Knowra Uses and gratifications theory Uses and gratifications theory Uses and gratifications theory explains how people actively select and use media to satisfy needs and goals, rather than simply receiving media effects.
Active audience theory : An approach to media studies that treats audiences as interpreters and participants rather than passive recipients. Uses and gratifications gives this broader claim a specific account of audience choice.
Media needs : Perceived deficiencies or goals that people may seek to address through media use. Needs provide the starting point for explanations of why audiences turn to media.
Paul Lazarsfeld : An Austrian-American sociologist who studied mass communication, voting, and empirical social research. His audience research helped establish questions about why people use mass media.
Television audience research : The study of television viewers, their viewing practices, and their responses to programming. Television studies used motive categories to explain distinct viewing choices.
Hypodermic needle model : A model portraying media messages as directly and powerfully affecting passive audiences. It contrasts with the theory's emphasis on selective, goal-directed audience behavior.
Media use : The selection and consumption of media content, platforms, or services by individuals and groups. The theory explains media use through audience motives and expected benefits.
Media motives : Reasons people give for selecting or using particular media and content. Motives connect underlying needs to specific patterns of media use.
Herta Herzog : A media researcher known for studying the satisfactions audiences derived from radio programs. Her interviews about radio listening helped shape early gratification research.
Internet use : The ways individuals and groups access, interact with, and create content on the internet. The framework has been adapted to explain online activities beyond traditional broadcasting.
Limited effects theory : An account that emphasizes how social relationships and individual differences constrain media influence. Both reject simple direct effects, but this theory centers audiences' reasons for using media.
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