Agenda Setting Theory Flashcards
(19 cards)
The original Chapel Hill study by McCombs and Shaw in 1972 focused on:
A) The effects of Watergate coverage on Nixon’s approval
B) How media influenced issue priorities of voters
C) Voter turnout after TV debates
D) Bias in newspaper endorsements
How media influenced issue priorities of voters
The media agenda refers to:
A) Policies created by politicians
B) Topics the public discusses on social media
C) Issues emphasized by news outlets
D) Voter concerns prior to election seaso
Issues emphasized by news outlets
The transfer of salience means:
A) Viewers internalizing values shown in entertainment media
B) Media transferring opinions directly to the audience
C) Media making certain topics more prominent in the public’s mind
D) Changing a viewer’s beliefs through emotional appeals
Media making certain topics more prominent in the public’s mind
A high need for orientation occurs when:
A) Relevance is high and uncertainty is low
B) Relevance is low and uncertainty is high
C) Relevance and uncertainty are both high
D) Orientation is pre-determined by party affiliation
Relevance and uncertainty are both high
Attribute salience involves:
A) The quantity of media coverage an issue gets
B) Which aspects of an issue are emphasized
C) How well the public remembers a story
D) The number of outlets reporting on a topic
Which aspects of an issue are emphasized
TRUE or FALSE:
The Watergate scandal is often cited as an example of agenda setting in action.
True
media coverage of Watergate pushed the scandal onto the public and policy agenda
TRUE or FALSE:
First-order agenda setting is about what issues are important
True
focuses on issue importance
TRUE or FALSE:
Second-order agenda setting focuses on how people should feel about an issue.
True
ocuses on issue attributes (how we think about the issue).
TRUE or FALSE:
Gatekeepers are individuals or institutions that decide what gets into the media agenda
False
e.g., editors, journalists, news organizations.
TRUE or FALSE:
Framing and agenda setting are the same concept and can be used interchangeably
False
framing is more about how a topic is presented, not just that it’s presented
Define and distinguish between the media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda
Media agenda: The set of issues prioritized by news organizations.
Public agenda: The issues the public perceives as most important.
Policy agenda: Issues that lawmakers or policy makers prioritize.
These agendas can influence each other in different directions.
What did the original McCombs and Shaw study find about the relationship between media and voters?
The 1972 McCombs & Shaw study of undecided voters in Chapel Hill, NC found a strong correlation between the issues emphasized in media and those voters said were most important.
Supported the idea that media shapes public issue priorities.
Explain the concepts of object salience and attribute salience.
Object salience: Which issues are considered important (e.g., climate change).
Attribute salience: Which characteristics of those issues are emphasized (e.g., economic cost vs. moral obligation of climate action).
What are two contingency factors that affect whether agenda setting occurs?
- Relevance: If a story affects someone personally (e.g., local school funding).
- Uncertainty: When people don’t know much about a topic, they rely more on media cues.
High relevance + high uncertainty = high need for orientation, making people more susceptible to agenda setting.
Define framing and explain how it differs from agenda setting.
Framing is the process of selecting and emphasizing certain aspects of an issue to shape interpretation
Unlike agenda setting (which says what to think about), framing influences how to think about it — e.g., crime as a moral failing vs. a social policy issue.
What is the role of gatekeepers in agenda setting?
A) They fund political advertising
B) They determine what stories are published and emphasized
C) They monitor audience reactions to messages
D) They prevent misinformation from spreading
They determine what stories are published and emphasized
Second-order agenda setting focuses on:
A) Deciding the amount of time spent on a news story
B) The specific attributes or framing of an issue
C) The agenda set by politicians
D) The emotional tone of news reports
The specific attributes or framing
of an issue
Which term refers to the media’s ability to influence what topics people think about?
A) Framing
B) Object salience
C) First-order agenda setting
D) Heurism
First-order agenda setting
What increases the likelihood that agenda-setting effects will occur?
A) Low relevance and low uncertainty
B) High need for orientation
C) Consuming only local news
D) Avoiding controversial topics
High need for orientation
