Elihu Katz’s scientific contributions

... Extant literature suggests that a key driver for social media traffic among members of a social network is a set of mediated communication motives that could lead to the fulfillment of certain cognitive and affective needs (Whiting & Williams, 2013). The uses and gratifications perspective (U&G, hereafter) proposes that individuals are motivated to seek mediated content and communication to meet their cognitive and affective needs, which could enable them to obtain and enjoy a diverse set of psychological and behavioral gratifications (e.g., Blumler, 1979;Katz et al., 1974;Lin, 1993;Rubin, 1993). Zhang et al. (2011) identified several dimensions of social media gratifications among young adults, including social surveillance, recognition (group identity), emotional support, network extension, and entertainment. ...

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Cyberbullying and Social Media Communication: Spiral of Silence, Bystanders, Relational Aggression, and Schadenfreude

... Considering motivation for using media, the Uses and Gratifications theory (UGT) is an alternative perspective to explain gender differences in digital use (Katz et al., 1973). UGT offers a valuable theoretical framework by conceptualizing media selection and use as a goal-driven process to fulfill people's specific needs, which can be categorized into cognitive, affective, integrative, social integrative, and escapist dimensions (Katz, 1974). Individuals' media choices, participation forms, and the resulting benefits are shaped by their conscious objectives and intentions, which are influenced by their cultural and social environments (Katz et al., 1973). ...

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Gender Disparities in Pandemic-Related Strains, Digital Coping Strategies, and Protective Mechanisms Among Rural-to-Urban Migrant Working Adolescents in China

... Into the early 1960s, he participated in Chicago's interdisciplinary Committee on Communication (about which, see Pooley, 2023;Wahl-Jorgensen, 2004). He absorbed its emphases on popular culture and leisure studies, areas he would make significant contributions to in the decades that followed, most notably by investigating leisure pursuits in Israel with Michael Gurevitch (Katz & Gurevitch, 1976) and cross-cultural readings of the popular TV drama Dallas (Capice & Katzman, 1978-1991 with Tamar Liebes (Liebes & Katz, 1990). He would remain a faculty member at the University of Chicago until 1969, a chapter in his career that has received relatively little attention and which space limits me from pursuing further here. ...

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The Making of Elihu Katz, 1926-1956: Generations and Ethnoreligious Identities in the Transnational Development of Communication Studies

... Regardless education level, age and gender, many groups of people exist to influence consumers' thought and action (Bandura, 1986). These groups will extensively influence consumers' behavior (Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2001;Compeau & Higgins, 1995aEvans, Jamal, & Foxall, 2006;Shimp & Kavas, 1984) and generally comprises of consumer's family members, friends or colleagues at their workplace (Blackwell, et al., 2001;Katz, Hass, & Gurevitech, 1973;Kotler & Armstrong, 2001;McDaniel, Lamb, & Hair, 2006;Pavlou & Stewart, 2000). Since they usually hold a remarkable credibility, consumers always refer to these groups to obtain an opinion about their activities (Bandura, 1986;Compeau & Higgins, 1995aTeo & Pok, 2003). ...

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Malaysian Consumers Attitude towards Mobile Advertising, the Role of Permission and Its Impact on Purchase Intention: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

... However, while some studies have supported a path that predicts an increase in body dissatisfaction following exposure to social media content (Fardouly & Holland, 2018;Holland & Tiggemann, 2016;Tamplin et al., 2018), others (Rousseau et al., 2017;Saiphoo & Vahedi, 2019) have suggested the reverse relationship, namely that high levels of body dissatisfaction can lead to greater engagement on social platforms. This latter position is supported by a study conducted by Bossen & Kottasz (2020), applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory (Blumler & Katz, 1974), which suggests that users actively select the type, quantity, and nature of media they consume. ...

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"Too good to be true": an explorative study of photo manipulation, body image dissatisfaction and critical thinking

... Thus, in the context of PSRs, affection refers to the emotions evoked by an SMI. Since the uses and gratifications theory states that consumers use media to fulfill their needs, the role of affection in PSRs is explained in terms of affective needs, such as the need for entertainment (Katz et al., 1973). Consumers form deep emotional connections with SMIs that are stronger than brand associations (Hu et al., 2020) and can play an important role in decision-making (Yu et al., 2024). ...

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Unrequited love? A mixed-methods study of parasocial engagement with social media influencers