hypodermic needle model

Definition:
Early models of communication regarded both impersonal sources (the mass media) and personal sources as establishing direct contact with an audience - the so-called hypodermic needle effect. Belief in this model lead to speculation concerning the influence of the mass media upon voting behaviour and resulted in one of the most celebrated pieces of communication research reported in P.F. Lazarsfeld et al., The People's Choice (1944). Lazarsfeld and his colleagues set out to study the influence of mass media on individual voting behaviour in the 1940 presidential election in the United States. Contrary to expectations, it was found that influence did not flow directly from a medium (press, radio etc.) to an audience, but was channelled through an intermediary who was designated the OPINION LEADER. It was this finding which gave rise to the two-step model. However, it must be emphasized that the two-step model does not exclude the possibility of a direct flow (one step) and its main contribution is in introducing the mediating effect of personal influence on impersonal communications.

Cross-References:
[opinion leaders (industrial)]

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