Knowledge Gap Hypothesis:
Introduction:
This theory is concerned mainly with “information” and “knowledge” and emphasizes that knowledge is not distributed equally throughout society.
There are 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.
It appears certain that information will be even more important in the future as we move into an increasingly technological age.
Many contemporary issues will require information and an informed public for the solutions for such issues.
Role of mass communication:
* 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).
One example of an effort to use mass communication to provide information to the disadvantaged is the “educational TV program” Sesame Street (which combined information with entertainment for preschool Children.).
Other mass communication efforts that have the advantage of getting information to people usually not reached
is the televised presidential debates that might take the presidential election campaigns to people who would not normally be exposed to the campaign.
The attempts to increase people’s quantities of information from mass media might have some unexpected or undesirable effects.
This undesirable possibility is that mass communication might actually have the effect of increasing the gap in knowledge between members of different social classes. This possibility is called: “ Knowledge gap Hypothesis”.
The authors of Knowledge Gap Hypothesis:
• § The Knowledge Gap Hypothesis was first proposed in 1970 by Tichenor, Donohue and OLien. Mostly, it is known as Tichenor et al or Tichenor and his colleagues’ hypothesis.
Tichenor et al . Stated the KG Hypothesis as follow:
“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”.
The hypothesis predicts that:
• § 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.
Tichenor and his colleagues suggest that:
The K. G. is particularly likely to occur in such areas of general interest as public affairs and science news. It is less likely to occur in more specific areas that are related to people’s particular interests-areas like sports or garden care.
3. 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”
4. Theory
This 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
5. 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
6. 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)
7. Sesame Street
Educational program
Broadcasted in 1969
Government Head start
program
For disadvantaged
preschoolers
Combining information and
entertainment
The gap still existed between
kids with higher and less
education exposure
Heavy viewers were able to
narrow the gap
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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
11. Possible reasons for Knowledge Gap
There is a difference in communication skills between those
high and low in SES
There is a difference in the amount of stored information or
previously acquired background knowledge
People of higher SES might have more relevant social contact
The 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
12. How To Reduce The Knowledge Gap
Widening 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
13. KG and New Technology
It 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.
14. 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.
15. The Digital Divide
What 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 internet
People who have internet learn how to interpret and
understand information the information presented
16. KG in Public Affairs
Address by US Supreme court justice Hugo Black
Major address by US president Roosevelt
Presidential debates in 1988 between George Bush
and Michael Dukakis
Vice presidential candidates Dan Quayle and Lloyd
Bentsen
i. Higher socio economic status showed interest as
compare to lower socio economic status
17. Criticism of the KG Hypothesis
Dervin (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
18. 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
19. Factors widening KG
Lack of professional ethics
Limited accessibility to internet
Ignorance about current professional knowledge
Poor library infrastructure
Limited state funded resources
Limited capacity to attend international professional conferences
Lack of personal will
Unavailability of fresh scientific literature
Obsolete professional knowledge in different disciplines
20. World Economic Forum and KG In Pak
Witnessed collective collapse in global competitiveness
I. 118th position in (2011)
II. 124th in (2012)
III. 133rd in (2013) among 148 countries
21. Example
When 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.
22. Meena Kay Sath
UNICEF developed the Meena Communication
Initiative (MCI) as a mass communication project in
1998
Goals
Aimed 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
23. Conclusion
Interest and motivation can help in narrowing KG
Information campaigns must be on audience research
Society must assure the access to information available
to all
It probably begin with needs of the potential user of
information
