This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Potter, W. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Argument for the Need for a Cognitive Theory of Media Literacy

University of California–Santa Barbara

The thesis of this article is that the individual should be regarded as the locus of media literacy—not schools, parents, or the media industries. Furthermore, the article argues that it is not sufficient to educate individuals about the nature of the media and the potential harm of various messages. There is an issue more fundamental than education and that is the building of greater understanding about how the human mind works. Therefore, we need a cognitive theory that will focus on the special characteristics of media exposure and will explain how people filter messages and construct meaning from those messages.

Key Words: media literacy • cognitive theory • media effects

American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, No. 2, 266-272 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0002764204267274


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?