mass-communication-theory

166 Section 3 From Limited-Effects to Critical Cultural Theories: Ferment in the Field
ELITE PLURALISM
elite pluralism
Theory viewing
society as composed
of interlocking
pluralistic
groups led by
opinion leaders
who rely on
media for information
about
politics and the
social world
All the preceding efforts at theory construction were limited in scope compared
with the development of elite pluralism. This idea was spawned partly as an effort
to make sense of the voter research initiated by Lazarsfeld. In their report on the
1948 election campaign (Berelson, Lazarsfeld, and McPhee, 1954), Lazarsfeld and
his colleagues noted important inconsistencies between their empirical observation
of typical voters and the assumptions that classical democratic theory made about
those same people. If the Lazarsfeld data were right, classical democratic theory
must be wrong. If so, what did this mean for the long-term survival of our social
and political order? Was our political system a facade for a benign ruling class?
Could a democratic political system continue to flourish if most citizens were politically
apathetic and ignorant?
In characteristic fashion, the Lazarsfeld group offered a guardedly optimistic
assessment. They asserted that classical democratic theory should be replaced with
an up-to-date perspective based on empirical findings. Classical democratic theory
assumed that everyone must be well informed and politically active. But their new
perspective was based on empirical data showing that average people didn’t know
or care very much about politics. They were more likely to base their voting decisions
on personal influence than on reasoned consideration of the various candidates.
People voted as their friends, family, and coworkers told them to vote, not
as a political theorist would have liked them to vote.
The Lazarsfeld group argued that voter apathy and ignorance weren’t necessarily
a problem for the political system as a whole. A system in which most people
voted based on long-standing political commitments or alliances would be a stable
system, even if these commitments were based on prejudice and were held in place
by emotional bonds to family and friends. The Lazarsfeld group believed that the
important factor was not the quality of voting decisions but rather their stability—
we are better off if our political system changes very slowly over time as a result of
gradual conversions. We don’t want sudden changes that could occur if everyone
made rational informed decisions using information from media. For example,
there would be tragic consequences if many people based their vote decisions on
bad or biased information from media. Nor could our political system handle the
INSTANT ACCESS
Phenomenistic Theory
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Combines impressive amount of research into a
convincing theory
2. Highlights role of mediating variables in the
mass communication process
3. Persuasively refutes lingering mass society and
propaganda notions
1. Overstates influence of mediating factors
2. Is too accepting of status quo
3. Downplays reinforcement as an important
media effect
4. Is too specific to its time (pre-1960s) and
media environment (no television)
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