media dependency theory

media dependency theory, a systematic approach to the study of the effects of mass media on audiences and of the interactions between media, audiences, and social systems. It was introduced in outline by the American communications researchers Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur in 1976.

Dependency theory conceives of dependency as a relationship in which the fulfillment of one party’s needs and goals is reliant on the resources of another party. A main focus of the theory is the relationship between media and audiences. In industrialized and information-based societies, individuals tend to develop a dependency on the media to satisfy a variety of their needs, which can range from a need for information on a political candidate’s policy positions (to help make a voting decision) to a need for relaxation and entertainment.

In general, the extent of the media’s influence is related to the degree of dependence of individuals and social systems on the media. Two of the basic propositions put forward by Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur are: (1) the greater the number of social functions performed for an audience by a medium (e.g., informing the electorate, providing entertainment), the greater the audience’s dependency on that medium, and (2) the greater the instability of a society (e.g., in situations of social change and conflict), the greater the audience’s dependency on the media and, therefore, the greater the potential effects of the media on the audience.

There are potentially three types of effects that result from an audience’s dependency on the media: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Cognitive effects are changes in an audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and values, including changes brought about by the media in its role in political “agenda setting.” Affective effects include, for example, the development of feelings of fear and anxiety about living in certain neighbourhoods as a result of overexposure to news reports about violent events in such areas. An example of a behavioral effect is “deactivation,” which occurs when individual members of an audience refrain from taking certain actions that they would have taken had they not been exposed to certain messages from the media. Not voting in political elections may be such an effect.

Since its inception, media dependency theory has generated many cross-disciplinary studies. It has also served well as a theoretical basis for research in the domain of political-campaign communication, in which the relationship between the mass media, the electorate, and political candidates is a central focus.