The study of media processes and effects is one of the most central to the discipline of communication and encompasses a vast array of theoretical perspectives, methodological tools, and applications to important social contexts. In light of this importance-as well as the rapid changes in the media environment that have occurred during the past 20 years-this Handbook explores where media effects research has been over the past several decades, and, equally important, contemplates where it should go in the years ahead.COVERAGE Part I offers an overview of the field and conceptualizations of media effects, along with a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies used in the study of media effects.Part II focuses on prominent theoretical approaches to the study of media effects from a more societal perspective, tracing their historical contexts, theoretical developments, criticisms and controversies, and the impact of the new media environment on current and future research.Part III emphasizes the various factors that influence the critical functions of message selection and processing central to a host of mass media application contexts.Part IV reflects a dominant trend in the media effects literature-that of persuasion and learning-and traces related theoretical perspectives through the various contexts in which media may have such effects.Part V explores the contexts and audiences that have been traditional foci of media effects research, such as children, violence, body image, and race, addressing the theories most applicable to those contexts.Part VI highlights a concern central and unique to the communication discipline-message medium-and how it influences effects ranging from what messages are attended to, how we spend our time, and even how we think.

PART I. CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES1. A Retrospective and Prospective Look at Media Effects - Jennings Bryant, Dolf Zillmann2. Conceptualizing the Audience - W. James Potter3. Quantitative Methods and Causal Inference in Media Effects Research - Itzhak Yanovitzky, Kathryn Greene4. Qualitative Methods - Thomas R. LindlofPART II. SOCIETY, POLITICS, AND CULTURE5. Cultivation Analysis and Media Effects - Michael Morgan6. Framing and Agenda Setting - Dhavan V. Shah, Douglas M. McLeod, Melissa R. Gotlieb, Nam-Jin Lee7. The Influence of Presumed Media Influence: Origins and Implications of the Third-Person Perception - Nurit Tal Or, Yariv Tsfati, Albert C. Gunther8. News and Poliltics - Vincent Price, Lauren Feldman9. Media Effects and Cultural Studies: A Contentious Relationship - Toby MillerPART III. MESSAGE SELECTION AND PROCESSING10. Uses and Gratifications: An Evolving Perspective of Media Effects - Alan M. Rubin11. Entertainment - Mary Beth Oliver12. Current Research in Media Priming - David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, Beverly Roskos-Ewoldsen13. The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing - Annie Lang14. Emotion and Media Effects - Robin L. Nabi15. Mediated Relationships and Media Effects: Parasocial Interaction and Identification - Jonathan Cohen16. Individual Differences in Media Effects - Marina Krcmar17. Media Use and the Social Environment - Daniel G. McDonaldPART IV. PERSUASION AND LEARNING18. Theories of Persuasion - Daniel J. O¿Keefe19. Social Cognitive Theory and Media Effects - Frank Pajares, Abby Prestin, Jason Chen, Robin L. Nabi20. Emerging Issue in Advertising Research - L.J. Shrum, Tina M. Lowrey, Yuping Liu21. Media Effects and Population Health - K. Viswanath, Sherri Flynt Wallington, Kelly D. Blake22. Educational Television - Marie-Louise Mares23. Media Literacy - W. James Potter, Sahara ByrnePART V. CONTENT AND AUDIENCES24. Violent Media Effects - Brad J. Bushman, L. Rowell Huesmann, Jodi L. Whitaker25. Racial/Ethnic Stereotyping and the Media - Dana E. Mastro26. Media and the Body - Kristen Harrison27. Media and Sexuality - Jane D. Brown28. Perceptions of Media Realism and Reality TV - Alice E. Hall29. The Effects of Viewing Televised Sports - Arthur A. Raney30. Digital Games - Peter Vorderer, Ute Ritterfeld31. Children and Adolescents: Distinctive Audiences of Media Content - Barbara J. Wilson, Kristin L. DrogosPART VI. MEDIUM ISSUES32. Diffusion of Innovations: Theoretical Extensions - Ronald E. Rice33. Displacement Effects - Jennings Bryant, Wes Fondren34. Medium Theory: An Alternative to the Dominant Paradigm of Media Effects - Joshua Meyrowitz35. The Evolution of Media System Dependency Theory - Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach, Joo-Young Jung36. Media Effects 2.0: Social and Psychological Effects of Communication Technologies - S. Shyam Sundar37. The Study of Media Effects in the Era of Internet Communication - Miriam J. Metzger