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Media Psychology

~ Informing, Educating and Influencing

Media Psychology

Tag Archives: Psychology

Media Psychology and ‘Call of Duty’ Video Game Impact, Part 1

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Ken S. Heller in Media Effects, Psychology

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Gaming, Influence, Journalism, Media Effects, Propaganda, Psychological Operations, Psychology, War

The influence of popular violent video games, such as the Call of Duty series, has penetrated into the global consciousness and culture as an example of the media psychology. Last year Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 grossed $1 billion dollars in sales within 15 days of its release and $500 million dollars in the first 24 hours (LeJacq, 2012). Averaging $60 per game, that’s more than 1.5 million copies sold in 15 days. Its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, sold 8.8 million units in the United States alone in its first month (LeJacq, 2012). Two recent examples seem to point to it becoming a cross-cultural phenomenon. The first example being of an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photo of a French soldier during combat operations sporting a facemask that resembles a character in the game known as “Ghost” to protect himself from dust. Continue reading →

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Anytime, Anywhere Access – Psychological Use of the Media

16 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by Ken S. Heller in Psychology

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Influence, Military Information Support Operations, MISO, Mobile Phones, Propaganda, Psychological Operations, Psychology, PSYOPs

Army Col. (ret) Lawrence Dietz, a former Psychological Operations officer (now called Military Information Support Operations, or MISO), recently observed that no matter where a military operation was taking place in the world, the military could leverage mobile phones to communicate directly to a host population, more so than any other communication medium.

“IO (Information Operations) tools are never fixed. One AO (Area of Operations) demands TV, while another can hardly read…//…Which brings me to the only constant, regardless of AO – the mobile phone. It appears that no matter where you go, whether urban or rural, developed or not, the cell phone is an important, if not the most import means of communication – the way people get or give information. To be effective the IO needs to know how to use mobile phones as a medium, but also how to deny individuals the use of their phones at certain times, or perhaps to alter the messages they receive” (Dietz, 2012).

ITU

There are almost six billion mobile cell phone subscriptions which is a global penetration of 87 percent (ITU, 2011). Srivastava notes that the rapid expansion of the internet was quickly overtaken by the development of mobile phones, both the analog varieties and Smartphones. In a three year period, twice as many people decided on cellular subscriptions instead of on home internet subscriptions (Srivastava, 2008). The majority of this growth can be attributed to personnel convenience. Six years ago there was more than one analog mobile phone for every three people on earth, while as of 2011 one third of the earth’s population was using the internet (Srivastava, 2008; ITU, 2011). Obviously the potential for using this medium to communicate messages to mass audiences for more than military applicatons is almost indescribable, if service providers cooperate.

References

Dietz, L. (2012, Dec 13). IO Refined in New Version of JP 3-13. Retrieved Dec 14, 2012, from PSYOP Regimental Blog: http://psyopregiment.blogspot.com/2012/12/io-refined-in-new-version-of-jp-3-13.html

ITU. (2011). ICT Facts and Figures. Retrieved Dec 8, 2012, from ITU: Commited to Connecting the World: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf

Srivastava, L. (2008). The Mobile Makes Its Mark. In J. E. Katz, Mobile Communications Studies (pp. 15-27). Cambridge: MIT.

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Unintended Media Effects and Media Literacy

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Ken S. Heller in Media Effects, Media Literacy, Psychology

≈ 5 Comments

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Agenda Setting, Framing, Journalism, Media Effects, Media Literacy, Psychology

Being in the media, purposefully or otherwise, can have unintended effects, many of which the media will never stop and apologize for. Such is the case for Neda Soltani, a professor of English literature, whose Facebook picture was downloaded and disseminated among Iranian protesters – en masse. According to the New York Times article In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests Neda Agha-Soltan, notice there is no “i” at the end of her name, was shot in the chest and died when she went to witness a protest in Tehran shortly after the conclusion of the elections that reinstated President Ahmadinejad. Her death was caught on video and subsequently went viral.

Agha-Soltan

Shortly afterward the media published a photo of Soltani claiming it was Soltan – a mistake that Soltani has had to live with ever since. In an article for the BBC, Neda Soltani: ‘The media mix-up that ruined my life’, Soltani discusses the repercussions she has had to deal with to include becoming a martyr for a protest she did not participate in, government persecution, accusations of being a CIA spy, and becoming a political refugee.

Neda Soltani (left) and Neda Agha-Soltan (right)

Neda Soltani (left) and Neda Agha-Soltan (right)

There are a couple of things at work here. The first is media and journalistic responsibility – or lack thereof. Because of the speed at which news travels across the internet, media outlets feel more and more pressure to release information as fast as possible, without taking the appropriate amount of time to verify the facts, or allow the complete story to play out before reporting on it. This is all part of the cycle to bring in a larger audience, in order to attract more advertisers and increased revenue for which the media competes with other outlets. As Ahmadinejad is not a popular foreign leader here in the United States, the media rushed to publicize the fallout that followed.  Soltani and Soltan were both used as pawns to frame the protests. Second, few members of the media have attempted to correct the record, which is part of what makes the BBC’s coverage important as a model for reporting. For a typical American media outlet, their is an old adage that “if it bleeds, it leads” which basically means that violence will always be covered right up front, especially political violence that can incorporate a pretty face as a victim. What is reprehensible is the lack of responsibility to correct the record in the aftermath — but that’s not what audiences will stop to see, or advertisers will pay for, as a result. Cognitively, people are conditioned and drawn to stop and witness violence or tragedy. It’s a part of our innate nature to be curious as to the fate of others. We learn through observation. The media plays upon this to garner attention and profit repeatedly. Increasing one’s media literacy in regard to the economic agenda of the media is the first step to understanding how audiences are told what to think about, and how to think about it, and to freeing one’s own mind from their effects.

References

BBC News Magazine. (2012, Nov 14). Neda Soltani: ‘The media mix-up that ruined my life’. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from BBC News Magazine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20267989

Fathi, N. (2009, June 22). In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/middleeast/23neda.html?_r=0

Wikipedia. (2012, Nov 14). Death of Neda Agha-Soltan. Retrieved Nov 14, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan

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