Two Step Theory Lazarsfeld 1940

In 1940, Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet conducted the first full-scale investigation of the effects of political mass communication and their research focused on the 1940 Presidential election campaign and their findings were published in 1944 in The People's Choice after more research had been conducted.

 

What is it ?

 

the two step theory says that we as people are more likely to follow people we trust known as opinion leaders who pay close attention to the mass media and pass on the information down to other people in their own interpretations, unlike the hypodermic needle theory it suggests that the audience is and 'active audience' which is a big strength for the theory.

 

 

The importance of social influence

 

Their research was originally based on the simplistic hypodermic needle model of media influence, whereby it was assumed that a message would be transmitted from the mass media to a 'mass audience', who would absorb the message in different ways depending on the person and their lifestyle. Lazarsfelds investigations suggested that media effects were minimal, and that audiences did not respond to a campaign as such but were more influenced by a person they knew or an opinion leader such as an idol or a trusted friend or family member for example if a random person told a person to go and by an album by Of Mice And Men, then they would more likely than not ignore that information however if a friend (or opinion leader) told you to buy it you would be more inclined to do so because you know and trust that persons opinion.

Limited success

The study by Lazarsfeld et al concluded that only 5% of people changed their voting behaviour in the campaign as a result of media messages and that audiences exposure to election broadcasts turned out to be a relatively poor predictor of their voting behaviour, particularly when compared with other factors such as their interpersonal communication with friends, union members, business colleagues and the political tradition they had grown up in.

This view of media effects was confirmed in a variety of other investigations demonstrating that as individuals we are more likely to consume something if it is recommended by friends /family or people we know. For example what we are influenced to watch or listen to.

Conclusions of the theory

Lazarsfeld and his colleagues developed the notion of a 'two-step' flow of media messages, a process in which opinion leaders played a vitally important role.
conclusions follow from their research:

• Our responses to media messages will be mediated through our social relationships, the effects of media messages being limited by interpersonal relationships and group membership.
• It is misleading to think of receivers as members of a 'mass audience' since that implies that they are all equal in their reception of media messages, whereas in fact some play a more active role than others

• receiving a message does not imply responding to it; nor does non-reception imply non-response (since we may still receive the message via interpersonal communication)

• there are some people amongst the media audience who act as opinion leaders they see themselves and are seen by others as having an influence on others.

How does it relate to my music video ?

 

The Two Step Flow theory relates to my music video because people who view it and listen to my sort of music are more likely to tell their friends about it and then there is more of a chance that they will listen to or even view the video if there have been positive comments and feedback from it which is a good strength for the video but is also a good example of the theory being put into practice in relation to my music video.