What Does "Reception Theory" Argue About Media's Effects

question 17

Multiple Choice

What does "reception theory" argue about media's effects?

• A) That media play a conservative role in society, manipulating and persuading viewers to believe that the status quo is the best of all possible worlds, or even the only possibility
• B) That viewers, listeners, and readers are not just passive receivers but rather engage in thinking about and giving meaning to what they take in
• C) That each person, no matter what his or her social position or background is, interprets what the media deliver very similarly
• D) That our ideas about issues such as gender are a combination of what the media sends and what our government tells us

---

Definitions:

Sadness

A mood defined by experiences of sadness, regret, or despair.

Plutchik's Theory

A psychoevolutionary theory of emotion which proposes eight primary emotions and their interrelations, emphasizing the adaptive and evolutionary functions of emotions.

Primary Emotions

Basic emotions that are universal across cultures, such as happiness, sadness, fear, and anger.

Apprehension

A feeling of anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen, often involving concern about future events or situations.