Task 1: DO NOW
1. Read the passage below and decide where each word fits to fill in all the gap
The Hypodermic Needle Model
Dating from the 1920s, this theory was the first attempt to explain how mass audiences might _______________ to mass media. It suggests that audiences passively receive the information transmitted through a media text, without any attempt on their part to process or _______________ the data. Don't forget that this theory was developed in an age when the mass media were still fairly new - radio and cinema were less than two decades old. Governments had just discovered the power of _______________ to communicate a message, and produced propaganda to try and sway people to their way of thinking. This was particularly popular in Europe during the First World War and its aftermath.
Basically, the _______________ Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass consciousness of the audience unmediated, i.e the experience, intelligence and _______________ of an individual are not relevant to the reception of the text.
This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. It assumes that the audience are _______________. This theory is still quoted during moral panics by parents, politicians and pressure groups, and is used to explain why certain groups in society should not be exposed to certain media texts (comics in the 1950s, rap music in the 2000s); for fear that they will watch or read sexual or _______________ behaviour and will then act them out themselves. challenge Hypodermic advertising react opinions passive violent Tip: One person reads aloud and other person fills in the gaps to save time.

Extension Challenge: Summarise the theory above in one or two sentences:

Task 2

Watch the following film and answer the questions below:
Media in minutes: Hypodermic needle (episode 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5MjBlvGcY 1. Write down some examples of where this theory has been applied in the past:
E.g. The theory was applied in the 1920 and 30’s after researchers observed the effect of war propaganda.

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2. What are some of the disadvantages of the theory? e.g. It assumes that we are all the same.
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Task 2

Watch the following film and answer the questions below:
The Brain A Secret History – Emotions; Bandura
Bobo Doll experiment