Beyond one’s own direct experiences of the world, humans rely on communication to form impressions about the rest of reality. This fact makes communication a key to how people form their perceptions of reality. There is a rich literature grounded in communication dealing with the role of mass communication in forming individual-level judgments as well
Meta-analyses have been conducted within the last twenty years in four areas in the field of perceived social reality. Their results will be summarized here. It has to be noted from the start, though, that any meta-analysis summarizes only the existing literature at the time. The findings reported here should not be taken to reflect
Research on small group communication has a long history of examining how participation in groups affects perceived reality. Groups often create a shared reality in which to work, interact, and complete their tasks. As Herbert J. Simon (1976, 23) states, “A man does not live for months or years in a particular position in an
Since the earliest days of mass media, researchers, social critics, politicians, and the general public have been concerned about the extent to which media representations reflect or deviate from “reality.” Over the years, a great deal of research and public debate have revolved around the kinds of images of the world that are created and
Between the local newspaper, radio updates, the evening television newscasts and now updates via the Internet, your PDA or your cell phone, news seems ubiquitous. But where does news come from? How does what you read and hear and view get to the point of being published or broadcast? Fundamentally, news is a construction, and
Virtual reality (VR) has at least three dominant meanings in communications. Though the distinctions blur in some analyses, these largely discrete areas are: (1) immersive audiovisual technologies; (2) technologies that achieve a similar effect through their ubiquity and apparent removal from mundane reality; and (3) technologies, architectures, and social processes that in some degree resemble
This article delves into the realm of virtual reality training for law enforcement within the context of the US criminal justice process. Commencing with an elucidation of virtual reality technology, the introduction underscores its burgeoning role in transforming law enforcement training methodologies. Recognizing the pivotal importance of effective training in addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered
Reality TV became an increasingly prevalent global entertainment genre in the 1990s and early 2000s. The popularity of reality shows with producers is due in large part to the fact that they represent a cheap, flexible form of programming that is easily customizable to different audiences and lends itself to forms of interaction and participation
This article explores the burgeoning field of Virtual Reality (VR) applications in therapy within the realm of health psychology. Beginning with an elucidation of the theoretical foundations supporting the integration of VR into therapeutic practices, the discussion unfolds in three distinct parts. Firstly, the exploration of psychological theories substantiates the alignment of VR with established