Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

This article answers “how media affect personal beliefs” from the effect research as well as critical school. Using “the understanding of the audience” as the clue to review the literature, it eliminates some misunderstandings and advances our knowledge of the two traditions. Though it is hard to establish a dialogue between effect research and critical school, this is the distinction between social science tradition and humanities tradition; social scientists and interpreters; objectivity and interpretively; quantitative research and qualitative research. Most of the time, they are not on the same page. As for the question this paper wants to address, “how media affects personal beliefs”, “belief” is not on the same dimension: psychological versus social; personal possession versus socially constructed; measurable versus immeasurable. Pluralistic approaches help advance knowledge and the understanding of human beings. For effect studies, critical theories may help them think: whether it is justified for me to do the research. For critical scholars, indeed, they point out some demerits of effect research while they lack realistic solutions most of the time.