Phenomenistic Theory - Theory that media are rarely the sole cause of effects and are relatively powerless when compared with other social factors.
Joseph Klapper was an eminent scientist. According to him, 'Mass communication does not ordinarily serve as a necessary or sufficient cause of audience effects, but rather functions through a nexus of mediating factors'.
These mediating factors according to Klapper are - church, family, school, etc - which do not change media habits of people but only reinforce them.
According to Klapper, the media affect people strongly when mediating factors are not present.
Klapper believed that the mediating factors shaped an individuals personality traits, which were reinforced by media. He observed that if people were presented with the content that went against their beliefs, they were unlikely to pay any attention to it.
e.g. fairness cream / figure consciousness
The ads are not aimed at changing people's thinking but reinforcing what they already believe in.
According to Klapper, if media deals with new topics they can exercise greater influence on the audience, which hasn't cultivated any preconceived notions about them.
In such situations, the media can influence the public, but only for a short period, which is as long as the issue does not become public knowledge. Once society is / becomes aware of the topic, mediating factors will take over and control it.
This theory was based on social science research carried out before 1960 when TV had not acquired the status of a mass media tool.
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