Expectancies and Attitudes Towards Alcohol Consumption

Research Paper Instructions:

Applying Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)
The assignment is based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) in the context of media effects. There are two articles provided for this assignment. (Each question needs at least one-page answer please)
Questions for the first part:
1. Each of these articles investigates the impact of some sort of media message on an audience member’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors and uses SCT to try and explain that effect. Briefly introduce your selected study. That is, explain what types of messages are being studied? What types of audiences are being studied? What is the outcome that is being studied? (For example, what attitudes or behaviors do they think could be affected?) Indicate whether this is an intended or unintended effect.
2. Many of these articles are also looking at mediators or moderators of the effect. These are things that either make an effect more likely to occur or shape when or how it occurs. For example, the researchers might be predicting that some versions of a message have more of an effect than others or that some kinds of audiences will be more affected than others. Please identify any of these variables that might shape likelihood or type of effect and explain how they relate to SCT.
3. Describe the method – how they are testing their predictions.
4. Then, briefly explain what they found.
Questions for the second part
1. What proportion of the studies described by the class deal with positive or pro-social effects versus negative or anti-social effects? Are there any studies where the answer is unclear or ambiguous?
2. Based on the evidence you’ve heard in these studies, how well do you think Social Cognitive Theory explains at least some types of media effects (intentional or unintentional effect, short term or long-term effect, etc). That is, does the evidence suggest that its helpful in terms of predicting what kinds of effects particular media might have or designing messages that might influence the audience? Please explain your answer.
2. Identify and explain at least one practical implications of what you’ve read about SCT. For example, if you are (or were to become) a parent, what might this study suggest about how you engage with your child in relation to mass media? If you were a media practitioner or health educator, what does the research suggest about how to craft messages?

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Expectancies and Attitudes Towards Alcohol Consumption
Student’s Name
Institution
Applying Social Cognitive Theory
Part One
Question One
The article by Mayrhofer and Naderer (2019) examined how the portrayal of alcohol by the media influenced participants’ expectancies and attitudes towards alcohol. The audience being investigated was adults who consume alcohol. The researchers hypothesized that media portrayal of alcohol might affect the expectancies and attitudes of participants regarding alcohol. The alcohol expectancies explored were sociability, behavioral, and cognitive impairment. Specifically, the researchers investigated whether individuals exposed to the portrayal of positive alcohol consequences would have stronger, positive expectancies when it comes to alcohol and higher sociability. They also investigated whether those individuals would have more positive attitudes about alcohol as well as weaker negative alcohol expectancies in relation to behavioral or cognitive impairment when exposed to positive alcohol consequences compared to negative alcohol consequences in the media. The researchers also investigated whether exposure to negative alcohol consequences in the media enhances negative attitudes towards alcohol when compared to exposure to positive or no consequences. The effects of the media’s portrayal of negative consequences on the strength/ weakness of alcohol expectancies were also examined.
The effect was intended because it is something that could have been foreseen. By portraying alcohol in a positive or negative light, the media is trying to achieve certain results. This could inform the audience of the negative consequences of alcohol, which could then reduce alcohol consumption. Or it could be to inform them of the positive consequences of alcohol which would increase alcohol consumption. Either way, how the media chooses to portray alcohol shapes and informs people’s attitudes towards and expectations from alcohol.
Question Two
In the study, participants’ alcohol consumption level was explored as a moderator of the effect. Specifically, the study investigated whether alcohol consumption influences how the portrayal of alcohol consequences affects alcohol expectancies and attitudes. The researchers wanted to establish whether individuals with low, moderate, and high alcohol consumption levels expected different consequences following alcohol consumption. The level of alcohol consumption shapes the likelihood that an individual will have positive or negative expectancies and attitudes towards alcohol. In this instance, the individuals are not forming these expectancies or attitudes through vicarious experiences but through their own experiences. What Bandura (2001) reveals about the SCT is that the vicarious process is an important medium through which individuals acquire knowledge. But in the case of levels of alcohol consumption, individuals are not using vicarious experiences to inform their expectancies and attitudes.
It can, however, be associated with the SCT’s self-regulation capability. According to Bandura (2001), the self-regulation capability is characterized by forethought, which allows human beings to take courses of action that wil...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Expectancies and Attitudes Towards Alcohol Consumption

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