- the use of influence on the masses in any interests, for example, advertising by businessmen of goods and services.
Of course, aspects characterizing the concept are not the only thing that psychologists endow with public communication.
What are the features of mass communications?
The Ministry of Digital Development of Telecommunications and Mass Communications as the main feature denotes the ability to form public opinion. Social psychologists do not argue with this, moreover, scientists are expanding the "official postulate", adding to the thesis the possibility of:
- building certain types of consciousness;
- the formation of fashion trends, tastes and preferences in all areas of life.
Of course, the technical nuances of organizing the exchange of information are also directly related to the features.
What does this mean? In simple words, we are talking about a method of transmitting information and the presence or absence of feedback. For example, publicly available information on the Internet can be presented in the form of an article or a film, and not assume that there are discussions in the comments below the material. Or, on the contrary, it can be a kind of “platform” for people to express themselves, exchange opinions and thoughts.
The same division is characteristic of other technologies. For example, various television programs and talk shows use feedback tools, such as a “call to the studio”, live chat, SMS voting and others. Especially actively use feedback on the radio. Newspapers, almanacs, magazines and other periodicals communicate with readers through letters or by providing the opportunity to comment on materials, if you have an Internet version, of course.
What is a "communicator", "recipient"?
Like any scientific discipline, the psychology of mass communication has its own terminology. The basic concepts in this socio-psychological discipline are “communicator” and “recipient”.
A communicator is nothing more than a source of information. In other words, it is an active link, the initiator of the processes characteristic of mass communications. In this capacity, an organization, for example, a specific media outlet, or a private individual can act.
For example, if someone publishes something on his page on a social network that causes a public response and affects the consciousness of other people, then this person acts as a communicator. This process is clearly demonstrated daily by famous personalities on social networks, especially on Instagram. For example, if some popular singer or actress puts her picture in pink trousers in a box, then this inevitably follows a wave of imitation among some of her fans. That is, girls acquire the same things and take pictures in them. The activity of the media acting as a communicator is similarly manifested.
The recipient is the "receiving side", that is, those people on whom the activity of communicators is directed. However, the recipient can become a communicator as soon as he begins to distribute the information received, to tell others about it.
In simple words, the person who likes the post of another is the recipient. He plays a passive role as a consumer of the information offered. But if this person not only put a “like” mark, but also reposted the material, thereby contributing to its dissemination, then he is already a communicator at the same time.
Subject of study?
All areas in science are characterized by research, the collection and systematization of data and other similar activities. This scientific discipline is no exception.
The psychology of mass communication explores everything related to the processes of information exchange. In other words, the subject of research in this science is all the many aspects that make up the variety of socio-psychological nuances of the impact exerted on people individually and society as a whole of the processes inherent in mass communication. What does this mean? The fact that both mass communications themselves and the functions and models that are peculiar to them, as well as the reactions, processes caused by them in society, are studied.
Since the concept of mass communication includes an extremely wide range of issues, directions and factors, scientists' studies are devoted to various issues of social development and, as a rule, are of an interdisciplinary nature. That is, they are at the junction of various scientific areas.
What is scientific theory in this discipline?
Each scientific discipline has its own, basic, or basic theory. Of course, the direction of social psychology, dealing with problems and issues relating to the processes of mass communication, is no exception.
At the heart of the initial initial theory that laid the foundation for this scientific direction lies the very concept of mass communication. That is, the basis of the theory was the consideration of such factors as communication and communication in accordance with social needs and the nuances of mass perception.
The Ministry of Digital Development of Telecommunications and Mass Communications pays particular attention to the practical application of theories built by social psychologists. Of course, not only the Russian ministry is interested in providing adequate data by analysts, but by researchers - results that have practical benefits. Of course, this nuance has an impact on the development of scientific discipline and affects its basic theory.
Accordingly, the basic or fundamental scientific theory in this discipline is not unshakable, fundamental. It develops just like science itself. This development, in turn, is directly related to the democratization of society and technological progress. For example, as soon as people got the opportunity to independently search for information on the Internet, this immediately reflected on the basic scientific theory.
If before the advent of the Internet such a concept as the “public”, introduced into everyday life at the dawn of the formation of a scientific discipline, was used as the main theoretical configuration, now the “ecology” of communication means, that is, internal relationships, and an understanding of the nature of disintegration processes that occur during globalization are relevant .
The role and forms of communication
It is impossible to unambiguously determine this role, since mass communications affect almost all spheres of life of both individuals and society as a whole. The role of mass communication in modern society directly depends on the form in question.
Social psychology distinguishes the following main communication forms:
- culture
- religion;
- education;
- propaganda and advertising;
- mass stocks.
Such a separation is due to the fact that any exchange of information or its provision in one way or another interacts with one of these forms.
For example, the role of communication processes affecting the educational sphere is that they contribute to the development of both the individual and society as a whole. That is, they enrich people with new knowledge, provide the opportunity to assimilate a certain experience and, accordingly, its dissemination.
That is, one should not understand the educational communication process as an analogy to studying at a school, institute or technical school. As a form of mass communication, this concept is much broader. For example, a person who watched a culinary show and learned the recipe for a new dish gained experience and gained knowledge. As soon as this man told his friends about what he learned from a television program, he shared the experience. Of course, as an example, you can use something else, for example, documentaries or analytical talk shows. That is, education, as a form of mass communication, includes all the processes associated with the acquisition of new knowledge and human development.
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Mass action is the youngest form of communication. Nominally, it refers to all options for public events held with the aim of introducing any social or political changes. However, various flash mobs that occur on social networks both spontaneously and in an organized manner fall under the same concept. Such actions may not carry any political or economic background and may not be carried out with the aim of any changes.
For example, not so long ago in networks, people massively spread their pictures from the past, from the 90s of the past century, in combination with modern photographs. This action did not have any political and economic reasons, but nevertheless it fell under this form of mass communication. Accordingly, in the near future, scientists will revise and expand the idea of this form.