In the 1920s, almost overnight, the movie industry dramatically grew and plunged into the lives of almost everyone in the United States. Since, this occurrence came so sudden, not much information was available causing some to worry about its effects on children. What is this new popular culture and what influences should be expected by consuming this medium? No one knew about the level of seriousness or whether it could affect children in negative terms. As the film industry grew more popular, so did the cry and anxiety of the concerned adults. Thus, a serious study was needed in order to educate America of this new trend ?mass media communication.
The rising concern of the public ultimately led to the development of scientific assessment or the study of mass communication. This new field of socia
Eroding Moral Standards ?Charles C. Peters
Acquiring Information ?P.W. Holaday and George D. Stoddard
The Payne Fund studies still remains as one of the largest investigations performed in the mass communication history. Its two goals were to assess the content of the films and determine the size and composition of their audiences, and analyze the effects on those audiences of their exposures to the themes and messages of motion pictures (e.g. acquisition of information, change in attitudes, stimulation of emotions, harm to health, erosion of moral standards, and influence on conduct). Below is the list of the Payne Fund studies conducted:
-concluded that movies provided a special learning format that led to unusually high retention of factual material (i.e. 8yr. Old children acquired lots of idea
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