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Implications of a Contextualist Approach to Media-Effects Research

This article discusses implications of the contextualism of William McGuire (1983) for media-effects research. Scientific researchers traditionally have viewed research as a means of testing hypotheses. McGuire, however, maintains that researchers should assume all theories and hypotheses true a priori, but only in limited situations. Research still is needed to specify the contexts in which an idea approximates the truth. The article summarizes both contextualism generally and McGuire's version. It includes a discussion of contextualist implications for research practices and for the answers media-effects researchers give to questions of social concern.

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				C.-L. COLEMAN The Influence of Mass Media and Interpersonal Communication on Societal and Personal Risk Judgments Communication Research, August 1, 1993; 20(4): 611 - 628. [Abstract]