Task 2a - Hypodermic Needle Theory

The Hypodermic Needle Theory (a.k.a The Magic Bullet Theory)

Summary

This model of communication is a theory suggests the idea that an intended message from a media outlet that is directly received by an audience is wholly accepted by the receiver. The theory is based off of 1930's behaviourisms that predict that once a message is told by the media, the masses will take it as gospel, and begin to adopt it into their day to day lifestyles. Facts told by the media are essentially then taken to be true no matter what is said, simply because it is being told by the media. The 'needle' or 'bullet' in this theory is the message that is delivered by the media, injected into the public and accepted immediately. It suggests that we as an audience absorb all information that is provided to us by media outlets simply by watching it and like the idea of a hypodermic needle injecting substances directly into your bloodstream, it is instantaneous.

Key Characteristics

- This theory was developed in the 1930's
- It is widely considered obsolete today
- Relies on a passive audience to absorb the message without question
- The main idea for this theory is that a uniform public opinion is created, and the behaviour and mannerisms of the audience changes
- A mass of people are made to believe the same facts and truths because what the media is broadcasting

Advantages

- Potentially with a completely passive audience, media would be able to 'inject' a message into its audience and they would accept it uncritically.  
- An unargumentative audience is easier to convince with a specific standpoint. 
- The effects of the message would also be immediate.
 

Disadvantages

- It is based off of the assumption that the audience is passive, which is very unlikely to be the case. 
- Everyone is different, with different opinions, views and standpoints so it is implausible that a largely passive audience that wholly accepts a message delivered by the media exists. 
- Due to the vast numbers of media outlets nowadays, it is very unlikely this theory applies anymore as facts can be checked among other sources, and fake news it easily disputed if no major news outlets are reporting a story
- This form of communication could be considered mannipulation of a vulnerable audience
- It completely ignores any environmental situations or cultural upbringing that people may have
- Their free will to think about the subject matter is not taken into consideration

Theorists

The most prominant theorist of this model of communication was a man named Harold Lasswell. In his book, Propaganda Technique In The World War, Lasswell theorised that the mass media could easily influence a large group of people by 'injecting' (hence the name hypodermic needle) them with a message, simply because it was the mass media providing the message. 

However, a man named Paul Lazarsfeld disproved the theory of the Hypodermic Needle model in the 1940s by stating that the audience wasn't as passive as the theory may have intitially suggested. An audience will pick and chose which messages affects them and which messages dont affect them.
 

Examples of this theory

One example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory affecting a mass of people occured in October 1938, when a CBS radio broadcast in USA had started airing a dramatisation of H.G. Wells' play The War Of The Worlds and despite being told four times throughout the broadcast that it was simply a play, it still caused mass panic throughout America. Many people started packing up their homes and fleeing the city as they were led to believe that what they were hearing on the radio broadcast was actually happening. This showed a serious impact of the media on a passive audience, as they listened to the radio broadcast and instantly assumed it was truthful news reporting. To measure the effects of this theory, you would need figures on how many people tuned into that radio station that day, and how many people reacted to the radio play. Some critics argue that there wasn't nearly as much of a panic from the public as the media made it out to like there was, and it was played up to increase popularity of Wells' play. This critique in itself is another example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory as they suggest that we believed there was mass hysteria caused by this radio broadcast, simply because a story in the newspaper said so.

Another more general example of the theory in play is during World War II in Nazi Germany. Propaganda became a very influential method of communication for the Nazis as they attempted to indoctrinate the nation through the monopolisation of all mass media outlets. Films, newspapers, novels, TV shows, radio stations and more had been adopted by the Nazi party in an attempt to cover every aspect of mass media and spread propaganda. The passive audience of the public of Nazi Germany would be so absorbed by Nazi messages and imagery everywhere in media that they would start to unify behind the Nazi party.