Extending our theoretical maps: Psychology of agenda-setting
Maxwell McCombs
(University of Texas at Austin, USA)
ABSTRACT: Two aspects of the psychology of agenda-setting are discussed, the social psychology of academic research and contemporary research extending our theoretical knowledge about the psychology of the agenda-setting process. To counter academic conservatism regarding new applications of agenda-setting theory, distinctions are made between concepts, domains and settings. A major trend in contemporary research on the psychology of agenda-setting is the explication of the theory’s basic concepts. This research includes the impact of incidental learning and the visual content in TV news on first-level and second-level agenda-setting effects, respectively, an expanded set of measures for the concept of need for orientation, and the consequences of agenda-setting effects for the formation of opinions and both priming and attribute priming of the affective dimension of opinions.
KEYWORDS: agenda-setting, incidental learning, need for orientation, formation and direction of opinions, knowledge activation
FULL TEXT: Extending-our-theoretical-maps-Psychology-of-agenda-setting (PDF / 188.67 kb)