Theories

The group presentation I enjoyed the most was group 4 about theories. They spoke about illusory truth effect, confirmed bias, gatekeeping, agenda setting, overton window, and spiral of silence.

Illusory truth effect basically means the more your read or see something, the more you believe it.
because the more you’re surrounded by something the more comfortable you are with is. for
example, in politics the politicians will repeat the same points over and over so voters will feel
more comfortable with their platforms and believe in them. This is similar to cognitive ease,
which is when your brain gets used to the information you hear a lot.

Confirmation bias is information that confirms your beliefs or used to confirm your beliefs.

Gatekeeping is when one individual or one company or organization controls all the power of
providing news sources. An example of this is Disney who owns most television stations.

Agenda setting is news stations determine which stories they air

Overton window is the range of ideas the public is willing to accept and consider from political
leaders, this shifts and changes overtime. This can change depending on current events and the
current generations ability to accept.

The spiral of silence is the theory that is people have different opinions than the people who
surround them then people may fear separation or isolation from the dominant public view,
causing them to stay silent and keep their opinions and beliefs to themselves. This can happen
when talking about simple beliefs such as favorite sports teams or it can be.

These theories can affect everyone with an opinion about anything. They affect the information you recieve, the way you receive this information, and the way you choose to or not choose to share information.