What are the four macro-effect theories of communication?

1. The four macro-effect theories of communication include: "agenda setting" theory; The spiral of silence; Cultivate theory and knowledge, gap theory. (But personally, I think we can add the theory of the third person effect. )

2. The theory of "agenda setting" comes down in one continuous line with Lipman's academic thought of "pseudo-environment". Lippmann believes that the world outlook existing in our minds is always incomplete and usually inaccurate compared with reality. Our behavior is a response to this simulated environment, not to the real environment. News media is a bridge between "the outside world and the pictures in our minds".

Now people's understanding of the environment is mostly carried out through the media. At the same time, there are many news events every day, and the news media are unable to collect news information or inform the public of all the news. Therefore, journalists can only report news information selectively according to professional norms. Therefore, the media can influence our views on news events and their importance by reporting some news events and by the order and length of news.

However, the news media is not the only information source or cognitive channel for the public to pay attention to problems. Problems can also be divided into explicit problems (problems that people can directly feel) and implicit problems (problems that people can only understand through the media). However, a large number of cases show that news reports will play a strong role in setting the agenda for hidden issues, but not for explicit issues.

Agenda setting can be divided into two levels, including object agenda setting and attribute agenda setting. Most of the research units in the agenda are usually a public topic and the basic topic object for analysis-this word is synonymous with the word attitude object used by social psychologists-at this level, mass media is really influencing people's thoughts. In addition, because different topics in the same agenda have multiple attributes, and these attributes also have different importance, the phenomenon that the media can influence the ranking of news events shows that the media can not only tell people what to think, but also tell people how to think about certain topics.

For example, in the general election process, the list of candidates competing for a certain position is an object agenda, while the description of each candidate in the news media and the image of the candidate in the public mind are attribute agendas.

However, attribute agenda setting is often associated with frame theory, which focuses on the perspective adopted by communicators and audiences when describing news topics. In addition, through the agenda setting of the media, the views of public figures and other things are correspondingly triggered, and the media also plays the role of a detonator in this process. The mass media's reports on certain objects and their attributes have a certain relationship with the audience's views. The media's attention to reports has paved the way for the formation and expression of public opinion.