knowledge gap hypothesis

Presented to Sir Khuram MehranBy M Zamir Asadi (MS 1 IIUI)

In 1970 Philip J Tichenor, George A. Donohue and Clarice. N Olien proposed an idea titled as “Mass media flow and differential growth in knowledge”

TheoryThis theory is concerned mainly with “information” and

“knowledge” and emphasizes that knowledge is not distributed equally throughout society

Concept of haves and have-nots with regard to information just as material wealth Information is very important in our society because any developed country depends on well-informed citizens

Higher socioeconomic status segments tend to acquire this information faster than lower socioeconomic status population

Knowledge Gap Hypothesis

As the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socio-economic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these two segments tend to increase rather than decrease

Role of Mass Media

One of the great promises of mass communication is that it provides people with information they need

It has the potential of reaching people who have not been reached by other means (poor and undeveloped people)

Sesame StreetEducational programBroadcasted in 1969Government Head start

programFor disadvantaged

preschoolersCombining information and

entertainmentThe gap still existed between

kids with higher and less education exposure

Heavy viewers were able to narrow the gap

Presidential Debate

Other mass communication efforts that have the advantage of getting information to people usually not reached is the televised presidential debates(USA) that might take the presidential election campaigns to people who would not normally be exposed to the campaign.

Hypothesis Prediction

People of both high and low socioeconomic status will gain in knowledge because of the additional information, but that persons of higher socioeconomic status will gain more

This would mean that the relative gap in knowledge between the well-to-do and less well-off would increase.

Operational forms of the Hypothesis

Techinor et al 1970 say that KG hypothesis might be stated in two ways:

Overtime, acquisition of knowledge of a heavily publicized topic will proceed at a faster rate among better- educated persons than among those with less education

At a given time, there should be a higher correlation between acquisition of knowledge and education for topics highly publicized in the media than for topics less publicized

Possible reasons for Knowledge GapThere is a difference in communication skills between those

high and low in SESThere is a difference in the amount of stored information or

previously acquired background knowledgePeople of higher SES might have more relevant social contactThe mechanisms of selective exposure, acceptance and

retention might be operating. (Persons with low SES might not find or be interested in topics such as public affairs or science news)

The nature of the mass media system itself is that it is geared toward persons of higher SES

How To Reduce The Knowledge GapWidening knowledge gaps are more likely to occur in communities with

numerous sources of information (Pluralistic communities) than with informal but communication channels (Homogeneous communities).

When an issue has immediate and strong local impact, the knowledge gap is likely to decline

A well-known celebrity involved in the dissemination of information could help achieve wider visibility for and acceptance of the information

When an issue arouses basic social concerns, the knowledge gap is likely to be reduced or eliminated

Researchers found that television may have a special power to close knowledge gaps or, if not to close them, at least to keep them from widening

KG and New TechnologyIt is not clear what are the effects of the new

technologies will be on level of information held by the public

Many of the new technologies are expensive

Because of the cost, these technologies may be more available to the well-to-do than to less –well-off.

Cont…For this and other reasons, the effect of the technological

revolution in communication could be a further widening of the KG. So, availability of the new technology may affect the KG

If the access to these information services is not universally available throughout the society, then those already “information-rich” may reap the benefits while the “information-poor” get relatively poorer.

A widening of this “information gap” may lead to increase tension.

The Digital DivideWhat is the digital divide?

The digital divide is the gap between people with access to digital information technology, and those that have limited access to digital information technology

Gap can be found between individuals, communities, and countries

The digital divide causes an increased knowledge gap. People who lack access to the internet will not be receiving

the information provided by the internetPeople who have internet learn how to interpret and

understand information the information presented

KG in Public AffairsAddress by US Supreme court justice Hugo

BlackMajor address by US president RooseveltPresidential debates in 1988 between

George Bush and Michael DukakisVice presidential candidates Dan Quayle and

Lloyd Bentseni. Higher socio economic status showed

interest as compare to lower socio economic status

Criticism of the KG HypothesisDervin (1980) criticized the KG for being based on the

traditional source-sending-messages –to-receiver paradigm of communication

She recommended that communication campaigns and researchers be more user-based and user-constructed information

Evatt (1998) argued that researchers should be sure that the information they are testing is useful and relevant for the audience being tested

Knowledge Gap from Pakistani Perspective

Pakistani rural areas are different from Urban areas

The socio economic status of people of rural areas is very low than people of urban area

The information and knowledge gap is much more in between these two sectors

The reason for this is the lack of educational facilities in rural areas

Lack of information sources

Factors widening KGLack of professional ethicsLimited accessibility to internet Ignorance about current professional knowledgePoor library infrastructureLimited state funded resourcesLimited capacity to attend international professional

conferencesLack of personal willUnavailability of fresh scientific literatureObsolete professional knowledge in different disciplines

World Economic Forum and KG In PakWitnessed collective collapse in global

competitivenessI. 118th position in (2011) II. 124th in (2012) III. 133rd in (2013) among 148 countries

ExampleWhen a person from rural area

applies for the job and on the same time the person from Urban area applies then both of them have different level of knowledge

The communication skills of the person from Urban area would be much better than rural area person

Rural area person would not be much confident, he would lack various trends of suiting's, walk, talk and so on.

Meena Kay SathUNICEF developed the Meena

Communication Initiative (MCI) as a mass communication project in 1998

GoalsAimed at changing perceptions and behavior

that hamper the survival, protection and development of girls in South Asia

Fighting the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS Education, health, gender equity, freedom

from exploitation and abuse

ConclusionInterest and motivation can help in

narrowing KGInformation campaigns must be on audience

research Society must assure the access to information

available to allIt probably begin with needs of the potential

user of information