TY - JOUR
T1 - The Lost Doctrine
T2 - Suggestion Theory in Early Media Effects Research
AU - Parsons, Patrick R.
N1 - Funding Information:
I would like to thank Linda Steiner for her thoughtful advice and careful editing, the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and encouragement, and my wife, Susan Strohm, for her continued support and sharp eye for editing. The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 AEJMC.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - This monograph examines the history of the “suggestion doctrine,” a theory of communicative influence that arose in social psychology at the turn of the 20th century and was applied to the study of media effects before World War II. During that period, suggestion theory was one of the foremost psychological explanations of opinion change and a dominant theory of media influence. Despite its long prominence in early social science and media studies, the doctrine has been largely ignored in contemporary histories of mass communication research. Although writers debate the origins and nature of early media effects scholarship, few of the contending parties address the role of the suggestion doctrine, and those who do offer but a passing reference. My purpose here, therefore, is to recover an important but forgotten part of the intellectual history of the field.
AB - This monograph examines the history of the “suggestion doctrine,” a theory of communicative influence that arose in social psychology at the turn of the 20th century and was applied to the study of media effects before World War II. During that period, suggestion theory was one of the foremost psychological explanations of opinion change and a dominant theory of media influence. Despite its long prominence in early social science and media studies, the doctrine has been largely ignored in contemporary histories of mass communication research. Although writers debate the origins and nature of early media effects scholarship, few of the contending parties address the role of the suggestion doctrine, and those who do offer but a passing reference. My purpose here, therefore, is to recover an important but forgotten part of the intellectual history of the field.
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U2 - 10.1177/15226379211006119
DO - 10.1177/15226379211006119
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85105644012
SN - 1522-6379
VL - 23
SP - 80
EP - 138
JO - Journalism and Communication Monographs
JF - Journalism and Communication Monographs
IS - 2
ER -